Chapter 603: Upheaval
The development of the Natural Semi-Plane was simply unfathomable, and Leon felt a vague sense of unease. The stability of its laws could be attributed to the soul fragments placed here, but what was driving the expansion of the demi-plane itself?
Leon was utterly perplexed. He pondered for a long time, but still couldn’t come up with a reasonable explanation for any of this.
Eventually, Leon summoned Anderson.
When Anderson appeared, he was half-asleep and looked rather out of sorts. But the moment he saw the current state of the demi-plane, his expression became nothing short of spectacular: "Damn it, I just took a nap and the demi-plane got this huge?"
"Anderson, do you have any idea why?"
"How would I know? Don’t assume I’m omnipotent! As for what’s going on here, I’d wager you know more than I do—this is your private demi-plane after all..." Anderson muttered, sounding genuinely clueless. Leon could tell from his demeanor that he wasn’t lying.
"Bloody hell..." Leon was thoroughly disappointed. He’d called Anderson out hoping for a stroke of luck, maybe an answer, but it turned out Anderson was just as clueless.
There was nothing for it; he could only set the matter aside for now and look into it later.
Still, Leon couldn’t shake the feeling that something had gone wrong somewhere...
He stood still for a moment, thinking, then quickly made his way to the magic pond.
The liquid magic in the pond was so dense it was almost frightening. One didn’t even need to consciously draw it in; the magic would swirl around the body on its own, soaking him until he felt as if he’d just bathed in the pond itself…
More importantly, the magic vines had grown thicker, meaning they were absorbing magic faster than ever. The natural magic crystals forming in the pond now contained even greater concentrations of power than before.
Now was the time to restore his magic…
In fact, Leon had a better option—he could simply consume the magic crystals, and his power would recover even faster. But he didn’t want to rely too much on soul fragments, so for now, he resisted using the crystals within them.
With that thought, Leon began to meditate.
The magic was so dense it felt as if he were surrounded by clouds. Meditating here produced results far beyond his expectations—so much so it was almost jaw-dropping. In just a short while, his magic was fully restored.
But when he opened his eyes, what caught Leon off guard was the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf, which had always slept beside the soul fragment—something about it seemed different…
Come to think of it, he really hadn’t paid much attention to the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf for a long time. The creature had been sleeping in the Natural Semi-Plane all this time…
Then, to Leon’s astonishment, he found that after such a long period of sleep, the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf had actually grown even smaller. Its body was now almost miniature, and its fur was gradually turning silvery-white, smooth and gleaming.
Normally, this wouldn’t be much of a problem, but what truly stunned Leon was the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf’s strength.
Its power had skyrocketed—like it was riding a rocket. Now, it was already level thirty!
This was… not exactly scientific.
When Leon first met the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf, the little thing’s strength was laughably low. Now it had reached such a high level. Stranger still, as its level increased, its size should’ve grown to match the scale of a true magical beast. But why was it getting smaller instead?
Leon frowned.
He couldn’t make sense of it. What kind of logic was this? Clearly, there was something peculiar about the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf…
But just as he was pondering this, the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf woke up.
The moment it woke, the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf spotted Leon and instantly grew excited, bounding into his arms. Before Leon could react, a streak of light flashed across his chest…
Then Leon, half amused and half exasperated, realized the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf had stolen a few of his magic crystals.
Just as he was about to scold it, the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf suddenly darted toward the forest ahead. At first it trotted playfully, but soon its speed increased, and in the blink of an eye, it was moving like a bolt of lightning.
Leon was left utterly dumbfounded. When did this little thing get so fierce?
The Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf wasn’t done showing off. In the jungle, it leapt at a boulder the size of an artificial hill, swiping its paw with force. A heavy pressure whipped up a gust, smashing into the rock.
Boom!
A second later, the deafening sound echoed out as the boulder was shattered, pieces scattering across the ground…
Leon stared at the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf, utterly stunned.
The speed and physical strength it just displayed were astonishing—powers only a level thirty magical beast should possess. In other words, the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf had reached level thirty without anyone noticing.
And Leon also noticed the wolf’s third eye was starting to awaken. What was once just a red mark now showed the outline of an actual eye, slightly open.
At this rate, Leon estimated the third eye would fully awaken by level thirty-five at the latest.
That was… a little terrifying.
Once the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf’s third eye awakened, its power would enter an entirely new realm.
That realm was called the Wolf God. In history, the legendary Mercenary King Bugamo’s Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf awakened its third eye.
At that time, its power was enough to make anyone’s heart tremble. It was said to withstand the combined assault of dozens of Title Archmages, and in one battle, it even slew a level nine Title Archmage single-handedly.
[Irrelevant web novel prompt skipped]
If the third eye fully awakened, the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf would be like a second Oracis. No, even stronger—at least on par with a Heavenly Tier existence.
But if that’s the case, then there’s a problem.
His Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf was just a newborn, barely ten years old at most. How could it have evolved this far already?
This was just… not scientific.
Leon couldn’t understand why the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf was evolving so quickly.
Even Mercenary King Bugamo’s Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf took thousands of years to evolve, with its third eye only awakening after all that time.
Could it be related to the soul fragments?
But that didn’t seem right either…
There were only two small soul fragments in the Natural Semi-Plane. After the death of an ancient god or demon, their soul fragments would split into thousands, even tens of thousands of pieces. Just two fragments clearly didn’t have that kind of power.
Then what could be the reason for such a terrifying change in the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf?
Even if Leon racked his brains, he couldn’t find an explanation for any of this.
Soon, Leon sighed helplessly. There was simply too little information on the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf—no way to find any real answers.
Awoo...
Before Leon could ponder further, the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf began rubbing vigorously against his pant leg, as if begging to go out and play…
"Little one, now’s really not the time for you to go out—the world outside is dangerous…" Leon chuckled, rubbing the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf’s head. "Wait until you reach level thirty-five, then I’ll take you out."
Hearing this, the Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf bristled with excitement, looking utterly impatient, as if to say, 'Thirty-five is too long—I can’t wait.'
"Keep whining and you’ll never get to go out again…"
The Three-Eyed Shadow Wolf shivered in fright, instantly darting back to the center of the soul fragments like an arrow loosed from a bow…
Leon smiled, his gaze lingering on the wolf. If it really could awaken its third eye at level thirty-five, that would be ideal.
To be on par with a Heavenly Tier existence—no one could stand against such power. In its presence, anyone below a level eight Title Archmage would be nothing but ants; only a level nine Title Archmage could hope to survive…
A look of hope flashed across Leon’s face, wishing that day would come soon.
Not long after, Leon teleported out of the Natural Semi-Plane.
A day later, after everyone had rested, they packed up their tents and headed deeper into the gorge…
This gorge was far more dangerous than anyone had imagined. The magical beasts at the outer rim were just the tip of the iceberg. When they reached the heart of the valley, magical beasts were everywhere. The fighting never stopped.
In just ten days, they’d fought hundreds of battles, large and small.
Of course, if all the beasts had been weak, it wouldn’t have mattered. But most were as powerful as level six Title Archmages.
On the eighth day, they even encountered a beast only slightly weaker than Seth Watson. In that fight, Reid Watson was seriously injured—his bones nearly shattered.
By the fifteenth day, even Leon felt immense pressure. Swarms of level thirty magical beasts appeared—hundreds at a time…
What kind of madness was this?
Even with the Mana Wheel, Leon couldn’t possibly kill them all…
Every single day was a struggle. Only when they reached a land of ice and snow did they finally escape the gorge.
"Damn, we finally made it out." Leon glanced back at the gorge’s exit, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. His face was so pale it was almost frightening, but he still managed a relieved smile.
[Irrelevant author’s note skipped]