The travel to Rocketer Base was treacherous in nature. It wasn't the dangers posed by beasts or hostile awakeners that made the journey difficult, but the route itself.

The fastest path the roadmap provided required crossing rivers with strong currents, navigating steep hills with unstable terrain, and traversing smaller mountain passes where the trails narrowed to barely accommodate a horse and rider. The geography was unforgiving, demanding constant attention and careful passing.

It wasn't easy, but Mirage managed to push through each obstacle without serious issues. Moon was impressed with Mirage's remarkable endurance and sure-footedness, adapting to changing terrain with intelligence that made him such a valuable companion despite being a relatively low-level mount.

During the travel, Moon didn't encounter any significant threats, which was fortunate considering the time-sensitive nature of his objective. He wanted to reach the location as quickly as possible, and being forced into extended combat with powerful beasts would have slowed him down considerably.

Despite the efficiency, Moon couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of disappointment. A few powerful beasts encountered along the journey wouldn't have hurt his progression. The experience and life gains from these kills would have made the travel time productive rather than purely transitional.

But you couldn't have everything.

Night descended gradually as Moon continued pushing forward. Unfortunately, the area he was currently traversing was open grassland with virtually no natural cover. Rolling plains stretched in every direction, broken only by occasional rock formations too small to provide meaningful shelter.

Moon's eyes landed on Mirage, who was visibly struggling after the long day's travel. The horse's breathing had become labored, his pace slowing despite efforts to maintain speed. Pushing further without rest would risk injury or complete exhaustion.

Looking around carefully, Moon scanned the environment for any potential shelter or defensive positions. Nothing presented itself. The grassland was exposed from every angle, offering clear sightlines but no protection.

He decided to rest in their current spot despite the vulnerability. Since it was completely open space, the position was dangerous in some ways but advantageous in others. Moon could see everything approaching from any direction, meaning ambushes would be nearly impossible. Any threats would be visible long before they reached striking distance.

That transparency was worth more than physical cover in certain situations.

Moon dismounted and began setting up a minimal camp. He pulled a bedroll from his spatial storage along with basic supplies. Mirage immediately lowered himself to the ground gratefully, his legs folding beneath him.

"Good work today," Moon said quietly, offering the horse water from a container and some feed he'd purchased at Ironpeak. "Rest up. We've got more ground to cover tomorrow."

Mirage drank deeply before settling into a resting position, his eyes already half-closed.

Moon established a perimeter using his enhanced senses, extending his awareness as far as his attributes allowed. Unfortunately, his pyromancer class had officially ran out of time. So his Heat Sense skill was no longer active.

He sat with his back against Mirage's warm bulk, staff resting across his lap and ready for instant deployment. His eyes scanned the dark grassland, the night sky above was remarkably clear. Stars scattered across the darkness in patterns Moon was still learning to recognize.

If Selene's information is accurate, I should reach Rocketer Base by tomorrow afternoon. Then it's just a matter of meeting up with her, then entering the realm.

This could be the opportunity I need to pull ahead significantly. Or it could be a death trap that costs me everything.

Moon's hand tightened slightly on his staff.

Only one way to find out.

He settled into a light meditation rather than deep sleep, maintaining just enough awareness to react instantly if threats materialized while allowing his body to recover stamina.

The grassland remained quiet and still around them. The twin moons adorning the dark sky cast light across the endless plains.

♢♢♢♢

Moon's eyes snapped open as he felt ominous energy approaching. He stood immediately, his hand already reaching for his staff as he realized this was not going to be an easy night after all.

At least ten beasts from different species emerged from the darkness, encircling Moon and Mirage's position. They were all wary of each other initially—natural competitors forced into temporary proximity by the scent of potential prey.

But once they fully registered Moon and the exhausted Mirage, the beasts seemed to put aside their territorial differences and focus on a single shared goal of claiming the surrounded prey.

Moon's eyes swept across the emerging threats, rapidly assessing each one. They were all approximately level eighteen based on the mana signatures they radiated. Not particularly dangerous individually for someone at his current strength, but their numbers and coordinated positioning created very little risk if he wasn't careful.

Mirage struggled to stand, exhaustion making his movements sluggish despite the adrenaline of sudden danger.

"Stay down," Moon commanded quietly. "I'll handle this."

Moon's mana flared as he began to conjure his strongest spell—Ignite. Moon knew that even if he tried to eliminate threats quietly and avoid attracting additional predators, the inevitable spilled blood would draw more beasts from the surrounding area anyway.

'Better to end this quickly and decisively before migrating to another place. This will only get more troublesome'

The fireball formed in his hand, compressed to maximum efficiency with all the mastery he'd achieved. The crimson-gold flames with streaks of blue crackled with hunger.

Moon released it toward the densest cluster of beasts—four creatures that had grouped too closely together in their eagerness to attack.

BOOM!

The detonation was nothing short of powerful. The five-meter radius caught all four beasts in the blast zone, the 250% damage bonus from his Epic-rank skill obliterating them instantly. Their bodies were thrown backward, charred and broken, the burn effect ensuring nothing survived even if the initial explosion hadn't been immediately fatal.

[You have killed a level 18 Plains Stalker.] [You have gained 5 Lives.]

[You have killed a level 18 Rock Wolf.] [You have gained 5 Lives.]

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