They were heading to the same continent of the Zolydic family.
There, there was a ruin Roman was interested in. Surrounded by dangerous wilds filled with Nen wielding beasts.
It was a perfect place to test his strength and understanding of script.
The main reason Roman wanted to understand script, was not only its connection to Nen, but its possible connections and significance to the dark continent.
The dark continent was grand, mysterious and powerful. It was the end game.
Knowing anything about it would dramatically increase your chances at survival.
Roman knew this and knew remnants of the dark continent lingered in the human world. Nen scripts were the only universal language he could use to explore recorded secrets about the dark continent.
As for ancient languages, it was too demanding to learn them all. Roman could only record things he couldn't understand and find a translator later.
Landing in a city near the ruins, after a long flight Roman and Menchi didn't bother to find a room to stay in, and entered the purple jar.
Spending the night inside and having a world class breakfast.
The wilds beyond the house had been filled with farm animals and crops, though Menchi was interested in collecting every species and plant known to fill the wilds.
Though the plants and animals were already unrecognizable from their original forms.
Repopulating into even more unrecognizable forms in only a few months.
They currently couldn't be used as ingredients, it seemed only plants and animals that had Nen could survive under the radiation.
This was another reason why this adventure was chosen.
To collect livestock.
Exiting the jar, Roman and Menchi got a cab and went as close as possible to the location of interest.
Leaving the cab driver some money, and removing a soul mark from the man.
Menchi and Roman began a trek into a dense forest.
Keeping their senses heightened, even though they knew the outskirts weren't very dangerous.
The wildlife didn't seem very disruptive but nearby human presences. The wildlife was abundant, in an hour Menchi and Roman had seen a number of animals both big and small.
Though none with Nen, they hadn't truly entered the region of interest.
These creatures couldn't sense them when they were concealing their aura in Zetsu.
Forcing forward they ran into an abnormal wall, it wasn't man made. But of natural stone, they were at the bottom of a cliff.
Roman had read about this, it was the entrance to the real wilderness. Isolating Nen creatures from normal creatures.
Roman and Menchi climbed the cliff face with ease. It was only a dozen meters tall.
Not a mountain side.
Inside the real wilds, things seemed to brighten. But everything was the same. This made Menchi summon her knives in vigilance.
Both of them were on guard, and they were greeted instantly.
A tree in front of them moved, seeing this people would expect a branch to sway them.
But instead the tree's roots beneath them grabbed them.
Menchi quickly reacted by cutting the root with ease. Meanwhile Roman just ignored the root, internally curious what it was trying to do.
Though as he felt the force of the root trying to drag him down he was both upset and curious.
Upset there wasn't anything interesting going on, and I was curious if the tree was trying to take him somewhere.
Halting his resistance the branch dragged his body underground, the earth trying to hold him in place. His neck and head are still above the ground.
Frowning he understood the ability, Roman had actually already read about this ability.
But he experienced it first hand to confirm everything.
Bored, he resisted and with a burst of his aura, he broke free and stepped out of the earth.
By then Menchi had already darted forward, dodging branches and roots trying to entangle her.
With great agility and reaction speed, she quickly reached the tree's trunk and cut it in half, knocking the tree over.
Though the tree wasn't dead and still resisted. But the bottom part, the roots and the top part, the branches were notably weaker.
You couldn't fight the trees, only weaken them.
Menchi stepped back after cutting the tree a few more times, weakening it further. Stepping out of the range of the tree.
"Are we gonna have to fight all the trees?" Menchi furrowed her brows and asked.
"No, after fighting one the rest won't bother you. This one was just a test to see if you were prey or a predator." Roman explained.
They weren't very smart, and after this initiation into the wilds, they wouldn't never bother you even if you were severely injured and dying.
Though they still watched the tree as it eventually reconnected into the ground.
A stump and roots without branches, and a tree with branches but no roots. But they were growing back.
Menchi basically just made the tree reproduce.
Though while, the tree was weaker than Menchi, it was a formidable opponent to any Nen user.
Being attacking from all directions, even underground where a single miss step could spell ruin.
Not to mention every branch or root dispatched meant nothing, and the tree couldn't be killed.
All you could do was dodge and flee. It required unique abilities or overwhelming strength to overcome.
Continuing onward, the frequency of encountering wildlife only increased.
In only ten minutes they encountered a house cat for some reason.
It glanced at them and ignored them, but the aura of the cat was greater than all of the trees around them.
Next they ran into a grey crow, Menchi and Roman not to initiate any conflicts until the finished finding and exploring the ruin.
This crow was following them from the top of trees, studying them for reasons unknown.
Running into a few more cats and crows, with the cats ignoring them. The crows watching them, and even communicating among themselves.
With at least one crow always watching them.
It wasn't until an hour of travel that they ran into a unique creature.
A large armadillo-like creature with spikes on its back that were consistently shifting positions in a unique pattern. A pattern unique to each armadillo.
The armadillo was as big as the smallest tree they had encountered. That was still as big as a car. Roman knew this was called the tree-munching demon.
The predator of these trees. It would eat a tree then slumber for a month.
Though when awake they were extremely territorial.
Noticing Roman and Menchi, something they allowed. It was the only reason the cats and crows had noticed them in the first place. With their permission.
The armadillo paused, a subtle pressure forming around them, attempting to lock them in place.
Menchi resisted and charged at the armadillo, knowing it was the ability of the creature.
But Roman didn't move to see if there was anything else, unfortunately Menchi's movement broke the ability's effect on him as well.
Appearing in front of the armadillo, it felt the threat of death and curled up defensively.
Menchi's knife plunged into the creature's armor.
The creature's armor continued to shift in a unique pattern, threatening Menchi's grip.
So she let go, letting the knife remain in the armadillo, because the pattern wasn't changing.
Taking a step back, Menchi and Roman watched the armadillo's armored spikes continue to move.
Its movement was forcing the knife to move along with it, increasing the size of the wound.
It seemed the creature hadn't evolved for its armor to be pierced, or experienced it.
Feeling all the pain the creature trembled and before it knew it. Entered a coma, entering a premature slumber.
Roman and Menchi immediately notice the change in creature's breath. Approaching it knowing it was asleep, Menchi retrieved her knife.
Quickly summoning her purple jar and sending the creature within.
For sending creatures to hunt and future ingredients the Nen expenditure was minimal.
Glancing in the jar through its window, they both watched the armadillo mutate and eventually recover. But still in a coma.
Menchi unsummoning the jar and continued forward.
Eventually reaching a clearing, as if the forest before was surrounding something.
Roman and Menchi could only see the distant horizon, it was a large clearing.
But rustling in patches of dirt and grass signaled many creatures nearby.
Roman and Menchi knew about this area as well. It was a paradise for rodents, they were really fast and good at concealment and trickery.
All of these rustlings were traps.
So they avoided them, watching their surroundings for a specific creature meant to force them into the traps.
Nothing was so simple. Not long later it made its appearance.
A long rat tail, as long and thick as a rope. Swept through a ten meter radius, disrupting the grass and trying to mess with intruders.
Menchi jumped, avoiding the rat tail, but Roman bent down and grabbed it directly.
The skin like tail, shook in his hands trying to get free.