Even from a distance, many differences were apparent.
Don Freecss saw the humans on the floating plank settlement. They were far away, so he could not see them clearly.
Still, he could distinguish that the people walking on the planks were not normal humans.
Don Freecss saw the humans on the planks, and they naturally saw him too.
Immediately, the humans on the planks assumed defensive postures, their hostility undisguised.
Each stood at the edge of a plank, holding objects like flutes, warily watching Don Freecss heading towards their settlement.
Sensing their hostility, Don Freecss slowed his aerial pace and restrained his released Aura as much as possible, trying to show he meant no harm.
However, his actions did not reduce their hostility.
Helpless, and to avoid further provoking them, Don Freecss chose to descend towards the lake surface.
As he landed on the lake, the swarms of strange fish immediately rushed towards him.
They would not approach the floating planks, and since Don Freecss was still some distance away, he naturally became their target.
Standing on the lake surface, watching the fish swarm from all sides, a mere thought from Don Freecss caused the Aura flowing from his pores to form air currents swirling around his body.
The strange fish pounced on him but were repelled by the air currents.
Strangely, these seemingly formidable air currents did not tear the attacking fish apart... they merely knocked them away, without causing any injury.
It was purely defense, no counterattack.
Otherwise, these strange fish would have been killed in droves in short order.
Don Freecss was showing mercy, but the unintelligent fish did not grasp this and continued their hopeless, frenzied attacks.
The Aura covering Don Freecss and the swirling air currents were barriers these fish could never breach in their entire lifetimes.
The humans on the floating planks watched this scene with astonishment.
Don Freecss expanded the range of his air currents, creating a space before him, and observed the humans standing at the plank edges.
These humans were only about one meter tall, with dark skin, no hair, and relatively normal facial features: noses, eyes, and ears.
They wore clothes made of some kind of scale and adorned themselves with handmade accessories.
What intrigued Don Freecss was their heads. Compared to their less-than-one-meter tall bodies, their heads were somewhat large, resembling the strange fish in the lake.
While fending off the fish attacks, Don Freecss observed the humans at the plank's edge. Amidst his delight, he also considered how to approach them.
Having stayed on the Dark Continent for so long, including encountering Humanoids evolving in different directions, he had not actually met many humans.
After arriving at the stagnant lake, he had not expected to find a human settlement of this scale. It was an unanticipated gain.
Upon discovering humans, Don Freecss's only thought was to make contact with them... communication issues were not even a concern.
Just as he was pondering what to do, the humans who had been hostile towards him suddenly knelt down, prostrating themselves on all fours, their oversized heads pressing against the wooden planks.
Question marks seemed to pop up over Don Freecss's head.
Despite his extensive experience, he could not understand why these humans would suddenly act this way.
Was it because he had displayed relatively strong power?
But those humans had considerable Aura themselves... would they react like this?
Strangeness aside, it was a welcome development for Don Freecss.
So, he rose back into the air, shook off the attacking fish swarms, and slowly approached the floating planks.
His arrival did not provoke an intense reaction from these humans.
But the prostrating humans remained completely motionless.
Don Freecss looked at the kneeling humans around him, suddenly unsure of what to do. Still, it seemed a good start.
'How long will I stay this time?'
To deeply understand the situation of a human settlement, the first step was to solve the language problem.
Don Freecss was not sure if the various indigenous languages he had learned before would be applicable, but it would not matter if they were not. He was willing to spend time learning a new language, just to be able to communicate with them.
"I still have several places to visit after this, and then... the World Tree."
Don Freecss shifted his gaze to the objects beside these humans.
They looked like flutes externally, but had many differences in detail.
"Musical instruments?"
He guessed.
Then, looking at the plank settlement residents who remained as still as statues, he felt somewhat troubled.
But he was not anxious, even if he spent a lot of time here. He had a hunch that he would gain much from this place.
...
Hide-and-Seek Dimension.
The Skeleton remained a fringe figure, unable to fit in with Law's team.
The only people he had always feared were Law and Stargie.
Now, Stargie had met with misfortune and was sealed in an ice coffin.
That meant, in the current team, only Law remained whom he feared.
But that was not the case. Now, besides Law, there was another member he feared: the newly joined Coo.
Because of the Mender matter, Coo was temporarily on the same side as Law and the others.
Law had carefully considered this matter and obtained the consent of all team members before finally deciding to accept Coo's participation.
Such a decision inherently carried great risk, but with Coo's vital organs sealed by Law within the book of God Hand, this risk was minimized to its lowest point, which was the fundamental reason everyone agreed.
The happiest person in the team, undoubtedly, was Kuro.
What was rather disheartening was that Coo consistently treated Kuro like air, completely ignoring him.
In response, Kuro displayed a formidable optimistic attitude, which onlookers found exceedingly poignant.
To help Coo recover quickly, Law brought out Lichen for her to use.
Unexpectedly, Coo proposed that she also needed a Nitro Rice to take along with it, which puzzled Law.
Because Coo hosted the Mender's time chain within her, granting her eternal life, why would she need Nitro Rice?
"These two plants can be used together. Nitro Rice enhances the Lichen's effect, and the Lichen also enhances Nitro Rice's effect. Including your plant for treating injuries, using it with Lichen would yield better results."
Coo soon explained.
Believing her or not was another matter, but Law was not stingy. He straightforwardly gave Coo a Nitro Rice.
At the same time, he thought of the Surprise Box, 'If these things worked better together, could I use the Surprise Box to fuse them?'
Coo took the Nitro Rice and directly popped it into her mouth.
At that very moment, Kuro attentively offered a glass of water.
Coo still ignored Kuro directly and went to the wall where Little Fox was projecting an image, looking at the black disc displayed there.
Law glanced at Kuro, shook his head slightly, and walked to Coo's side.
"The Humanoids have been plotting to kill the Mender."