...…
To be completely candid, Azmodeus didn't see much of anything that could help him in understanding what sort of location he was transported to, as the trees were slightly larger than normal trees, being a few dozen meters in height, with some of them yellow and blue in color instead of brown and green.
There were also a few cultivationless animals jumping from tree to tree or roaming on the grassy plains and fields below, but other than that and the peculiar screeches they occasionally produced, there wasn't much to the surrounding area.
"The animals seem more curious than harmful, and the forest itself doesn't appear to be some form of hive mind or gaping monster's mouth… So, is this place really as simple as it looks…?"
Azmodeus doubted that was the case, as there was no way the Astral Leap was as basic as this, so he surmised that the true Astral Leap Trial was either in a different location or it had to do with the world itself.
Maybe it's similar to a test of endurance? Testing how long the participants could survive in a hostile environment…?
That thought lingered inside his mind for a moment before disappearing as soon as it came. After all, there was essentially nothing hostile about anything in the area where he landed, excluding the fall itself, of course.
So in the end, his train of thought was back at square one as he continued brooding over the subject with his uninhibited perception speed.
Wait…
Noticing that he could think extremely fast got him on the topic of reduced attributes, and from that string of thoughts, a certain something formed inside his subconscious.
Does this world and the subsequent Astral Leap Trial have something to do with increasing attributes…?
And if so, what exactly dictates this attribute increasing prerequisite?
He pondered the subject for a few moments before eventually reaching the conclusion that it had something to do with his body.
And his reasoning for this hypothesis was because there was something constantly affecting his body, almost as if it were trying to open something up and put something else inside a metaphorical 'hole'.
What is it?? My body, yes. But how so??
Is it trying to improve my physical strength…? Yes, but not exactly…
My physique is also an option, but it's not that either…
No matter in which way Azmodeus thought about it, nothing concrete came to mind. And after more than half a minute of dilated perception relation, he ultimately gave up on brooding over his queries altogether.
"There's no point in wasting brain power on something that seems to be out of my reach for now, so instead of meandering around inside of my mind for eternity, I should instead put my efforts into something more productive—something like going to meet up with that girl."
He didn't know what made him think about that sardonic kid, but after thinking about her taking the same fall that he did, something seemed to be veering his mind in her direction.
I'm not sure how any of the participants would be capable of surviving such an immense fall, but I will figure it out soon enough…
Following this thought, he moved the legs that just had their bones and ligaments regenerated, heading toward the east.
...
After a few minutes of traveling through a vast forest at a moderate pace, Azmodeus found himself in front of a girl with long black hair and whitish/gray eyes riding on top of a spiky-haired wolf that looked like it came straight out of Ragnarok.
"What are you doing on top of that beast…?" Azmodeus inquired with a quizzical tone.
"GRrrrr…!"
The wolf didn't appear to like the term that it was called, as its long black fur stood on end, resulting in a few sparks of purple electricity crackling around its six-meter-long body.
"Her name isn't 'beast'; it's pumpkin wolfy."
Pan Nu's voice sounded out from atop the giant wolf as she petted its large head before slowly crawling off the side of its body.
Azmodeus watched her struggle with clear caution in her movements as he walked over to where she was climbing and picked her up by her sides before putting her on the ground-
"No. Up." She interrupted his action with her feet refusing to touch the grass beneath her.
Why am I not even surprised…
Azmodeus sighed a little before putting her on top of his shoulders, and the first thing she did upon reaching her spot was take out a metallic box with unusual stickers on the side of it.
And inside that box, there was nothing but a wide assortment of... treats…
It was at the moment he felt chocolate drip into his crimson-colored hair that Azmodeus felt a little empathetic for the wolf that had to deal with her antics before he got here.
"You've been through some things, huh…?" He inquired while gently caressing the large wolf's snout.
"Arrawrgh…" 'Did you hear what she named me after kidnapping me with her weird eye powers!?'
The wolf seemed to be going through quite the mid-life crisis, as Azmodeus could swear that he saw tears build up inside its watermelon-sized eyes.
Nevertheless, he gave her a few more pets, easily making friends with a terrifying wolf before he had 'Pumpkin Wolfy' follow behind him, continuing to venture deeper into the woods, trying to figure out what part of his body this world was trying to augment.
And while this was happening, he decided to ask Pan Nu a few questions that he was curious about:
"How were you able to survive the fall with your strength reduced to such a degree? And how is it that you were able to tame a beast that possesses physical strength well into the Core Formation Realm??"
The young, misty-eyed girl momentarily looked down from her vantage point as she replied, "For your second question, I have a special set of eyes-"
"Family again?" Azmodeus interjected.
"Yes… And as for your first question, I honestly have no clue what you're talking about…"
"You didn't fall from a few thousand miles in the sky?"
"No… Did you?"
"..."
Azmodeus smelled something afoot, but he decided it wasn't worth delving into at this moment in time, especially when considering the 'visitor' rapidly approaching their location…
...….