Sergio, Kenneth, and the others snapped out of ditation almost simultaneously.
“What the hell is happening?!”
“Did Abyss change again?”
Sergio shook his head, staring at Axel, who sat barely a dozen ters away.
“No… it’s him. Axel changed.” He pointed. “All the Origin Force in the area is flowing straight toward his body.”
Terrence sniffed the air, brows knitting. “Do you sll that?”
“What sll?”
“Like… herbs. Fresh ones.”
The others inhaled, and their expressions shifted.
They were right.
The battlefield from their last fight with the Saints had been completely torn apart by Kenneth’s bombardnt—no grass, no plants, nothing alive should’ve been left.
“And yet…” Nigel muttered. “That scent is coming from Axel.”
Sergio was already on his feet.
“You’re not seriously going over there to sniff him, are you?” Nigel twitched. “We’re grown n, for fuck’s sake.”
“Shut up.” Sergio shot him a look. “If you don’t want the benefit, stay where you are.”
He stopped about two ters from Axel and sat down again, resuming cultivation.
The effect was imdiate.
“…Holy shit.”
The Origin Force density here was several tis higher.
“He’s a walking cultivation paradise now.”
“I thought it’d take another year or two to advance,” soone muttered, eyes bright. “At this rate? Way faster.”
One by one, they sat down around Axel.
Their cultivation speeds skyrocketed.
“And it’s still increasing,” Nigel said grimly.
Not only was the Origin Force growing denser—the strange herbal fragrance was intensifying as well.
......
Several kiloters away, a man who had just picked two Orchid Heart Grasses frowned and looked up.
“What’s that sll?”
He focused, sensing the air.
“…Such a dense Origin Force fluctuation. You feel it too?”
Three Awakened Ones stood beside him, eyes narrowing.
“That scent only cos from high-grade spiritual plants when they mature.”
“Abyss has already been stripped clean,” another said greedily. “Guess it’s our turn to get lucky.”
They didn’t hesitate.
They moved toward the source.
Elsewhere, other groups also noticed the anomaly, steadily converging on Axel’s location.
......
Whoosh.
Two figures appeared near the group surrounding Axel.
One of them froze.
“…Axel? What the hell is he doing here?”
A petite girl with a high ponytail stared, eyes widening until they practically sparkled.
“Captain! That’s Axel!” she squealed. “Oh my god—my idol! I finally get to see him in person!”
If Axel had been conscious, he would’ve recognized Luke, captain of Black Talon.
The girl bounced excitedly, circling Axel.
“He must’ve gotten sothing incredible,” Luke said, frowning slightly. “Who are those people?”
“Luke, let’s cultivate here too!” the girl bead. “The Origin Force is insane—and we get to watch Axel up close!”
Luke hesitated, then nodded. “Felicia, behave. Don’t disturb them.”
He paused. “Your brother might show up too. We can regroup then.”
Felicia practically cheered and imdiately found a spot close to Axel.
Luke rubbed his temples.
This is going to be a headache.
Felicia was Ferdinand’s younger sister—an elite mber of the Whisper Syndicate. She was a year older than Axel but looked younger, and had already reached Level Four.
Luke didn’t fully enter cultivation, keeping part of his attention on the surroundings.
“Axel definitely got sothing absurd,” he muttered. “But these kids have zero sense of danger.”
The plant-like fragrance around Axel continued to grow stronger.
It was only a matter of ti before Awakened from much farther away arrived.
If this keeps up, Luke thought grimly, I’ll have to wake him.
......
Within Axel’s inner vision, the towering tree didn’t grow taller.
Instead, it beca denser—more real.
The vast majority of the absorbed Origin Force was swallowed by the tree itself. Only a fraction flowed back into Axel’s body.
Even so, the impact was trendous.
His already-ford Original Veins expanded again, widening under the strain.
When he checked his stats—
All three had exceeded 15,000.
Reaching 10,000 across all attributes marked a deep awakening.
And yet, Axel instinctively knew—
The Tree of Life was still far from fully manifesting.
......
Several days passed.
Luke opened his eyes, expression dark.
“What the hell did these people dig up?”
He had cultivated cautiously while staying alert. In just twenty days, three separate groups had arrived. Aside from one Level Four Awakened from the Survey Corps, he didn’t recognize any of them.
They had no interest in conversation.
And once Luke donned Whisper Syndicate attire, their wariness was obvious.
“So many people,” Felicia said cheerfully, wandering through the crowd. “It’s kind of fun.”
“Stop making things worse,” Luke snapped. “Be careful.”
He glanced toward Axel again. “When are they going to finish?”
Luke was growing more uneasy by the hour.
A treasure capable of continuously drawing in such an enormous volu of Origin Force was anything but ordinary.
If Axel and the others didn’t finish soon—
Soone would make a move.
Worse still, Luke had noticed the increase. Mutated beasts.
Within just a few kiloters, ten Level Five or higher beasts had already appeared.
If this continued… This place was going to explode into chaos.
“Luke, Felicia—I finally found you.”
A clean-cut man jogged over and stopped beside Luke, breathing lightly.
“Ferdinand, you’re finally here,” Luke said, letting out a long breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
“What’s going on here?” Ferdinand followed Luke’s gaze—and froze. “Wait. Isn’t that… Axel?”
He leaned in, eyes bright. “Damn. What kind of treasure did they get? Slls amazing!”
Luke nearly smacked him. “You siblings really are sothing else…”
Sure enough, Ferdinand’s loud, enthusiastic comnt drew attention. Several Awakened nearby shifted restlessly. A burly man wearing a headscarf, followed by five others, strode over.
“They’re in deep cultivation,” Luke said, stepping forward to block them. His tone was cold. “Do not approach.”
The big man sneered. “Don’t try to scare us with your status. Abyss isn’t your private backyard. Do we need your permission to walk around?”
He glanced at Axel and the others. “Anyone with eyes can tell they got top-tier spiritual plants. We just want a closer look. Or is the Whisper Syndicate really that fucking overbearing?”
Luke’s eyes hardened. “We’re allowing everyone to cultivate nearby. That’s already generous. But Axel is one of ours. Anyone who disturbs their training—don’t bla if I get rough.”
Ferdinand cleared his throat and stepped up beside Luke. His aura flared, Origin Force rolling outward as crimson flas wrapped around his hands. The usual easygoing smile vanished from his face.
“Rules are rules,” he said evenly. “You’re welco to cultivate here. But don’t interfere with our people. Simple enough?”
The restless murmurs died down almost instantly.
“My brother’s amazing!” Felicia chirped.
Before Ferdinand could enjoy that for even a second, she added, “But he’s still not as strong as Axel.”
Ferdinand’s face darkened. “Hey! Want to fight him right now? You’re really underestimating !”
Felicia giggled. “Fight him when he wakes up. I’m just stating facts—why’re you so mad?”
For a while, the tension eased.
Most people put aside their greed and quietly sat down to cultivate. Ti passed.
Twenty days later, Luke opened his eyes.
“Everyone,” soone said urgently. “Sothing’s wrong.”
It was Mario, a short, stocky Awakened from the Hunter’s Guild. His face was pale.
“What happened?” Several people ca out of deep ditation, wary.
Mario pointed into the distance. “We’re in trouble. Let’s move higher—don’t disturb them.”
Luke climbed a nearby ridge and looked out.
His blood ran cold.
Beyond the hills, at the edge of the forest, mutated beasts packed the dunes in a mass stretching nearly ten kiloters. A sea of twisted bodies.
Most of them were Level Five.
“Did we… attract every mutated beast in Abyss?” Felicia whispered, eyes wide with excitent.
No one shared her enthusiasm.
Luke’s voice was low. “We fucked up. We were too focused on cultivating. That scent and the Origin Force density don’t just attract Awakened—they attract beasts too.”
At least a hundred Level Five mutated beasts surrounded them now, cutting off every escape route.
“I knew sothing felt off yesterday,” Mario said shakily. “We’re completely encircled.”
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