Temple

To get to those uncharted regions, one would first need to traverse the mountain range.

Although, according to Xiao, there shouldn’t be many beasts residing upon them, the travel itself would be challenging.

The terrain was simply awful to march upon. Rocks protruded from the ground everywhere, and the cliffs of the mountains stretched high into the sky, some of these cliffs appearing as though they were impossible to climb.

Edrick felt pretty confident that he could do it thanks to the climbing abilities he had earned from, basically, being a sasquatch. Though it seemed like an interesting experience to go rock climbing, he simply continued following Xiao’s lead.

The protagonist was struggling a fair bit due to the many ups and downs they had to go through to move forward. Sometimes, they had to climb upon a wall, only to have to carefully descend a steep slope immediately after.

Sliding down wouldn’t do it, as the stony ground was uneven and sometimes jagged. If you slipped and rolled down, you were likely to leave behind smears of blood along the way before ultimately hitting stone.

Even for someone with a durable body like Edrick, this hazard did not seem very pleasant to experience…

The two men kept moving.

They only encountered a few sparse beasts throughout their journey. There were no Earth-Carrying Boars here, or at least, there were none to be found roaming the rocky areas. However, there were definitely some within the mountains anyway, for they encountered gorges and lush valleys as they travelled.

Those places always seemed to have been cut out into the ground, so exploring them would be difficult, as one would need to climb all the way down.

Without a doubt, though, those places were surely overflowing with resources that had been left untouched for many years, and were certainly inhabited by the same beasts they had gotten used to.

For all its rugged terrain, the mountain was a place worth exploring thoroughly, for it was hiding many wondrous sights.

Toward the end of their journey through the mountains, as night had fallen, they sat around a campfire made using wood Edrick had stashed in his bag. Xiao was fast asleep, and Anoteros was on guard duty.

The young noble sensed something unmistakable, far in the distance, seemingly high up on one of the elevated peaks of the mountain range.

His bloodline showed a reaction, and instantly, he recognised this resonance. He was sensing a Mountain Sasquatch. Indeed, he could tell that this was the specific species that he knew best, though it was a slight bit different from what he was used to.

It took him a little while to figure it out, but he eventually understood that the sasquatch he was sensing had a strong elemental affinity unlike the regular beasts of its kind. However, he found it difficult to find out what affinity this was exactly.

But by exerting his bloodline to pry deeper, he found out that it felt similar to an Earth-Carrying Boar, so although it was not an earth affinity, it was something related.

‘Stone, perhaps?’ he wondered. He quite wanted to go seek out that sasquatch for himself, but although he could sense it, that beast was actually quite far away. From that distance, just his bloodline authority wouldn’t be quite enough to get it to come closer. Edrick would have to couple it with a few other things to compel this sasquatch to obey and come running instead of spooking it and making it run away.

‘Seems like I’ll be getting busy with some apes again... I wonder how an elemental affinity will affect their taste or if their vice-grip will be even stronger…’ he wondered to himself. Edrick had not lied to Xiao earlier. Ever since he had gotten to experience the sasquatches of the forest, he had developed a taste for the wild and feral.

In fact, he had gone back into the woods to have some fun and nothing else.

Now, he was also planning on capturing sasquatches of each species available and marking them with a servant crest. Well, in their case, it would be more akin to a pet crest.

He wished to start his own personal sanctuary, but there wasn’t really enough space to keep creatures like these in his residence yet. That was why getting Haoyu was so important. With his help, the residence could experience an enormous growth without having to even call upon construction crews.

Throughout his guard duty, Edrick kept thinking about business plans, depraved plans, and depraved business plans…

Eventually, the morning rose, and the journey resumed.

As it turns out, they had stopped just short of the end, and before noon arrived, they stepped on the edge of the mountain range.

Great plains of green stretched out as far as the eye could see. Herds of beasts that they had not seen before were grazing upon the endless grass. They were Wood-Antler Deers, and Grass Buffaloes--Herbivores who moved in groups.

Even from where they stood, they could see patches of natural resources all over the place. In fact, they had even seen multiple exposed deposits of minerals on the way there. Xiao marvelled at the impressive sight, and so did Edrick. He quite appreciated the spectacle of nature, but he also saw endless amounts of money.

This realm was so vibrant and rich that as long as he didn’t over-exploit it, he could maintain this place and have constant harvests all year long.

Some of those resources seemed especially great as well. Plants and flowers reached impressive sizes, overflowing with energy. These could be sold individually at very high prices. Some alchemists would probably kill to get their hands on such precious materials.

But of course, that was not it. First of all, they could also see some Paraceratherium Magi wandering around, eating leaves from trees whilst completely unbothered. Which was only natural. Nothing could threaten them here. They were herbivores, but they were pretty much at the top of the food chain nonetheless.

However, there was also an ancient temple in the distance, along with some other ruins and vestiges, but they were not as well conserved as the temple.

From this distance, Edrick thought that it looked a lot like a Greek temple.

It had long since become overgrown with vegetation. Vines wrapped around the structure as though constraining it, dirt and grass had somehow found their way upon the architecture’s roof, also piling up against its edges.

Herds were calmly grazing around it.

“This should be the one” said Xiao with sparkles in his eyes.

Though those sparkles were soon replaced by worry.

Raiding this temple for the training puppet it contained was far from easy, because stepping within its grounds would immediately mark the person as a target for the Red Guardian--The realm’s protector--Who would quickly arrive.

But thankfully, Xiao had knowledge about the encounter. Unlike the real protagonist, he knew exactly where to go, and he wouldn’t be walking. This would be a sprint from the get-go.

“Alright, remember, no need to wait for me to come out, the moment I get the puppet, I’ll just let myself be kicked out of the realm” he said. This was a trick that also came with the secret technique.

Anoteros simply nodded, slapping Xiao on the shoulder.

“If you succeed, what do you say about having some fun in Paradiso again?”

“...Huh… Let’s talk about it if I come out alive…”

“Always so indecisive…” the emerald ghost shook his head as he floated on the side.