Damien dragged Lunaria through the underground as fast as he could, but it wasn't an easy thing.
In the first place, the tunnel system was far too complicated. Even if he wanted to just teleport straight down continuously, it was impossible.
His awareness was concentrated below him as far as he could reach, scanning the area. If he could, he would directly teleport to a tunnel in that area. But most of the time, there simply wasn't one there.
He had to rush through the tunnel system on foot and search for viable locations to teleport to, while also keeping the location of the Primordial Undying Tree in mind so he didn't stray too far away.
He couldn't even use the maximum range of his teleportation, since long-distance spatial travel would negatively impact those without an affinity for it. He needed Lunaria to stay in peak shape for the upcoming struggle.
'Even if everyone is an enemy, that's only once we reach the fruits. Around 20 survived from our Trial World, and even if I cut that number by half because of the Trial of Self, I still don't know the total amount of Trial Worlds there were, so I can't accurately gauge how much competition we'll have. At the very least, I expect a few hundred to be there.'
In a place where hundreds of people were competing for a total of 16 fruits, he couldn't burn the bridges he had already crossed. At least, not until they had eliminated the rest of their competition.
'That old tree had told me not to get too conceited, and he probably wasn't just telling me to be wary of all the people I've already met. There must be solid competition among those that have survived.'
In particular, Damien was curious about the first-ranked genius, Hun Fang. He had only seen the man once, but that guy was simply too mysterious, even evading the probing of his All-Seeing Eyes.
'I've gained so much from this realm already…compared to everyone else I've met so far, I've definitely reaped the most benefits. But still, I can't expect that to stay true with so many variables around.'
Damien was wary of a few people, but that wasn't important yet. He and Lunaria had already traveled hundreds of kilometers through the vast network of tunnels in the subterranean world, but they weren't even halfway to the location of the tree yet.
'That damn bastard…how the hell are the others going to reach his body if he hides so deep underground? Wait…don't tell me…'
If, perhaps, the others were given easy access to the location in one way or another…wasn't it possible that the battle for the fruits had already begun without including him?
'No, I would've felt the fluctuations if that was the case. But it doesn't mean that others haven't reached the location yet. I need to speed up.'
Without warning, he increased his teleportation distance to 20 kilometers. With this much, it shouldn't be a burden to Lunaria yet.
As he went deeper and deeper underground, the number of tunnels and complexities within the subterranean world decreased as well. And it soon reached a point where Damien could actually see the patterns within those tunnels.
They snaked about and connected to various different locations, but in the end, they all congregated in a single place. That place was too far down for him to see, but he didn't need to see it to know what it was.
'Almost there…'
He increased his speed once again in excitement. It was finally time to get the treasure he had been lusting over for so long.
***
While Damien was busy rampantly teleporting to reach the Primordial Undying Tree, more and more people began to appear in the desert above the tree's location.
"Was it here?"
"I felt an extremely strong fluctuation from this location, so why is it empty?"
"Hmm, so this must be everyone that survived. I can't believe our numbers were cut down so much."
There were at least 200 people congregated in the area, and among them were a few familiar faces.
"Qing'er, didn't you say that he passed the trial with you guys? Why haven't I seen him yet?"
A beauty with white hair and golden eyes asked worriedly. Even amongst this large crowd, she stood out like a glimmering moon in the midst of the night sky.
Next to her, another fiery beauty stood with her arms crossed, scanning the area. "Hmph! That bastard won't die so easily. If I had to guess, he's probably a lot farther along than we are."
"Hmm…" Ruyue hesitated, but ended up nodding in agreement. The Damien she knew wouldn't be left behind by anyone. If anything, he would be the one leaving people behind.
"But…where did that girl Qing Tan go? I could've sworn I saw her, but she disappeared as soon as I tried to greet her. What happened to camaraderie?" Feng Qing'er muttered to herself.
It was true that she had seen Qing Tan a few moments after she had been sent to this desert realm, but that girl disappeared like the wind upon seeing her.
If Feng Qing'er didn't know any better, she'd think that Qing Tan was purposefully avoiding her.
"Ah, you are talking about the girl that was with you and Damien in your Trial World? If you want to ask about her, then shouldn't you ask about your dear sister as well? I haven't seen Luna ever since entering this realm either." Ruyue teased.
"That's right!"
Feng Qing'er gasped in shame. She had been too focused on the fact that Qing Tan ignored her, she had almost forgotten about her very own sister.
Now that she thought about it, many powerful people were missing from this place. Whether it be Hun Fang, Qing Tan, Lunaria, or others in the top 10 of the 3000 Beast Record.
"But they should be fine. In fact, them not being here should worry us for another reason. If they perhaps got a head start…"
Ruyue furrowed her brows. At this juncture, time was of the essence. They needed to reach the location of that fluctuation as soon as possible, but instead, they were simply dallying around.
'I know we need to go, but for this many people to be summoned here couldn't be a coincidence. My instincts are telling me that waiting would be more beneficial.'
As Ruyue was thinking about what to do, a trio of men sauntered in her direction.
"Beauty! I have been enamored with your grace and elegance since the moment I laid eyes on you! Please accept my greetings!"
The one who led the three lowered his head and tried to gently grab Ruyue's hand.
'Is that…spatial fluctuations? It doesn't have Damien's mana signature, so something else must be happening. Hm, what is this?'
As she was in thought, Ruyue felt an irritating presence in front of her and halfheartedly swatted her hand.
But a halfhearted swat from Ruyue wasn't something that could be taken lightly anymore. The blessing of the Primordial Undying Tree wasn't just for show, after all.
Swoosh!
Her hand sliced through the air, only feeling a slight resistance. Feeling that she had gotten rid of a bug near her, Ruyue nodded in satisfaction before continuing with her thinking.
"Ahhhhh!"
That is, until she heard the piercing shriek that sounded near her. When she looked over, she saw a man whose arm had been freshly severed rolling across the ground.
"Hm?"
Her senses became alert. For someone to be crippled without anyone noticing, there must've been a powerful enemy in the vicinity.
She spread her awareness and circulated her mana in preparation for battle. Only then did she notice that most of the gazes were congregated on her rather than the poor man on the floor.
"Huh?" She tilted her head curiously. "Why is everyone looking at me?"
