Chapter 129 — The Road Back

Kael continued walking.

The wilderness stretched endlessly before him.

No roads.

No villages.

No smoke rising from distant settlements.

No voices.

Nothing.

Only trees.

Mountains.

Rivers.

And monsters.

Kael slowed after several hours.

“This world feels wrong.”

The Shadow Lion rested across his back.

“Wrong how?”

“Too empty.”

The Verdant Serpent's armor shifted slightly around his body.

“The world may simply be sparsely populated in this region.”

The Bone Sovereign disagreed.

“No.”

Kael looked at the necklace.

“What do you sense?”

“The mana density is abnormal.”

Kael frowned.

“How?”

“It is significantly higher than the environment we knew before entering the pocket world.”

Kael immediately activated his System.

A status panel appeared.

[Real-World Environmental Scan.]

[Mana Density: High.]

[Monster Activity: High.]

[Human Activity: Unknown.]

[Regional Data: Incomplete.]

Kael narrowed his eyes.

“So the outside world changed.”

The Shadow Lion answered:

“Four years passed.”

Kael looked toward the distant mountains.

“That's enough time for everything to change.”

The First Large Monster

A tremor moved through the forest.

Kael stopped.

The three conscious weapons reacted instantly.

The Verdant Armor hardened.

The machine gun shifted on his back.

The Bone Sovereign's necklace emitted a faint blue pulse.

Kael looked toward the trees.

Something enormous was approaching.

A tree fell.

Then another.

Then—

a massive creature emerged.

It resembled a giant bear.

Its fur was dark brown.

Its claws were metallic.

Two thick horns curved backward from its head.

The System analyzed it.

[Ironhorn Ursine]

[Level: 41]

[Grade: Commander]

[Potential: Lord]

[Traits: Metallic Claws, Earth Tremor, High Vitality, Berserker Strength]

Kael smiled.

“Level forty-one.”

The Shadow Lion spoke.

“Want to test the new weapon?”

Kael reached behind him.

The conscious machine gun awakened.

Crimson energy traveled through the weapon.

The barrel rotated.

RATATATATATAT!

A continuous stream of ammunition struck the beast.

The Ironhorn Ursine roared.

It charged.

Kael didn't retreat.

The Verdant Armor tightened around his arms.

The creature's claws struck.

CLANG!

Kael remained standing.

The Serpent spoke calmly.

“Durability is improving.”

The Bear attacked again.

Kael stepped sideways.

The machine gun continued firing.

The Shadow Lion adjusted the firing angle.

“Move left.”

Kael moved.

“Right.”

He moved again.

The weapon continuously corrected itself.

The Bear finally reached him.

Kael drew the Origin Blade.

One strike.

The monster stumbled.

The necklace pulsed.

[Mana Capacity Increased.]

Kael immediately followed with another attack.

The Bear fell.

The Bone Sovereign spoke:

“Your mana is increasing faster.”

Kael glanced at the status.

[Mana: 63 → 66]

He raised an eyebrow.

“That's useful.”

The Shadow Lion replied:

“Keep fighting.”

Kael smiled.

“You're enjoying this.”

“Obviously.”

The Real World Is Different

Kael searched the monster's body.

He found a glowing core.

The System identified it.

[Ironhorn Core.]

[Quality: High.]

[Uses: Energy Storage, Metal Reinforcement.]

Kael stored it.

Then—

he noticed something.

The monster wasn't mutated.

It wasn't corrupted.

It wasn't part of an ancient prison.

It was simply—

strong.

Kael looked around.

“What happened while I was gone?”

The Bone Sovereign answered:

“The real world evolved without you.”

Kael nodded.

“Then I need to understand it.”

He opened the System.

[Regional Monster Data.]

Only a few entries appeared.

[Forest Fang — Level 34.]

[Ironhorn Ursine — Level 41.]

[Stoneback Lizard — Level 38.]

[Crimson Wing Hawk — Level 44.]

Nothing else.

Kael frowned.

“That isn't enough.”

[Data insufficient.]

Kael smiled.

“Then we'll collect more.”

Four Years

Kael walked for another day.

He crossed a river.

Climbed a rocky ridge.

Moved through dense woodland.

Still—

no humans.

Not one.

The absence became strange enough that Kael finally stopped.

“Where is everyone?”

The Shadow Lion answered:

“Perhaps they aren't near us.”

The Serpent:

“Or something happened.”

The Bone Sovereign:

“Both are possible.”

Kael looked toward the sky.

The sun was setting.

He found another cave.

Before entering—

he noticed something.

A stone marker.

Old.

Partially buried.

Kael approached.

The writing was faded.

He cleared away the dirt.

A name appeared.

Darven.

Kael froze.

His fingers stopped moving.

The three weapons became completely silent.

He stared at the stone.

A family mark.

His family mark.

But—

something was wrong.

The inscription was old.

Older than his father's generation.

Older than the estate.

Kael's eyes narrowed.

“This wasn't built by my family.”

The Bone Sovereign answered:

“No.”

Kael looked at the mark.

“What is it?”

“A boundary marker.”

“For what?”

Silence.

Then:

“Your ancestors.”

Kael's expression changed.

There were Darven traces here.

Far from his former home.

That meant his family had traveled farther than he had ever known.

Kael touched the stone.

A faint System response appeared.

[Ancient Darven Signature detected.]

[Compatibility: High.]

[Record age: Unknown.]

Kael stared.

“Another secret.”

The Shadow Lion answered:

“Your family seems to have left secrets everywhere.”

Kael smiled faintly.

“Apparently.”

The Old Route

The marker pointed toward the west.

Kael followed.

Not because he trusted it.

Because he recognized the direction.

His old home had been west of the portal.

Very far west.

Kael opened his System map.

The regional data was incomplete.

But the marker's energy provided a reference.

A faint line appeared.

[Ancient Darven Route detected.]

Kael's eyes widened.

The route was old.

Extremely old.

And it led in the direction he needed.

He followed it.

For the first time since leaving the pocket world—

Kael felt certain he was heading home.

A Monster Migration

The forest suddenly became noisy.

Kael stopped.

A massive number of creatures were moving.

Not attacking.

Migrating.

Dozens.

Then hundreds.

The System identified some.

[Ironhorn Ursine.]

[Stoneback Lizard.]

[Crimson Fang Wolf.]

[Thunderhorn Stag.]

Kael stepped aside.

The creatures passed.

The Shadow Lion spoke quietly.

“Something scared them.”

Kael frowned.

“Something stronger?”

“Much stronger.”

The Bone Sovereign added:

“Their behavior suggests territorial displacement.”

Kael looked toward the northern horizon.

The creatures were coming from there.

Something had taken over their territory.

Kael didn't investigate.

Not yet.

He had another priority.

His old home.

The journey continued.

The Mountain

Two days later—

Kael reached a mountain range.

He climbed the first ridge.

Then stopped.

Far beyond the mountains—

a distant valley appeared.

Kael knew it.

His memory recognized it before his eyes did.

The Darven estate had been somewhere beyond that valley.

His heartbeat increased.

For four years—

he had imagined returning.

He had imagined revenge.

He had imagined finding answers.

But now that the place was near—

he realized he had never imagined what he would feel.

Kael remained silent.

The Shadow Lion spoke quietly.

“You don't have to go.”

Kael looked at the horizon.

“Yes.”

He started walking.

“I do.”

The Verdant Armor tightened gently around his shoulders.

The Bone Sovereign remained silent.

The Shadow Lion didn't speak again.

The Ruined Road

By evening—

Kael found an old road.

It was almost completely swallowed by vegetation.

Stone pillars stood along its sides.

Most had fallen.

Some were cracked.

One carried a familiar crest.

Kael stopped.

The Darven symbol.

His fingers brushed the stone.

A faint memory surfaced.

His father's hand resting on his shoulder.

His mother's voice.

The estate.

Training.

Breakfast.

A sword lesson.

Small memories.

Things he hadn't thought about for years.

Kael closed his eyes.

The memories faded.

He opened them.

Then—

he continued.

Something Is Wrong

The valley should have contained signs of life.

Instead—

there were none.

No birds.

No animal tracks.

No insects.

No trees growing naturally near the old estate.

Kael stopped at the edge.

The Shadow Lion spoke.

“I can smell ash.”

Kael's chest tightened.

“How old?”

A pause.

“Years.”

The Verdant Serpent's voice became quiet.

“The ground has been disturbed.”

Kael looked ahead.

The Bone Sovereign added:

“Recently.”

Kael's eyes narrowed.

“Recently?”

The necklace pulsed.

“Something has been searching the ruins.”

Kael immediately drew the Origin Blade.

The forest around the valley remained empty.

No humans.

No monsters.

Only silence.

Kael took one step forward.

Then another.

The old Darven estate was close.

He could see the top of the ruined walls beyond the trees.

His breathing became slower.

Four years.

Four years since he had seen it.

He had returned stronger.

But the place might no longer exist.

Kael walked toward it.

Behind him—

the sun disappeared beneath the horizon.

And ahead—

the first blackened stones of his old home finally became visible.

Kael stopped.

He stared.

The Shadow Lion spoke quietly.

“Kael.”

He didn't answer.

The Verdant Serpent tightened around his body.

The Bone Sovereign remained silent.

Kael's hand slowly closed around the Origin Blade.

He had spent four years preparing to return.

Now—

he was finally standing at the place where everything had begun.

And tomorrow—

he would see what remained.