Who Else But Me?

[Opening] This attribute let Xu Zhi see a few possibilities. She had a feeling that if this attribute could produce someone like an "Omniscient One," then if she also possessed [Opening]'s attribute, would her learning efficiency rise to an entirely new level?

Xu Zhi thought vaguely about it. After all, she had never actually met a transcendent with the [Opening] attribute. But compared to being curious about that, she was more troubled by how to increase her affinity with the [Forge] attribute.

Eating cores directly was out of the question. Narrator had warned her long ago not to do that, so what other methods were there?

Xu Zhi racked her brains but failed to find any solution within her meager life experience. In the end, she decided to use her own method—when she had the time, she would catch some Mutated Animals for experiments!

Practice was the only way to discover the truth!

Since most of today's crystal cores had been obtained through robbery, their attributes were a complete mess. But after looking through them, Xu Zhi found that the most numerous were [Blade], [Winter], and [Moth].

After watching her three Familiars fall asleep after swallowing their cores, Xu Zhi looked at the Game Console and asked, "When will I be able to explore Midnight?"

Narrator slowly appeared at her words.

[The time has not come. Please work hard to improve your strength.]

Xu Zhi sighed. "All right."

The next day, the three Familiars formed a team and headed into the mountains.

Cloud City covered a vast area. Even among the Federation's many cities, it ranked in the top five in terms of territory. Located in the south and surrounded by vast undeveloped forests, it had now become a warm homeland for Mutated Animals.

Though Cloud City's deep mountains were not as exaggerated as the Hundred Thousand Mountains, they were indeed broad and seemingly endless. The three Familiars did not rashly venture too deeply in. Instead, they explored those vast, mysterious peaks step by step.

Since this was her three little ones' first team operation, and they were heading somewhere fairly dangerous, Xu Zhi rarely stopped burying herself in books and instead watched the game screen with concern.

Their movement speed was too fast, and the screen was too small and pixelated, so she could only make out things in broad strokes. Still, Xu Zhi did not mind.

On the screen, the three Familiars' cooperation was utterly unstoppable along the outskirts of the mountains.

That was until they ventured deeper into the forest and encountered a bear so enormous that it exceeded ordinary understanding!

Xu Zhi was a little stunned as she looked at the bear, which she estimated would stand six or seven meters tall when it reared up. "There... are bears here too?"

She had heard that there were many wild animals in Cloud City's deep mountains, but she had never expected bears to be among them?!

And it was way too huge!

"I've heard bears are incredibly strong, and their claws and teeth are very sharp. Be careful, you three." Xu Zhi stared at the screen, slightly worried.

This bear had clearly mutated long ago and was extremely powerful. When it saw Little One, whose size was also obviously abnormal, its first reaction was not to retreat. Instead, it let out a roar, seeming eager to make a move!

"...Are bears such combative creatures?"

The bears she had read about in books were usually fairly mild-tempered, only becoming violent when faced with danger or provocation. It seemed mutation changed not only the body, but even their temperament.

That was normal enough. Besides, Xu Zhi had not read those books to understand animals' personalities. She had read them mostly so she could identify any Mutated Animal she encountered at first sight.

While she was thinking, the Mutated Animals on the screen had already begun fighting.

The battle between two gigantic Mutated Animals caused quite a commotion, and both sides possessed immense strength. Little One had the agility to freely alter its size, while the bear refused to be outdone and let out another furious roar. This roar was different from the last one. After it sounded, Little One actually froze for an instant.

"A transcendent ability."

Xu Zhi immediately made her judgment.

"Something like a battle cry? That's pretty interesting."

She was not too worried. After all, Little One was not fighting alone.

Sure enough, just as Little One reached a stalemate, Doggie, which had long been lurking nearby, lunged from the side. Its sharp fangs sank straight into the bear's right leg. The Gyrfalcon circling high overhead seized the opportunity to dive decisively at tremendous speed. The impact of its velocity and its lightning-fast approach left the bear no time to react. The Gyrfalcon slammed directly into its face. A sharp pain struck, and one of its eyes was already blind.

The Doggie that had bitten the bear was sent flying by a single swat, crashing into a tree. Xu Zhi frowned as she watched. Sure enough, the bear's strength was simply too great. But in the next second, Doggie was lively again, crouching nearby and watching its prey. That blow had apparently not caused it much damage, and Xu Zhi's frown eased slightly.

Even with the three Familiars working together, it took nearly half an hour to finally kill the bear.

"...What tenacious vitality."

All three of her Familiars except Xiao Zhen had been injured. But after killing the bear, Xiao Zhen and Doggie's experience bars both filled completely, advancing them to level 15. Once Little One dug the core from the bear's corpse and placed it into storage, Xu Zhi ordered the three Familiars to temporarily retreat outside the forest. Little One guarded the other two Familiars while they leveled up, while Xu Zhi opened the storage and found the bear's core.

She had noticed something strange when Little One found it. It seemed different from all the previous ones.

And after opening the storage, she confirmed that it was.

The core was pale yellow, meaning it was a [Blade] Attribute Core. Yet it was a full size larger than the others, and its color was richer—or rather, more "brilliant." Xu Zhi took it out and examined it carefully in her palm. Then she discovered a faint golden thread inside it.

[Congratulations.]

Narrator suddenly popped up.

[You have discovered a higher-level Attribute Core.]

[There are differences between cores as well. Different creature levels produce different cores. Higher-level cores possess purer energy and Source. Eat it, and you will gain more.]

"Source? What's that?"

[You may understand it as: the essence of transcendent abilities, or perhaps, the sun.]

[The ultimate goal of all transcendent creatures is to reach the far shore of the Great Dream, the sun's abode. That is where all things return to one, and the Source of the world exists there.]

"That's way too cryptic. I don't understand."

[...]

"Didn't the lower-level cores I got before have Source?" Xu Zhi asked sharply.

She had not seen anything about Source in Narrator's previous descriptions.

[Low-level transcendent creatures have yet to establish a connection with the Source. They have merely beheld the sun's radiance. They have not even truly entered the race, so the cores within them naturally do not contain the power of Source.]

[Do you remember the first warning?]

[This is a conflict without taboos.]

Narrator seemed to be implying something. Xu Zhi asked directly, "Are there only a few tracks? Not many people can make it to the finals?"

[Of course!]

[This is an elimination competition where the weak are prey to the strong and the fittest survive. The more power of Source you possess, the closer you are to the finish line!]

The question that had appeared on the screen on the very first day now emerged again.

[Are you ready?]

This time, Xu Zhi felt the killing intent hidden within that question and finally understood the weight of its meaning.

But the girl merely smiled faintly. For some reason, a trace of excitement shone in her somewhat gray eyes as she replied:

"Of course. For something like this."

"Who else but me?"

She was fired up!