2 months earlier
After Gyro walked out of the shrine, he headed towards any human settlements he would find on his journey.
Gyro walked through the endless land covered in black grass. It was the longest journey he had taken since being reborn, and he had been walking for weeks without stopping. The land stretched on in every direction, empty and quiet. The only company he had was the old man who lived inside his mind, speaking sometimes, but mostly staying silent as Gyro kept moving forward.
After days of walking, the black grass slowly gave way to a dense forest. The trees were taller than anything Gyro had seen, their trunks dark and twisted, and their leaves seemed to block out the sun.
This was the forest of Terra.
The magical forest which Gyro had now encountered.
The ecotone between the black grass and the forest of Terra was seemingly not noticeable. The two biomes just merged with one another.
Gyro stepped deeper into the forest, and the darkness slowly faded. Strange blue light glowed from the trees and plants, casting soft shadows on the ground.
The forest felt alive in a different way now, like it was breathing around him. Weird trees twisted toward the sky, their branches shimmering, and plants with glowing leaves and strange shapes lined the path.
Even though the forest was lively, there were no other Transcender creatures.
Weird.
Just as he was starting to wonder if he was alone, a small movement caught his eye. A tiny bunny was hopping ahead of him, its fur pale in the blue light.
It's a cute bunny but most importantly, it's a delicious dinner. First taste of meat since I have come to the 1st realm.
Gyro froze, staring at its back as it moved. He slowly raised a hand, ready to approach the bunny, curious but cautious. But the bunny turned around; it had blood-red eyes.
Even the two incisors on its front teeth were sharpened as though they were the teeth of a vampire.
It looked here and there, checking its surroundings. It did not see anything.
The teeth had blood, and as Gyro saw the bunny from his vision, he finally saw what was behind the bunny this entire time. There was a dragon carcass.
A dragon carcass?
Gyro's eyes widened as he took in the full sight of the dragon carcass. Even in death, it radiated a terrible presence. Its scales were like shattered obsidian, darkened with soot and streaked with deep crimson where the blood had dried.
Its wings, torn and ragged, still stretched wide, casting sinister shadows across the glowing forest floor. The dragon's eyes, now lifeless.
There were bite marks all over the dragon.
These were the bite marks of the bunny.
This is not just a normal bunny. It's a killer bunny. I have to run.
This bunny was very dangerous. Gyro knew he could not fight this bunny, so he had to escape. Gyro knew if he and that bunny were to fight, he would certainly die.
He turned his back to the bunny with cold precision, every muscle taut, ready to flee without giving away a hint of panic.
Gyro made no sporadic movements but rather calm and precise ones; he slowly turned around.
HUHHHHHHH?
As Gyro turned around carefully, he saw the bunny.
The killer bunny was there?
Gyro quickly turned back; he saw nothing but the dragon carcass. This bunny knew Gyro's position and with its crazy fast speed faced Gyro in an instant. It was almost like it teleported.
Gyro turned towards the dragon's carcass and ran. He shouted with all that he could. This was not a desperate shout but rather something very clever. Gyro was trying to lure other Transcender creatures and escape from the chaos. Gyro ran while he shouted with all that he could.
ZCK! ZCK! ZCK!
It was like electricity noises.
The bunny again appeared in front of Gyro. It moved its head left and to the right as though it was analyzing Gyro as its next prey.
Fuck! Gif help me.
"Grab several stones," said Gif.
What the fuck do stones have to do with it, bitch? Help me escape!
"Do as I say," said Gif.
If the bunny wanted, it could shred Gyro in an instant, but it just wriggled its head as if it was analyzing Gyro. When a bunny has developed a taste for delicious dragon meat, it would obviously consider if it wanted to kill and eat, or maybe it was testing Gyro.
Gyro listened to Gif and did as Gif instructed. Gyro grabbed several stones in an instant.
He clutched the stones tightly as if he was holding onto them for dear life, literally.
"Now throw these stones everywhere," said Gif.
Gyro would have complained because why, in a situation of life and death, are these rocks going to do anything, but it was better than dying.
Gyro threw rocks like Gif said and he threw them everywhere.
As the rocks were thrown, time seemed to slow down.
Gyro truly felt his life ending.
The bunny produced electrical noises; it was probably to move at lightning speed and shred Gyro alive. The bunny moved faster than lightning and just as it was about to nibble Gyro's skin, something unexpected happened.
Gyro teleported?
Instead of Gyro, in Gyro's place, there was a rock.
Gyro switched positions with a rock.
Gyro finally learned one of his Transcender powers.
He did not have to practice and learn it because, as Gif had already told him once, he had already learned it and just needed to adapt to it.
Gyro was several meters away from the bunny, at the point where Gyro had thrown one of the rocks.
Gyro's eyes were shining with a white color.
Gyro had a way to fight. Gyro again quickly grabbed a few rocks from the forest bed and instantly threw the rocks around while the bunny was puzzled.
The bunny quickly adapted and again, using its lightning powers and speed, blitzed its way towards Gyro, but Gyro teleported.
Gyro's main objective was now to escape while the bunny's main objective was to eat Gyro.
Even if the bunny did not have the intelligence to actually make rational decisions, the animal instincts of the 1st realm were enough to differentiate a good meal. The bunny knew the Transcender characteristics from Gyro were tasty enough to fulfill its daily metabolism. Considering how fast and how spontaneously it moves, it sure needs a lot of food.
Gyro instantly threw rocks and constantly teleported while the bunny kept chasing Gyro.
Gyro by now had traversed and teleported hundreds of times, but this bunny did not let him leave.
Gyro teleported by throwing rocks, but then suddenly, the bunny did not give chase in an instant.
Just in case, Gyro threw rocks. In his periphery, he saw the bunny chasing him, but something was different.
The small white bunny with red eyes stopped moving, its body trembling as a strange power flowed through it. Its fur changed from white to bright red, and its body grew bigger and stronger. A sharp horn appeared on its forehead, and its eyes glowed darker and fiercer. The cute little bunny was gone, and a new demonic bunny arose.
It used its transcendence ability. I have to focus.
Gyro threw rocks even faster. The rocks he threw were spread over all directions so he could choose the optimal path to escape the bunny; even a split-second wrong decision could mean the end of Gyro.
Gyro teleported like crazy and the rocks he threw gained insane speed and traveled far distances.
The bunny finally made its move after transforming into something demonic.
Gyro threw the rocks, but just as he threw them, the red demonic bunny almost snatched his fingers off. Luckily, Gyro teleported just a few milliseconds earlier.
Again, Gyro threw a stone and it was like before. If not for Gyro's fast reflexes, he would have died.
Again. It was off by nanoseconds.
I'm going to die.
Gyro teleported again.
Gyro again withdrew his palms and tried to throw rocks, but-
This time he had run out of rocks.
The bunny moved slowly, almost as if time had stretched around it. Red lightning danced across its fur, crackling and twisting with every step. Its newly grown horns glowed like molten metal, casting a faint red light around it. Its eyes, sharp and unblinking, burned with a deadly certainty, fixated on Gyro.
It closed in in an instant; Gyro had his eyes closed.
It bit on Gyro's skin.
"Fuckkkkkk...." screamed Gyro.
Huh? Why does it feel so tickling? What is this bunny doing?
As Gyro opened his eyes, he saw that the bunny was biting onto his fingers, but they were unaffected. The bunny pressed with all its might, but the fingers were like rough steel.
What is happening?
"HAHAHAHHAHAHAH" Gif laughed. It was as though Gif had never laughed in his entire eons of his lifetime. He did not laugh at anything, but rather he was enjoying it.
"You fool! Even though you transcended, you still don't understand your own body. Smartest man? My ass." Gif mocked Gyro.
Old bastard, explain why this bunny can't bite into me?
"You are the inheritor of the body I personally made. What is some random bunny from the 1st realm going to do? A true Hercules body it is indeed." spoke Gif.
Old bastard, you should have told me.
Gyro quickly caught the bunny. Only now did he realize how strong he had gotten. With a simple choke, the bunny died.
Woah!
"Oh, you've also gotten one of your attributes."
This old bastard really likes to ignore me.
What is an attribute, old bastard?
"Simply put, it's your Transcender abilities. Quickly check your soul. I am sure you have learned it when you used your attribute."
Gyro checked his soul. There he saw a lake. Even though no water was visible, Gyro knew that this was a lake because he saw water at the bottom.
"I'm guessing your water in the lake of your soul is 2/100 parts of the entire lake."
Yes. I can feel the water level as though it is instinct.
"In the Transcender world, before you achieve Nirvana, you must max your Transcendence Lake in your soul. It must be filled 100/100 parts. Right now, you have 2/100 parts, so you are what would be called a 2nd-grade Imager."
Imager? What is an Imager? Old bastard, tell me all this bullshit right now. Don't keep dropping important information out of nowhere.
"An Imager is simply a person who has not achieved Nirvana. Someone who has achieved Nirvana is called a sage for that given realm. If you max your Transcendence Sea for this realm, then gain nirvana from somewhere, and consume The Nether Potion, only then can you transcend to another higher realm.
To increase your Transcendence Sea's level, you can use either Crystal coins or increase it by gaining Transcender characteristics by killing other Transcender creatures. And the most efficient way is to utilize and apply your attributes; this will increase your Transcendence Lake."
I'm guessing I will grow stronger the more my Transcendence Lake grows. What are these crystal coins?
"Yes, you will indeed grow stronger, along with your attributes. Crystal coins are basically metals which have been infused with Transcendence materials. These can be used to form the water of your Transcendence Lake."
If I become a 100-grade imager, then how would I know if I experience Nirvana and get the nether potion?
"See I'll tell you an example-
There was a guy in the first realm, named Ken. There was also a king who ruled over a small region of the 1st realm. This king killed Kenny's entire family, and so for revenge, Kenny killed the king. After killing the king, as Kenny was a 100-grade imager, he gained nirvana and became a Sage.
He found the nether potion at the toilet a month later, after he became a Sage.
People's experiences do change. My experience is different from others. This does not mean you need revenge to obtain nirvana. Some gain Nirvana after they experience love, or some gain nirvana after meditating. It differs, but all share the same experience, we gain something we lost or never had."
***
"Per ardua Herculi gloria."