Alten was immediately taken aback in shock, "What?! Are you sure Lyrian!?"
Leon was also surprised by what he said, "Hmm... that changes things up a bit but if you think that's what's necessary then go for it. Just make sure to deal with the essence and come back before the exam ends."
Alten's expression became more worried, "This Molten Essence, it seems much more dangerous than I first thought. As Leon said, you will actually be able to beat it right?"
Hearing this, a smile appeared on Lyrian's face. "Thanks for worrying for me, but I don't need it. This is nothing." He said, not letting the other two speak as he made his ostrich begin running.
The other two were left in his dust, standing there, "He does the most reckless things... who would think of eating that?" Alten exclaimed in frustration.
"Hahaha!" Leon suddenly burst out laughing, "That's what makes him interesting, don't you think? He sure is one very odd guy. But, everyone is made up of their pasts. I wonder what kind of past he had..." Leon said, getting on his ostrich as he stared at the small particle that Lyrian and his ostrich had now become in the distance.
"I trust him," Leon said, almost profoundly.
Alten looked at Leon as he got on his own ostrich as well, "I do too."
And with this, the two began racing towards the center. The trio was finally separated.
***
<2 Hours Later>
*Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!*
Quick but heavy footsteps traveled through the forbidden lands at extreme speeds, mere milliseconds between each step. Lyrian, his body, and neck still in excruciating pain, had traveled for a while. His destination? A cave.
Finally, the footsteps stopped, as he came across a sudden cave entrance that looked to be on the side of a large hill. Getting off of his ostrich which he instructed to stay outside, he slowly ventured inside.
Once inside, he walked through the rough hallway that expanded as he went for a few minutes before coming across a large opening of about 20 by 20 feet. A round cavern room with seemingly nothing inside. It wasn't even lit up by any amber crystals, pure darkness that Lyrian could barely see in.
Still, he was able to see thanks to his Genesis-ranked eyes. He sat down right in the middle, 'Gear...' He said in his mind.
[Yes]
'I have a plan, but I need you to tell me if it's possible or not.'
[Go ahead]
'This golden essence, it's an alive being,'
[Yes]
'But, is it also not a liquid, a material?'
[Yes, the Molten Essence exists as both refinable and usable material and an alive being]
'Since it's material, does that mean... I can cultivate it?'
[...]
'...'
[Yes, however, whether or not Gale will be enough is to be determined]
As Lyrian heard this, an excited smile appeared on his face, one of both relief and exhilaration, 'Perfect!'
Closing his eyes, he tried to forget the pain he was feeling as much as possible and focused on using Gale. He quickly gained access to the three-dimensional state of being, where he could see himself outlined by white in a dark void of colorful mana flowing around.
As he had found out by now while using Gale when he could, mana was much denser here in the Tasnan Wilderlands, even more so in the forbidden lands, and even more so in the Flatstone Mountains. The only problem was that he couldn't find much time to cultivate.
Once in this state, instead of trying to absorb the mana around him, Lyrian focused on himself. Soon, a yellow essence began to glow from his outlined neck.
Using all of his efforts, Lyrian concentrated on trying to absorb that essence into his core...
[The only question is Gale... even I do not know whether or not it will be enough]
Lyrian heard this, but thankfully it did not disturb his concentration. Gear used a separate origin of voice to make sure of that.
As Lyrian concentrated on the essence, he knew that it would either begin to absorb or not. If not, he wouldn't just get eliminated, but might even die.
Thirty minutes passed... and nothing happened. Gale hadn't absorbed even a tiny bit of the Molten Essence. However, Lyrian did not want to give up. After all, he had no other choice in his mind.
He tried more, as ten more minutes passed, and then ten after that, and then ten after even that...
*Ding* [Molten Essence is now being absorbed]
Without disturbing his concentration, Lyrian still felt the exhilaration suddenly surge throughout his body. As soon as a little bit of Molten Essence was absorbed, it was like opening a dam that was leaking. A lot more started to pour in and get absorbed.
It wasn't absurd speeds, as almost any other cultivation technique would do better than Gale, but it was enough at the very least. With this, Lyrian shut off all other objectives and gave his entire mind body, and soul into cultivating the Molten Essence, not knowing how much time he had left until it fully took over his body.
<One Day Later>
Leon and Alten were only about six hours away from the center now. They were in the plains, with grass expanding until the horizon. Scarce trees, and a beautiful, visible azure sky that stretched as far as the eye could see, littered with splotches of white clouds.
As they traveled, they saw several creatures. A pack of deer gently grazed the grass floors. They hand long antlers on their head and golden ankle bracelets.
Slimes that jumped around, of small and large sizes and various different colors as well.
"It's a Fire-Fanged Wolf! Tier 3," Alten announced to Leon, as they both closed in on it.
It looked to be preying on a herd of some sort of magical sheep in the distance but was frightened to turn around when he heard multiple fast footsteps closing in on it.
Taking out these beasts was a leisurely activity for the two by now, but as they neared about 30 feet away from the beast, a sudden meteor-like thing shot down from the sky and landed in front of him, throwing them back in its big explosion.
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