[Mythic Realm.]

BOOOOOOOM!!

​The space tore open ten meters above the glowing forest floor, and Sunny plummeted, hitting the strangely resilient ground with a thud.

​{Warning!!!}

{All Stats have been reduced by 50%!!}

​"A whole fifty percent," Sunny grumbled, rubbing the ache in his shoulder as he rose. He felt significantly lighter, the ceiling of the Lower World's restriction seems to amplified here. He looked around.

​He was in an alien landscape. The ground was covered in luminescent flowers and grass that pulsed with soft, multi-colored light. The trees themselves were a deep, vibrant purple, their leaves glowing faintly beneath an enormous orange sky.

​"This is the Mythic Realm," he murmured, his gaze sweeping the unnatural beauty.

​"Half my strength. This just went from a negotiation to a slaughter. How can I defeat the Core with my current power?" He closed his eyes, then decided, "I will have to convince it then, but first, I need power."

​He placed a hand on the mossy green earth, concentrating. The air here was saturated with a familiar yet alien energy. "This is strange. The Lower World itself lacks Spirit Energy, yet its Mythic Realm is overflowing with it."

​He followed the flow. "North. The energy flow is thickest in that direction. The Core must be housed there."

​WHOOSH!

​The System, manifesting in its shimmering human form, appeared beside him.

​{Master, before pursuing the Core, it would be strategically sound to regain your lost strength.}

​"I can do that here?" Sunny asked, turning to the System with surprise.

​{Yes, Master. The strict limits of the Lower World are absent in this specific reality. You can break through the God Rank and advance towards the Second Order. However, the moment you return to the Lower World, your strength will be reduced back to that of a Peak God Rank.}

​"And you can't bypass that limitation?"

​{My current level is insufficient, Master.}

​Sunny nodded. It was a temporary fix, but a necessary one. He sat cross-legged on the luminescent grass. "Alright, let's begin the push."

​{Master, be advised. Due to your reduced strength, your innate awareness is dulled. You are currently surrounded by enemies. God-Rank, Stage One.}

__

​Sunny sprang to his feet, instantly alert. "Where?! Show me!" He scanned the glowing purple woods, his eyes unable to pierce the camouflage.

​{Around you, Master.} The System simply stated, then dissolved, retreating into his body.

​Sunny forced himself to slow his racing heart, calming his mind. He extended his residual energy, pushing it outward like a net. He found them: hundreds of entities radiating a low, malevolent power..

​He slowly summoned All-Changer. The weapon vibrated, then fluidly morphed from a sword into a sleek, obsidian bow. He drew the string taught, conjuring a bolt of pure, golden Spirit Energy. Without hesitation, he sighted an unremarkable purple trunk and released the arrow.

​WHOOSH!!

​The arrow flew with deadly, silent accuracy and struck the tree.

​"SHEEKKKKK!!!"

​A chorus of piercing, unnatural shrieks erupted from the surrounding forest. Before Sunny could react, five thick, red, whip-like veins shot from the trees toward him with terrifying speed.

​"Absolute Defense!"

​Sunny threw up his strongest shield.

​BAM!!!

​The five veins struck the barrier simultaneously, shattering the defense instantly and slamming into Sunny's chest. He was sent flying backward, skidding violently across the grass.

​"What the—?!" Sunny gasped, stunned by the sheer, synchronized force.

​{Warning, Host. There is a God-Rank, Stage Ten Mutant Tree coordinating the attack.}

​Sunny watched as the initial tree he struck finally withered, its purple color fading to a dead brown before it collapsed.

​{Congratulations, Master killed a Stage One God-Rank Mutant Tree! Gained 1,000,000 EXP and one Spirit Stone.}

​"Wait, I got that much EXP, and a Spirit Stone?!" Sunny's pain was instantly eclipsed by a sudden, intense flash of greed.

​{The Spirit Stone converts Celestial Energy into Spirit Energy for the bearer.}

​"Wow! That's... amazing! Before, I was only thinking of survival, but now? I will stay here and farm these stones! If all my subordinates possess one, I could create an unstoppable army!"

​{Note: The drop rate is 20%.}

The System inserted, attempting to temper his euphoria.

​Sunny ignored the warning. Even ten percent was worth the risk. All-Changer morphed into a massive, heavy plasma gun. He funneled his potent but reduced Spirit Energy into the weapon, charging it.

​"Die!" he roared, unleashing a torrent of devastating fire upon the mass of purple, shrieking trees ahead.

___

​[Two Days Later.]

​Sunny sat hunched on the ground, his All-changer Armor splattered with viscous, purple tree-blood. The area around him, once a dense, glowing forest, was now a vast, circular patch of charred, open earth, dotted with the withered husks of hundreds of mutated trees.

​"The strongest I've killed was at the fifteenth stage of the God-Rank," he muttered, wiping sweat from his brow. "Thank goodness it was the last of the cluster." He surveyed his work.

"I've turned this entire patch into an open space."

​Sunny looked north, the direction of the Core. "There are still more to kill… But first."

​"System, show me my current gains."

​{EXP: 126,890,579.}

{Spirit Energy Stones: 527.}

​"Five hundred and twenty-seven… I could stop now. With this EXP combined with my current reserves, I have enough to immediately boost myself to the Second Order once I leave this realm. But I can't stop." He gripped a handful of grass.

"If I can convert all my troops' Celestial Energy into Spirit Energy, I will have a specialized force of utterly devastating fighters."

​WHOOSH!!!

​A sudden, sharp whistling noise cut through the air.

​".....?!"

​Sunny's battle instincts screamed. He threw up a quick, unstable barrier just as an unknown object struck.

​BAM!!!!

​The attack sliced through the barrier as if it were paper and impacted his chest. Sunny flew backward, hitting the ground twenty feet away.

​He gasped, spitting a mouthful of hot blood onto the glowing soil. "I hope Josephine didn't feel that," he muttered, using his healing factor to instantly knit the severe damage to his ribs. He jumped up, turning to face his attacker.

​"...Huh?"

​Standing where he had just been was a figure that was half-woman, half-tree. She was a striking, terrifying being with purple skin and vibrant, glowing leaves covering her vital areas. Ten thick, red, pulsating veins extended from her back, one of which had delivered the crushing blow. Her purple eyes were alight with absolute hatred.

​"How dare you refer to my people as trees!" the Peak God-Rank warrior shrieked, her voice layered with an ancient, woody crackle. "You have slaughtered my tribe!"

​"A Peak God-Rank warrior. You must be the leader of this territory then," Sunny stated, his frown returning, All-Changer transforming into a sword.

​"DIE!" she screamed. The ten enormous veins shot out from her back, converging on Sunny in a deadly, inescapable wave.

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