Whoosh!
Zeke dashed through the forest, glancing back over his shoulder.
Three shadows pursued him.
Zeke drew a dagger from his bosom and infused it with the energy of the full power technique before hurling it at the shadows.
Thud thud!
The dagger struck the shadows precisely.
Keeeek!
A magical beast resembling a gnoll tumbled from the tree, a dagger embedded in its forehead, rolling across the ground.
Zeke extended his shadows to absorb the dead magical beast.
Sizzle sizzle—
His depleted mental strength and stamina recovered somewhat, but no new bloodline abilities emerged.
'Even though Iʼve absorbed bloodline abilities before, most of them were useless, so I sold them off. But now that I donʼt have any, it feels like a loss.ʼ
Zeke clicked his tongue and scanned his surroundings. For days, he had wandered the forest in search of traces of the earth godʼs seal.
The endless flood had originally made it impossible to survey the entire Forest of the Forgotten, so he focused on the unusual spots Nigel had mentioned.
She had learned of some from the records left by Bahamut and discovered others during her patrols.
As he roamed the forest depths, slaying the pursuing magical beasts, karma had accumulated without him realizing it.
'Letʼs see. I have 23,278 points now.ʼ
With magical beasts and monsters everywhere in this forest, just moving around naturally built up karma.
"Since Iʼm already here, maybe I should rack up some more points before leaving." Of course, hunting monsters and magical beasts alone had its limits.
The stronger Zeke became, the fewer karma points he earned from slaying them.
In the past, even a goblin would net him 5 points, but now even powerful magical beasts barely gave him 3.
At least selling off the skills gained from absorbing bloodline abilities yielded decent points.
However, ancient variants or aberration species that could provide bloodline abilities were cunning and perceptive, and they rarely showed themselves to someone as strong as Zeke.
Zeke considered unlocking the next stage of his dragon race skills first.
'The Dragon Race Skill stage 5 unlock requires 8,000 points. With the stage 2 restriction lifted, itʼs reduced by 30 percent, so 5,600 points. That should let me unlock stage 5 and activate one skill.ʼ
After training the full power technique, his spiritual power had increased significantly, which allowed him to use stage 4 skills as well.
While summoning a dragon species still drained a lot of spiritual power, it seemed usable in battle.
It was time to unlock stage 5.
Zeke opened the system window and checked his dragon race skills.
Dragon Race Skills (Stage 4 Unlocked): Absorption (Expert) / Word Magic (Specialist) /
Dragonʼs Breath (Expert) / Dragon Warrior (Expert+) / Dragonʼs Wings (Beginner) / Dragon Species Summon (Beginner)
'The Dragon Race Skills level up slower than expected.ʼ
He used Dragonʼs Wings quite effectively, yet its proficiency remained at beginner level.
There had to be additional conditions to raise proficiency.
Zeke examined the dragon race skills and made his decision.
'Alright, Iʼll unlock stage 5.ʼ
Spending 5,600 points to unlock Dragon Race Skill stage 5 brought up a message.
[Unlocking Dragon Race Skill stage 5.]
Zeke checked the newly unlocked stage 5 dragon race skills.
—Dragon Race Skill Stage 5—
Dragonʼs Wisdom (Locked) / Polymorph (Locked)
Karma points required to unlock stage 6: 20,000
"Dragonʼs Wisdom and Polymorph?"
These were different from what he had anticipated, so Zeke first reviewed the details of the two skills.
—Dragon Race Skill Description—
Dragonʼs Wisdom: Read karma data related to a contacted entity to acquire hidden information. (Unlock required: 8,000 points)
Polymorph: Transform into the form of a desired species. Required spiritual power varies by species. (Unlock required: 7,500 points)
Zeke read the description for Dragonʼs Wisdom carefully.
"Iʼve seen dragons use polymorph, so I get that one. But acquiring karma data..."
He recalled receiving the Eye of the Sage from the divine dragon Hermes but being unable to use it due to lacking access to karma data.
'Whatever it is exactly, it seems like a crucial ability.ʼ
It didnʼt appear immediately useful in combat, but it felt essential for preparing for future battlefields.
After some thought, Zeke decided.
"Then Iʼll activate the 'Dragonʼs Wisdomʼ skill first."
He immediately spent the points to activate Dragonʼs Wisdom.
'I have 12,078 points left. Iʼll think more about polymorph.ʼ
Dragons used polymorph to move freely without karma restrictions, but as a human, Zeke had no such constraints, so he wondered if it was worth spending so many points to activate it.
Zeke set aside thoughts of polymorph for now and pondered how to test the newly activated Dragonʼs Wisdom skill.
"Hmm, letʼs just try it once."
Since it involved reading karma data from a contacted entity, it didnʼt seem limited to intelligent beings, so Zeke placed his hand on a nearby tree and activated Dragonʼs Wisdom.
Woooong!
A message appeared before his eyes.
[Dragonʼs Wisdom skill activates.]
[Dragonʼs Senses included in the Dragon Divine Body links and activates.]
[Accessing karma data for the relevant domain.]
Sizzle sizzle—
As the Dragonʼs Wisdom skill activated, an enormous amount of information began flooding into Zekeʼs mind.
'Ugh!ʼ
It was the karma data for the "Forest of the Forgotten" domain, digitized and pouring into his head.
Zeke finally understood what Dragonʼs Wisdom entailed.
'This could blow my head if Iʼm not careful.ʼ Then another message appeared.
[Karma data partial viewing privileges confirmed.]
[Eye of the Sage links and activates. Search and selective viewing of the karma data is now possible.]
With the previously dormant Eye of the Sage unlocked, he could now search and selectively view the vast karma data.
Zeke used the Eye of the Sage to sift through the myriad karma data on the Forest of the Forgotten, selecting the needed information.
'Filter for information on the earth god.ʼ
As he thought, relevant data began surfacing.
Zeke absorbed the information and promptly closed the skill.
Woooong—
His mind returned to his body instantly.
"Ha!"
After catching his breath for a moment, he finally regained his composure.
The sudden influx of information left his head spinning.
'To think Dragonʼs Wisdom is such a skill.ʼ
With just this skill and the Eye of the Sage, he could uncover any information.
Of course, within the limits of what he could process.
Even brief access to the karma data had left a lingering shock.
'What I saw was just a tiny fraction of a fraction of the data. And it hit me this hard... If I accessed the data for an entire dimension, a human mind might not endure it...ʼ Zeke felt fortunate to have received the Eye of the Sage from Hermes.
Without this authority, he would have floundered in the sea of information, unable to even select what he needed.
Recalling the filtered data, Zeke pinpointed the most likely location of the earth godʼs seal in the Forest of the Forgotten.
Comparing it to the spots Nigel had mentioned, he identified the highest-probability site.
'Traces of a massive tree at the forestʼs heart. Thatʼs where the earth god is sealed.ʼ
With that realization, information on the path to the forestʼs center surfaced in his mind.
'So the flood here isnʼt truly endless. Itʼs a maze that shifts over time, creating the illusion.ʼ
Having acquired the domain information, he now knew the way to the floodʼs core.
Knowing the location made reaching it straightforward.
Zeke gripped his sword and gazed into the pathless forest before dashing inward.
A fierce wind arose, shaking the trees.
*
'Is this the place?ʼ
After racing through the pathless forest for a while, Zeke arrived at the floodʼs center.
He pressed on through the densely packed trees that blocked his view.
Then, suddenly, the tree-filled landscape vanished as if by magic, revealing a basin with a massive withered tree at its center.
Zeke sensed this was the earth godʼs sealing site.
'Very faint, but I feel dragon energy from over there.ʼ
He descended into the basin, heading toward the withered tree.
But then— Rumble rumble— Something in the basin began to rise.
'Whatʼs that?ʼ Roooar!
A chilling roar erupted from below, as if to refuse the intruderʼs approach.
Zeke regarded the grotesque lifeform that enveloped the entire basin.
'A magical beast?ʼ
Dust obscured its exact form, but he could tell a massive entity lurked beneath the earth, radiating hostility.
Then—
Thud thud—
The ground beneath Zekeʼs feet trembled, and something burst forth from below.
Keeek!
Snake-like tentacles with sharp fangs erupted from the soil, coiling toward Zekeʼs body.
Zeke leaped back and swung his sword at the tentacles.
Slash!
His casual strike severed the tentaclesʼ heads, green viscous fluid spurting from the stumps.
Sizzle—
The acidic liquid smoked upon hitting the ground.
Zeke recalled similar encounters.
'Like the Lord of the Swamp in Dorta or fighting the hydra.ʼ Perhaps a corrupted dragon species guarded the earth godʼs seal.
Zeke gripped his sword and steadied his breathing.
'A chance to test the newly mastered full power technique.ʼ
He summoned the Will of Strength. It enveloped his body like bronze armor, protecting him.
Zeke charged into the basin toward the tree.
"Haat!"
Dozens of massive tentacles erupted from the ground.
Kaaak!
The fangs bared by the tentacles shattered upon contact with Zekeʼs body.
Keeek!
Zeke unleashed the sacred radiance technique amid his charge.
Crackle crackle!
The tentacles writhed in agony, engulfed in white lightning, crumbling to black ash.
Zeke activated Dragonʼs Wings and glided down into the basin.
Protected by the Will of Strength, he extended the sacred radiance technique toward the tree.
Crackle crackle!
Bolts of light arced everywhere, incinerating the tentacles that surged from the earth.
Keeek—
The air filled with the tentaclesʼ shrieks and swirling black ash.
As Zeke neared the withered tree at the basinʼs center— Rumble rumble!
The entity below slowly revealed itself.
Zeke aimed his sword at the emerging magical beast.
Then— Kaaaaak—
An unimaginable screech, unfit for any living creature, exploded from the depths.
He couldnʼt help but stare in shock at the revealed form.
'What the hell is that?ʼ
It defied belief as a creature of the phenomenal world.
A massive, swollen mass of flesh, dripping viscous fluids, towered like a grotesque tower. Below it sprawled legs that evoked centipedes and spiders, while hundreds of eyes embedded in the flesh stared out.
Squelch—
Eyes buried in the mass extended on long tentacles like serpents.
The sight alone evoked an ominous dread. Zeke gripped Bahamut and steadied his breath before the bizarre lifeform.
'An aberration species, or perhaps an ancient variant magical beast.ʼ
As he pondered how to strike the unnatural entity, it moved first.
Kaaaaak!
The fleshy surface bubbled and boiled, amorphous clones spilling forth.
Keeek!
Shapeless horrors with grotesque eyes and fanged mouths sprouted spider-like legs.
Kaaaaak—
With chilling cries, the clones lunged at Zeke.