Chapter 239

I paused for a moment to expand my senses, trying to measure the thickness of the necrotic energy surrounding me, intending to pick a direction opposite of it. I didn’t like venturing into the unknown compared to taking a known quality, but I was willing to make an exception when the known factor was the undead.

Whatever the unknown party, it couldn’t be worse than the undead.

Or, I hoped so.

With a sigh, I started moving, deciding to trust my luck once more. After all, it was only a sign of my luck that I managed to survive after that deadly ambush — though it was easy to argue it was my bad luck that I ended up outside of borders. for new novels

I was tense as I walked forward, the limited range of detection making it a struggle to detect what was going on around me. The sudden loss of my Perception didn’t only impact my crafting abilities, but also reduced the number of details that I could detect in my surroundings, like I had fallen into a dark pit while looking at the sun.

The difference was remarkable, and not in a good way.

“Maybe I should be glad for the undead,” I muttered mockingly. After all, it was thanks to their efforts that there was foliage to block my view, giving me a relative sense of security in this unfamiliar environment.

I moved perpendicular to the dimensional border, still remembering the glimpse I had gotten from outside, with most borders already covered by necrotic energy. I wasn’t completely sure, but it was safer to assume that whatever non-undead beings would have been found deeper into the landscape.

Fifteen minutes of walking later, I was yet to walk out of the dead remains of the forest I found myself in. Even when I climbed the remains of a particularly tall tree, I failed to see anything but the dead remains of a forest, with no hint of life.

But, the lack of life once again worked to my benefit, allowing me to notice a small stream that would have otherwise been concealed by the hulking trees. I climbed down and dashed forward, anxious to quench my thirst. Technically, I could stay alive for a long time even without water, relying solely on the proto-HP I could generate from mana for weeks, but it would have been an uncomfortable sensation.

However, the closer I got to the stream, the stronger my frown got. The stream was radiating necrotic energy, thick enough to drown me even without touching.

Enough to force me to cast a shield. Luckily, while the radiating energy was strong, it was undirected, easily pushed away by a bubble of Arcana mana. I walked forward, undisturbed, and soon, I was at the riverbank, examining the stream.

It was cloudy and unappetizing, and not just because it was filled with necrotic energy. With every single living it touched dead, there was nothing to hold back the earth, allowing the water to pull enough particles to be technically defined as mud.

Yet, as I examined the water, I could easily feel that the thickness of necrotic energy was not accidental, or just a natural occurrence. The mana inside was packed too thick to be accidental. “The question, is it cast actively, or a ward is responsible,” I murmured.

I continued moving, my senses sharp, hoping to catch any kind of wildlife, failing continuously for several hours even as I walked forward. As I moved, the sun had set, leaving its place to darkness...

Which didn’t exactly help me suppress the sense of discomfort I was feeling. I continued walking, using the spear as a walking stick — more of a distraction than a habit, though lessening the energy every step took was not a bad idea as well.

Not when I had no idea when I would have my next meal.

I wasn’t exactly idle as I walked. I used my power constantly to tap into Aether, getting more and more mana to purify and store in the wards, until I had more than ten thousand mana in various wards. I could technically store more, but it was the most I trusted myself to control in combat...

I could just eject the extra, but a huge flare shouting my presence was hardly something I needed intensely.

The first sign that I was finally going to meet a difference was the changing thickness of necrotic energy, floating aggressively, searching aggressively for living beings, only to fail — with the sole exception of myself, but I had the ability to block it successfully.

It took another hour for those particles to float toward anywhere but me.

The target, a large tree, which was, for all intents and purposes, dead, yet the rush of the particles continued.

I walked to touch it, using my mana to dispel the thick necrotic energy that filled its trunk, to see if there was any sign of life, but the best I could find was remnants of flickers, showing it had been a while since its death.

Though, the tenacity of the energy showed that the size of the tree was not its only exceptional feature — which was towering over every other tree by a considerable margin, even as a naked trunk. The fact that even a flicker of energy managed to last despite the intense flow showed an intense magical presence when it was alive.

I wished I could see it then. No doubt it would have created a fascinating view.

I continued walking, but not too long after, I noticed the first sign of wildlife, charging forward.

Though, I quickly amended my thoughts as I looked at the rotting corpse of a wolf. It was certainly wild, but the life part was rather doubtful.

“Again, zombies,” I thought as I raised my spear, preparing for combat.

[Level: 36 Experience: 631374 / 666000]