"Glug." Nasi visibly swallowed and tentatively asked, "Kind giant, is this candy gem also for me?"
"Not necessarily," Colin replied, casually pocketing the Ancient Tree Heart with a smile.
"Let's go."
He didn't look back at the Sacrificial Ancient Tree behind him, but instead leapt up and swiftly flew towards the edge of the distant plains.
An hour later.
At the edge of the Dark Red Glass Forest.
Whoosh~
A pale white cold wind swept through the gaps between the branches,
Drip.
Water droplets condensed and fell from the tips of the branches, shattering on the ground.
A figure cloaked in gray followed, slowing down gradually.
Colin sensed the sudden drop in temperature around him and his heart tightened, heightening his vigilance.
On the necessary path to the plains, he first had to pass through an ice plain and then a series of dried-up lakes before officially entering the grasslands.
After sensing the connection between the small elf Nasi and the Dark Red Forest, he started to believe Nasi's earlier assertion that the forest was safe and relaxed a bit.
To avoid being too conspicuous, he didn't choose to maintain flight at mid-air but moved through the forest instead.
There was enough space between these trees to allow him to pass, and with the help of the Superbrain, his speed wasn't reduced.
Along the way, having almost crossed half the forest, the reliability of the little elf's words was indeed proven.
But at the same time, another of the little elf's phrases became even truer—
Beyond the forest, there lies danger!
Colin collected his thoughts and continued to fly.
The icy wind howled as if cutting through him... With his continued progress, the air grew colder and colder.
The droplets that could still fall were now slowly turning into clusters of sharp ice spikes emitting cold air.
Before long, through the Dark Red glass branches, a tough red emerged in Colin's sight.
'This is the ice plain also stained red…'
After observing through the branches for a while and spotting no abnormalities,
Colin gently exhaled a breath of turbid air, cranked the intensity of his Steel Temperature Resistance Field up to maximum, and his gray-black elf armor also flickered with a faint light.
At the same time, the flames around Colin gradually extinguished—he cautiously switched his Light Flame Soaring Skill for the more agile Soaring and Flying Technique.
Then, he hesitated no longer.
Neither speeding up nor slowing down excessively, he maintained the most flexible pace and rushed towards the ice plain ahead.
Swoosh!
The strong wind blew, slightly affecting the fragile ice spikes,
The next moment, Colin emerged from the Dark Red Forest.
The faintly red snowflakes scattered and fluttered in confusion by the sudden intruder.
Colin looked around.
No danger, no anomalies... The ice plain was even more desolate than the dead Dark Red Forest, void of any sound but the wind.
"Kind giant." Nasi peered out from her hood, looking at the somewhat unfamiliar scene before her, and called out uneasily.
"Don't worry," Colin reassured Nasi, slightly elevating his flying height before continuing forward.
Half an hour later, still no sign of any danger.
By this time, the snow had stopped, and the view was wide open.
Compared to the forest still partly concealed by trees, the Dark Red ice plain was like a clean mirror, clear at a glance.
'Desolate, utterly lifeless...'
Another half hour passed, still no sign of any danger.
Colin switched from the Soaring and Flying Technique to Light Flame Soaring Skill and pressed on.
Thus, most of the day passed, and Colin had already reached the junction of the ice plain and the lakelands, yet still without encountering any danger.
'However, no danger is naturally a good thing.'
Colin's gaze flickered, he didn't stop, and continued cautiously towards the plains.
If it were the time before the lake regions dried out, this place would surely have been a breathtaking sight.
But now, with the clear lake water gone, only a bare lakebed and some fish and bird carcasses remained, and they were even tinged with the eerie Dark Red color, definitely not a beautiful sight.
The journey through the lakeland area proceeded smoothly as well.
No monsters, no strange events, only the recurring Dark Red color.
"Kind giant… little Nasi might have remembered wrong, it seems safe outside too!"
At the edge of the plains, at the location previously indicated by Anando's Dice, Colin slowly descended.
The little elf Nasi peeked out from his hood, stepping on the small bed.
She surveyed this scene she had never seen before, her expression somewhat excited, like a child out on a trip.
But Colin next to her didn't respond, instead furrowing his brows, focusing intently on an unremarkable object not far away.
It was a petal.
A white one, but now half-stained with the ominous dark red color!