Chapter 67 - The Hidden Passage

Unable to believe that this was the end of the route for me I looked around in a desperate attempt to find something that resembled an exit or entrance in any way, with the snow making it unable to see further in the distance. Disappointed, realizing I had the entire struggle up here all to find that it was for nothing… I sighed… Trying to find reason to move on, not wanting to give in to the disaster of my failure I decided it was best to search from the ground in these harsh weather conditions. Looking back over my shoulder the flying serpent which had been desperately defeated by me, had already been covered with a layer of snow.

I didn't know if there was something edible left on its bones, but still decided to take a look.

Upon closer inspection, not much was left. Scavenging the bits and pieces which had cooled down by the snow I could barely replenish my stamina for the way down. I wondered if I would be able to find something else edible during this storm which didn't show any signs of calming down.

Not having a clue what to do, I began making my descent down the tree again.

With the use of my flames the cold had become bearable, but I wondered… Might there be creatures in this world who have adapted to survive in this cold weather?

I slowly crawled climbed inside the opening of the tree allowing me to climb down without much of the ice cold gusts of wind cutting through my skin. Thinking it was weird I didn't hear anything from the system up until now a message popped up.

[Efficiency in the resistance to cold has grown substantially allowing the player to learn the skill <Cold Resistance> Would the player be willing to continue increasing its efficiency to unlock this skill?] [YES] / [NO]

"Yes, please. If I don't need to use as much mana to keep me warm that would be a life saver!"

[Efficiency will continue to build unlocking <Cold Resistance> by the time you will reach the ground]

Seeing the message I began to climb down even faster wanting to unlock the usefulness of <Cold Resistance>. After a while I reached the ground once more, but this time a thick blanket of snow was waiting for me at the bottom. Even though the trees had blocked off most of the falling snow, some still seemed to slip through. Having to claw my way through I almost began to freeze. Instantly unlocking <Cold Resistance> Which helped me fight back against the cold.

Having clawed my way through the snow I found something peculiar. The roots and branches of the tree which I had been climbing in seemed to lead inwards instead of outwards.

"A Hidden Passage? Interesting! But How did I miss this before?"

Deciding to follow my newly found entrance I noticed multiple intersections.

The intersections occurred more often now that I went deeper into the network of branches inside of the tree. Not knowing if this was the right decision to make I hesitated for a moment to venture further into the unknown. I began talking to myself and thinking out loud when the decision got made more naturally.

"I wonder... All plants and especially fungi have a very delicate connection with one another. Meaning when one experiences something all the others will know about it. On that note; Would I be able to utilize this vast network?"

At first thought I stayed at the first intersection, yet without me noticing my body began to move further into the depths of the tree. Almost as if I knew subconsciously that this was where I had to go.

When I finally realized what I had been doing, I sighed and shrugged it off as I knew that it should be safer down here than out in the open outside.

I kept crawling further into the depths of the network, faint glows coming of the roots and branches which covered the walls made of dirt.

I'm a way all of this made me think back at my first luminescent experience, al though this was different. Because here everything felt alive. Almost like something was staring at me from far away.

The path which I had been following ended after a while, presenting me with a larger open area, leading to multiple paths which I could take.

I had a reason why I entered the tree, initially finding a safe place to stay. Away from the Kings which I did not dare to challenge just yet.

What would be ideal was for me to find creatures to hunt while being safely underground here. But even after having gone to explore for quite some time underneath the gigantic tree in the center of this floor, nothing much could be found...

Aside from the pulsing lights within the branches and roots. The central area which I had arrived at was different from the earlier intersections which I had encountered. The area while the others were small and cramped allowing for slightly more space than a creature my size was ginormous!

The pulsing lights all seemed to move towards the area in which I now resided, but to be sure about this I took my time observing each path way separately. I did all this while being unaware of what resided in the center of the area.

Not wanting to venture further into the depths without knowing what to do and having observed the roots and branches which I had now confirmed to be moving towards the area I was in, I decided to take a look around. For all I know I was now underneath the center of the gigantic tree.

I had to think of a way to improve, a way which would allow me to battle the Kings & Guardians on equal grounds. Al I could think of was that I had to increase my strenght... Thinking about all the creatures I had encountered and even the Sacred Serpent Shirrochi, the Kings & the Guardian,

maybe whatever I had been fighting were all just low class, weak and low leveled monster?

And... Al though the Kings are special elite beasts which rule over all others, would they be considered as Elite, strong or even a special kind of monster? I realized that I haven't had the chance to think about it like I did now. What if they were put here for a reason?

"I believe everything is there for a reason, but what could it be?!"