52 Death Jungle (1/2)
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Lineir clambered down the cliff, which was actually far higher than the one he had climbed down before. He sighed, while he had looked high and low, and in every nook and cranny of the cave, the dragon girl was gone. However, the strange brand on his shoulder remained, and he could feel it there, constantly reminding him of her words... she could find him, whenever...wherever. At the moment though, he was free.
Making his way down a rock face so steep that it would be suicide for all but the most expert mortal climbers, however, he easily found paths. His strength was such that if he wanted to, he could simply barehanded reach into the stone and carve out a handhold with his fingers. Such was the advantage of his newfound strength. After his escapades on the pillar, he was many times stronger than before. To be honest, he wasn't even sure how strong he was,
”I wonder... if i simply jumped from here... would it even be dangerous?” He stared down at the dizzying drop before him. The length of which, even a fraction would have easily killed him before.
”I'd better not risk dying just to find out. I'll just climb down the regular way.” Laughing at how ridiculous this train of thought was, he went down with renewed vigor. At the bottom, large amounts of greenery greeted him, however... something was off. Lineir paused and looked around.
”Mmmm... this place feels wrong.” Mei agreed,
”Kiddo, I'm sensing a slightly higher amount of death Qi than normal in this place. Yet this place would appear to be a wilderness home to magical beasts, there should be no reason for so much death Qi to simply be hanging around. Be cautious, we don't know exactly where that dragonkin dropped you off. While you might be strong, if this is the wrong kind of place, your strength will be insignificant. Remember, you've only just begun to master the art of authority, large magical beasts and constructs will still pose a major threat to you, especially if there is more than one!”
”Understood!” Lineir silently answered mentally, and then began to creep forward. He kept his center of mass extremely low, back hunched and knees bent, scurrying silently through the brush. Darting from tree to tree, he advanced at a rapid speed while still maintaining a high amount of stealth. His goal was not only to cover ground while staying stealthy, but also to make himself a hard target if he was discovered. This was a key point which Mei had stressed in training.
”Disciple, what is more important? Stealth or speed?” She had asked him once.
”Well, speed is more important in open battle, where as stealth is key when you cannot engage the enemy directly correct?” Lineir answered.
”Correct, but when in unfamiliar territory, as cultivators, there is another aspect to consider! That is, spiritual detection!” Mei hammered this point home.