Rewinding a bit to the first year of Caelan's Cocoon Project, approximately 15 miles north of his location lies a rural village. This village is called Forkton, an extension of the biggest human city in the Suduthei region, Calor City.
At that time, an ambassador from Calor City had arrived and established a guild branch, called the Forkton Questing Hall, catching the eyes of many combatants in the village.
The day the Forkton Questing Hall was opened, many village residents rushed in to get registered as a Questor. Once registered, they are able to take quests.
Plastered on the quest board range from small requests from fellow residents to monster-hunting as requested by the ambassador city. Many folks, understandably, had their eyes set on the monster-hunting quests.
Usually, this requires Questors to reach at least the Bronze Rank before they can take on life-threatening quests of taking on the monsters. This time, however, there was an exception. Since almost all had begun on the lowest rank, the Iron Rank, due to the Questing Hall being just recently opened, the ambassador had prepared a series of promotion quests.
"Gather, gather! Those who are level 10 and above, gather here!" an assistant shouted in the noisy hall. There were many people gathered here, creating a cacophony of excited conversations. "We are looking for at least thirty who are willing to take on monster-subjugation quests for a chance to have a rank promotion!"
Hearing this, those who are at least level 10 almost sprinted towards the front. Those who are just level 9 and below just shook their heads as they had missed this chance.
Lining up on the front were forty-two men and women who were in their thirties or above. In rural villages like this, there is a lack of talent and education.
The ambassador looked at the pathetic line of manpower, but that's to be expected from this place, so he didn't show his disappointment to not ruin the people's morale.
"Alright," it was the ambassador who spoke up. Having the highest authority and the highest level of them all, his voice alone quietened the hall even though he didn't shout.
"This is a rare chance for all of you to gain experience and rank up as soon as possible. You may already know this, but the Calor City is intending to increase its manpower and prioritizing military might above all! That's why we want to give you the opportunity to become strong with these quests and rewards we brought!"
The eyes of the residents in line sparkled. But the next words that came out of the ambassador seemed to pour cold water on their heads.
"We plan to take on Armored Canines in the red zone of Suduthei in the next year and gather their armored skins. The monsters range from level 2 to 5, but occasionally, we may encounter a pack leader that's level 10."
The faces of the residents paled. Just a level 2 Armored Canine can be fatal to them. That's because monsters are innately stronger than humans. A monster will always be stronger than a human at the same level. On top of that, the Forkton residents lack skills, training, and experience. They don't even have proper weapons to defend themselves.
That's when an elderly man stepped forward with his hand raised.
"May I speak of concern, Sir Eldron?"
"Village Head, please." Eldron, the Calor City ambassador, let the old man speak.
"I don't want to speak little of our brave fighters here, but as their master who led their breakthroughs, I am not confident they can take on level 5 Armored Canines, let alone a pack leader. Even I, at Level 25, will find it challenging to face a pack leader."
Ambassador Eldron nodded, "I understand your concern, Village Head. We have already taken that into consideration. We believe in the power within us, humans, that we strive to get stronger. However, we also want to minimize casualties to zero, ideally. That's why we have brought experienced Adventurers from Calor City to guide them. It's their current mission, so don't hesitate to ask for their help when needed."
At the same time, three people came forward. Compared to the rural residents who wore leather armor and had crude weapons, these three have magically imbued silver armors and weapons. Just from the aura they exude, they already seemed to be stronger than the village head.
"I'm Orthe, a level 28 Adventurer who specializes in close-combat magic," the huge man among the three introduced himself, which was followed by the other two.
The red-headed woman was the next to introduce herself.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Milana, a level 29 Adventurer who specializes in ranged-fire magic. I also have the Basic Healing Skill, so if you are injured, you know who to go to."
Lastly, a blond man, who is shorter than the redhead woman before him, smiled widely, "You can call me Zeke. I shoot arrows. Level 29 as well. Nice to meet you all!"
The Forkton residents couldn't believe their eyes. Level 28 and 29, while looking this young? It doesn't seem like they have yet reached their 30s. They looked at each other and felt a bit insecure and ashamed to be standing in front of these geniuses. At the same time, they were also much happier that they had these strong guardians!
"Oh, what fortune! We are truly blessed by the king to have this opportunity!" The Village Head clasped his hands. All his worries vanished.
"Geniuses!"
"I'm glad we have these strong heroes for our backs!"
"We'll surely be much safer."
The residents eventually became more riled up than before.
Soon, they were grouped into three, with each Adventurer leading them. Excited for the opportunity to rank up and get enormous rewards, they set out to do the quests.
In the next year, Forkton village was soon recognized as a town for its exceptional growth. All sorts of Questors and even Adventurers settled into the town. Its manpower soared, and the questing hall began offering more Bronze Rank quests and even some Silver Rank quests that even famed Adventurers are hesitant to take.
The hardest quest of them all was to subjugate a certain monster deep into the red zone of Suduthei — the Winged-Bear.
During this time, the three original Adventurers have finally broken through the bottleneck of level 29 thanks to their master, Eldron.
After taking on multiple pack leaders of Armored Canine, subjugating multiple Shadow Serpents, and the fast and deadly Galed Tiger, the three original Adventurers felt like they were finally ready to rank up by taking the hardest quest.
As such, they gathered multiple Adventurers and Questors with levels ranging from 20 to 30 to go on an expedition to find and kill the Winged-Bear, and take its precious wing, a rare material, as loot.
From tracking the Winged-Bear's location, studying its behavior, finding its weakness, and preparing for the inevitable raid, this expedition was expected to last for more than a year.
...
...
Returning to the present, it's just been a few days, but the cave that Caelan stayed for three years had been transformed into a huge basement with a neat and flat stone floor, complete furniture, and lights hanging from the ceiling.
It has the same set-up as his previous lab. Meanwhile, all the ores have been collected and organized to fit into rows and rows of cabinets. While these ores didn't exceed the one hundred kilograms limit of Caelan's Storage, it's better to keep them there so that he still has extra space in his skill.
He also recreated his wide desk at the corner of the basement. Although his computer and other devices are missing there, surely, he will find something to replace them.
Creating inanimate objects out of pure energy has become child's play for Caelan ever since he upgraded his biological body, increasing his strength several-fold without increasing his level.
Speaking of his level, how come he didn't level up past level 9? Caelan figures that he may need to kill monsters like how a character levels up in a game. But he can't always use the logic from games just because there are game elements in this world. There may be other requirements for breaking past the ninth level and reaching double digits.
Nonetheless, Caelan is confident that his strength is way past his actual level. How far his strength is actually ahead, he doesn't know. That's why, after finishing the last touches on his cave abode, he got out of the hole from where he fell three years ago in one jump.
Caelan was pleasantly surprised. In the entirety of his previous life, he had not thought that he could jump more than two meters in height. That was just a useless thought to consider unless you're trying to break the world record. But now, it's not just two meters or even just ten meters!
Even after Caelan got out of the hole, he was still rising until he reached past the trees and saw the sky at a surprising height. The sky was free of clouds, and there he saw the rising sun in its unadulterated state.
As Caelan's rising speed slowed to a halt, he took a deep breath.
"It feels good."
It feels good to be alive and to experience the world in this new body of his. However, looking at the sun, he was reminded of the story of Icarus.
It was not a random thought. The story of Icarus reveals a warning against hubris and even overconfidence. Caelan was currently feeling invincible. But he has to remind himself that everything in this world still remains unknown to him. He may not be scared of the Armored Canines like before and even confident in taking on the Winged-Bear alone, but who's to say that there are no bigger threats?
Caelan really enjoyed his time in the cave. Although it was a lot of pain, he was creating something he never imagined would exist. A world full of magic, what other things can he discover, explore, and build?
For that reason, why not focus on building weapons, armors, and magical skills? Not only would it be the utmost fun for him, but it would also increase his chance of survival, expanding his lifespan for his enjoyment.
"Yes, that's it! Let's just build something that's undefeatable!" Caelan was getting excited at the thought before returning to reality.
His descent began and landed softly on top of a tree.
Using the Explore Skill at its maximum level, which is level 3, Caelan was able to look for beings as far as miles away with high accuracy. There, he found all sorts of monsters and even ores and rare plants. However, he didn't care for them as he didn't lack resources for now.
There were also many groups of beings packed together. He didn't look at all of them. Instead, his mind's eye landed on an Armored Canine.
Inspect.
[Alpha Armored Canine - Level 12 - Earth Attribute.
Skills: Hardened Fangs, Solidified Horn.
Weakpoint: Base of tail.]
There are more descriptions that Caelan could see because his Inspect Skill is at max level as well, which is level 3. Caelan figured that level 3 is the maximum level because both Explore and Inspect stayed at level 3 for a very long time. He wasn't sure for how long exactly. He didn't even know that he spent three years in the cave. It all felt like a month or so for him.
However, after it being the cause of his previous death, Caelan had kept in mind that what he felt like a month ago should be way more than that.
Oh yeah, why don't I build a clock in this world? Caelan entertained the thought as he dropped from the tree and kicked it, shooting him away to the next tree, to which he kicked again.
In this way, he was like running in the sky. At first, it was a bit clumsy, and it would take him a bit of time to adjust his footing, but it wasn't long before his movement became smooth.
As he became more comfortable with this mode of transportation, Caelan became faster and eventually heard something ripping around him.
It was his clothes!
"Oh shit–!"
Out of embarrassment, Caelan accidentally missed his footing and fell onto the ground, sliding until he hit another tree to a stop.
Even when he slid like it was a plane crash and he was the plane itself, he felt no pain or any damage to his skin. Upside down, with his previous thing hanging in front of him, Caelan felt inexplicable embarrassment.
"Keh-! I should make new clothes that can match my strength," he immediately repositioned himself.
He took out a rare ore with a Water Attribute and used its energy to create pure distilled water to wash himself first before trying to create a worthy fit for himself.
As he does so, Caelan's heightened sense of hearing picks up noises from hundreds of meters away.
"... it's here…"
"... it must be…"
They were still a bit far, and Caelan couldn't figure out what they were fully saying. However, there's something sure from what he heard. Language! Language, that surprisingly, he could understand!?
Did that angelic voice also give me a convenient language ability? There's no way they're using the same language as back on Earth.
Caelan decided to see these beings with his own eyes. But first, he needs to hide. Not only because he's naked right now... but there's also the chance that the origin of these voices is not human
There's nothing wrong with being extra careful. He's in another world, after all.