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墨書 Inktalez
"The situation here is indeed becoming more perilous," Xiong Tai exclaimed bluntly.
"This just shows we came to the right place. The deeper we go, the more astonishing creatures you'll encounter, so stay alert," Ross replied with a chuckle, continuing to explain the circumstances to the others at a leisurely pace.
"That's true. The grass here is as tall as a person, reminding me of a dreamlike wonderland," Freyr said, shaking his head.
So far, they had no idea how long they had been running; all they knew was that the journey felt quite distant.
They stopped to form a circle and took turns eating, then stood guard while keeping an eye on their surroundings. This was their first encounter with such a situation. Having heard about Ross's past experiences, they felt a lingering fear; indeed, there could be no room for complacency, especially not when it came to sleeping.
Before this, they had already rested in the vehicle, but now the long-distance travel had drained enough energy that even an iron man would struggle to keep going.
In the face of potential danger, they could only remain vigilant. Fortunately, they had exchanged for quite a bit of good equipment; it would be a shame not to use it now.
"Alright, let's finish eating and move on. Running away this time would waste too much energy; after all, we're at a high altitude here. We should conserve our strength as much as possible," Ross continued.
Freyr didn't move immediately and added, "Can you clarify how much longer we need to walk to reach our destination? Continuing like this without any sense of direction isn't feasible, and we have no idea how long we'll be walking. You need to give us some guidance; this can't go on."
Clearly, when he spoke those words, the remaining four also halted. His point was valid. Seeing everyone stop, Ross turned around to survey the area before feeling reassured and walked over to respond: "This area is relatively safe. I will tell you what you want to know. This mushroom is actually known as the Origin of Life; it exists at an altitude of 88,444 meters. Even at such high altitudes, it still radiates boundless vitality. Although the ground we are standing on seems solid, it is influenced by that mushroom. Its power affects this region; however, the oxygen at high altitudes is very thin. The fact that such a rich biological chain can exist here is due to that mushroom's influence. The mushroom's origin name is Eternal Life; it represents the first form of vitality that developed on this planet and has continued to thrive until now. It grows atop this forested mountain."
"You mean the forest we're walking on is gradually moving upward? No wonder it's becoming increasingly strenuous; it turns out this is altitude sickness. For us enhanced Genetic Races, altitude sickness develops slowly rather than hitting us immediately like ordinary people. But what you say is truly impressive; the temperature here hasn't dropped at all, and this vitality extends nearly a thousand meters—it's remarkable," Freyr remarked with admiration.
"However," Ross continued, "there's also a downside: the closer we get to the mushroom's range, the more resilient the life force becomes. That life form at the pinnacle of the world embodies everything known about life on this planet. For this reason, even if it involves risks, we must ensure that mushroom remains stable and healthy. You must understand that even the strongest life form can face extinction; from the dawn of time, it has intertwined with the world itself—it could be considered its lifeblood but can also approach annihilation at any moment. As technology advances, humanity seeks to understand what allows this fungus to thrive for so long; that's something humanity yearns to know."
"The mushrooms maintain an energy field that prevents the creatures inside from leaking out. Those creatures, after consuming the plants within, become isolated from the outside world. If the mushrooms aren't healthy enough, the creatures could come down from the mountain and trigger a biological outbreak. If they reach our human settlements, it would be catastrophic. If they head towards the insects, that might be manageable, but the beings above could be of an Apocalyptic Level. Our mission is to study that mushroom and ensure its health, which is why we always send hunters to monitor its safety. This is why we were assigned to this task; even if it means executing a mission, we don't have to go through many processes. Now you should understand why you were called one by one to relay this message—it's due to this law."
"I see, that's why we need to extract cellular genes for regular research."
Freyr lowered his head, hesitating for a moment before responding calmly.
With this topic concluded, they continued forward, choosing to walk in order to conserve energy due to the terrifying creatures that could appear at any moment on the mountain. Every step they took required utmost caution.
Several hours later, it began to grow dark. They found a slightly sheltered tree hollow as a windbreak.
This was the only safe place they could find, and fortunately, it was spacious enough for everyone.
They moved stones from other areas to block the entrance of the hollow so they could rest safely. The environment inside was relatively dry; although it felt crowded with so many people, it was still quite comfortable. After finishing their rations, they took a simple rest for a few hours.
When visibility improved in the space, they crawled out of the tree hollow and continued their ascent toward the mountain peak.
Along the way, they encountered an increasing variety of insects and some native Parasite Beasts. In reality, these creatures posed a devastating threat to their Hunter Team; even a slight confrontation could lead to their annihilation. They chose paths that were more obscure and difficult to traverse.
At least those routes felt safer; only by taking such risks could they hope to see the Origin of Life mushroom alive.
This mission was particularly daunting, which is why the association allotted twice as much time as usual. Other Hunter Teams were reluctant to take on this challenging task, leaving the association unable to dispatch additional help. Therefore, aside from offering mission rewards, they were willing to use any weapon as collateral. Upon completion of the mission, it would be directly handed over as a reward. They could also propose options for armor or weapons and Gene Endowment selections limited to this mission's rewards upon completion.
Items chosen from Wanderer's Home could be taken directly with a cost of 50,000 Reward Points as a limit; any excess would be applied as a supplement against Reward Points."
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