Return to Humanity

Yuel's days largely remained the same.

The only difference was that he was now within Verdant Requiem instead of Inksworn Depths. The surroundings were no longer broken trees, pools of ink, hardened grass, or sludge swamps. Instead, massive trees—what one might first imagine when hearing the word "forest"—stretched high into the sky. Everywhere was green and, honestly, quite beautiful. Moss, flowers, and glowing insects filled the area with vibrant life. It was a region deeply intertwined with plant energy.

Still, Yuel wasn't welcome here either. But then again, had anyone ever welcomed him? Verdant Requiem was no different.

When he first arrived, a dhune pretending to be human had greeted him. But since Yuel had Null with him, he instantly realized it wasn't a real human—and killed it.

Looking back now, Yuel was skilled with spears and several other weapons. But if he could learn a real martial art, he'd be far better off. He planned to seek one out once he returned to humanity. He also intended to join a group upon his return. Groups consisted of 16-year-olds who had graduated from combat schools, each possessing a Bloodscript. Their goal was to hunt together and ascend to the fourth stage. Though Yuel had never attended a combat school, he still wanted to join. He needed to grow stronger quickly and take revenge—and doing that with others made sense.

This forest, like every other region of the Undergarden, wasn't normal. Creatures that died here were absorbed by the trees and reduced to dried corpses. Even wild dhunes or titans avoided touching those bodies.

So, it wasn't unusual to trip over a moss-covered corpse while walking around.

As for fire... not all trees here were real. Some were fakes, and from what he'd heard, if a forest fire broke out, these false trees would suppress it—and also identify the arsonist and ambush them. So, finding a titan or dhune in this forest with a fire affinity was nearly impossible.

Because of this, finding heirs with fire-related abilities was incredibly difficult. Most of them stagnated at stage six, unable to develop their power due to the lack of fire-aligned dhunes or titans.

While thinking about all this, Yuel came upon a clearing where the massive trees ended, revealing a vast grassy field.

A city had been built atop it.

The city was quite modern, but no wood had been used in its construction. Not a single tree had been cut down, despite the forest surrounding it.

Of course, this wasn't because anyone cared about trees. Who would? The real reason was that some dhunes and titans disguised themselves as fake trees. Anyone who tried to cut one down would be relentlessly attacked.

And the trees were so massive, they couldn't be removed completely. Their roots remained embedded in the earth, so even if the trees were cut down, a city couldn't be built within the forest itself.

Yuel gazed at the majestic city ahead. He missed places like this.

Two guards stood at the entrance. They stared at Yuel for a long moment—their stares were admittedly uncomfortable. But he understood why: they were watching for fake humans trying to infiltrate, like the one that had approached him earlier.

Eventually, they let him through.

Riders on dhunes filled the streets. Instead of cars, dhune-drawn carriages were used. Yet despite that, the buildings weren't medieval in design—they were sleek and modern. The dhune carriages also looked surprisingly contemporary, almost like real-world vehicles. But since they couldn't travel beyond city limits, normal people didn't buy them. They were essentially taxis. After all, who would buy a vehicle that couldn't leave a small area?

Everyone in the Undergarden used U-Coins as currency. The front of each Undergarden-Coin bore a number. There were seven types, each with a famous dhune or titan from Verdant Requiem engraved on the back. The lowest denomination showed a one-horned rabbit; the highest depicted a tree.

The seventh-stage titan of Verdant Requiem hadn't yet been discovered. But due to the disappearance of thousands each month, it was suspected to be some kind of fake tree.

Yuel's first goal was to find a library and learn everything humanity had recorded about the Undergarden.

Walking through modern streets felt strange. Being surrounded by people felt strange. What felt even stranger was that, even though he had long awaited this moment, he hadn't spoken to anyone yet. Maybe he still needed time.

After wandering a while, Yuel finally spoke.

"Excuse me, do you know if there's a library nearby?"

He had asked an old man. The man turned and answered:

"Yes, I do. Go straight ahead and turn right. You'll see a large building labeled 'Library.' You can't miss it."

Then the man walked off. That was Yuel's first conversation with another human in eight years—and it was a total flop.

Null's laughter rang in his head, irritating as always. Yuel ignored him and headed to the library. He had to find out what had happened during his absence. He believed in the power of knowledge—though not enough to dedicate his life to it. Still, enough to explore.

The library was nearly empty.

Yuel scanned the shelves and found the categories he needed: "Dhune/Titan Hunting," "Technological Advances," and "Undergarden Regions."

He picked out several books from those sections. Their titles were: What is Known About Deathsea, What is Known About Frozen Hollows, Leading Figures of Humanity, and Can Mana and Technology Coexist? These four likely held the essentials. He didn't plan to read them cover-to-cover—only to extract useful information.

He started with What is Known About Deathsea and What is Known About Frozen Hollows.

Starting with Deathsea... It was a place feared by humanity—and for good reason. Anything that entered it died. Even now, countless species had gone extinct in that place while new ones emerged constantly. Most creatures born in Deathsea didn't survive a single day, yet still managed to grow, evolve, and reproduce. It was unsuitable for humans and entering it was illogical. Some suspected an intelligent species existed within, but it was unconfirmed.

Instead of exploring it directly, humanity settled around it. Sea creatures had no advantage on land.

From afar, Deathsea looked like it was surrounded by giant black cliffs. In reality, behind those cliffs lay a massive underground ocean. Waterfalls poured from above, and among them, the Mediterrenian Federation had established outposts. Only one monolith had been discovered within Deathsea so far, though more were suspected.

That was enough for now—the rest was speculation and mission reports.

Next: Frozen Hollows.

One of the most dangerous regions in the Undergarden. Only one expedition had ever succeeded. Before that, all that was known was its unbearable cold. But much more had been uncovered since.

The successful mission: A team of one Stage 2 and three Stage 3 individuals from the Mediterrenian Federation spent 1.5 years there. Only the Stage 2, Suru Vurcuss, returned. The rest died.

According to Suru, the region is full of mysteries. Every creature there circles around a central lake, taking one full year to complete the loop, returning to their origin. No one knows why—but it's confirmed they follow the light, and that those left behind in the dark freeze to death. When Suru returned, he found his friend's corpse: frozen, chewed on, and iced over.

No one knows what dwells in the lake—or what pursues from behind—but one is believed to be the region's seventh-stage titan.

As for the lake: It's believed to have been overtaken by a titan of at least stage five, possibly seven, with a poison-related Bloodscript that corrupted its entire body.

Despite everything, little is known about the region's inhabitants. Primitive tents and skulls had been found, suggesting a primitive, magic-oriented race.

The Mediterrenian Federation announced no further northern expeditions for now. Instead, it would build a base on the border between Deathsea and Frozen Hollows.

Details of the expedition followed, but Yuel skimmed over them. On to the next book.

Leading Figures of Humanity.

The exact number of Stage 3 humans is unknown—estimated around 1000.

Stage 2s are far rarer and each represents a nation. There are only four—two from the Asian Union, and two from the Mediterrenian Federation.

Yuel had read dozens of pages, but that was all he could retain. He was exhausted. That was enough for now.

The final book: Can Mana and Technology Coexist?

New Zealand recently developed mana-powered robots. But they currently couldn't pass between Earth and the Undergarden. This issue had remained unresolved for years.

The armor includes a jetpack, four mini rocket launchers (effective up to stage four), a sword (effective up to stage five), and the MAV-42 (effective up to stage five).

The MAV-42 (Mana-Assisted Vector) is a long-range firearm. It hadn't been tested against dhunes due to transport limitations, but it's believed capable of damaging them. It's New Zealand's signature weapon.

The armor is commonly referred to as the ArcaneSuit.

New Zealand is also working on Wiwiel technology. In the future, technological progress may rely on wood rather than metal…

That was all Yuel could process. He never really liked tech. He preferred growing stronger through Bloodscript. But everyone had their preferences—some liked guns more than swords.

"Yuel, in my opinion, these people are just being ridiculous. Monoliths usually accept anything—armor or weapons, doesn't matter. They had nothing left to give, so they pretended to be fair. They'd even let you bring a nuke. If humanity can't bring that gear over, it's their own fault. That's all I'll say."

Null's voice rang in his head again. Yuel didn't respond—he was far too sleepy. He had spent the whole day reading. Sure, he hadn't read every line, but extracting all this information had taken hours. Yuel slowly laid his head on the What is Known About Frozen Hollows book.

...

When he woke up, it was morning. Staff were cleaning the windows. No one had woken him. Yuel looked around. He must've been asleep for quite a while…

But he loved sleeping. He hadn't slept this peacefully in years. He was always alert. But now, he didn't have to be.

Yuel stretched, closed the book, set it aside, and rested his head on the table again. Sleeping safely—what a rare luxury.