Disappearance

Buzz—

At that moment, Xia Nan seemed to have returned to the night before he had Transcended.

Under the force of that immense blow, his toes left the ground, and his body was flung high like a doll in a child's hand;

The searing pain from his back vanished from his awareness because it had surpassed the limits of what the human body could endure, replaced by gradually blurring consciousness;

Stars danced before his eyes. It felt as though his organs had all been rearranged. The lush, dense thicket before him no longer seemed to be a forest, but that large truck blaring its horn—and the truck driver reeking of alcohol, his face flushed red.

"Puh!"

His lips parted, and the glaring blood he spat from his mouth, along with the smell of blood filling his nostrils, instantly pulled him back to reality.

His body, covered in grass clippings and shredded leaves, spun through the air before crashing and rolling across the ground like a torn sack.

After a momentary pause, excruciating pain surged over Xia Nan's body and mind like a tide.

He could not judge the exact extent of his injuries, but without question, the unbearable blend of dizziness, stabbing pain, burning swelling, and numb soreness coursing through his entire body had completely robbed him of the ability to fight.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

The rapidly worsening situation made Xia Nan curse instinctively in his heart.

He remembered the Healing Potion in the small pouch at his waist, but the arm sprawled across the grass simply would not obey him.

The grey-white petrification at his fingertips spread at a visible rate as his condition deteriorated.

Within a few breaths, it had already reached the first knuckle.

Thud—

Heavy footsteps came from the forest beyond his sight.

The shadow cast by the Petrification Lizard's enormous body gradually enveloped Xia Nan on the ground.

"Am I going to die?"

In that instant, after the panic and resentment, his heart was strangely calm.

What flashed before his eyes was the rusty nail embedded in the Gnome Elki's skull, Ga Gu's ankle held upside down by the Bear Goblin, and the broken Wooden Bow in Maji's arms.

Though he had never seriously considered how his life as a "Transcender" might end, after witnessing the fate of everyone in the Stinky Fish Rotten Shrimp party, it seemed that somewhere deep down, he had long prepared himself to face it all.

Screech!

The mournful shriek of air being torn apart suddenly rang out from the crowns of nearby trees.

The sharp arrowhead gleamed coldly as the mist was violently stirred.

A Half-Elf's signature white-feathered arrow spun at high speed, trembling as it flew, shooting straight toward the Petrification Lizard so fast that the eye could catch only an afterimage.

Clang!

Its aim was off.

Whether deliberately or not, the Wooden Arrow did not fly toward the lizard's eye. Instead, it struck the thick grey-green scales along its side, scales as solid as rock.

Sparks flew. The rough, sturdy scales, whose defensive power rivaled steel, blocked the arrowhead from reaching flesh without suspense.

It left behind only a faint white scratch.

Yet because of that, the Petrification Lizard's attention was temporarily drawn away from Xia Nan.

Its neck, layered with muscle and stony armor, slowly turned. The Petrification Lizard looked toward where the Wooden Arrow had come from, a faint glimmer flickering in its dark green eyes as Petrifying Gaze was cast invisibly.

At that very moment, from a blind spot beyond the Petrification Lizard's line of sight, the shadows twisted, and a palm-sized brown Clay Pot was suddenly thrown out.

Bang!

It struck the Petrification Lizard squarely on the tip of its nose.

Thick black oil and murky powder erupted into a blazing explosion at the touch of a single spark, like a small bomb going off.

Roar—

Flames engulfed the Petrification Lizard's head in an instant.

Its pained howl rang through the woods.

Naturally, Xia Nan would not waste his teammates' dangerous attempt to rescue him.

Even though the Petrification Lizard's attack had left him seriously injured.

The sudden calm he had found when facing death just moments ago allowed him to regain his ability to think and react.

Almost the instant after the sound of the Half-Elf's arrow cutting through the air reached his ears,

Xia Nan clenched his teeth with immense force, enduring the boundless pain wracking his body as he forcibly controlled his slightly twisted arm.

Trembling, he pulled out the vial of Healing Potion from his waist pouch, its fluorescent glow swaying as it shook.

He bit off the wooden stopper.

Then poured it in.

He drank half the vial in one gulp.

The liquid was cool, faintly sweet, and fragrant.

After flowing down his esophagus and into his stomach, it became streams of warmth that drove his blood throughout his body.

It was as if he had stepped into a hot spring out of nowhere. Within only a few breaths, the pain throughout his body eased.

He regained control of his body.

A blue-grey figure wreathed in fire flashed through the corner of his eye.

Xia Nan had no time to wait for the Healing Potion to take fuller effect.

The moment he regained the ability to move, he braced himself with both hands and forced himself up from the ground.

Then, without looking back, he continued running deeper into the forest.

The Wooden Arrow, the firebomb, and the two Half-Elves who vanished again after launching their attack made Xia Nan instinctively realize that this was not a counterattack sounded by Hai An and Wood.

It was merely a delaying tactic meant to save him from the Petrification Lizard's claws.

He had to seize the chance and widen the distance as much as possible.

And that was indeed the case.

The sudden flames and the intense burning pain at its sensitive nose made the Petrification Lizard instinctively swing its head about like a raging bull.

Although the scales on its face were relatively weaker, they were still tough and solid, and they played a considerable role.

Ten seconds? Or twenty?

The flames that had been burning fiercely moments ago were extinguished amid the snapping and crushing of trees and grass around the forest.

Hot air blasted from its broad nostrils.

The two scents in the treetops had long vanished. In its Perception, only the figure far ahead remained—stumbling, yet still maintaining a certain speed as it rapidly fled.

As if it had been toyed with by weak prey, the vicious fury unique to a beast ignited in the heart of this savage Monster.

"Roar—"

It suddenly let out a howl toward the sky.

Then, like a tank, it once again charged in the direction Xia Nan had fled with reckless, unstoppable force.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Heavy footsteps like war drums echoed through the forest behind him once more.

Xia Nan felt the ground trembling and heard the violent crash of trees falling behind him.

He wanted to quicken his pace, but his body had already reached its limit.

His steps slowed. The soft grass beneath his feet felt like a swamp filled with mud and water, making it increasingly difficult to lift his legs.

Half a bottle of Healing Potion had allowed him to temporarily recover from his serious injuries and regain some mobility.

But recovering completely in such a short time was obviously not something a small vial of potion could accomplish.

After all, its name did not come with prefixes such as "Greater" or "Superior."

So he could only keep running forward as best he could.

The mist in the air grew thicker, visibility rapidly declined, and the trees within his sight gradually became denser.

He had clearly left the "outer reaches" of the Thin Mist Forest.

Beyond that, Xia Nan noticed something else.

The direction he had chosen in the crisis seemed to be where the otherworldly objects he had hesitated over before deciding to return had originated.

The strange buildings intertwined with the branches and trunks of roadside shrubs appeared more and more frequently.

There was not only the once-towering wooden tavern, but also a dilapidated temple with half a bronze bell hanging from it, and a magnificent palace with more than half of it collapsed...

It was as though he were gradually approaching the very center of it all.

His intense concentration seemed to make time pass faster as well.

He had no idea how long had passed.

Only when the streams of warmth from the Healing Potion gradually dissipated and could no longer be felt did Xia Nan slowly reduce his pace, his stamina already exhausted.

"Ha... ha... ha..."

He panted heavily and rapidly. As air flooded his lungs, his awareness and senses returned to his mind.

"Did... did I get away?"

He wondered in surprise.

While running just moments ago, he had still been able to clearly hear the Petrification Lizard pursuing him with even greater speed than before, fueled by rage.

Based on the speed he had sensed then, there had even been a moment when he felt everything he had done was futile.

But...

"When?"

When had the Petrification Lizard's footsteps suddenly disappeared?

It was definitely not because he had escaped its Perception, causing it to unconsciously slow down while searching for him.

Rather, the footsteps had vanished in an instant, as though it had slammed on the brakes.

Still gasping for breath,

Xia Nan wore the dazed expression of someone after intense exertion as he looked around.

The mist in the air had grown much thicker, even weakening the sunlight overhead.

Then he suddenly noticed something wrong.

"Where are those buildings?"

The ruins and broken walls that had been everywhere moments ago now seemed to have vanished without a trace. Not even a single brick or tile could be seen.

Dim. Silent.

Xia Nan suddenly had an illusion.

At this moment, it was as if he stood at the center of the enormous cyclone of a hurricane ravaging the earth like a natural disaster—the calm yet most dangerous—

Eye of the Storm.

He turned around instinctively and lightly took a step forward.

Buzz—

Without any warning, utterly abrupt,

the space around Xia Nan suddenly twisted and blurred for an instant.

The next second, his body disappeared into the mist.

"Xia Nan? Xia Nan?"

A low call suddenly came from the dark, silent depths of the forest.

Hai An crouched low as he carefully moved between the trees.

At his side was Wood, the Guard who remained inseparable from him like a shadow.

Unlike when they had first met, the two now looked rather disheveled.

Their bodies were covered in grass seeds and leaf fragments, and even the hair on their foreheads had been plastered together by sweat.

Silver-grey eyes gave off a faint glow in the darkness as Hai An carefully searched for his companion.

Darkvision inherited from his Elven bloodline allowed him to see everything within sixty feet around him as clearly as if it were daytime, even in the dim environment.

He found nothing.

Wood remained silent, but he was also doing his utmost.

While maintaining his vigilance, he used his extensive experience to carefully inspect every detail of the surrounding forest floor.

One possessed Combat Skills related to a Ranger, with Elven blood that could be called Nature's Child flowing through his veins;

The other was a Wanderer skilled in concealment, one who moved through the shadows.

Once they had left the Petrification Lizard's sight, they had easily escaped its Perception.

That was precisely why they had been able to take advantage of the Petrification Lizard's distraction, launch an ambush from the side, and rescue Xia Nan from its claws.

Afterward, they had taken a wide detour and followed the commotion all the way here.

"Young Master, here!"

Wood seemed to have found something. He crouched down and alerted the Half-Elf beside him.

On the soft, damp grass before him was a clear string of footprints.

It seemed their owner had been chased by something from behind and was running out of strength. The footprints were short and dense, with several crushed plant stems left beside them.

But strangely, the owner of those tracks seemed to have suddenly vanished, causing the previously continuous footprints to end abruptly on a patch of ground.

The Half-Elf Hai An suddenly raised his head, his gaze searching through the flourishing treetops.

"Young Master, this is already the depths of the Thin Mist Forest. We..."

Wood looked hesitant as he spoke from the side.

Hearing that, Hai An's expression remained unchanged.

He glanced at the sky above, which had faintly begun to darken, then lowered his gaze to the trail that ended so suddenly.

He spoke slowly but firmly.

"We'll search for another two hours. If we still find nothing... we'll temporarily retreat to the outer reaches first."

"Alright."

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

Boom!

Rough blue-gray scales, hard as rock, slammed into the tree trunk.

The thick brown bark, sturdy enough to withstand blades and axes, was instantly pierced through. The tangled wood fibers tore apart, exposing the tender white heartwood within.

The Petrification Lizard, Basilisk, vented the rage built up in its heart upon this innocent Oak Tree.

Clods of dirt flew everywhere.

Under the Monster's immense strength, seemingly capable of crushing steel, its massive roots—buried deep in the soil—were suddenly ripped from the ground along with half the broken trunk.

It roared wildly, ghostly green light flickering incessantly in its eyes.

The Scale Armor over its Nostrils and the brown crystalline Bone Spurs around them bore faint scorch marks from burning.

The Petrification Lizard could sense the human presence gradually fading within the distant forest ahead.

It also knew full well that such a weak creature was no match for it.

Even if he had somehow survived the assault of Petrifying Gaze, all it would take was a light swipe of its claw or a casual bite.

Those cunning prey would become its dinner.

Yet despite that, the Petrification Lizard had no intention whatsoever of continuing the hunt.

It merely lingered outside the increasingly dense buildings, futilely and helplessly destroying the surrounding trees and shrubs.

It was as though an invisible boundary stood between it and those ruined buildings.

One it did not dare cross by even a single step.

Only after it had toppled dozens of towering trees and turned countless startled creatures in the forest into cold stone statues—

Did the Petrification Lizard cast one more distant glance, almost humanly hesitant and wary, toward the direction Xia Nan had vanished.

Then it turned around.

Dragging its bloated body behind it, it disappeared into the mist and the depths of the forest.