From the top of the tree Sly could see a panoramic view of the elevated terrains; and that several smaller rivers connected to a huge wide river.
Dramatic ice-covered peaks that seemed close but were really miles away.
Atmospheric clear blue skies with deep valleys that stretched over mountains with steep inclines.
Behind these mountains lay Paradise Military Academy, the school that his father had enrolled him in.
Far away from the elite private school attended by his heir, Victor Duncan.
Sly couldn't help but think Dr. Jennings was being very optimistic when he stated earlier that they would reach the academy by midday.
Despite the beauty of the surroundings his eyes remained drawn to the rare spirit essence fruit.
It was normal size and would have looked like an ordinary plum if Sly couldn't feel the strong spirit essence radiating from the rare fruit.
A normal human would not feel this power without a spirit bone.
Sly and Ayana had always longed to explore the world and gain spiritual treasures such as the rare plum fruit.
Since they were both so sheltered that they could only see the world from the pages of books.
Sly couldn't help but revel in the fact that he had managed to do what others only dreamed of accomplishing.
That is, encountering a rare treasure.
Of course, Sly wished that he could have shared this moment with Ayana who had been six years older than him when she passed.
On a normal day with the sun shining down on them Sly would have found more time to appreciate the beauty but not today.
The surface of the tree was very rough and scratched his skin with every movement but that was the least what really bothered Sly was all the biting ants.
As if his fear of heights wasn't enough the tiny purple ants that wouldn't normally trouble humans were also defensive of its home.
This fruit wouldn't be so easy to obtain as Sly initially thought.
He was impressed by the nest filled with many underground tunnels dug deep beneath the roots of the purple tree.
Strong spiritual pressure leaked out from that ants' nest making Sly perspire with sweat dripping from all his pores.
Sly had to fight the urge to slide down the tree from the oppression but since he was already half way there Sly continued to persevere to the top of the rare fruit tree.
No way was he going to give up and let his efforts go to waste although it would be lying if Sly wasn't truly considering it.
There were a lot of ants crawling up and down the tree and Sly hadn't noticed them before because they blended with the purple color of the tree.
For the most part these tiny purple ants ignored him going about their daily activities.
These baby purple ants didn't seem to have much intelligence so Sly didn't bother to hide or camouflage himself.
So much abundant spiritual energy in this tree that even normal ants had been affected.
Probably changing color after gorging themselves on the purple fruit and making themselves stronger.
Sly began to move closer and he was almost in arm's reach of the branch that the purple glowing fruit dangled.
When his heartbeat quickly sped up when one of the soldier ants bit him, it literally felt like it ripped off his flesh and now his skin was on fire.
Upset he slapped the ant squashing it under the strength of his palm, a big mistake.
The smell of the dead soldier ant triggered its companions into a frenzy battle state.
Now they were coming after Sly with vengeance in their eyes for their fallen comrade.
Actually, what he thought was a dead soldier ant because of its larger size was actually a normal worker ant.
The moment he killed the ant and its smell filled the air the real soldier ants came out in their numbers in defense of their colony.
Some of these purplish black ants were three times larger than the worker ants, a small elite few were almost the size of piglets.
Antennas were raised and darting to and from, were they silently conversing and openly communicating with each other?
Unlike the smaller ants the larger ones also glowed with small traces of spiritual essence brimming from every orifice.
So, these clearly kept a bigger share of the plums to themselves and had probably mutated after gorging themselves on the fruit.
The giant carnivorous caterpillar had probably started stuffing itself on these ants when the rare fruit tree began producing less fruits.
This was the first time he was encountering such strange insects filled with spirit essence.
Not sure what to do next, Sly hesitated, should he retreat or go after the fruit.
Was the rare purple fruit really worth his life?
Until today he had never had so much excitement to the point where he felt his scalp go numb with fear when faced with so many dangerous insects.
How much biting attack power did the larger ants have?
If a bite from the smaller ants caused such intense pain, he would probably lose a limb.
This life crisis made it clear to Sly that in order to survive in the spirit- filled world he would have no choice but to get stronger and make more strategic choices.
Previously Sly was wondering if the thin branch could support his weight.
Now he had no choice but to trust his judgement and take a leap of faith and go after the precious fruit.
They larger purple ants angrily circled Sly, almost filling up all the free space as if awaiting orders from the Queen.
Quickly, he broke off a limb of the branch and used it to swat away some of the larger ants that were too close for comfort.
Then he made a mad dash for the fruit and managed to pluck the fruit off the tree.
When the branch unable to support his weight and that of the larger ants trailing behind finally broke.
Sly found himself falling from a great height.
About to be gobbled up by a furious carnivorous caterpillar that made a beeline for him when he sensed that the last of the rare fruit was about to be stolen.