His eyes had locked onto a massive, solitary tree standing further up the slope. It was enormous, ancient and gnarled, its shadow alone seemed to stretch out for a hundred meters. Beneath its twisting branches lay countless red seeds, scattered across the dark soil like fallen rubies.
Rudra's heart hammered against his ribs. 'What is this…?'
He asked silently, 'Genesis… what are those?'
The response was instantaneous, and for the first time, the voice sounded genuinely stunned. [...Incredible.]
[Rudra, listen to me. Do not leave a single seed behind. Even if you have to risk staying on this mountain through the night, you take every last one.]
'What? Why?'
[There are nearly 1.5 million seeds scattered here.]
Rudra froze, his hand hovering over a red seed 'What?!'
[These are Ember Seeds,] Genesis explained, her voice heavy with gravity. [They are beyond rare. Even the most legendary medicines require these to stabilize their power. A single seed can amplify the potency of a solution beyond anything you can imagine. They take a thousand years to form. The value of just one of these is enough to buy a Tornado-level beast core.]
Rudra's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. A Tornado-level core? The very thing he needed to fix his broken veins? And there were millions of them just lying in the dirt?
[So hurry,] Genesis urged. [Collect everything.]
Rudra turned to Aarav, his face pale with urgency. "Aarav, we can't leave yet. We need every single one of those red seeds under that tree. They're called Ember Seeds."
Aarav looked at the darkening sky and then back at Rudra. He saw a look in his friend's eyes he had never seen before was a raw, desperate seriousness. He didn't ask a single question. He simply nodded and opened his collection bag.
Together, they dropped to their knees and began scooping the seeds into their bags. They didn't realize it yet, but they weren't just gathering herbs; they were gathering the foundation for the future of entire orphanage and the kids in it for them to have better life.
As they worked, the wind around the mountain began to pick up. It whistled through the ancient branches of the tree, carrying a strange, heavy pressure. It felt as if something unseen was watching them from the shadows of the peaks, weighing their every move.
Aarav suddenly stopped. He straightened his back, brushed the mountain soil from his palms, and looked at Rudra with a face full of curiosity.
"Hey, Rudra," Aarav said hesitantly.
Rudra didn't look up, his fingers busy dropping another glowing seed into his bag. "Yeah?"
"Why are we really doing this?" Aarav asked. "I get that you said they're rare, but what do they actually do? Why are we risking Naina's wrath for some red beads?"
Rudra paused. He slowly cinched the neck of his bag and looked straight into Aarav's eyes. His voice dropped to a low, steady whisper.
Rudra's voice dropped to a low, steady whisper. "Listen carefully, Aarav. These Ember Seeds are incredibly valuable. So valuable that if anyone finds out we have them... people won't hesitate to turn into our enemies overnight. It's not because they hate us, but because this kind of wealth makes people go blind."
Aarav's eyes widened, his hand pausing over a glowing red seed. "Seriously? They're that expensive? They just look like pretty rocks."
Rudra gave a sharp, single nod. "Yes. They are worth more than you can imagine." He paused for a heartbeat, then asked, "By the way... do you know how much a beast core is actually worth?"
Aarav's expression turned serious. "Look, a normal Fighter-level beast core isn't considered a legend or anything, but it still fetches around one thousand Vells on the market."
Rudra froze, his heart skipping a beat. "One thousand Vell?! That's a fortune!"
Aarav gave a faint, dry chuckle. "It has to be. We hear about Fighter-level beasts all the time, so they sound common, but hunting them is a nightmare." He crouched down, picking up a seed and inspecting it. "Beasts have levels and stages just like we do. But here's the real difference: a human at a certain stage is almost always weaker than a beast at that same stage."
Rudra frowned. "Wait... so even though you're a Fighter Stage 8, you couldn't defeat a Stage 8 beast?"
Aarav shook his head immediately. "Forget defeating it—I wouldn't even go near one alone. A beast's real strength is always much higher than its rank suggests. For example, a Stage 8 beast has raw power closer to a Stage 9 human or even higher. They are physically superior to us in every way. They are still weaker than an Elite-ranked warrior, but they'll tear a normal fighter apart."
"So you're saying only an Elite can properly kill a Stage 8 beast?" Rudra asked, trying to grasp the scale of power.
"Exactly," Aarav said. "It's not impossible for a fighter to kill one, but it's extremely rare. Usually, the human ends up critically injured... or dead. That's why the cores cost so much."
Rudra fell silent, looking at the pile of seeds in his bag. "I see..."
Aarav continued, lowering his voice as the shadows deepened. "Think about it. Have you ever seen a Tornado-level person around here? Even seeing an Elite in this village would be shocking. Most people never make it past the early stages."
Rudra thought for a moment, looking at his friend. "But you reached Stage 8 so quickly. Why is everyone else stuck at such a low level?"
Aarav exhaled slowly, looking up at the dark canopy of trees. "Because the Fighter Level is just the foundation. To reach the Elite rank, you need a massive amount of mana. Once you hit Stage 7 or 8, your body starts to feel it—it's like the air itself doesn't have enough mana left to help you grow. You hit a wall."
Rudra's eyes lit up. "So that's how it works..."
For the first time, he truly understood. This world wasn't just about how hard you trained. It was about resources. It was about the environment. And without something to break through those limits, you stayed weak.
The mountain wind suddenly surged again, making the leaves rustle violently. It was as if the mountain itself was acknowledging that the seeds they were scooping into their bags were far from ordinary.
Aarav picked up another Ember Seed and asked casually, "By the way, Rudra... why were you so interested in beast cores all of a sudden?"
Rudra opened his mouth to answer, but Aarav just laughed and waved him off. "Forget it. We'll talk later. Let's finish this before overnight."
Both of them bent down again, their hands moving quickly to gather the rest of their fortune.
While they were collecting the ember seeds Genesis explained [Listen carefully, Rudra. When I said these seeds were equal in value to a beast core, I did not mean a Fighter-level beast core.]
Rudra stopped for a few seconds from collecting the seeds, then continued as if nothing had happened.
[I meant cores from Sage, Super Sage, and Supreme Sage levels.]
[Understand this clearly,] Genesis continued. [The Fighter Level you know is merely Level 1. Sage equals Level 10. Super Sage equals Level 11. Supreme Sage equals Level 12.]
Rudra's eyes widened in shock. [Then… has anyone really reached those heights?]
Genesis laughed softly not in mockery, but in pity.
[Foolish child. These levels are weak. Even for this planet.]
[This planet you stand on is a low-mana planet. That is why you think these heights are unreachable. Because a small pond cannot imagine the depth of an ocean.]
[But to answer your question yes. Not one. Many people have reached those levels.]
Rudra's breathing quickened.
[But only a handful have reached Level 13,] Genesis continued, his voice turning heavier. [They are the ones who shattered this planet's gravity and walked into other worlds.]
Then Genesis spoke words that cut deep into Rudra's soul.
[Remember this, Rudra. The powerful are not kind. They don't protect the weak. They use them.]
[If you are weak, your talent will be stolen. If you are strong, your power will be feared. Only when you become untouchable will the world finally bow.]
Rudra swallowed hard, the weight of the revelation pressing down on him.
[Now you understand how valuable these Ember Seeds truly are.]
Rudra asked immediately, [Then why not just sell the seeds? Why risk making medicines at all?]
Silence. Then Genesis exploded. [I expected at least a little intelligence from you! If you walk around saying you have Ember Seeds, people won't negotiate. They'll kill you.]
[How many Supreme Sage beings do you think exist here? Enough to trade for 1.5 million seeds? No. They'll take them. And leave your dead body behind.]
[And if you lie and say you only have five? They'll ask where the rest came from. They will torture you for the location. And then? You die.]
Genesis's voice turned ice-cold.
[Power without protection is a death sentence. Pack every seed before dawn. Or forget about ever fixing your veins.]
Rudra panicked. [Okay! Okay! I'm doing it!]
Nightfall
The forest around them began to change. The rhythmic, sharp chirping of insects filled the air, sounding far more unsettling in the pitch-black than it had in the twilight. High above, the stars glimmered, but their faint light was nowhere near enough to pierce through the thick mountain canopy.
Aarav's voice broke the heavy silence, sounding strained and tight. "Rudra… I can't see the seeds properly anymore. My eyes are playing tricks on me in this darkness."
Suddenly, Genesis's voice roared inside Rudra's mind. [You both are absolute idiot! Use the Glowroots!]
Rudra flinched and shouted back aloud, "That's it!"
Aarav jumped in surprise, nearly dropping his bag. "What?! What's it? Did you see a beast?"
"The Glowroots!" Rudra said quickly, scrambling to open his collection bag. "They emit light, remember?"
Understanding hit Aarav instantly. "Right! The roots!"
Both of them grabbed a pair of Glowroots from their earlier harvest. As soon as they held them, a soft, pulsating blue glow spread through the clearing, illuminating the forest floor like magical lanterns. The light was gentle, casting long, dancing shadows against the ancient trees.
In that glowing circle of blue, they bent down once more, their hands moving even faster than before. They worked with a new kind of intensity and more careful, more serious.
As Rudra scooped up the tiny, ruby-like seeds, his mind was no longer on the fear of the dark or the threat of the mountain. He finally understood. These weren't just seeds. They were his chance. His weapon. His escape from the life of a weak, "abandoned" kid.
And one day, they would be his answer to this world.
Rudra slowed his movements for a moment. As he gathered the last of the Ember Seeds, a thought lingered in his mind heavy and uneasy. [Genesis,] he asked silently, [you said earlier that you sensed an extremely dangerous mana or presence inside this mountain. But honestly… it doesn't feel like something like that could exist here.] There was a brief pause. Then Genesis's voice answered, calm but no longer casual.
[You're not wrong. For a moment, even I thought I might be mistaken.] Rudra frowned slightly.
[But tell me,] Genesis continued, [did you notice what happened earlier during waterfall incident?]
Rudra's memories immediately returned to the waterfall.
[The snake,] Genesis said. [It intended to kill Aarav. But the moment Aarav ran deeper into the mountain, the snake stopped. It didn't hesitate. It didn't attack again. It turned around and fled.]
Genesis's voice dropped. [It fled as if it feared offending something. Like a servant afraid of angering its master.]
A chill crept up Rudra's spine.
[But what kind of beast could exist here?] Rudra asked silently. [You yourself said this place has very little mana. So how could something powerful survive here?]
Genesis replied without hesitation.
[You are thinking the wrong way, Rudra. Becoming powerful here is difficult, but that does not mean a powerful being cannot come here.] [In fact,] he continued, [why wouldn't it choose a place like this? A world with weak mana. No threats. No one capable of sensing it. A perfect hiding place.]
Rudra swallowed.
[And besides,] Genesis added quietly, [I didn't sense mana.] A pause.
[Which means… whatever it is, it doesn't rely on mana at all.]
Inside Genesis's consciousness, a rare flicker of unease surfaced, unspoken to Rudra.
'That kind of silence… A presence so absolute that the world itself falls quiet. No… They cannot be here. If one of them truly exists on this planet… then this world has already entered their sight.'
Genesis's monologue was cut short. At that moment,
Rudra shouted at Genesis in his mind, his voice trembling with leftover adrenaline. "If you knew there was a massive snake hidden in that water, why didn't you say something? You stayed silent until the last second! What if something had happened to Aarav? What would we have done then?"
[Oh, but nothing actually happened, right?] Genesis replied, her voice sounding entirely unbothered.
Aarav's voice broke the inner monologue.
"Rudra!" Aarav called out. "We've collected all the seeds, right? Let's check once more. Make sure we didn't miss any."
Rudra snapped back to reality. "Wait," he said. "You check that side. I'll look to the left."
"Got it," Aarav replied, moving off.
Before Rudra could take more than a few steps further into the tree's massive shadow, Genesis's voice rang out with a sharp, commanding edge that made his head throb.
[Stop.]
Rudra froze mid-stride, his heart skipping a beat.
[Where do you think you're going?] Genesis said sternly. [You have the seeds. You have the herbs. And now you want to wander deeper into the mountains at midnight? Even the lowest-level beast would be enough to tear you into scrap right now. Enough. Turn around. We are returning to the village because you have collected all the seeds that were there no need to search for more.]
Rudra hesitated, casting one last look at the dark peaks, then nodded slightly to himself. He turned back toward his friend. "Aarav! Let's head back. We're done here. If we move fast, we can make it to the orphanage by morning."
Aarav jogged over, his bag bulging and heavy. "You sure? You checked everything? No more of those ruby-seeds left in the dirt?"
Rudra shook his head, cinching his bag tight. "It's fine. We got what we came for. Let's go."
Aarav shrugged, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Alright. If you say so. My legs are killing me anyway."
They turned their backs on the ancient tree, their heavy bags clinking with the wealth of a thousand years. Behind them, the forest fell into an unnatural, suffocating silence. The insects stopped chirping. The wind died down. The mountain stood unmoving, a silent witness to the theft of its treasures.
Far above them, hidden in the crags where no human eye could reach, an ancient presence remained perfectly still. Watching. Waiting. A whisper echoed through the stone, intended for no ears but its own.
"I have waited for you for almost 13 years now I can't hold any longer, From now on I will come near you to protect you from any danger you may face in your path" the presence murmured into the freezing dark.