Il easily abandoned everything here.
Whether it was the well-constructed underground lair or the plant system used to collect nutrients from the earth, even the supplies stored deeper underground.
These things were of great value to many people.
Il left them all behind.
According to her, aside from herself, everything else was just a stepping stone in the process of evolution and growth. Now that she had decided to follow Ronald, these things, which were not suitable to carry along, could naturally be discarded here.
"..." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel•fire.net
Taking this newly acquired... pet? with her,
Ronald couldn’t help but let his thoughts wander on the way back to the surface.
This lair, hidden deep within Yizi Forest and left perfectly intact underground, might one day become the setting for an adventure story.
They didn’t care much about the things Il left behind.
But it was different for ordinary people.
A well-constructed underground base capable of internal energy circulation.
The essence of nutrients collected by the plant system, ready for human use.
And the supplies that Il had gathered over the past months.
Any part of it would be desirable to both common folk and Casters.
Did this count as him leaving behind a relic buried with treasure for those who would come after?
Just like in those novels Ronald had read,
where the protagonist always had an experience of receiving news of a treasure and then setting out on an adventure, right?
Thinking and hurrying along,
the newly formed group of four made their way back to the surface the same way they had come.
In just half a day, the ruins of the Banica campsite had changed completely from when they had descended.
Within Ronald’s field of view,
there were no longer any Casters nearby.
After the camp was destroyed and the previous leaders were lost in misfortune, all of Banica’s Casters had chosen to leave the place.
Only the newly mutated plants covered the ground,
transforming this area of Yizi Forest, which had just experienced a fire, back into a beautiful environment composed of plants.
Faced with everything before her, Il spoke up at the right moment:
"I could feel the vibrations happening here even from underground."
"Such a level of attack... Although it wasn’t achieved purely by my own strength, humans, as the forerunners on the path of evolution, indeed have much to learn from."
He began to express his sentiment,
but Ronald suddenly stopped in his tracks.
All of Ronald’s body-enhancing Spells were in effect, and he maintained the highest level of physical fitness. Because of this tremendous power, Ronald noticed something.
—The ground beneath his feet was vibrating.
—The frequency was irregular and very subtle.
This sensation was like placing one’s hand on a sandy beach as the tide receded, where the sand grains just happened to harbour marine life left behind by the tide.
Ronald’s gaze sharpened, already aware of everything.
Something was down there in Yizi Forest.
And it was lurking towards their position!
"Il, you just said it."
"Your sister has tried to devour you more than once, right?"
Upon hearing Ronald’s question, the girl who was observing her surroundings immediately nodded:
"That’s correct. It seems that my sister obtained some genes related to us from the ’Organic Encyclopedia,’ so she always hoped to devour me, aiming to reach a new level."
"Unfortunately, I haven’t found such a genetic sequence yet."
"That’s why, until today, I have not specifically devised an attack plan against my sister."
Ronald’s face revealed a complex smile:
"Today, the issue between you and your sister should come to a conclusion."
The moment the words hit the ground,
As if in response to Ronald’s prediction,
About one hundred meters in front of them, the ground suddenly split open into a large gorge, and immediately afterward, a massive arm composed of tangled thorns and vines burst through the earth, pulling the rest of its body out from behind it.
——This was a giant made purely of plants.
——Its surface still was caked with soil and rocks from underground.
Il looked at the giant in front of him with slight puzzlement.
But he quickly spoke with understanding:
"Sister, today’s attack is quite interesting; it seems you’ve learned a lot from the humans."
The air grew quiet for a few seconds.
Then the thorn giant spoke:
"Since you’ve come out of that nest of yours, you must be prepared to be devoured by me, right?"
Though its appearance was wildly ferocious,
when speaking with Il, the thorn giant’s voice remained a pleasant female tone.
The sisters, whose development had taken vastly different directions, began to converse.
Meanwhile, off to the side, Costate spoke to Ronald calmly:
"Sir, the signs of magical transformation are very clear."
"And considering its size, I do not recommend that you take it back to Kurpis with you."
Ronald scrutinized Il’s sister closely.
Just like Costate said, the thorn giant bore very clear signs of magical transformation, and its size was nowhere near the smaller, human-scale stature of Il.
The sisters, originally from the same origin—couldn’t be said to be completely unalike now, but at least they were vastly different.
To Ronald’s somewhat subjective aesthetic,
If he were to defeat both opponents, then he might at least consider it if Il, with her delicate beauty, were to beg for mercy.
But as for her sister...
The most direct impression this creature could give was that of a monster.
Far from hearing its pleas, the only likely response would be to cut it down immediately.
Ronald and Costate unabashedly examined and discussed their opinions of the sisters right in front of them.
Il, now considered one of their own, made no sign of objection.
But her sister clearly didn’t see it that way.
Subject to such scrutiny, the thorn giant quickly rotated its upper body to look over:
"Refusing the grace of the Origin Power, ordinary life is but doomed to be eliminated. You may be willing to submit to my sister, but unfortunately, essentially..."
"You seem to have misunderstood the situation," Ronald interrupted the other’s ’flavorful’ speech, saying bluntly, "Like Il, I’ll give you a chance."
"Hand over the Origin Power you’re holding now, then go back to the forest and stay there quietly——if you do, I might consider sparing your life."
The giant thorn creature paused mid-action.
Il’s sister was entirely different from her.
Upon grasping the implication behind Ronald’s words, she swung her right hand decisively, sending it crashing toward Ronald.
"Presumptuous human!"