Mutagen

In the sky of Jakarta Bay, far away from the coast, the [Mini Cube] hovered. On its roof, every member of Evernight stood, gazing upon the majestic figure of the tree which touched the sky.

It was no tree. It was a world of its own, with the ruins of the entire city of Jakarta sleeping beneath its roots.

"This isn\'t the world tree or something, right?"

Hannah asked as she gazed far up, staring at the branches that almost blanketed the sky.

"It should not be," Ilia replied to Hannah\'s question. "The world tree is said to be the source of life in the worlds it existed. However, the origin of life on this planet is different. The first life on this planet, no, this universe, had no magical origin. It should mean that no true world tree would be born within this realm."

"But its sheer size alone would make people call it that, right?"

Hannah posed another question.

"If it\'s a title given by mortals, we should have no problem," Ilia answered before turning to Mark and Mei. "But you two should not name things unnecessarily, especially things that could affect this world on a large scale. Furthermore, spreading it is more of a no-go. You know that, right?"

Mark only gave Ilia a glance of affirmation while Mei nodded at her words.

Names, [True Names] to be exact. It was something important to beings attuned to magic, especially for Holy Beings, Magical Races, and Demons. These [True Names] would result in no trivial effect on their fate, powers, and personality. It was the same for titles, especially those titles given through worship.

Mortals could give names and titles with almost no consequences. However, Mark and Mei\'s existence could affect causality itself. If either of the two decided to name this giant tree the world tree and begin spreading it, along with people\'s belief and worship, it might actually turn into one when no one was looking.

"Anyway, look at the branches."

Mark said, prompting everyone to pay attention.

His words made everyone notice how each major branch was a different ecosystem.

One large branch had giant bees buzzing around, gigantic webs covered the entirety of another, birds flew around at the top, and a giant ant nest hung on a branch below.

Each branch was like a world of its own, with different inhabitants and rules. But as the branch got closer to the trunk, it was a battlefield where the worlds fought against each other.

It was not only the branches. Even the roots were the same.

However, it was not the living that occupied the roots. It was an abandoned city filled with different kinds of [Infected].

The living creatures lived on the branches, and the dead inhabited its roots.

It might not be a true world tree. However, it was close to being one.

"Is this tree a [Mutated Infected]? It doesn\'t seem so."

Emika voiced.

"It\'s not an [Infected]," Mark answered. "I don\'t think an [Infected] tree will let [Non-Infected] creatures live on its branches."

"Now that you said it like that," Emika nodded, convinced. "But it sure is amazingly huge."

Mark did not say anything more while gazing at the giant tree. This tree was the largest thing he had seen since the apocalypse began. Even Sinogo or the Yamata-no-Orochi could not compare to this size.

Alongside the size of this tree, it also became one of the most dangerous places on the current Earth. Try something funny within its vicinity, and the perpetrator would face the wrath of thousands or even millions of monster-like creatures, both [Infected] and not.

"I want to destroy it."

Mark murmured quietly.

"Did you say something? Uncle?"

Emika vaguely heard Mark\'s voice but was unable to hear his murmurs.

"Nothing."

Mark with a shrug. He then turned to Ilia and Chimetrice.

"Let\'s head somewhere east. I don\'t think that anyone would be crazy enough to live near this area."

"I agree," Chimetrice replied. "This place is nowhere suitable for any human or even Demon. If you are looking for people, they should be somewhere far away."

As Mark suggested, they immediately left the area. Sunset was not far away, too. They needed to find a place to camp before the veil of darkness covered the surroundings.

***

Day 356 - 6:21 PM - Eratan Kulon, Kandanghaur, Indramayu Regency, West Java

The night came, and darkness loomed over everything. And within the current heavily-forested landscape of Indonesia, the nights were far darker than most places on Earth.

Mark\'s group landed at Samboja Beach. It was around a hundred fifty kilometers away from the base of the giant tree in Jakarta. It was already dark when they arrived at this place. And upon landing, Ilia and Chimetrice returned home using Spera\'s portal.

From here on, Mark\'s group would only rely on their feet and the pets they brought for their future travels.

When Chimetrice and Ilia returned to the base, Mark called upon Chaflar and Laelaps to join them. Then, for obvious reasons, Mei\'s new pet, the dragonfly nymph Mei named Crystal, insisted on joining. Normally, dragonfly nymphs need water to survive. But considering it was a mutated species, it seemed fine to travel on land, although it still needed proper contact with water from time to time.

Aside from the three animals, the three golems were also present. With all these animals and golems, there should be no problem with their safety for the night.

Starting at this point, it was the official start of their adventure in Indonesia.

After landing and dealing with the portal stuff, Mark\'s group set off to find a place to camp. It was already dark, but they decided not to use torches and flashlights. Keeping an open light source while traveling in the darkness was just asking for trouble. They should at least find a safe place before setting up a campfire. Besides, there was no normal person in their group. Even this amount of darkness would not hinder them from traveling safely.

"Knew it."

Mark said as they arrived at a specific location.

From the sky, Mark had a glimpse of something. However, the forested area prevented the large [Mini Cube] from traveling too close. That was why they landed at the beach instead of directly in this place.

What they found was the ruins of a large housing area. It should be a thriving town situated between the sea, farmlands, bogs, and fish ponds, with a river flowing at the center.

However, everything was now in ruins. The land swallowed many houses, while flora covered the rest. Very few structures remained intact and visible among the plans and soil.

The structure Mark\'s group arrived at was a little different, though. It was because it had a good amount of clearing around it. Looking closely at the ground, one could see prints of shoes. And it was not just one pair, but many.

"Someone lived or camped in this place recently. Probably a few days ago."

Feng Zhiruo voiced her observations as she dipped her finger into the dust that covered the footprints on the ground.

"The prints looked like combat or military boots," Mark said, sizing up the footprints with his own foot. "This is probably a military camp. Looks like the military still functions in this country. If not, these people might still be well-experienced people."

Combat boots were not something that common people fancied wearing. After all, these kinds of footwear were kind of heavier than your usual shoes. However, experts would say otherwise since these kinds of footwear serve more functions in specific environments.

"Are we going to stay here?"

Spera asked while looking at the barely intact structure.

"For tonight," Mark replied. "People used this place recently. There\'s a chance we will encounter them. It\'s good if that\'s the case since it will shorten our search."

"I see," Spera nodded. "It would be nice if we actually know the right destination, though."

"I know," Mark shrugged. "But Thirteenth really didn\'t tell me the specifics. She\'s also gone since the other day."

Mark\'s probation probably ended the other day since Thirteenth did not appear to follow him around anymore. Well, Mark was quite unsure about it. The girl who should have been keeping her eye on him just left without warning.

It made Mark wonder if the other candidate was in some kind of trouble again.

Still, it would be nice if Thirteenth left a clue.

Mark\'s group managed to find where the survivors in Bay City relocated because of the trail they left behind. In Japan, the survivors did not really leave their capital, making it even easier to find them.

This time was different, unfortunately. Indonesia\'s capital city became nothing but abandoned and unlivable ruins. There was no clue of civilization left to chase after.

Fortunately, they found this place. At least they now had a clue.

Mark and the girls prepared the camp. Since sleeping inside the dilapidated structure should be dangerous, they decided to pitch tents instead. The tents surrounded the campfire in the middle, where they decided to cook dinner.

It was not the first time Feng Zhiruo experienced camping. As a [Cultivator], she experienced these kinds of things during her days as an apprentice. Unfortunately, it was more like she had to run around being laughed at while she prepared firewood and did chores. Nonetheless, it still counted as a camping experience.

As for Hannah, it was her first time doing this stuff. Thus, she diligently listened to Mark and Mei on how to do things such as pitching up tents. Still, she made up for her cooking skills as she cooked the dinner by herself. The dinner was delicious despite the fact that it lacked the aroma it should have. While she had no experience camping, she at least had a good sense of danger. She knew that aromatic food in this situation would likely attract unwanted attention and cooked food with such guidelines.

After dinner, it was time to rest.

Mark, Mei, their daughters, and Amihan shared the biggest tent. Emika and Hannah shared another, while Feng Zhiruo wanted a tent of her own to cultivate.

Feng Zhiruo was in charge of the night watch since she was mediating without needing to sleep. Aside from her, Chaflar and Laelaps were also around to guard outside. Furthermore, the Golems were also present.

Nighttime ambush? Mark\'s group definitely did not have to fear such scenarios with this amount of guards. Anyone or anything who would attack them would be in for an awful end.

***

Day 357 - 7:11 AM - Eratan Kulon, Kandanghaur, Indramayu Regency, West Java

Morning came without problems. No, it was more like the night was too quiet within the vicinity of the campsite.

But then again, Mark and the rest were not new to this kind of thing. It was the effect of a powerful creature in the area, causing highly sensitive creatures to stay away. The same was happening in the Mountain Base, where smart and intelligent creatures decided to stay out of its vicinity. 

Here, there was no need to think who that creature would be. The cause was definitely Chaflar, who was a ferocious dragon-like creature.

It looked like that as long as they had Chaflar in this adventure, they would be able to avoid a lot of fighting.

However, it was not like their journey would be devoid of fighting just because of Chaflar\'s presence.

After breakfast, the group packed their belongings. They still had to find their actual destination. And now that the surroundings were brighter, they managed to find the trail of the people who stayed in these ruins.

Finding the trail was not hard during the day. However, the rapidly growing flora blocked most of the trail just after several days. Finding these trails during the night would be pretty hard.

Mark and the rest set off soon afterward. Now that they had a trail to follow, finding civilization should not be that hard anymore. If they managed to find where the survivors in this country gathered, they should also find what they came here for.

However, who would have thought that the trail would not lead them to civilization but to their actual destination?