He knew that they were still near Caldera from the spatial teleportation that Arthur used.
There was no need to hide the young dragon anymore. No players dared to venture a hundred kilometres in the direction of the Grieving Hollow. As for the locals of Caldera, he couldn’t care less. If they were peaceful, they would simply continue on their way, doing their own things and whilst he did his own things. Correct content is on NovelHub.
However, if they decided that today was the day they died. Then Arthur will naturally fulfil their wish and bury them there. In his opinion, being buried in such a cool-looking place wasn’t half bad.
Still, the facts proved that once you ventured this deep into the wilderness, you were beyond the reach of curious eyes or potential threats from other humans.
"Aether," Arthur said, pointing deeper into the forest where the Grieving Hollow was meant to be located. "Teleport us a hundred kilometres this way."
The distance would bring them within the range of their destination while conserving Arthur’s own spatial manipulation energy for the challenges ahead. Aether’s teleportation abilities were far more refined and efficient for long-distance travel.
"Yes, Master!" Aether’s voice carried obvious excitement. His favourite thing to do was follow Arthur’s instructions, especially when it involved using his spatial abilities to transport them around. The young dragon took pride in his mastery over dimensional manipulation, viewing each successful teleportation as an opportunity to demonstrate his heritage as a void dragon.
Aether’s eyes began to glow with concentrated spatial energy, the air around them shimmering as reality prepared to fold. Space enveloped them in its embrace like a mother protecting her children, as the world dissolved around them in a cascade of shifting colours and impossible lighting.
For a brief moment, they existed between dimensions, travelling through the void that connected all points in space. Then reality reasserted itself, and they materialised exactly one hundred kilometres deeper into the southern wilderness.
The change in atmosphere was immediate and striking to Arthur.
Here, the forest felt truly ancient and untamed. The trees were massive, their trunks requiring multiple people to encircle, and their branches intertwined so thickly overhead that virtually no sunlight penetrated to the ground level. Bioluminescent organisms were more prevalent, creating an alien landscape of shifting blues, purples, and greens.
Arthur spotted strange mushrooms with glowing lights, but he didn’t bother approaching. These kinds of mushrooms were poisonous by nature and didn’t benefit him. It wasn’t a monster; it was simply there.
Strange sounds echoed through the darkness—calls from creatures that didn’t match any standard bestiary, rustling movements that suggested things far larger than normal Caldera forest animals, and an underlying susurrus that might have been wind through leaves or something breathing in the distance.
Arthur’s senses detected elevated mana concentrations in the air, indicating they were approaching an area where magical phenomena occurred naturally. They were now in the Grieving Hollow, and its radius was around twenty kilometres.
"Good work, Aether," Arthur murmured, scratching behind the dragon’s head. "From here, we proceed on foot. I want to assess the local threats."
Aether accepted the head scratch with a large grin spreading across his draconic features. His void-black scales seemed to shimmer with contentment as Arthur’s fingers found the perfect spot behind his horned ridge.
"Hehe," Aether giggled with pure satisfaction, his tail curling happily around Arthur’s neck like a living scarf.
Arthur’s eyes which had been focused on his companion, suddenly looked up, his enhanced senses detecting movement through the dense trees ahead. His smile widened as he spotted their first encounter, and unsurprisingly, it was a superior-rank monster.
The creature that emerged from behind a cluster of large trees was magnificent in its alien beauty. It resembled a beetle, but one that had been scaled up to immense proportions—nearly three meters in length and standing almost two meters tall at its highest point. Its most striking feature was its golden, shimmering carapace that caught and reflected the forest’s bioluminescent glow like a living mirror.
Arthur narrowed his eyes as the beetle’s information materialised before his vision.
[Golden Beetle (Superior-Boss)]
Description: Armoured with a golden carapace forged through decades of consuming rare minerals and powerful monsters, this apex predator has evolved defensive capabilities that allow it to sustain damage that would instantly kill others at its level. The beetle’s natural armour is complemented by surprising agility and devastating ramming attacks. Its carapace has never been penetrated by creatures of equivalent level, making it a living fortress that dominates its territory through sheer defensive superiority.
The beetle’s compound eyes, each the size of Arthur’s fist, reflected the ambient light in thousands of fractured images. Its mandibles, gleaming like polished bronze, clicked together in a rhythm that suggested its aggression.
Six powerful legs, each ending in razor-sharp talons, dug furrows in the forest floor as it assessed this new intruder in its domain.
Arthur’s smile deepened as he studied the magnificent creature. "This beetle will be some good practice. Since it’s an apex predator around here, it should know the surrounding place good enough to tell me whether Pyro’s lotus is around here or not."
He drew his chaos katana in one fluid motion, the pseudo-legendary blade singing as it cleared its sheath. The weapon’s dark metal created an interesting contrast with the beetle’s brilliant golden armour.
Arthur took an offensive stance and dashed towards the towering beetle, his agility allowing him to close the distance with explosive speed. The beetle, far from backing down, spread its wing cases and launched itself into the air with surprising grace for something so massive.
The sound of its wings beating filled the forest with a deep, thrumming vibration that seemed to resonate in Arthur’s chest. The beetle’s flight was more controlled glide than true flight, but it gave the creature enough manoeuvrability to dive at Arthur from above.
Arthur did not teleport, he had deliberately chosen not to use his teleportation abilities or any of his supernatural talents.