Path to Transcendence

Chapter 605: Heʼs Special

Julius and Caldrus walked back to the camp in silence. Caldrus didn’t even mention anything about Julius joining the sect as an honored guest. The man was similarly stunned by what he had seen. The old man looked at the cheerful Drasil on Julius’s shoulder with a look that bordered on fear and fascination.

It was only when Drasil returned to his soul that Caldrus spoke.

“Are you sure he’s a life spirit?”

Julius furrowed his brows. “Pretty sure. Why?”

“You know that life spirits shouldn’t be able to do stuff like that, right?”

“He’s special.”

Caldrus opened his mouth to respond, but must have thought better of it. Instead, he shook his head and turned away, mumbling quietly to himself.

Truth be told, Julius was just as stunned by what Drasil did. The physical strength of the little spirit was not normal, not for someone his size. While Drasil had always been a bit abnormal, this was completely different. He could understand why Drasil consumed so much mana and was smarter than normal spirits, but smacking a peak Tier 3 monster into oblivion was totally different.

The only one who didn’t seem surprised was Seraphyne.

“Did you know?” He asked her in his mind.

“I told you he wasn’t normal.” She replied with a sigh.

“I knew he wasn’t normal. But this is a little…” Julius trailed off.

“It might have something to do with how deep you two’s connection is. I know that Drasil is constantly absorbing your essence, which makes sense considering how much of your mana he consumes.”

“So you are saying that he is taking on some of my own properties?”

If that were the case, would Drasil slowly change over time? Did his ruinous aura or his new authority affect Drasil in any way? And if so, was it in a good way?

“Maybe. I’m not an expert; that is more of a question for my father if you see him again. But I know that Drasil is also absorbing that treasure you gave him, that might be speeding up the process,” Seraphyne hypothesized.

Julius didn’t know what was going on with Drasil or in what direction, but it was pointless to worry unnecessarily. From what he could tell, Drasil was healthy and happy. That was all Julius cared about, and he would continue to support the little guy in all of his endeavors, even if that meant Drasil turned into a fist-slugging juggernaut.

***

It had already been two days since Drasil slapped the shit out of the fish. But they were still in the forest. The forest they were currently in was massive, with several large towns scattered throughout the area. Apparently, these woods were called the Brightwood Forest. He somewhat remembered that Lily told him something about this region, but he couldn’t remember what exactly that was.

These towns harvested the forest’s large natural resources to support themselves. That meant they often encountered large groups of people despite the areaʼs dense nature.

However, the group they encountered was much larger than the ones they had encountered so far. So large that the road was blocked by all of the people. Julius knew that the city of Oakrest lay up ahead. It was one of the major cities in the area, and it was odd that there was a backup of people so far away from the city’s walls. Julius couldn’t help but wonder if something happened.

With no other choice, they stopped the carriage and exited to see what was going on. Loreyn went over and spoke with various people, returning after about ten minutes.

“So what’s going on?” Cassandra asked with a curious look on her face.

“From what I gathered, there has been an unusually large presence of monsters in the area, and a horde of these monsters attacked a lot of travelers up ahead. It’s not only this case, either, but there have also been many other reports of attacks along the forest. Some people believe that it is the result of some kind of rift outbreak,” the woman responded, but there was a worried frown on her face.

“What else is it?” Cassandra asked, also noticing the look on Loreyn’s face.

“I did extensive research into the surrounding territories and regions, such as this travel route. I know for certain that anything near this route is constantly monitored for any new rifts and managed with care. They are well protected. Therefore, an attack that is so close to Oakrest is alarming on many levels,” Loreyn noted, rubbing her ear in thought.

“Maybe they got lazy and forgot to manage the rifts. It would make sense after what we have seen from the Empire so far,” Shin stated with a scoff.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Julius saw Maya glare at Shin warningly, before looking over at him with an apologetic expression. Julius waved her concerns away. He didn’t really mind that Shin was badmouthing the Empire. He didn’t really care all that much, and the teen had a point. The Empire hadn’t really proved itself to be the most competent at governing itself. Julius’s own circumstances and the attack on the Capital showed this.

“No, I don’t think that’s the reason. It’s not just those from the Empire who use this route. There are many merchants who rely on this road being safe, and they wouldn’t let their route be compromised due to laziness, not if it would cost them a lot of money,” she said to Shin patiently.

“What are you saying? You think this isn’t an accident?” Cassandra questioned.

“I mean, it’s possible that it is. But considering the scale, I highly doubt it. I can understand one or two instances occurring, but from what I learned, there have been a lot of attacks lately.”

“You think it’s connected to the attack on the capital?” Maya asked.

“Perhaps. But according to the local I talked to, these issues have been happening for a while. But it has only recently become a huge issue. Which is why I don’t think it’s just laziness. If it were, then it would have already been handled by the regionʼs lords or various merchant groups.”

“What does that mean for us?” Maya asked.

Loreyn frowned. “For now, we just have to wait until they clear up the road ahead. There shouldn’t be an issue about entering Oakrest, but my concern is that the roads up ahead will be closed if there are any more attacks. We should really consider taking another route, Lady Cassandra.”

“Why do we have to worry about the attacks? We should be fine to keep on traveling this way. If there are any monsters, it’s not like we can’t handle them, right?” Shin asked with furrowed eyes.

“It’s not a matter of handling them. The roads themselves will be closed, and no one will be able to use them until it is deemed safe. We also don’t have the authority to bypass these closures.”

“Why not?” Shin asked confusedly. “Grandmother is Tier 6, there shouldn’t be anyone who is willing to stop her from using the road.

Maya sighed exasperatedly. “This isn’t Corvus, you can’t just flaunt your strength at people and expect them to do what you say. Plus, we are trying to travel somewhat incognito. It kind of defeats the purpose of that if Cassandra just starts bullying everyone just so she can use a road.”

Shin frowned at her, but didn’t argue any further.

Loreyn nodded. “Precisely. Which is why I suggest we head back now and find a new route. It might take longer, but it would be better than getting stuck in the middle of the forest waiting until the roads are cleared for travel.”

“How much longer would that take us?” Cassandra asked.

Loreyn screwed her face in thought. “It might increase our travel time by two weeks, since we will have to backtrack.”

Cassandra shook her head. “That’s too long. How long will it take if we don’t take the main roads, but instead trek straight through the forest itself?”

“If we take a direct route through the forest, then it would be an even shorter distance. But we wouldn’t be able to travel in the carriage, which means we will have to travel almost entirely on foot.”

“How long do you think?”

“Hmm. It’s hard to say, but even with Shin and Maya with us, it should only add a few days to our trip, with us being back in Corvus in around a week.”

“Let’s go with that then. If we come across any road closures, we can just head off into the forest,” Cassandra said

“Wait, seriously? Does that mean we are going to have to walk through the entire Brightwood Forest on foot?” Shin said with alarm.

Cassandra nodded calmly. “Yes.”

“Oh no,” Maya said worriedly, and had a different look of alarm on her face, one that Cassandra picked up on and smiled at the girl.

“Yep.”

“I thought this was supposed to be a vacation. You said so yourself,” Maya argued.

Cassandra shrugged. “Ehh. It would appear that fate had a change of heart.”

“Fate my ass,” Julius heard Maya muttering almost imperceptively.

Cassandra chuckled. “It will be good for you two. A nice little experience before we head back home. Don’t worry, I will make sure you two don’t die to a random Tier 5 monster walking around.”

“When you say not die, does that also include bodily harm or injuries?” Maya asked with a wince.

Cassandra ignored her and headed back to the carriage. If Julius didn’t know any better, he would say that she looked very excited and pleased by this sudden change.

She waved at them. “Come on, I think the obstruction is clearing up ahead. Let’s get to Oakrest. When we are there, I can help you two go shopping. I want you guys to use this opportunity to understand what it means to prepare for an exploration like this. It’s better to learn now than later.

She turned around and nodded at them. “Oh yeah, and I’m not going to allow you to use any of the stuff Loreyn or I have already prepared. I want you guys to act like it is just the two of you organizing for a mission.”

Shin and Maya stood there stunned. It was only when Cassandra entered the carriage that Shin followed after her in a panic.

“You know, I think we should really consider taking up Loreyn on her first idea. Now that I have time to reflect, itʼs a wonderful plan. We can take our time getting back home,” the teen said optimistically. “Plus, Caldrus is getting old. His old bones aren’t meant to be camping in the woods for a week.”

“Don’t worry about me, young master. I think I will survive,” Caldrus noted with amusement glinting in his eyes.

Shin looked back desperately at Loreyn, as if asking for support. However, the woman was already following Cassandra back inside, examining a map and plotting the course they would take.

Julius, on the other hand, could only chuckle with amusement. He had a feeling that the trip to Corvus had suddenly gotten a lot more interesting. He didn’t know about them, but he was excited to see what kind of fascinating things the Brightwood Forest had to offer.

Maybe there would be a few monsters he could test himself against in there as well. All the talk about disturbances in the woods made him believe it was highly possible.

With a jolly pep in his step, he followed Cassaandra back into the carriage, and once the road cleared up ahead, they finally entered Oakrest. For some reason, the only people who didn’t seem pleased by this development were Maya and Shin. Julius didn’t understand why that was. He thought this was going to be fun.