A long list of possible fusion options opened infront of him. Some of his low
D-rank and E-Rank he collected through the years, tried to sacrifice themself for just one stronger version of the aura skill.
He scrolled the few options but shook his head, till the only option with another C-Rank skill appeared.
„Oh, I can merge it with the sixth sense skill?"
——
….
5. Intimidating aura (C) + Sixth sense (C)
—> Sovereign Instinct (B)
• The user's perception and presence have fused into a compact instinctual domain surrounding the body.
Base Radius: 5 meters
———
Sam thought for a short moment, the sixth sense skill allowed him to feel things in an radius of 40meters, but with this fusion it would shrink it down only to 5.
He shook his head and clicked, a new rank never disappointed him so he agreed to the fusion.
[You acquired the skill: Sovereign Instinct (B)
Whoosh
It was as if his vision shrank down drastically, but…he close his eyes and felt, it was more like seeing with an really good microscope. It wasn't maybe that wide again, but now around him the air, the mana and small insects were clear as day.
And…
He channeled some killing intent, into this aura.
Whoosh
And the five meter became an oppressive, body strengthening, enemy suppressing domain.
He experimented for a while longer before continuing traveling this black and violet landscape. It stretched for another 2 weeks of walking and meetings with this obsidian like monsters.
After the the third he won, killing the [Obsidian Guard].
Against the fifth he lost needing to retreat.
This was a kind of cycle, the further east he came the stronger the monster became, to the point that every fifth day an enemy came across, he needed to flee from. Some were giant, mammoths like behemoth that cloud control gravity itself, others were even dragons leaving him scorched like brunt meat.
He engaged nevertheless in each fight, so his skills made a good progress.
Jogging over the wide green steppe again, he felt the soft wind in his hair, his pants flattering behind him and over him the clouds chased after the running boy.
In the distant horizon, the only thing you saw, were big hordes of monsters or animals feeding on the juicy green grass riddled with colorful flowers.
Sometimes, when the sun shone he took a break and lay himself in some healing water, creeks or lakes he came across. Around the second month after the mana storm, half an month in this green desert he saw something in the far distant.
///
At first, only silhouettes at the horizon—dark vertical shapes piercing the sky.
He thought they were cliffs but they were not. As he approached over the following days, the scale became clear.
Trees.
Trees so vast that their trunks alone were wider than city towers, bark rising in ridged columns that vanished into a canopy lost among clouds. Their branches stretched outward like suspended bridges, some so high they caught sunlight long after the forest floor had dimmed into shadow.
Samuel stopped at the edge.
The wind here moved differently. It did not howl or rush—it whispered. Leaves the size of small boats shifted far above, creating a distant, continuous sigh that resonated deep in the chest.
"…Heh."
For the first time in weeks, he tilted his head fully back.
"Now that's new."
The forest was not simply large—it was ancient.
Mana flowed here in vertical currents, climbing the trunks like invisible rivers. The roots bulged from the ground like petrified serpents, forming natural walls and tunnels between them. The air smelled of damp earth, resin, and something faintly sweet.
Light diminished almost instantly. The canopy filtered the sky into fractured beams that barely reached the forest floor. Bioluminescent moss clung to bark in soft green clusters, pulsing faintly in response to his presence.
The deeper he walked, the quieter it became. Wood creaking in the wind, birds sung in the distant, but it felt damp as if wool would cover everything.
His footsteps were muted by thick layers of fallen leaves, each step sinking slightly. Somewhere high above, something large moved along a branch with deliberate care, wood groaning softly beneath immense weight.
Samuel's senses sharpened.
His Sovereign domain tingled faintly, as the ground full of small insects and currents of mana filled his mind.
He continued anyway, moving between big leaves, over roots and through tunnels made of snake like roots.
Minutes passed. Maybe an hour.
Then—he heard an unknown sound. It sounded like a scream, but it was to high nothing like the roars of a beast, not the cry of a bird. Maybe some wind traveling through the forest?
No. Sam shook his head. It was high and raw and torn straight from lungs that did not want to release it.
It felt almost like a Human scream.
The sound echoed strangely between the colossal trunks, stretching and warping, as if the forest itself carried it deeper than it should have traveled.
Samuel stopped mid-step. His expression did not change. But his eyes narrowed. His ears twitching a little as he tried to hear more closly. It wa sic he could understand words. But it vanished, like it appeared.
„Am I hallucinating?"
The scream came again.
Closer now. Frantic.
Something crashed through undergrowth in the distance, branches snapping, leaves shaking violently as something fled—or was dragged. And now he could understand something, it was if someone screamed for help.
Sam turned toward the sound.
Not sprinting blindly, but accelerating with controlled strides, weaving between colossal roots thick as castle walls, ducking beneath hanging vines that carried faint bioluminescent spores, his body brushing past leaves that would have served as tents for normal men.
The scream came again.
Clear this time.
"Help—!"
Cut off.