"System, activate the treasure mapping skill," Davi called out.
[Ding!]
[Skill: Treasure Mapping]
[Effect: Allows host to trace the source of a marked treasure.]
[Cost: 20 Asura Points per activation]
[Duration: 15 minutes per use]
However, as Davi read the notifications, he cursed silently… the system had already increased all his skill sets and the whole catalog by 20%.
Right now, the mission difficulty to obtain the rune key had doubled.
Davi was extremely frustrated.
'At least I have tempered my bones, so my speed should increase drastically… I should even be faster than Gravils should I go at full speed,' Davi thought.
Suddenly sending a mental command to Gravils, he told her to wait in a corner of the Ashwood Forest.
Besides, this was the place Gravils had mutated. He was fearful that some unforeseen circumstances could occur and it would impact Gravils' growth, especially when she had yet to fully recover.
Gravils purred in protest, but in the end, she gave in… she knew Davi was saying this for her own good.
Sigh.
"I have to give Russell a good enough explanation for this, else he would grow extremely suspicious of me… System, activate the skill!" Davi commanded.
Immediately, condensing three drops of Asura qi, he channeled it madly into his skin, muscles, and then his bones!
Boom!
[Treasure Mapping: Activated - 20 AP Deducted]
[Target: Rune Key]
[Time Remaining: 14:59 minutes]
Davi rushed madly into the depths of the Bonecradle Range with insane speed.
However, unlike last time when he augmented part of his body with Asura qi, this time it was uniform… hence, he could last longer.
A thin golden thread stretched out endlessly from his mind into the depths of the Bonecradle Range.
Each of his steps sent faint vibrations into the ground, and with the feedback he got, he was able to tell the direction as he weaved endlessly through the Ashwood Forest into the depths of the Bonecradle Range.
He wasn't far.
After ten minutes of running, he arrived at the border… he stopped suddenly.
Davi's hairs stood on end.
He felt a fatal threat of danger!
The golden thread from the treasure mapping skill became even more vibrant.
'That's miasma… and it's extremely potent!' Davi thought as he felt the slight corrosive energy in the air formed by the miasma.
Yes… that was the source of the threat.
"System, pause the mapping skill for now. Let me recover my strength before I continue onward!" Davi called out.
He immediately sat down and began cultivating.
[Ding!]
[Skill: Treasure Mapping]
[Effect: Allows host to trace the source of a marked treasure.]
[Time Remaining: 5:05 minutes (paused)]
***
Meanwhile, back on the Mage Observation Platform…
Grand Commander Dufus stared in confusion. It wasn't just him, but everyone.
Davi's move just now astonished them all… logically, it was the time when every team was furiously hunting for the Lunar Purity Bloom, yet Davi ran towards the Bonecradle Range!
"I wonder what that young lad is up to?" Archon Alzareth asked.
"Hmm… it's good he didn't step into the miasma mist. We can't observe whatever goes on in there!" Grandmaster Halver said.
"If that's the case, let's send another master to follow closely behind him… he is a talent we can't afford to lose!" Grand Commander Dufus said.
"Zi Mou, send someone over… besides, I want to know what he could be after," Dufus continued.
Immediately, Zi Mou sent someone after Davi.
Old Man Frank watched all this without really speaking much.
While this was going on, some teams had already begun to obtain some Lunar Purity Bloom… while some were engaged with fierce beasts.
Some teams set up ambushes to steal some Lunar Purity Bloom from other weaker teams like Neri and Rita.
The alliance had already gotten two, and they needed to obtain one more to logically pass the test… although their aim was nine Lunar Purity Bloom so that everyone could have one each.
***
"I am ready… it's time!" Davi said.
His hands were buzzing with energy, his bones fully saturated.
'It's a pity I can't break through to the next stage of body tempering… I wonder how much strength I would have then,' Davi thought.
He quickly put that thought aside.
However, this time he reinforced his body with another layer of Asura qi to help him resist the miasma's corrosion.
Activating the treasure mapping skill, he dashed into the miasma mist, disappearing completely from sight.
***
"That lad… he is daring indeed. It's a pity we won't be able to observe him for some time," Archon Draith said.
"Well, I have seen enough to know that he is fitting for our Azure Claw Sanctum," Grandmaster Halver said.
Lady Stacy snorted.
She was determined to rope Davi in… of course, that was on the condition that he survived.
***
As Davi entered the mist of miasma, he felt a chilling sensation all over his body.
'I need to get this as quickly as possible and dash out of here!' Davi said resolutely as he ran madly towards the golden thread.
However, after running for some time, he suddenly stopped.
"Sigh… it's exhausted so quickly? System, activate the skill!" Davi called out.
His heart ached… he had barely managed to earn a few Asura Points, but they were already quickly drained.
However, it was beyond his control!
[Treasure Mapping: Activated - 20 AP Deducted]
[Target: Rune Key]
[Time Remaining: 14:59 minutes]
Davi continued forward.
Surprisingly, he did not encounter any difficulties… after running for another seven minutes…
Davi arrived at a cave that was extremely well hidden.
The golden thread was extremely dazzling. Needless to say, he had arrived at his location!
However, Davi didn't rush in blindly.
A mission that required this level of difficulty… it wouldn't just be that easy to obtain the rune key.
He speculated that there must be something guarding it.
And he wasn't confident… at least not without being at his peak.
Repeating the process of pausing the mapping skill, he began to slowly recuperate and re-augment his body to resist the corrosion of the miasma, as it was extremely dense close to the cave.
Everywhere was eerily silent… and only Davi's breathing could be heard.
Ten minutes quickly passed.
Davi got up, then… with a flash… sprinted into the cave as he activated the mapping skill once more.
With roughly seven minutes left, he had to be extremely swift.
Woosh!
Davi charged in.
As soon as he entered the cave, Davi realized that there was still a long way to go… he was extremely careful, and his speed reduced drastically.
Just then, he felt his hairs stand on end…
Boom!
Davi jumped back, only for an attack to land where he was seconds prior!
ROAR!
Davi cursed!
He immediately attacked with the Windcaller Staff.
However, his attack landed in the air, hitting nothing.
Boom! An attack landed on his back, slamming him into the wall!
Davi cursed!
His greatest impairment was that he didn't know what sort of beast he was up against, nor what it could do in such a situation.
His mind spun rapidly as he thought of a solution.
His eyes lit up… and he dashed forward madly, not caring in the slightest about his injury nor being careful.
ROAR!
The beast let out a furious roar and chased madly after Davi.
As the chase continued, the duo disappeared into the depths of the cave.
A knight stood at a distance from the cave as he observed everything.
'That is a Class 2 Lv.3 Blackhorned Miasma Python! That kid is in trouble… it's too dangerous for me to go in. Let me return and report… hopefully a Grandmaster should handle this properly,' the knight thought.
With a flash, he disappeared.
It wasn't that he wasn't confident about a Class 2 beast, in fact, as long as it wasn't a Class 3 beast, he wasn't worried… but he noticed the eerie silence and the absence of beasts.
Something was extremely strange, and he was uncertain what would happen if he stepped into the cave.
As for Davi… The chase continued!