As if it didn't want him to leave, the mud of the marsh clung to Percival's boots with a greedy, sucking sound.
It made his steps heavy, but Percival ignored the resistance. He kept his pace steady, his eyes fixed on the horizon where the flat monotony of the wetlands was beginning to break.
He knew what was coming.
The map in his head—etched from the memories of his past life—was clear.
Very soon, the horizontal slog would end, and he would arrive at the hellscape where danger lay in the sky, the earth and under the earth.
The next Encounter Zone was the Mangrove Battlefield.
Walking in there with his present loadout was a daring risk, Percival thought.
But there was a way to fix that.
His mind drifted to the spectral legions resting within his shadow.
He didn't need to physically summon them to check their status. He merely summoned his interface.
