MA: 87. Through The Central Forests of Justicia

It had been three days since the fall of the Queen of Sweet and Bitter Thorns.

Life went on as normal. Birds sang. Animals grazed. Rivers flowed. The clouds soared overhead.

It was like they had just woken up from a bad dream.

The immense size of the Central Forests of Justicia meant that it would be nearly a week (10 days) before they’d reach the highways. Hundreds of kilometers worth of forests made up the middle portion of the Central Forests which was where Hearth Village was located.

There were multiple stretches of forests surrounding the middle portion. The northern frontier stood as the largest of all sections of the Central Forests of Justicia and was in direct control of the Justica Arms 10th Branch.

East was the smallest forest closest to the shorelines that connected to the magical continent, which was home to the Elves and Fairies.

South was the second largest forest that bordered the Dead Lands and neared the railways that the gravity-powered trains of Caldera Industries frequented.

And finally, westwards was a long strip of woodlands that ran along the base of a mountain range.

Due to the immense size of the highways that split these sections apart, each forest had its own ecosystem as well as unique variants of certain animals

Rarely did creatures of neighboring forests interact, which allowed one species to evolve independently from one another.

Red thought it was cool and wondered if this was true for humans.

“Not physically.” Snow laughed. “But it can in manifest in weird ways. Like how they treat outsiders or each other.”

“Really? Aren’t humans supposed to look out for each other?”

“Not always. Oh. Red. Slow down. There should be a river nearby.”

The squad of four moved northwards. Red was able to gauge the direction they were moving thanks to the positioning of the Nexus. It served as nature’s compass.

Snow on the other hand used something more accurate.

Lodefruits.

These were a type of fruit that grew from Lodetrees. Rarely could one stumble across the fabulous pale-white trees in nature. This was because they did not tend to remain in the same place for more than a week at a time.

One week they were there, and the next they were gone. The process was ill known. Whether it was due to a spatial phenomenon, dimensional tearing, teleportation or if they were able to retract itself underground was unknown.

No one had seen it move with their own eyes, as the tree did not move when under constant scrutiny.

That said, Lodetrees often sprouted in small clearings to gather as much sunlight as possible. At least Red thought so, since the Envious Brambles were upset about being unable to receive sunlight.

Did all plants think the same way?

However, Snow checked her diary and happily educated Red on what these trees actually do.

“They grow using the light of the Nexus. Look at their leaves.”

Snow pointed upwards at the forward-facing leaves. They were all facing the Nexus rather than the skies. Their leaves were rigid and razor sharp. Standing beneath a Lodetree was often dangerous because of this.

“Rockie, can you help me up?” Snow asked, but Red quickly intervened.

“Don’t worry. I got it~!”

Red leaped onto the air, kicking off from the trunk then zipped from branch to branch until she snatched a pallid pear.

“So what’s up with these fruits? Other than being up here. Heh.”

“Their cores will always point straight to the Nexus no matter where you are in the world. I’ve seen it work underground too. It’ll be good to keep in case we lose sight of the Nexus. Throw it into your Dimensional Storage!”

Red considered it, but she also considered an alternative.

“Mmn. The Dimensional Storage can keep items in stasis the way they were first put in, right?”

“Correct! I’m glad you remember!” Snow was overjoyed by this for some reason.

A part of Red felt like she should have taken offense to that. But hearing Snow praise her caused her heart to flutter as she raised her chin, with an expression boldly saying: “Heh. Of course I remember.”

However, the ecstatic look Snow had turned to shock when Red asked her next question.

“Food can’t rot. That means there’s no harm in taking a bite out of this tasty fruit–!”

“Absolutely not!” Snow’s tone changed suddenly to that of a scolding mother. “They’re incredibly poisonous! One bite is enough to paralyze you for days!”

“But they look so good! Grr. Dumb fruit. What’s the point of looking like food if you’re not food!?”

Before jumping down, she took the opportunity to analyze the fruit.

Lodefruit

< A pallid fruit that oddly resonates with the Nexus. Contains a tremendous number of neurotoxins. Grows from the rare Lodetree >

She reluctantly tossed it into a purple tear in space and frowned.

“Shouldn’t have made them sound so tasty too. Neurotoxins. I’m already drooling~”

“Seriously? Didn’t we just eat not long ago?” Snow sighed. “Three Paw. Why are you drooling as well?”

“Bwa!”

Three Paw sank into Snow’s shadow, only to reappear from Red’s. His tail happily wagged at the mention of food. His appetite had increased significantly since evolving. Not only that, but he seemed to share a few brain cells with Red.

“Heh. See? Once a wolf abandons its pack, it becomes nothing but a lost monster.” Red insulted him, despite also drooling.

“Brrr…” Rockie scratched its head, its sentiments mirroring Snow’s exactly.

“Tell me about it.” Snow muttered. “Might as well look for Hardtrees while we’re at it. Wouldn’t want Rockie to starve.”

Their three days spent traversing the forest were no different from today. Food was their main priority. The first reason was obviously for sustenance. But the second and arguably more important reason was for Red to further increase her stats.

LEVEL : 67     < CORRUPTED >

Fledgling Red

HP : 38,500 ^10/min     MP : 18,200 ^10/min     AGI : 40     RESIST : 55

ATT : 800 (+35)     MAG ATT : 500     ATT DEF : 700     MAG DEF : 350

However, the types of animals and monsters that lived in the Central Forests of Justicia were incredibly weak compared to what was found in the Corrupted Zone. The highest levelled animal was the Alpha Spiked Boar (Level 35), and the highest levelled monster was a being called the One-Horned Antilope (Level 42).

Monsters beyond these forests were significantly more powerful. While that was not to say that monsters stronger than the One-Horned Antilope didn’t exist here, information regarding their whereabouts was dispensed by the Guilds.

Thankfully, the first bastion of civilization they were heading for had a Guild. Claiming an Adventurer License and a Guild Card would make traversing through Emvita far easier.

“Keep getting strong Red. People won’t question you once you hit the higher levels.”

“Naturally, no one can’t question my greatness~”