Ethan sat on the blue mystic grass, harvesting and letting it heal his battered body. Each time he touched the glowing blades, they dissolved into streaks of light and seeped into his wounds, knitting flesh and soothing pain.
"Well, I guess Lady Luck won't allow the god of death to claim me yet," he smirked.
After five hours, he was stunned to find his injuries completely gone. "Aaahhh…" he exhaled in relief, standing and stretching his limbs.
He checked his storage ring—only the golden axe from his inauguration into the Vanguard, and a few sets of clothes remained. No food. No potions.
"I just pray there are beasts to hunt," he muttered, starting across the endless expanse of mystic grass. A pity he couldn't harvest the glowing blades themselves—they would've been worth a fortune for their healing properties.
As he traveled, he noticed tiny glowing insects dotting the air. Curious, he tried to catch one, but each darted away. Judging by their aura, they were barely Earthly level beasts. Strange.
After hours of careful observation, Ethan finally realized—they weren't just fast. They were space-jumping. Each flicker of light wasn't speed alone, but teleportation.
He gave up the chase and continued wandering. Two days passed. Yet somehow, he always ended back where he started, as though the land itself looped endlessly.
"God, if this continues I might actually starve to death. Hunger doesn't care if I survived a hellish dungeon," he muttered, collapsing onto the grass.
He tried to reason it out. From above, the planet had been small and black—barely the size of a floating rock. But now that he walked it, it stretched endlessly, plain as a sheet of paper with no horizon. He'd heard of such worlds in the Stellar Nexus( human constellation)—dimensional planets—but they were rare.
"Does this mean… this planet is another dimension?" he wondered aloud. Here, space bent strangely, and even time felt meaningless.
A week passed. Ethan had no food, but he sustained himself with breathing techniques, reducing his energy consumption. An Ascended could survive two weeks without food, Apex for a month, and only Transcendents for years. He wasn't there yet.
Finally—hope.
Ahead stretched a forest. Bamboo-like trees, tall and gleaming, their trunks glowing blue and shimmering with dots of light.
Cautiously, Ethan reached out to touch one—
ZIIIING!
A streak of thunder ripped through the air, blasting him backward. His Black Panther armor shattered, breaking apart into scraps.
"AAAGHHH!" he shrieked, retreating with searing burns across his skin. If he hadn't dodged at the last second, he would've been reduced to ash.
Shaken but alive, he avoided the trees and pushed deeper. After hours of weaving through the glowing forest, he stumbled upon a vast lake at its heart. The water shimmered like glass, surrounded by smooth blue stones that pulsed faintly.
Then he saw it.
A massive serpent drifted lazily across the water's surface. Its scales were luminous blue, eyes glowing like twin galaxies. Twin dragon-like rainbow horns curled from its head, radiating majesty. Its body was five times larger than any serpent he had ever faced.
Ethan ducked behind a rock, eyes wide.
"A sacred soul beast…" he whispered. His lips curled into a grin. "Perfect. Guess I'll be eating sweet snake soup today."
But even as he steadied his breath, he knew better than to underestimate it. A single misstep could draw every beast in the forest.
So he waited, silent as a shadow, planning his strike.