"How long do I have to walk before I see someone?"
I clenched my jaw, pushing aside another large leaf and leaping over a massive root that had grown out of the soil instead of within it.
This world was truly strange. Over the past hour, I had been wandering through the forest and had seen things that shouldn't exist, at least not back on Earth.
The first was a black sun. Unlike Earth, which had the sun and moon, this world had the sun, the moon, and the black sun, each lasting for twelve hours.
'Thirty-six hours a day… at least I'll have more time to sleep.'
Aside from time, there were also bizarre creatures: snakes with legs that glowed pink, cat-like animals with tentacles instead of paws, and sparrows with human faces. All of these creatures were called Strangers.
"Uriel, do all Strangers look like this?"
"Does that mean if a human becomes strong enough, they can become a god?"
"Let me guess, you were the last one the world made."
I ignored the goddess's obvious attempt to provoke me and vaulted onto a tree with a single leap. Even though she had limited my physical capabilities, I was still far stronger than any human back on Earth.
Landing softly on a sturdy branch, I looked ahead toward my destination.
«From now on I have the best sight in the world.»
My eyes faintly glowed as a bluish-silver aura spread across my skin. It felt like I had stepped straight out of a manhwa, how cool was that?
A small smile tugged at my lips as I peered into the distance. About five kilometers ahead stood a gate made of thorns, blocking the entrance to another area.
From the red aura, or whatever that was, spilling from it, I could tell it was a danger zone.
During my hour-long journey to this point, Uriel had explained several crucial things about this world.
First were the Strangers, beings that weren't human or natural inhabitants of this world but rather creatures from unexplored regions, dangerous to humanity and serving as Hunter's means of growth.
These Strangers were divided into seven ranks: Spirit, Divine, Ancient, Mythic, Titan, Unholy, and Cosmic. The higher the rank, the stronger the creature.
However, even this wasn't the limit of their hierarchy. The stronger their order or mutation, the more powerful they became, even within the same rank.
This ranking corresponded with that of humans, from Sequence 1 to Sequence 9, equivalent to human F-rank through SSS-rank.
Uriel had also explained the ranking of non-Strangers, which went as follows: Apprentice, Expert, Master, Saint, Overlord/Emperor, Supreme, Transcendent, and Void, with Overlord being the peak of mortal power and Supreme and Transcendent representing godhood. Meaning I was already beyond the world's power system at the Void rank.
I wasn't entirely sure how that worked, since I couldn't feel much of a difference in my body aside from the presence of mana. However, Uriel had mentioned that it would take time for the world to register me as another god, and that's why it takes a thousand years for a new god to be born, as that's how long it takes for the world to acknowledge one.
'So I have to wait a thousand years to become a god.' My shoulders slumped. Raising them again, I glanced around for an exit. 'At least I know I'll live that long.'
Another thing Uriel had explained was the existence of Danger Zones. These were unexplored or unconquered areas filled with Strangers, making up roughly three-quarters of the entire world.
For mortals, whether hunters, villains, or spirit beasts, Danger Zones were the only way to grow. Humans couldn't level up or absorb mana like in novels.
To advance, one needed to kill a Stranger of equal rank, meaning an Apprentice had to kill a Spirit-ranked Stranger. However, Strangers were much stronger than humans of the same rank, with Spirit-ranked ones closer to Expert-level strength than Apprentice.
For those without the power to fight, there were Strangers that gave quests, trials, or games, and completing those counted as a kill. The last and easiest way to advance was by finding an artifact of the desired rank, though artifacts were extremely rare.
Once completed, the mortal's strength would skyrocket, and their mana capacity would increase.
Uriel also told me that if I wanted to accelerate my godhood, I had to follow the same advancement path as mortals. I wouldn't see any change in my stats, but my body would feel the difference. If I chose not to, I could simply wait until the world finished registering me, then ascend directly to Void rank and become the strongest being alive.
'Well, I can just take my sweet time advancing.'
Turning my gaze to the left and extending my vision, I caught sight of a proper path. Beyond it was a jagged road winding down the mountain, and farther ahead, a paved trail, an actual road.
"Yes. It's finally time to leave this damn forest."