**Chapter 45: The Natives**
“So, these natives must be the true enemies of this trial.”
With this realization, Jie Ming heightened his vigilance.
He stopped relying on his runic artifact for high-speed flight, prioritizing stealth and moving on foot.
Finally, during a trek into a valley, he spotted them from a distance.
A group of about twenty people, clad in rough beast hides and bark.
Each moved with agility, hunting a boar-like magical beast the size of a van.
Jie Ming silently drifted into the treetops, concealing himself and observing from afar.
“Interesting… they’re not just savages, are they?”
From their interactions, they had a fully developed language and could cast rudimentary spells in his eyes—short bursts of speed enhancement, simple earthen walls, or paralyzing poison arrows.
But their most common ability was a special power that enhanced their physical bodies.
With this power, they could unleash strength and speed several times beyond their normal capabilities in an instant.
“Is this… akin to knights?”
Moreover, Jie Ming noticed finely crafted trinkets on them—items a primitive civilization wouldn’t possess.
He watched as they skillfully cornered the tusked boar, whittling it down with thrown spears before collectively bringing it down.
After the kill, they divided tasks: some stood guard, others cleaned the site, and some handled transport.
The natives’ eyes carried a wary hostility toward the outside world.
While moving the prey, a few kept scanning their surroundings, their gazes alert and guarded, as if anticipating something.
Following them discreetly, Jie Ming soon arrived at their dwelling.
It was a large, well-hidden cave.
Surprisingly, the population was small. Including the hunting party, there were fewer than a hundred people.
Such numbers could barely qualify as a small settlement.
But Jie Ming’s findings were significant. Inside the cave, he spotted two natives in heavy armor, their weapons faintly emanating energy fluctuations.
The weaker residents, though also clad in hides and leaves, used metal tools for labor or gathering food.
Outside the cave, there were even freshly fired clay pots.
“This… survivors of a collapsed civilization, reduced to surviving in the wild?”
For now, these people held little value to him. Their energy manipulation was too rudimentary; a quick scan with his Analysis Technique revealed most of their energy pathways.
“But if there are stronger natives, their cultivation techniques might be of value to me.”
After observing from a distance and ensuring he wasn’t detected, Jie Ming silently left the valley.
Deep within the Limestone Realm, in a hidden valley shrouded by twisted trees and towering stone pillars.
A bonfire crackled, its light illuminating weathered faces.
Compared to the crude settlement Jie Ming had stumbled upon, this place was much larger—a temporary camp built through secret coordination among survivors of several “kingdoms.”
Inside the council tent, the atmosphere was solemn and heavy.
Calling it a council tent was generous; it was merely a large canopy.
Several resolute warriors in crude half-armor sat together, their robust frames radiating ferocious power.
On the other side were shamans and priests, their auras restrained, clutching bone staffs or scepters.
They sat around the fire, their expressions grim.
These were the survivors of the Limestone Realm’s destroyed kingdoms, united now by shared hatred and a thirst for vengeance.
They were once the true masters of this land, with ancient kingdoms, glorious civilizations, and faiths guarded for generations… until the so-called “wizards” arrived.
It was a nightmarish catastrophe.
The wizards wielded unimaginable power, commanding elements and twisting space.
Their kingdoms were razed, their homes burned, and countless kin reduced to dust under the cold, overwhelming sorcery.
The survivors were forced into the Limestone Realm’s most hidden corners, living like wild beasts, clinging to life to preserve their kingdoms’ bloodlines and await a chance for revenge.
Now, the large-scale arrival of Noren Academy’s apprentices in the Limestone Realm reignited their hatred and vigilance.
“Like last time, crawling in like insects!”
“They’re getting closer. They’ll find us eventually!”
“Everyone, our scouts have confirmed that the intruders this time are just ‘cubs’—not yet fully grown,” said a knight commander with a hideous scar on his face, his voice raspy like grinding metal, a mark of long years of hiding and fighting. “Their power isn’t weak, but it’s far from the wizards who slaughtered our kingdoms!”
“This is our chance!” a shaman leader gripped his bone staff, his voice burning with hatred. “Our ancestors told us that when the enemy foolishly sets foot on our land again, it will be time to wash away our shame!”
“But these wizards are cunning. We can’t underestimate them,” a female knight cautioned, frowning. “According to reports, they have a special movement ability. When in danger, they vanish… It’s hard to wipe them out completely.”
“They’re using spatial abilities…”
A voice drew everyone’s attention. They turned to see a disheveled priest pull a finely crafted ring from his robes.
“They call themselves wizard apprentices. I took this from an arrogant one. It’s what lets them escape our world when in danger.”
At the priest’s explanation, several faces fell, some showing frustration.
In their world, spatial abilities were the domain of gods.
Yet the gods who once sat enthroned in the starry skies had vanished in the first wave of the wizards’ purge.