The forest returns to calm.
But the system, whispered lines before fading...
[ Sequence complete: System Upgraded 100%. ]
[ New protocol installed. Adaptive Combat Analysis. ]
[ Passive Sync expanding range... ]
[ Unknown anomaly, still tracking. ]
The hum of mana deepened once more, calm yet alive, as if waiting for the next
Command.
The night had become silent again.
The forest, once filled with beasts screaming and corrupted energy, was whispering in silence now, too silent.
Even wind flows smoothly while carrying fresh mana and cleaning corruption in the area.
Limbo's eyes snapped open. His body felt heavy, but his mind was alert. The faint blue interface flickered before his eyes.
System, show him upgrade details as well as skills.
[ Passive skill: Terrain Exploration is achieved. ]
[ Pure Mana Resonance stable. ]
[ New protocol: Adaptive Debug layer, Active in Partial Mode. ]
"Adaptive...debug layer?" He muttered, rubbing his eyes. The surrounding air shimmered slightly, a thin thread of light twisting around his wrist like living code.
Rin wakes up, blinking away sleep with her eyes. "You didn't sleep at all, did you?" She asked. Limbo smiled, "Not really. The thought didn't let me, but I slept for a while." He stands up while removing dust from his clothes.
Rin washed her face and began packing supplies. "You're impossible." Why didn't you rest properly? Yeah, but I'm feeling much better compared to last night.
And somehow I'm not feeling pain, my body feels normal. "Did you recover your Mana?" Rin said Yeah, almost all.
I was in better condition than you, yesterday. So...
"I'm okay..."
The morning air was heavy and cold, carrying mana with it, but the sun was providing warmth with its sunlight throughout the forest.
They thought about what to do. Should they continue or quit?, And return from here.
Limbo suggests that he has gained a skill, also he had hung, "that by continuing forward will be worth it. They can still escape if things go out of control."
Rin, in the beginning, strictly refused, but in the end, she agreed to move forward.
"She also wants Silver Bloom badly." She didn't want to just rely on others for herbs. She wanted to find them as quickly as possible, so her mother could be cured. "Before it gets out of hand."
This was the greatest opportunity she had almost collected all the herbs, just a few remained.
So after careful consideration and discussion. They finally concluded... And.
They moved towards the North, and the system pulses again.
[ Warning: Anomalous mana surge detected 1.8 km northeast. ]
[ Source: Residual corruption. ]
Rin stopped. Hey Limbo, can your compass detect the Silver Bloom location? She asked.
"I don't think so!..."
"Just think if it can?" She said, "We don't have to worry about tracking anything.
Yeah, that would be great help."
And it can't. So we can't waste thoughts on useless things.
As they walked, the forest around them began to distort - light bending, air humming with vibration.
Rin touched the soil instantly, hand brushing against the soil. Her affinity triggered small vines on her fingertips.
"I sense some unusual movements," she whispered.
Limbo summons his spear in his hand,
It makes a dramatic entry as always.
System, enable debug layer.
[ Adaptive debug layer online. ]
[ Warning: Mana field corruption 62%. Stability protocol active. ]
The moment he activated, a faint blue line expanded from his feet, a visible web of glowing code, expanded across the ground.
It stabilized the distortion around them, like an antivirus pushing back corrupted files.
"What is this?" Rinasked, eyes wide.
"This.. is..Debug field," Limbo said lowly. " I think I can clear corrupted mana now."
Okay, you can.. Rin said in a flow, while she was shocked... "You can what?".
Before he can say anything, mana mist filled with corruption appears with a mana beast, it was like a humonide around about 4ft, he was creepy while persistent. He was ready to launch an attack. This was the first of its kind that they had encountered. "Get ready!" Limbo shouted.
That creature walks forward. Limbo spun his spear, redirecting the strike. Mana scattered like a glass, Rin encountered instantly, and she attacked with vines on the beast. Vines began erupting from underground and wrapping around his limbs, but as he touched them, they began to rot.
"It's roting my vines!" She yelled.
"Then I'll patch it."
Limbo slams his hand ground again, the Debugger layer pulses, while the blue circuit expands under the monster.
Limbo uses his Spear Lv. 2 attack while mana is embedded in it and finishes the beast with light, and purifies, with pure Mana Resonance.
The echo screamed, flickering violently as he disintegrated.
[ Debug protocol active, Removing Foreign Corruption... 40%... 70%.. Complete.]
The creature shattered into shards of red crystal that dissolved into the soil.
Limbo crouched, collecting one before it dissolved. It vibrated faintly against his palm, warm. ...almost alive.
"It's learning," he said under his breath.
"What?" Rin asked.
"Every time I purge one, the next corruption adapts faster... like it's testing me."
Rin takes a breath of relief while bending on her knees. "What... was that?"
"Whatever... but...that wasn't normal."
Limbo looked around. "No. It felt like... It was following us."
"Following you," she corrected.
He didn't argue.
The air was strangely calm again. A thin, silver feather drifted from above --- landing between them.
Limbo bent down, picking it up. It was faintly warm, humming with pure mana.
[ Unknown Artifact Detected ]
[ Signature: Divine type resonance. Classification Fragment key. ]
Rin leaned closer. "Divine...? That doesn't sound corrupted."
No Limbo whispered, "It doesn't."
The forest rustled suddenly. A shadow moved between the trees, fast, silent.
Rin raised her dagger, tension rising. Limbo turned sharply, but whatever it was, it had already vanished.
The system flared again.
[ Tracking suspended. Entity not logged. ]
[ Advisory: Continue movement. Area integrity is unstable. ]
Limbo frowned. "We're not alone."
Rin sighed, gripping her staff, "I think so?"
They moved forward through the thinning mist, the ridge finally coming into view. From its edge, they could see faint silver lights shining deeper inside the valley, flowers swaying like stars.
Rin's eyes widened. "Silver Bloom... we found it."
Limbo smiled faintly. Meanwhile, his system's hum tuned sharp.
[ Fragment Signature Detected. Beneath the target location. ]
[ Warning: Sub-Guardian activity confirmed. Approach with caution. ]
He stands still on the spot.
"Rin," he said quietly, "this just got worse."
She looked at him, half smiling despite the tension. "When is it ever easy for us?"