Northward.

Just continue northward.

Those were the thoughts in Novus’ mind as excitement started filling him up, that change of pace from a plain, verdant field of grass that goes as far as the eyes can reach, completely different this time around, and with this new battleground seemingly just waiting for him, he feels like he can utilize all of his learnings to bring his combat power up a notch.

One tree, then two, three, eventually, he had passed through several dozens of spread out tree already as he continued towards what he assumed was the north, his eyes trained on the calming yet ever-so mysterious sight ahead of him.

Towering trees reach tens of meters before they branch out, the interweaving branches providing absolute shade on the ground underneath them.

He cannot see anything beyond large features as he is still quite far away, however he can see that all around, within the boundaries within the plains and this gigantic forest that invokes one’s curiosity and wonder, are creatures that he is already way familiar with, slimes, not only Amber Slimes and Shadow Slimes but also at least three other variants as well, roaming around in numbers that he had never seen before.

It was like heaven to the hunter side of him, groups of F-Tier slimes frolicking around, seemingly just waiting for him to slaughter and harvest.

It was also like heaven for the fighter side of him, E-Tier slimes moving in at least pair, his mind sure that these pairs will be more than enough for him to challenge and improve himself with, not to mention those pairs, the ones roaming all around all on their lonesome are more than enough for him to treat them as delectable treats that will help in completing his E-Tier Evolution Crystal requirements.

Seeing them, he starts moving faster than before, an excited tap on each of his steps as he approaches closer and closer, eager and prepared to partake in a feast of Evolution Crystal that seems to be waving at him from a distance.

As he moves through the boundary of fields of grass and the verdant forest, even ignoring both familiar and unfamiliar signs of slime-based life around him, in a rush to finally secure a sufficient amount of E-Tier Evolution Crystal to rank up before rushing and securing access to the only place that he can truly let his guard down on after debilitating hunts...

He felt it, something that starts pressing down on his excitement and slowing his previously quick, light steps as it is gradually replaced with carefulness on a level he had never shown before.

’This... fucking system... is it really the Verdant Forest? Why does it...’ as he pauses his thoughts, pulling his own senses closer to his body out of worry for it being picked up by the large number of life signatures far more powerful than the E-Tier slimes he had fought against previously, his worried, yet nevertheless still confident steps forward gradually start to slow down as his mind begins to fill with anxiety.

And just a few moments later, his steps come to a total halt.

No matter what bravery and mental temperament one possesses, no matter what sort of pain forges them to just keep moving forward, anyone will hesitate when faced with a massive wall, a great chasm that just feels too insurmountable, and this feeling applies to Novus as well.

’At least at the higher levels of the E-Tier... possibly even higher...’ with the realization dawning upon him, Novus’ face turned serious without delay, getting out of his previous halt as he continues forward, this time, slow, but ever so steady, confidence filling up his face again and covering the worry underneath.

"Hahaha..." he laughed, a smile on his face as each of his steps became lighter, his lips open as yet another word to himself slipped out of them.

"Of course... if anything, I should’ve known... the Evolution Domain is this kind of place after all..."

Feeling that he was had by the expectations of finally having a place to rest on within the Evolution Domain, only to find out that he needs to face suicidal level of dangers just so he can do so, Novus starts muttering, the anger and frustration from the build up of tiredness, then suddenly realizing that he still cannot rest even after reaching his intended location, causing him to clench his fist and his voice to raise as he speaks.

"Fine by me then... I just have to be stronger than those creatures, right? Nothing impossible. Well, it might take time, but I’ll eventually reach their level..." he motivated himself as he calmed himself down, taking a long, deep breath that forces the anger down and away from his head, this then allowing him to think better as the path he needs to take and the things he needs to do right now become clearer than ever to him.

Still, there is one decision that still holds him off from jumping straight into fights and honing himself.

Staring at the variety of slimes moving all across the boundary of the two territories, he asked something to himself as he watched them barely, trying his luck in finding possible weaknesses of these unfamiliar types of slimes, all while watching out for the Amber Slimes and Shadow Slimes that he was already familiar with as well.

’Should I go with the familiar ones or the new ones?’

To him, both have their downsides, and both have their perks.

Fighting with those variants that he is already familiar with grants him with the informational edge against them, with him knowing their weaknesses and all; however, this also means that less pressure for him, as he already has an idea of how to deal with them, meaning that less learning for him as well.

Fighting with those variants that he has yet to be familiar with grants him with that better pressure that made learning things significantly easier for him, however, it is exactly that pressure that those new slime variants can use against him, as his unfamiliarity with their way of combat is extremely detrimental to him as well, meaning more variables for him to take account of, and more chances for him to mess up, which might means expulsion from the Evolution Domain yet again.

"Hah... let’s collect the materials so I can complete my rank-up requirements first... then I should prepare for dealing with those new slime variants..."

After a fairly long deliberation, sitting on a branch of a tree as he continues to watch the slimes move around and finding no significant information that can possibly point out to their weaknesses, he finally decided for himself, and having his eyes set on this marks the start of his hunt once again. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Deliberating what to hunt while watching those targets for possible weaknesses, doing all that sitting the whole time, Novus finds it great that even during that long time of just sitting in one place, his body isn’t feeling stiff at all, yet even then, he still chooses to stretch a little bit, feeling like he has to warm up before jumping back into battle.

After the stretch, he leapt down, his figure disappearing from the base of the tree as he exploded in speed, his eyes already locked on a new target to hunt.