Mutagen

Day 250 - 11:52 AM - Codon Settlement, Barangay Codon, Municipality of San Andres, Province of Catanduanes

Mark was about to leave Codon Settlement and return to where Mei and the others were waiting. It was almost lunchtime, after all, not to mention there was barely any reason for Mark to stay here. He already got most of the information he wanted and did not want to meddle any deeper in some business he was not supposed to involve himself.

However, Mark could not help but stop when something fast-moving entered his detection range. Furthermore, it was someone he recognized.

And as soon as Mark detected the presence, it was already zooming towards him, in a literal sense. The person moved with only a blur left on their trail. It was as if they ran without regard to the existence of space, tearing through it.

Mark understood the principle as to how that person moved. Not only did he already experience traveling with that person's kind, but he also had a similar ability.

There was no need to wait. The owner of the presence appeared in from of Mark immediately.

A black-skinned child that was not human despite looking like one.

It was a [Yasaw]. A magical race only found in the myths from the island of Catanduanes.

Furthermore, the one that appeared in front of Mark was Deriellio, the leader and the eldest of the [Yasaws].

Although it was a good question as to how Deriellio knew Mark was here. But for Deriellio to come himself, something important must be going on. Still, it could also be because only Deriellio could properly converse in both Human and Spirit Languages among his kind.

When Mark looked at the [Yasaw], however... He immediately disregarded the latter thought. Deriellio might not look panicked, but he sure was in a worry. Furthermore, even though they now see Mark and his group as allies, these magical creatures would rather choose not to approach a Demon.

It just meant that while the reason was important, it was not too urgent.

"Diwata Iraya needed your presence," Deriellio said as soon as he stopped in front of Mark. "Come as soon as possible."

And after saying those words, without waiting for any kind of reply from Mark, Deriellio zoomed away.

Mark could only frown and sigh while scratching his head. The unique abilities of [Yasaws], enabling them to travel fast to different places, would make them effective messengers. Only if they actually talked properly. Or maybe, just let them deliver letters. It would be way better than an awkward encounter like this one.

Even if Deriellio did not want to interact with Mark too much, it would not hurt if he answered a question or two. Now, Mark was left wondering if he had to go there immediately or not.

Although the message seemed to be a request, the way it was delivered sounded like an order.

Shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders, Mark decided to return to his group first.

***

At the beach west of Codon Settlement, the [Mini Cube] was parked near the edge of the sandy coast. Outside were the members of Mark's group, preparing lunch.

This was the same beach where they had a picnic lunch the last time they were here in Catanduanes. However, the scenery had already changed. And unfortunately, the rocky area that concealed the giant hermit crab was no longer present.

It made them wonder where the giant hermit crab went to. Did it manage to survive? Or was it already dead? No one would know since it was not here, nor was any clue left of its fate.

Mark arrived several minutes after noon.

Lunch was ready, and they only needed to eat together, as per usual. However, someone was yet to arrive.

It was Feng Zhiruo, who almost had no presence since they departed Mount Madia-as.

"She's out again?"

Mark asked the others, and they could only turn in a certain direction.

At the edge of the beach where the waves hit the sand, Feng Zhiruo could be seen. She was waving her sword with the sunlight flashing on its blade. With every slash of her sword, one could feel how much effort she put in to the things she learned from both her sect and the things she gained from Mark's teachings.

Mark was no expert in swords himself. But with fragmented memories that he gained from Feng Zhiruo's elder, he managed to teach her better than what her sect would teach an errand disciple like her.

Feng Zhiruo never lacked talent or effort. It was teaching that she lacked the most. Something that the sect would not give to disciples below a certain level.

But currently, a certain event brought a heavy impact on Feng Zhiruo.

The [Trial of Regrets].

During the trial that Magwayen orchestrated for them, everyone had to relive their regrets with erased memories, measuring how strong their attachment to their current lives.

And the only person that did not pass the trial within Mark's group was Feng Zhiruo.

It was not surprising. Feng Zhiruo had to relive the past when her village was slaughtered along with her family members.

The scene of seeing the corpses of one's family members was not something most people would be able to overcome no matter how many times they relived it.

And that was the biggest regret of Feng Zhiruo. She was not there when her village was attacked. And even if she was, her strength at that time was not enough to stop the event from happening. Worse, she would be one of the victims of that massacre.

The [Trial of Regrets] made Feng Zhiruo relive such a traumatic event, and it opened her past emotional wounds. Now, she became more silent and dedicated to her sword so that nothing of such event would happen once more around her.

It was both a good and bad thing for her.

The current mindset of Feng Zhiruo had caused her to want to train more to improve her base strength and skills rather than just raising her cultivation. However, it also made her mind unable to focus on other things, such as the situation like now, lunch.

Feng Zhiruo also became uninterested in many things unless it was fighting and learning or developing new techniques.

BOOM!

An explosion occurred, causing the seawater to scatter towards the direction Feng Zhiruo stabbed her sword.

"She actually managed to do it, huh?"

Mark commented after seeing the stabbing technique that Feng Zhiruo had just displayed.

Although Feng Zhiruo's sect, the Tiānlán Lónggōng or Heavenly Blue Dragon Palace, was known as a sword sect, their techniques were focused on slashing. Even the sword techniques she learned from the sect were low-level slashing attacks.

The stabbing techniques that Feng Zhiruo was displaying were actually Mark's originals. Using the memories from the elder, Mark developed some stabbing techniques, although he could not really use them due to his lack of cultivation.

However, Mark's techniques, although self-made, followed the principles of Feng Zhiruo's way of cultivation. As such, she could use it with practice, just like how she just did the new technique he called [Explosive Sword Stab].

The simple name was more or less the proof that it was Mark's original. Most of the techniques that Feng Zhiruo knew had unnecessarily fancy and long names that were both too embarrassing and inconvenient to use in the modern culture, even though all of them were weak techniques.

Still, Mark's naming sense was quite peculiar itself. After all, it was influenced by video games, anime, and novels. Sometimes, he would give absurd names to things, especially the equipment and items he created. But in terms of techniques, he chose to be more practical.

"I'll call her."

Mei said as she went to Feng Zhiruo.

Mark nodded. It was also better if Feng Zhiruo stopped for now. By the looks of it, she was not paying attention to her surroundings and forgot that the explosion could attract unnecessary attention.

The two girls returned, and Feng Zhiruo apologized for the delay. The group then ate their lunch as Mark shared what he learned about the current situation in Codon Settlement.

And after learning that the Codon Settlement's current state was caused by greed and infighting between humans, Ilia could not help but sneer while Feng Zhiruo sighed.

Humans had both good and bad sides. However, when the bad happened, the no intention of taking responsibility. In this case, however, the perpetrators were already dead. Although they died horribly, they also escaped the suffering caused by the consequences of their actions.

After talking about the situation in Codon Settlement, Mark told everyone their next move.

"We're going to the mountains after lunch," Mark declared. "When I left the settlement, a [Yasaw] told me to meet the [Diwata] on this island."

"Another one, huh?" Ilia could not help but comment. "Why are there a lot of those nature women in this country?"

Nature Women. It was what Ilia called those [Diwatas] due to their pure energy that represented nature itself. They had the same energy as [Forest Nymphs] and [Dryads], although much purer and stronger.

"[Diwatas] are only found in this country as far as I know," Mark shrugged. "Their original race was created by Bathala, after all. And their number isn't really large. Just how many did we meet so far compared to the number of other races?"

So far, Mark had met six [Diwatas] if the remaining fragment of the [Ancient Diwata] did not count. Compared to other races with members numbering from a few hundred to several thousand, a population of six was a really small number.

"Did something happen?"

Mei asked Mark with a bit of worry. There was no need to say that she was quite fond of Aliya, Mark's ancestor.

"Don't know," Mark shrugged his shoulders. "The messenger did not say anything else and left immediately. You know the magical races here did not like Demons."

Mei nodded in response. Their group might have been allowed to the Sanctuary due to the fact that they were related to Aliya and Gennie through Mark. However, most of the magical races on this island despised Demons.

"They hated Demons but called for you?" Ilia smirked. "Anyway, how did they even know you are on this island? We just arrived yesterday and met no one."

"This area is within their territory," Mark said as he pointed in a direction. "They have eyes everywhere."

Mark pointed at a patch of trees quite a distance away from them. There really was someone hiding there, and they immediately vanished after knowing they had been noticed.

"A [Yasaw]."

Mei said as she got a glimpse of the figure using her eyes. The others only saw a blur, however.

"What a fast child."

Ilia said, noticing the appearance of the creature.

"They might look and behave like children, but they're not," Mark explained. "I'm pretty sure they're a race only found on this island."

Ilia and Chimetrice looked at each other and seemed to agree with what Mark said. The two had never seen any other race in other countries that had a similar appearance to the [Yasaws].

The discussion continued as they ate lunch of stewed vegetables and meat.

Then, after tidying up, they left the beach using the [Mini Cube] and flew inland.

Although they spent almost a day assessing the situation on the island, it was hard to say that they saw every nook and cranny of the island in that time span. At most, they found the locations of settlements of both humans and magical creatures near the coastal areas.

As for the things inland and in the middle of the mountains, they had yet to see the place.

And just when they were halfway towards their destination, they noticed something large moving in the mountains in the east.

Was it another [Behemoth Class Infected]?

Unfortunately, no.

After all, no [Infected] would look like a four-legged, prism-shaped robot the size of a cargo ship.

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