Old Gue
Toga walked out of the gates of Olpag City and headed towards a dense forest located on the western side of the city. This dense forest was the path leading to Crow City.
As he arrived near the forest, he noticed that the road appeared very narrow, only wide enough for two people to walk side by side.
On both sides of the path within the forest, there were many trees, forming a natural fortress.
Based on the route and information Toga had gathered and prepared before setting out for Crow City, after passing through this dense forest, he would need to travel through the Mountain of a Thousand Snakes.
Only after crossing the Mountain of a Thousand Snakes would he be somewhat close to his destination, Crow City.
During his journey, Toga always continued walking when the sun rose and would rest when the sun set.
Toga didn't need to rush to reach Crow City since the registration period would be open all year except for the last month of the year.
Throughout the journey, Toga didn't encounter any problems. It was still quite safe, as the information he had obtained suggested.
After 10 days of traveling, Toga finally saw the Mountain of a Thousand Snakes. The mountain didn't appear very tall from a distance, but it had a mysterious and dark aura, making people reluctant to go there.
Toga then rested before continuing his journey to the Mountain of a Thousand Snakes.
After resting for a while, Toga finally began his walk towards the Mountain of a Thousand Snakes.
The mountain was said to be inhabited by many snakes, although the information Toga had gathered indicated that the snakes rarely attacked humans.
At the entrance to the Mountain of a Thousand Snakes, Toga prepared the weapon he had bought earlier, a sword 50 centimeters long, to anticipate any unwanted incidents.
Feeling ready, Toga then began walking along the path through the Mountain of a Thousand Snakes.
Upon entering the path, Toga saw many snakes on both sides of the road. Despite the many snakes on either side, they never attacked Toga.
Toga was curious about this—why the snakes didn't attack him. On one hand, Toga was relieved that the snakes weren't dangerous, somehow feeling that this was a good thing.
Although the snakes on either side of the path didn't attack Toga, he remained vigilant as he walked through the Mountain of a Thousand Snakes.
Before long, Toga had been walking on the path through the Mountain of a Thousand Snakes for five days. By then, he had reached the middle of the mountain.
Toga took a side path, avoiding the mountain's peak, as it would take too long to go that way.
"I'm already halfway through the Mountain of a Thousand Snakes. I guess I still have five more days before I can get out of this mountain and reach the regular forest path."
Toga realized that he still needed five more days to get out of the path through the Mountain of a Thousand Snakes and reach the regular forest path.
Being alone in the forest with its eerie atmosphere at night made Toga uncomfortable, so he stayed too long on the path through the Mountain of a Thousand Snakes.
While midway through his journey in the Mountain of a Thousand Snakes, Toga saw an old man walking in the distance, heading out of the mountain.
Seeing another person besides himself on the path, Toga hurried to approach the old man.
"Hello, sir. Are you also heading to Crow City?" Toga greeted her and asked politely.
The old man, seeing a young boy greeting him, nodded and said, "No, I'm heading to another region, but I happen to be passing through the Mountain of a Thousand Snakes."
Toga, delighted to meet someone on the path, then invited the old man to travel together through the Mountain of a Thousand Snakes.
Toga thought it was better to have a companion on the journey than to be alone on the path through the Mountain of a Thousand Snakes. Toga then extended his invitation.
"Sir, how about we travel together until we exit the Mountain of a Thousand Snakes?"
The old man nodded, agreeing to Toga's invitation.
During their journey together, the old man didn't talk much to Toga and never initiated a conversation, he only spoke when Toga asked him questions.
Toga didn't mind this, he and the old man traveled together for over four days and were almost at the end of the path through the Mountain of a Thousand Snakes.
At the end of their journey through the Mountain of a Thousand Snakes, the old man, who had never initiated a conversation, suddenly spoke to Toga first.
"Boy, what is your purpose for going to Crow City?" the old man asked.
"I'm going there to take the Core Absorption Awakening test and to enroll in the Aden Warrior Academy," Toga explained his purpose.
"Can I check if you have already awakened your core absorption?" I have a testing stone to see if someone has awakened their core absorption or not," the old man requested to test Toga.
Hearing that the old man wanted to test him, Toga was surprised and thought to himself, "Could this old man be an Aden Warrior?".
Toga pondered for a moment and agreed to the test the old man wanted to conduct.
Toga thought there was no harm in knowing whether he had awakened his core absorption or not.
After all, if the test conducted by the old man didn't match what Toga expected, he wouldn't fully believe it and would still go to Crow City to take the Awakening test conducted by the Aden Warrior Academy.
"Alright, place your hand on the testing stone and grip it with all your strength!" the old man instructed.
Toga nodded and gripped the testing stone with all his might.
The old man then gave additional instructions: "Focus your body and imagine the surroundings that make you feel comfortable."
Toga nodded again and followed the old man's instructions. He imagined a very dark environment and felt comfort in it, as if he were at home, full of warmth.
After about 15 minutes, the old man said the test was complete. The old man suddenly spoke.
"Your core absorption has awakened, and it is of the heaven class. You also have an affinity for darkness."
"Heaven Class, is that a low class?"
"Heaven Class is the highest class of core absorption awakening that a person can have. It means you can become an Aden Warrior, and your future is limitless."
The old man explained this to Toga. Toga felt that the old man's explanation was exaggerated and somewhat hard to believe.
"And one more thing, your affinity is darkness, which will make it difficult for you to progress unless you find the right cultivation technique," the old man added.
Hearing this further explanation, Toga understood a few things. Someone who has awakened their core absorption also has their own affinity.
And each core absorption affinity has different development techniques to progress further.
Toga then fell silent for a moment after listening to the old man's explanation.
"Take this, boy. In this scroll, there is a development technique for the Darkness affinity."
The old man threw a rather thick scroll towards Toga.
Toga was surprised to receive the scroll and wondered why the old man would give such a valuable item to a stranger he had just met.
"But sir, what's in it for you to give this to me?"
Before he could hear the old man's answer, the old man instead gave Toga a few more words.
"Find me when you have become a great Aden Warrior. My name is Old Gue."
After the old man said those words,
"Woosh!" The old man suddenly disappeared from Toga's sight.
Only the sound of the wind remained in front of Toga. Seeing this, Toga couldn't help but be surprised and curious at the same time.
"That old man must be an Aden Warrior. There's no way he could disappear just like that from my sight. But what should I do with this scroll? I don't fully trust someone I've just met during the journey."
Toga pondered what to do with the scroll he had suddenly received. After a while, Toga decided to keep the scroll.
"Alright, anyway, I have to continue my journey. I will soon exit the Mountain of a Thousand Snakes and be very close to Crow City."
"For now, I will remember his name, his name is Old Gue, right?"
Toga then remembered the old man's name and would search for Old Gue's identity later, when he had the time.