Chapter 551: Dynamic
Up ahead was a nigh desolate area. The leaves of the trees seemed wilted, and the soil was cracked and dry. It looked as though all the vitality of the region was sucked away.
This wasn't normal for this region. Although it was called a dry rainforest, it still had quite a great deal of vitality to it. This was anything but normal.
And that was because there was a particular beast here that had made it its territory, and it was Sylas' target.
[Ground Boa (FFF+)]
[Level: 22]
[Physical: 792]
[Mental: 763]
[Will: 522]
This beast wasn't very powerful compared to the others that Sylas had faced. In fact, it almost felt lackluster.
It hung in the distance on a far-off tree, and it must have been at least 40 meters in length. It looped its length around the aged bark; for a moment, if one wasn't looking too closely, it almost felt like the boa and the tree were one and the same.
There were several of these creatures around. None of them were as powerful as the Woodland Spider Queen, unfortunately, so there were none he could use to gain a Bronze Class... But Sylas had another idea.
The death of the Arctic Emperor Cobra hadn't come with a penalty. Even if it did, if that penalty was less than the gains he made, it would have still been worth it.
What if he created his own enemy to accelerate the pace of his Path of the Mancer Quest?
It made sense that this region didn't have another beast as powerful as the Woodland Spider Queen. If there was, then he wouldn't have been able to get the Territory Key from it.
If the Level 30 creature he needed was here, such a Treasure would almost certainly only be under its protection.
When Sylas accepted this, he pivoted another way.
Originally, he wanted to use the overview abilities of the System City to find more Serpentes to contract. But whether any of them had as much potential as the Basilisk King, Nosphaleen, or the Bone-Tailed Lizard was highly unlikely.
He then remembered how he had been able to help the Arctic Emperor Cobra improve so quickly. If he could do that again, with the resources of an entire Territory at his disposal, what could he create this time?
The best part was that with the help of the System City, his Insight Path Talent could pick up on exactly the places he needed to go to find the resources he needed to accomplish this.
So then he just took the next logical step forward.
Elevating weak beasts was easy, but there was a reason for that. Their potential would never be as great as true pinnacle beasts. Maybe it would even become impossible to find a method to evolve them to the E-Grade and beyond.
But right now... those weak beasts were exactly what he needed. He was running out of time on his Quest and he needed a quick, sure victory.
Sylas dashed forward, ready to engage the boa in battle. Although he could use his Beast Totem to suppress it by 100% now, he wanted to stretch his limbs for a bit first.
The more practice he got with <Phoenix's Embrace>, the more he felt like there was something deeper hidden within it.
But to his surprise, he had only just gotten close when the python began to tremble fiercely. It rocked the tree it was sitting on back and forth until it collapsed under its own weight.
Sylas slowed to a jog and then eventually stopped altogether to find the python having basically pressed its head into the ground, not daring to look up.
It seemed that he wouldn't get the fight he wanted after all.
He pressed a hand down on the python's head and took it away.
The next two days were spent repeating much the same actions. The Woodland Territory, as all Territories did, had a massive span to them. The number of small-scale BOSS creatures hanging around was numerous, and if he accounted for just the Serpentes alone, it was still a decent number in the dozens.
Unlike the other regions he had been to, this one had a thriving snake population.
That said, not all the BOSSes Sylas targeted were Serpentes. Some could actually put up a fight against him, and some of them he had to rely on Nosphaleen and his Fusion.
This wasn't because they were so tough, but rather because he had to balance how much of his stamina he used and ensure that he didn't get needlessly injured.
There was a time for hard training, and it had already passed. Right now, he was trying to gather up the resources he needed.
Nearing the end of the second day of the second week, he finally reached his last and final destination. This would be the hardest of the bunch to deal with.
The region was encased in a thorny overhang. Violet wood in the shape of petals twisted around themselves, forming what looked like roses.
This was the number one danger zone of the Woodland Territory.
Though Sylas had taken over three System Cities, disbanding two of them and occupying one, the people who used to frequent them didn't just up and vanish. As such, he was able to learn quite a lot when they weren't busy cursing him for ruining two of their safe havens.
He heard about the Violet Rose Brush, as they called it, long before he even saw it on the overview map.
The air was set with a heavy white fog, and the dome of thorns and vines seemed to move and breathe like a real living being.
Deep inside, there was a Dungeon. And yet, there were no beasts rushing around. That was because entering this space meant death to 99% of them.
The fog was a dense poison that emitted from the violet wooden roses. But that was only part
of the equation.
The atmosphere itself had changed.
This place was a Field Dungeon, but it wasn't a normal one by any means.
[You have entered the Dynamic Field Dungeon <Violet Rose Brush>]
Sylas had only taken a single step in when the vines around the walkway twisted behind him, trapping him inside.