The earth began to tremble; it was as if the agonized hisses of the wounded colossal serpent had found their answer. Roots, lashing out like whips from beneath the soil, ensnared Mel's body.
Before ten seconds had passed, he was restrained by roots from head to toe; only a gap a single hand's span wide remained open over his heart.
"So you have the nerve to go this far... you've stepped into the Killing Cycle too!"
Mel was composed, yet the colossal serpent trembled in a frenzy of excitement. At the very moment it believed it would die, the trees had answered its final, desperate plea for salvation.
The boy could sense the serpent advancing toward him; no longer capable of lunging as it once had, the boss serpent could only slither forward at a grueling pace.
"You made your choice! Buddy, it's your turn!"
The instant his murmur concluded, the emerald energy overflowing from Mel's body surged into the roots. It moved with blinding speed; wherever it passed, the roots turned crimson before the energy plunged deep into the earth.
The roots crumbled away like withered leaves, revealing the young man's robust physique. Having barely halved the distance, the boss serpent froze in its tracks, turning its head to survey its surroundings.
The trees that had answered its call were decaying moment by moment, collapsing to the dirt as piles of lifeless timber. The emerald energy, now transmuted into crimson, was making its way back to its source—Mel.
"I didn't want to hurt you, but this is the fate you chose. You can't say I didn't hold back."
The tree within the refined cavern, now resting in the courtyard of his Energy Palace, swayed from side to side. Having absorbed the vital energies of every tree within a twenty-meter radius, it was in a state of euphoria.
"Now, we come to you, boss serpent! Your life ends here!"
The colossal serpent bowed its head forward as if begging for mercy; in response, Mel bridged the distance in a single stride and plunged his right hand directly into its skull.
"Sorry, but after everything that happened, mercy isn't an option!"
Mel's tranquil and reserved nature vanished when confronted with those who entered the Killing Cycle. With resolve, he had made it his unyielding principle to eradicate threats before they could fester.
"I'm taking your core; you're going to live on in another form!"
Having slain the boss serpent and withered all the surrounding trees, Mel unhurriedly extracted its core. There was nothing left to fear; having witnessed the fate that befell their kin, even the plants understood they had encountered an existence they dared not provoke.
"The boss, the smaller snake, and the plant monster—that makes three cores. Nine to go!"
Realizing the prospects for hunting in the immediate vicinity had vanished, Mel stored the boss serpent's carcass within his Spatial Ring, sat cross-legged, and began to rest.
Since it was the late hours of the night, the boy was meditating in preparation for tomorrow; he had no intention of disrupting his daily routine. When the first rays of the sun struck him two hours later, he opened his eyes; both of his arms, from the shoulders down, radiated a deep crimson luminescence.
"I couldn't refine it all, but even this little bit is enough for me. I really hope you try your luck again!"
Speaking while gazing at the trees twenty paces away, Mel was tempering his arms with a fraction of the energy his companion in the cavern had absorbed. Upon brief inspection, he was pleased with his ever-evolving limbs; day by day, they continued their draconic transformation.
"Time to go a little deeper; I have to be back by daybreak!"
He departed from the clearing he had forged. The sun's rays struggled to pierce through the branches, yet there was no stir within the vegetation.
Absolute force always dictates the rules of the game. Recognizing that the enemy was a lethal existence, the trees seemed to have temporarily suspended their pact with the wild beasts.
Thus, an entire day passed, and by nightfall, Mel possessed a total of fifteen beast cores within his ring.
"That felt almost too easy! Good thing no enemy as strong as the boss serpent showed up; they were all around the same level as the first snake I killed!"
He continued his evaluations on the return journey; he intended to analyze his time spent in the forest until he reached the ramparts forged of colossal boulders.
"Guard brother, I'm back!"
Upon seeing the man he had promised to return to, the boy called out with joy, yet he was not the only one harboring this sentiment. Despite his earnest attempts to dissuade the boy, the guard was equally overjoyed that the youth had returned unscathed.
"He probably just hung around the edge of the forest and scurried back. I'll never understand these kids and their thirst for glory!"
The guard accompanying him had changed for the day, and it was evident he believed Mel was merely chasing vain prestige.
"Don't mind him; he's been like this for as long as I can remember!"
The middle-aged man inspected Mel's vital points first with his eyes, then with his hands, yet he found not a single trace of injury. Though astonished, he strove to conceal his reaction.
"Guard brother, when does your shift end?"
Bewildered by the question, the man raised a single brow and spoke.
"Why do you ask?"
Mel adopted a sheepish expression and answered.
"I don't have a place to stay; can I stay with you for tonight?"
While his companion erupted into uproarious laughter, the guard's face fell; he had offered an inch, and the boy had taken a mile. Nevertheless, perhaps unable to let his conscience bear the guilt, he exhaled heavily through his nose and answered.
"I can host you as a guest for just one night. My watch ends in two hours; wait quietly until then!"
His request granted, the young man walked with measured steps to a corner and began to meditate; two hours would pass in the blink of an eye.
"Come on, kid; let's go!"
The guard's habitual manner of address caused his companion to erupt into fits of laughter once more. When the boy he called out to stood up, he matched the man's height almost exactly. Addressing someone of equal stature as "kid" seemed somewhat absurd.
As they walked through the streets, the guard continued to survey his surroundings with a stern gaze. Those who saw him, especially the common folk of the settlement, displayed their utmost respect.
When they navigated through the alleys and reached the dilapidated district of the settlement, the atmosphere shifted abruptly; no one cared about the guard's presence. The man's aura transformed completely as well; that dignified figure vanished, replaced by an individual with slumped shoulders.
"Hey Can, look over here!"
When a figure who appeared to be in his late fifties shouted toward the guard, Mel learned the name of the man beside him. The man had hurried to answer the call, but his return would be sluggish.
Mel heard the conversation, but because no one could possibly fathom he possessed the capability to do so, he feigned ignorance of the unfolding events.
"Honey, I'm home!"
Following the shift in the guard's demeanor and posture, his voice transformed entirely as well. As he knocked on the door by the side of the road, its stairs descending beneath the earth, he became an entirely different person.
The door was opened by a woman with greying hair and a pristine face. Glancing first at the man, then at Mel, a mark of confusion etched itself across her features.
"Let's go inside; I'll explain everything!"
The middle-aged man spoke as gently as a spring breeze, grasping the woman by her shoulders and ushering her inside, while Mel waited at the threshold.
"What are you waiting for, kid? Come inside!"