After the lockdown was lifted, everyone was finally able to go outside.
The nation finally saw signs of life once more, with people walking on the streets.
It was early the next day that Zold was able to arrive in the Potanea region, where the Lunaria Dark Jungle was located.
Thanks to Maria's help, he was able to reach here as soon as possible.
If he went through the official process, it would take him a few days at the minimum to get a plane ticket.
That was too much time wasted.
After arriving in the Potanea region, Zold didn't go to the Lunaria Dark Jungle yet.
He stayed in the nearby city and waited until the sun fell.
The monster that he was hunting for was only active in the dark.
Certain monsters were like that.
Soon, the sun fell, and everyone went back to their homes.
The moon shone beneath, casting a light glow on the jungle.
Wearing a casual, loose outfit, Zold walked up to the entrance of the Lunaria Dark Jungle.
In his pockets, he hid stacks of charms, painted with an elaborate marking.
In his hand, he held a silver long sword, seemingly ordinary.
But if one observes more closely, a mark of flame was engraved on the sword's blade, shimmeringly gently.
During the past few days, the weapons ordered by Maria arrived, and some were sent directly to his house.
Thanks to that, he was able to forge an artifact just before he went to the Lunaria Dark Jungle.
From a distance, Zold immediately saw hundreds of soldiers around the jungle periphery.
To protect the regions with high wildlife populations, the government stationed armies in different landmasses across the nation, sealing off specific high-risk areas.
At that moment, the leading commander saw Zold and immediately shouted.
"Halt!"
Zold immediately stopped. Before the commander could speak, he took out his Association ID and explained his purpose:
"I'm from the Awakeners Association. I'm here to investigate the jungle."
Hearing that, the commander frowned heavily. A young man was talking about investigating a high-risk area.
Awakeners Association? Wasn't it just established yesterday?
But then, he looked at the ID, and his eyes immediately widened in disbelief.
'He's the Grand Awakener of the Awakener Association…!'
The Grand Awakener title was given only to the strongest members of the association; as of now, only Zold holds this title.
At that moment, the commander's expression immediately changed, hurriedly raising his hands in a salute.
"My apologies for the disrespect, Mr. Zold Starks. I am the 74th Brigadier General, Antonio Sheen."
Zold nodded slightly. "Continue to patrol at the entrance. I'll be back by midnight, or if not, in the morning."
The commander hesitated for a moment.
Seeing his reluctance, Zold frowned.
"Is there a problem?"
"N-no!" The commander answered, shaking his head. "It's just that… It's very dangerous in the jungle. Do you need some troops to accompany you inside?"
Ah, now he understood why.
Zold shook his head.
"No, I'm going alone. Is that all?"
"Yes, apologies."
Hearing that, the commander nodded, although hesitantly.
'Thousands of monsters roam there… even if he's a Grand Awakener, is he really going to be alright?'
Lunaria Dark Jungle.
At night, the jungle truly lived up to its name. The darkness left anyone who entered completely blind.
Ssh!
Zold raised his other hand and summoned a small flame, lighting up his surroundings.
If he remembered correctly, that monster only roamed deep in the jungles.
But the Lunaria Dark Jungle was massive, he didn't know how deep he would have to go before he could find it, what if it took him days?
'Perhaps my luck would help me find it faster?'
Zold secretly hoped, though he didn't expect too much.
If needed, he was prepared to take the whole night searching for it.
If he can't find it tonight, then the next day.
'That skill is important to me.'
Not wasting any more time, Zold went ahead and picked a random direction, venturing deeper into the jungle.
Since it was night, the jungle was deathly silent, and the towering trees blended in the darkness.
Zold observed his surroundings as he marched ahead.
But just as he had begun venturing deeper, one of the charms in his pocket suddenly burned.
The charms were part of his preparations in the past three days, allowing him to sense any threats near him.
When it burned, it signified that he was already under attack.
'An enemy…'
Zold suddenly stopped and tried to turn around, but his body felt unnaturally slow.
His expression immediately turned solemn.
He had an accurate grasp of his own reaction speed, and he instantly realized something was wrong.
It wasn't that his body had slowed. It was his thoughts!
'A control-type…? Not good…'
At that moment, Zold activated [Earthly Movement], immediately raising monoliths from the ground!
He surrounded himself with monoliths, forming a protective guard against his body as he assessed his situation.
Thud!
A loud thud resounded, a blurry object crashing against the stone.
Zold heard it clearly but focused on eliminating the effects of the control-type skill first.
[Formlessness] worked for defense as well, not just offense.
He always covers his mind and body with spiritual energy, protecting him in dangerous situations like this where he gets ambushed.
With spiritual energy defending his mind, he was able to resist the control-type skill.
Then, moments later, he cleansed away the effects of the skill.
"Let's see what you are."
Zold's eyes sharpened, bringing down the monoliths. He brought up the flame on his hand and saw a small wooden branch on the ground, wriggling as if it was alive…
'This…'
The wooden branch was highlighted with a purple, darkish color, resembling a tentacle.
He sent out a wisp of flame, turning it into ashes.
But the moment it was destroyed, purple blood burst out deep inside it.
'Purple blood? Unnatural energy?'
Zold furrowed his brows, immediately thinking,
A control-type monster, unnatural energy, and a small branch…
He raised his eyes and looked at the hundreds of trees in front of him.
Thinking of the list of monsters he knew, he instantly narrowed down the identity of the monster.
Deep Cult Tree!
A Deep Cult Tree was a Tier III Beast-class threat, often found in jungles or other forest biomes.
Every living organism had a chance to awaken, and among the millions of different species, plants and trees had the most synergy with spiritual energy!
But different from animals, most awakened plants were harmless, and in many cases, they contributed to spreading more spiritual energy to the world.
But there were certain plants that awakened differently, developing bloodthirsty instincts!
All plants of this classification were categorized as Tier III Beast-class threats.
'Talk about a terrible welcome greeting…'
Zold narrowed his eyes, holding his silver long sword tightly.
He was suddenly doubting whether his luck really increased or not.
The reason bloodthirsty plants were so feared was that they all awakened a control-type skill, allowing them to control anyone who stepped into their domain.
At this point in time, a plant like this was almost invincible since nobody had any experience against control-type skills yet.
Under a control-type skill, one would only know the danger once they were already under its effect, but by then, it's already too late.
How insidious!
Zold exhaled softly.
He had no time to waste; every second that the control-type skill remained active, his spiritual energy was being consumed passively.
Given the fact that the branch came at him so quickly, the Tier III Beast tree was undoubtedly close.
He calculated silently.
He can't go deeper without killing this Tree first.
'No choice then.'
At that moment, Zold chose to solve it with the fastest method he knew!
He raised his free hand and formed sharp, small spiritual orbits in each fingertip.
Woosh!
Then, without warning, he sent a flurry of spiritual energy attacks throughout all the trees in his vicinity.
And that meant hundreds of trees!
Spending a huge amount of spiritual energy in one attack, his face suddenly turned pale.
"Aaa…"
An old, murky scream suddenly came from one of the trees.
'There!'
Zold shifted his gaze and saw a tall old tree. He immediately rushed towards that tree with his sword.