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!'
Aina's heartbeat quickened slightly before she forced it to enter another slow and calming rhythm.
She was well aware that any Invalids that managed to survive this long on a world that had long since gone through its Metamorphosis wasn't an existence she could look down upon. But, at the same time, such Invalids would leave behind great stores of energy.
Whenever an Invalid was killed, they would become the purest globule of Force imaginable. When this was absorbed, it would be a great boon to a body. The stronger the Invalid was, the greater the benefit would be as well.
The only unfortunate thing, or maybe fortunate in this case, was that Terrain was a world without much talent. Though Invalids that survived this long would indeed be powerful, they still had a limit on just how powerful they could become.
Invalids had an exceptionally difficult time traveling between worlds for obvious reasons. So, if all they could devour were low talent humans, they'd be equally as pitiful.
Aina brandished her sword, prepared to strike at any moment.
'What is it scratching and claw at?'
Aina had never seen an Invalid act in this way. They would usually be placid and without emotion. Their only goals in 'life' was to devour other humans and evolve themselves. Something like an Invalid being so interested in a wall was unheard of, even if said wall had a treasure lying behind it.
Aina shook her head and removed all distracting thoughts.
Invalids were incredibly sensitive to Force, so she didn't dare to use it. But, with her strength, especially after tempering her blood once, she didn't need to.
Just a single strike to the head. That would be enough to make sure this Invalid never saw the light of day again.
Aina's thighs flexed, her body crouching like a strung bow.
BANG!
The Invalid froze, its scratching coming to a stop when it heard the noise. But, Aina had already appeared to its back, aiming a blade at the back of its skull.
At that moment, the Invalid's head suddenly spun 180 degrees, its placid white eyes locking onto Aina's approaching blade.
Aina felt something grab at her heart as though trying to fill her with fear. But, her blade never stopped, shooting through the Invalid's skull in the next instant.
The Invalid's forehead was split by Aina's blade, but its eyes remained locked onto Aina as its lifeforce dimmed.
But, just as it was about to fade into motes of light, its jaw went slack, hanging open at an awkward angle as though a wooden puppet with a loose screw.
And then, it screamed.
The sound was so loud that Aina felt her eardrums shatter. But, she didn't have the time to linger on the pain in the slightest.
She felt that this scream hadn't been a normal scream… it was a signal and she was the subject of the information being sent.