After leaving the lair, Gustavo headed west, like a black lightning bolt swiftly traversing the jungle and grasslands, leaping across rivers as he encountered them, his destination very clear.
Having already decided to survive alone, he naturally made preparations in advance, learning about the geography of the Land of Falling Stars and choosing a suitable habitat.
Caro Volcano.
Located 430 kilometers west of the nest, it is an active volcano.
Dragon-Hunting Spider prefer heat and dislike cold, Gustavo is no exception.
Moreover, the lush vegetation and abundant water resources near the Caro Volcano attract a large number of creatures, providing ample prey to feed Gustavo, a voracious eater.
Gustavo traveled very quickly, arriving near the Caro Volcano in about an hour.
Standing on the treetop, Gustavo glanced at the towering Caro Volcano in the distance but did not choose to go forward.
The interior of the volcano was naturally his favorite habitat, where he could take a lava bath and the abundant heat would be more beneficial to his growth. Unfortunately, this place was already occupied by a Tier Nine Earth Flame Python.
This guy is also the overlord of the area near the Caro Volcano; even Gustavo can't beat him.
"Let you enjoy your meal a little longer." Gustavo sneered, then vanished in a flash.
As Nightfall falls, countless stars appear, their light like a thin veil slowly sliding down the night sky.
The night was calm, and the lake was as clear as a mirror, reflecting the starry sky as if the stars were immersed in the water—a truly beautiful sight.
Hidden Star Lake, one of the largest lakes in the Caro Volcano region, is home to a vast array of biological species, including many Transcendent creatures.
Gustavo observed quietly and eventually decided to make this place his temporary residence.
After choosing a location, the next step is to build your new home.
Gustavo found a low hill about 100 meters high near the Hidden Star Lake and began a large-scale construction project.
The eight bladed legs moved with the speed of a phantom, digging into the ground, sending soil and rocks flying. Soon, Gustavo's figure disappeared from the surface.
The advantage of having many hands is that you can be very efficient no matter what you're doing.
In just two hours, Gustavo carved out a huge Underground Space in the low hill, about 25 meters high and 50 meters long and wide, which was more than enough for his daily activities.
It spews out a large amount of solid spider webs to cover the entire cave wall, serving as both support and a natural trap.
Gustavo was quite satisfied as he surveyed his "spider web cave".
Although it's a bit rough around the edges, at least we have our own home now.
Lying on the spider web, Gustavo pondered his future plans.
The emergence of the Soul Devourer talent allowed him to improve his strength even faster.
What is soul information?
To put it simply, it's memory.
Gustavo can not only devour the souls of his prey, but also seize their memories.
This includes all aspects of life, including spiritual practice.
what does that mean?
This means that "stat allocation" is no longer limited to the "bloodline/talent" category.
You can now add points to the "Knowledge/Skills" section as well.
For example, the core professional ability is [Gravity Control].
Before acquiring the Soul Devourer talent, one can only grind it out on their own, enduring hardship.
However, with the Soul Devourer talent, he can devour creatures that also possess gravity-related Transcendent abilities, seize their related cultivation memories, learn from their strengths and make up for their weaknesses, refine their essence, digest and absorb them, thereby rapidly improving his [Gravity Control] level.
Similarly, knowledge-based skills such as [Star Capture], [Air-Stasis Corridor], and [Neust Body Tempering Method] can all be improved in this way.
Originally, the Gustavo Project would have taken about two to three months to raise [Gravity Control] to Lv10, thus meeting the standard for building the [Gene Warehouse], but now it seems that this time will be greatly shortened.
However, this is contingent on Gustavo finding suitable prey.
"Creatures capable of manipulating gravity are extremely rare, but those capable of manipulating gravitational force are not uncommon, especially earth-type magical beasts and monsters..." Gustavo pondered to himself, a cruel smile flashing in his eerie green eyes.
The following day, after a night's rest, a refreshed Gustavo left the Spider Cave.
Instead of launching a hunt immediately, he cautiously conducted reconnaissance work around the entire Hidden Star Lake.
The principle that "preparation is the key to success, and lack of preparation leads to failure" has been ingrained in Gustavo's very being. He believed that thorough preparation and a clear understanding of the strength of nearby enemies were essential to being well-informed and minimizing unforeseen circumstances.
In addition, the thorough reconnaissance of Hidden Star Lake allowed Gustavo to collect various herbs. During this time, he did not give up studying the "Complete Compendium of Top-Tier Poisons," and his skill in concocting poisons became increasingly superb; all he lacked were the materials.
Half a day later, Gustavo quietly returned to the cave.
Relying on its powerful perception and the Concealment properties of spider silk, it had a clear understanding of the distribution of prey within a 30-kilometer radius of Hidden Star Lake.
Ordinary living things are excluded.
At the level of Transcendent beings, there are quite a few low- and mid-level Transcendent beings, enough to feed Gustavo for a while.
There were four High-Rank Transcendent beings, each occupying a territory, and all of them were at the Tier Seven.
The strongest among them was an Ironback Azure Bear, a magical beast, which showed signs of breaking through to the Tier Eight.
This Ironback Azure Bear was also a target that Gustavo was determined to obtain, because this creature possessed a talent for gravity manipulation. Once he devoured it, his [Gravity Control] would definitely improve significantly.
"No rush, take it slow. Once our combat power level increases by another ten or twenty Dale, we can try hunting this clumsy bear!" Gustavo grinned menacingly as he scraped the ground with his blade.
To avoid alerting the enemy, Gustavo's subsequent actions were limited to low- and mid-level creatures.
As expected, the other four overlords of Hidden Star Lake were only surprised to have an extra companion vying for their food, and did not react much.
Food is plentiful near Hidden Star Lake, so it is not significantly affected by the presence of many high-level creatures at the top of the food chain.
Completely unaware that their necks were already on the guillotine.
Crimson Alliance, Younis City.
The Iron Curtain Sky, forged from steel, features dozens of spiraling tracks intertwined and secured by countless cables and runes, ultimately forming a magnificent spectacle resembling a tower.
This is the space elevator commonly known as the "Heaven-Reaching Tower".
Countless containers slid down the elevator tracks and were pulled away by waiting transport vehicles below. The pressure that large transport ships experience on Planet Oklo is dozens of times that in space, not only due to gravity, but also due to various factors such as airflow, environment, magnetic field, and Transcendent beasts. Therefore, the standard operation for the Alliance transport ships is to unload cargo on the platform of the space elevator and then transport the containers to the ground via the elevator tracks, which can greatly reduce costs.
One by one, the contestants from the southern region stepped off the spaceship, looked up at the magnificent scene before them, and had remarkably similar expressions.
Although they had seen it on television and the internet more than once, the sheer scale and grandeur of this monumental project in person left these young people with an indescribable sense of awe.
"This space elevator cost a fortune, using countless precious materials and manpower. High-strength fiber materials, high-temperature superconducting materials, and the most advanced antimatter energy furnace provide power, while precise and complex structural engineering ensures stability. The combination of magic and technology makes its annual maintenance costs astronomical, but the benefits it generates are equally immeasurable," Edward said with his hands on his hips.
Annie interjected, "Only when I see such colossal celestial structures can I understand the immense power of civilization. It's a greatness unlike that of individuals; countless tiny candles, gathered together, can rival the brilliance of the Radiant Sun."
Beside them, Lancelot nodded slightly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. He had witnessed scenes far more magnificent than this, and remained unmoved.
The final round of the Alliance will be held in Younis City.
If Brandes is the political center of the Alliance, then Younis is Alliance economic center, a bustling metropolis with a population exceeding 200 million.
At the same time, this place is also the most important distribution center for supplies in the Alliance, one of the largest transportation hubs on Planet Oklo, and even very famous throughout the entire Elven Plane.
After admiring the dimensional elevator for a while, the thousand contestants followed the guide to the rest area, adjusted their state, reviewed the information of the contestants from the other four regions, and waited for the final test to begin.