Chapter 479 - Signal (1/2)

The people of Terrain say that the Mountain Sands Range was a forbidden zone. It gained its name because according to legend, the deeper one traveled into this mountain range, the more difficult it became to leave.

Unfortunately, when she entered this mountain range, Aina had no idea about this. Due to her hasty teleportation, rather than being sent to a proper city like Leonel had, she appeared in the wilderness where she just so happened to stumble across a Variant Zone.

Due to the nature of a Variant Zone, Aina managed to claim rewards despite her competitors being several times more powerful. But, this made her escape all the more difficult.

Without a choice, she charged into the mountain range and eventually managed to find this network of tunnels.

Knowing it wasn't safe to go back the way she came, believing that those three Heirs were still chasing her, Aina instead decided to find a secluded location to breakthrough. Now, she was hoping to find an alternate exit.

Unlike Leonel, Aina didn't have perfect recall nor did she have a powerful mind. This wasn't to say that she wasn't intelligent, but rather that she wasn't as much of a monster in this regard as compared to Leonel. After all, Leonel's mind could probably put a supercomputer of the 25th Century to shame.

Without a choice, Aina could only travel forward slowly, leaving marks on the walls of the caves traveled through to remind her of where she had been and whether she was traveling in circles or not.

Luckily, Aina had the small sword she gained from the Variant Zone. It was much more convenient to use than her massive ax on in such small quarters.

[Author's Note: Yes, small sword. Note that Aina's great sword has not appeared yet at this point]

By now, Aina had long since placed her sensory boosting headpiece on. Before, she had been hesitant to do so.

Compared to Leonel, she was much more informed about the situation of other worlds. So, she was very much aware how much of a draw a Quasi Bronze treasure could be. As such, she hid the fact she had one while within the Variant Zone. But now that she had become the enemy of those three anyway, even if she ran into them now, it wouldn't make much of a difference. After all, the blood of a Fifth Dimensional entity could be considered about equal to a Quasi Bronze treasure. In fact, to the right person, it would be even more valuable.

'The Force is getting denser?'

Aina's brows raised, a faint excitement in her heart. If Force was increasing in the direction she was walking, it was very likely that there could be treasures lying in wait. It wasn't rare for such ancient networks of caves to have untapped mines.

Aina continued to mark the walls she came across with arrows, maintaining her caution.

Usually, the most sensitive creatures to shifts in Force density weren't humanoids but rather beasts and Invalids. Though Invalids only cared about devouring humans, beasts were different. Whether it was humans or resources, they would be interested in both. It wouldn't be a surprise if a beast called this place home.

As Aina approached the location of the increased Force density, she heard a faint scratching noise that caused her steps to freeze.

Though Aina's senses weren't very powerful, thanks to her strong body, what she did have was great hearing and eyesight. In fact, after absorbing the Abyssal Panther's blood, her ability to see in the darkness was no worse than her ability to see in the light which was very helpful in this dark environment.

'There's something up ahead…'

Aina crouched, slinking forward as though she truly was a panther. The light in her amber eyes seemed to dim toward a darker hue and gained a more feline look to them.

Her black hair melded into the darkness as she quickly darted forward, making it to the small branching pathway the noise was coming from.

After peeking inside, Aina was stunned by what she saw.

'An Invalid!'