Translator: _Leo_ Editor: Kurisu
Angele passed through the geese and then had a clear view in the front.
A large, twisted black canyon appeared below, separating the vibrant forest in half. There was a white waterfall on its edge, and Angele could hear the noise made by the water in the sky.
There were brown elephants and horned lions drinking from the river. The elephant calves were playing with lion cubs. The light of the setting sun illuminated the river and the animals’ bodies. The place looked like a primeval forest.
Angele looked at the forest from the back of the eagle, his brow furrowed.
‘This area is not populated by human beings and I can probably find a good location for my altar,’ Angele thought as he checked the area below.
He understood that the Ness River, the Molten River, or the Tarry River areas were just a third of the central continent. There were many areas that were not populated by humans—such areas were usually infected by radiation energy, so there were mutated creatures with high reproduction rate everywhere. Most of the wizards chose not to live in areas like this.
Those areas were called as the Outland, and only hunters, rangers, or wizards who were looking for special materials would visit them from time to time.
Angele already reached the edge of the Outland after flying for more than one hour; this area had not been explored by anyone yet.
MOO
A deep and long voice interrupted Angele’s thoughts.
The eagle rotated over the canyon. There was a ten-meter-tall black hippo roaring on the left, its voice sounded like it was from a horn.
There were several calves 1 around this enormous beast. Groups of black birds were rotating around its body while twittering.
The hippo waved its tail, lowered its head, and started advancing. A deep hole would be left on the ground for every step it took.
Angele looked at the hippo and scanned it using the biochip.
‘River Hippos, are they moving? I can probably ride on its back.’ Angele noticed that the hippo was moving to the black canyon.
He pressed the back of the eagle slightly, the eagle soared and flew to the hippo.
The hippo was getting larger and larger in Angele’s sight.
Angele turned around and jumped down when the eagle was only several meters away from the hippo. He landed on the back of the hippo without any problem.
The eagle rotated in the sky and quickly flew away at full speed. It turned into a small black dot and disappeared into the sky.
Angele sat down on the hippo’s back with his legs crossed.
The beast was about ten meters tall and seven meters wide. It seemed like the hippo did not mind that there was a human on its back. The hippo was still advancing with no hesitation and its footsteps were extremely loud.
The birds that looked like sparrows rotated around Angele’s body and noticed that he was not going to attack them. One of the sparrows landed on Angele’s shoulder and started jumping around.
Angele sat quietly on the back of the hippo, his body shaking as the beast moved.
He rubbed the back of the beast—it felt like touching an old tree’s trunk.
‘The beasts that live in the central continent are definitely stronger than the beasts in other areas.’ Blue light flashed in front of Angele’s eyes, he had already checked the hippo’s basic attributes.
‘Over 9 points of Strength and 11 points of Stamina. Its attributes increased after the mutation; according to the data, this hippo feeds on the tree leaves of the Red Deer Tree. However, Red Deer Trees are hard to find, so the hippo must keep moving to deeper areas of the Outland. I’m lucky that I found one here.’
Angele sat on the back of the hippo; he could smell the floral fragrance in the gentle wind. The air of the night was warm and slightly wet.
He inhaled deeply and could feel that his lungs were filled with refreshing air.
The light of the setting sun brushed over his skin. This environment was truly relaxing.
‘No humans, no work, no enemies, and no random events. I’m alone in the Outland and no one is here to bother me…’ Angele thought for a while. ‘I finally understand why some people prefer to stay away from the cities. This is the true freedom that I can’t find anywhere else.’
He quickly arrived at the edge of the canyon as the hippo advanced.
The hippo did not stop, it raised its feet and stepped forward.
BAM
A translucent air staircase appeared under the hippo’s feet before it stepped into the darkness. The egg-shaped staircase was floating over the canyon and it could barely handle the weight of the hippo. The staircase would crack slightly every time the hippo took a step forward.
Angele looked down from the back of the hippo.
Below him was an endless abyss, and he was not even sure if the water from the waterfall landed on anything after running down the canyon. There were several pine trees on the surface of the canyon and they looked like well-organized green hooks reaching outwards.
The hippo did not stop after arriving at the other side of the canyon.
It was getting dark as time passed.
Some of the black sparrows landed in the hippo’s ears and Angele could see that there were nests in its ears. Those birds were treating the hippo like a humongous tree that could move.
Angele sat on the back of the hippo quietly and put down a large blanket. He took out some white bread and cakes. He then created a drink using the water that was formed by energy particles.
‘River hippo is a friendly creature and won’t attack other creatures for no reason. River hippo can detect the tracking spells casted by wizards and prefers quiet areas. I should probably stay with the hippo and let it find me a great location for the altar.’ He glanced around and noticed that there were many red trees ahead. Those trees were much taller than the trees he saw earlier.
Those red trees had a height of more than ten meters and grew on a black muddy land. Those trees had the similar height to the hippo’s and were quite strong. Angele noticed that some trees had flashing V-shaped glowing marks on them—they were the only source of light in the area.
BAM
The hippo found a relatively empty area and kneeled down. It then laid against two red trees and started resting.
Angele rested on the back of the hippo, he closed his eyes and was still sitting with his legs crossed. Seconds later, his breath slowed down, and strange white ghost faces appeared around his body. There was also a noise that sounded like it was made by a bell in the air.
The hippo glanced at Angele with its yellow eyes and moved slightly so it could rest at a more comfortable position.
The calves around it started resting as well.
The night passed quickly.
The sun started rising and the birds were twittering. Their voices echoed in the forest.
Angele suddenly opened his eyes on the back of the hippo and the black ghost faces burst like soap bubbles.
He looked at the bushes on the left and noticed that there were three bull-sized gray wolves approaching quietly. Their green eyes were reflecting the light in the dark bush.
It was obvious that those wolves were not going after the hippo. They were aiming for the calves.
WOO
The hippo slowly stood up and looked at the wolves cautiously. It also started roaring, it was trying to warn those wolves using its voice.
Angele noticed that those wolves’ tails ended with black snake heads. Also, red flames were spurting out of those snake heads’ mouths.
‘Those are the Fire Snake Wolves that I read about on the books… This is truly a remote area.’ Angele noticed that he could no longer activate his communication runes—it seemed like the strange energy waves in the forest were the reason.
Fire Snake Wolves usually reside in deep caves, which means their home must be around here…
Angele looked excited, he looked at the hippo, stood up, and jumped down.
PA
He landed in front of the hippo and the calves were right behind him.
‘It was a comfortable ride and I should probably pay the hippo back.’ Raising his right hand, Angele aimed at the Fire Snake Wolves in the front.
A high-pitched voice came from nowhere and echoed in the air. It sounded like the source of the voice was moving constantly.
Angele released translucent energy waves from his palm and the waves quickly surrounded by the wolves.
Roar
One of the wolves suddenly raised its head and started roaring. It sounded like it was scared of the energy waves.
The wolves lowered their bodies, they knew that Angele was probably an enemy they couldn’t defeat.
Roar Roar
The wolves kept roaring.
The glowing red light in Angele’s eyes was clear and his eyeballs looked like two high-quality rubies.
Finally, the wolves started backing off, and quickly disappeared into the shadows.
Angele lowered his hands and covered his arms in the silky black robe. He turned his head around and looked at the hippo. It seemed like the hippo knew that it was him who protected the calves.
I’ll see you around.
Angele started walking forward, his body exploded, and disappeared in drops of red flames.
