Now that I was prepared,
"Let's go!!!"
Alright, that was dramatic. Flash got scared—not from danger, but more from thinking I had gone mad.
"Ahem."
So, right now we were close to the city, which meant there were either no monsters or only very weak ones. The weak monsters were afraid of Flash.
But as I went deeper in, that would change. So how to stay alive? That's what I was preparing for just now.
The ingredient of the detoxifying potion I was tinkering with was a special one. It's only used for high-level brews. It absorbs the qualities of other things and magnifies them multiple times.
Now let me tell you something about the Mist Forest. There are stronger monsters as you go in—many A-Rank, and further in, even a few S-Rank. But they are nothing compared to what's at the center of the Mist Forest. That's why it remains unexplored. Many have gone deep, but those who almost reached the center never returned.
The mist in the Mist Forest is magical, which makes exploring difficult. But even then, it might have been completely explored if not for the main reason:
The Mist Dragon.
Now, don't ask me who was named after who, or how long he has inhabited the forest. Even in the novel, it was never answered.
But I don't plan on facing the Mist Dragon. I'm after something else. As for other monsters? This product I created will help me.
The thing at the center of the park was actually a piece of the Mist Dragon, broken off during some fight. It was mysterious, so it was left behind as art. It didn't have much magical property left… until now. After magnifying its properties, I gained one thing: the smell of the Mist Dragon.
Almost all monsters in the Mist Forest know that smell. Even if they spot me, they will think the dragon is nearby. Anxiety will eat away their instincts, and instead of attacking, they will flee—even S-Rank monsters. Only SS-Rank monsters would investigate further and discover the source was me. And even then, whether they attack or not would depend on luck.
The thing is, the Mist Dragon only tolerates S-Rank monsters at most. It isn't that he fears SS-Ranks—it's just that they disturb his rest. So, aside from the Mist Dragon himself, the strongest monsters in the forest are capped at S-Rank.
That means I am safer here than I would be even under the protection of SS-Rank adventurers.
I applied the dragon's smell to both myself and Flash. Then, after moving a little deeper into the forest so no human would spot me, I went to sleep.
When the morning sun's rays fell on my closed eyes, they stung and woke me. It was still early, but I ignored the urge to keep sleeping—the work I had ahead was difficult.
I had a big day. I quickly washed in a river, then ascended into the sky on Flash, heading deeper into the Mist Forest. The height was so great that, with my weak body, I felt uncomfortable because of the density of nature's mana. But if I flew lower, the mist would blind me. At this height, the mist was swept away by mana currents, making the view quite clear.
The mist here was magical in nature. Its creation was part of the ecosystem. From Adrian's memories, I knew at least this much: one kind of tree secreted a compound that, when struck by sunlight, split into two components. The first reacted with water, and the second with another magical compound secreted by a different tree. Then these two reacted with each other, with traces of nature mana as a catalyst. The result was magical mist and a harmless white byproduct.
The mist covered the forest, while the white compound washed away or reacted further without consequence. Since the mist was formed using nature mana, it suppressed magic. Human, beast, or monster—everyone's magic was weakened here. But since all were equally handicapped, the balance didn't change.
I didn't know where the thing I was searching for was hidden, so I had to sweep the whole forest in multiple rounds. Just as expected, no monster came near. I saw many flying creatures, but they all veered away at high speed. The problem was the forest's size.
I kept going, exhausted and weakened by the mana at this altitude. But there was no choice. Time passed, and soon night arrived. At night, searching was impossible, so I landed.
I didn't know how long the dragon's smell would last. I had never tested it, nor was it something that appeared in the novel. I had improvised using my knowledge and the dragon fragment from the park. If it wore off during the night, we were dead. At least I was. So, I reapplied it to both Flash and myself. That's why I had hoped not to use the remaining dragon fragments—using them meant fewer chances later. And time was the one thing I lacked.
I drank a detoxification potion and a healing potion to recover from the day's strain. Then I slept soundly, knowing no monster would dare approach.
When I woke the next day, I was confused. Because of the mist, the sun's rays were diffused, so I woke on my own instead of being prodded awake by the light. I ascended into the sky again, riding Flash, and realized I had woken early once more. The search continued.
Though I was high up, the mist still made it difficult to see the forest floor. Without the mist, it would have been much easier—but that was impossible. Why? Because every step of the mist's formation was unstoppable. Both tree types grew in abundance, sunlight was unavoidable, and draining the entire forest of water was impossible. As for nature mana, humans couldn't touch it at all.
And even if you somehow removed the mist, you would have to deal with the Mist Dragon himself. Dragons hate being disturbed. If the mist disappeared, the dragon would surely attack whoever caused it.
So, the days passed—searching, sleeping, and boredom. Two more days went by without anything eventful happening.
Now, since I'm harming myself this much and spending—or should I say, investing—time, you must be dying to know what I'm searching for.
For that, let me tell you some ancient history, lost even to the most knowledgeable scholars. I know it only because of the novel.
A very, very, very long time ago—more than a billion years back—no one knew how to use magic. Monsters were powerful only because of traces of mana and their inherited strong bodies. Humans existed in small numbers, in places with poor environments where only weak monsters lived. They cleared land for settlements by ganging up on those weak monsters, but with heavy casualties.
Over time, some humans learned to bend nature mana, which was all around them, to their will. Their efficiency was terrible—their power barely stronger than guns from my previous world. But even that gave them an edge, allowing their population to grow and expand.
This success and growing need drove them to improve. After about a million years of development, humans finally learned to wield nature mana with flexibility.
Of course, monsters adapted and grew stronger too, but at least humans could now fight back.
Nature mana, however, is immensely powerful. Think of it like this: if normal mana is the acid in a lemon, then nature mana is hydrochloric acid. Or, if your mana is the faint current in your brain, nature mana is the current flowing through your entire house.
Spells created with nature mana were devastating.
But here come the drawbacks: humans can't handle such great mana… no one can—not even a dragon. The only way they could use it was by channeling mana along their outer skin to cast spells; otherwise, they would die.
For example, we use our mana inside our bodies to create spells. If we tried channeling it along the outside of the body, the difference would be like comparing a grenade to a nuclear bomb.
The spells made with nature mana in those times were far more powerful than the one we have today.
But such power always comes with consequences.
First, before the age of 20, no one was allowed to learn magic. Until then, they trained their bodies and took medicines to resist magical degradation.
Second, after age 40, they could no longer use magic. Even a few more years of exposure would drive them mad. Some went insane earlier, but they were exceptions.
Of course, some people refused to give up magic—just as some athletes today fall into despair when an injury ends their career . They can do anything to continue the use of magic. But fate is cruel and they have to give up.
Now, there were rare exceptions—people allowed to use magic even after 40. But before I tell you about them, let me explain the current power system.