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THE ASMARA BHUMI TRIBULATION
The night wind, carrying an ancient, primordial aura, swept gently through the colossal branches of the Star Trees. A mere few minutes after Ken departed Diyah’s encampment, his silhouette was already dozens of miles away, piercing through the profound darkness of the forest’s core.
Ken stood with his robes fluttering wildly, his feet planted firmly upon the broad shoulders of the Four-Armed Ashura Gorilla they had encountered earlier.
”So, what intelligence have you gleaned from your tracking, Yemu?” Ken inquired of the forest guardian monster.
The colossal gorilla growled a low, rumbling note, raising one of its massive arms and pointing far toward the eastern horizon. “The Green Ogre that devoured demonic energy is concealing itself over there,” the Gorilla replied using an ancient telepathic tongue, fixing its gaze upon a gigantic cavern jutting out toward a dark ocean.
”Excellent. Flawless work, Yemu,” Ken praised, his eyes narrowing sharply, locking onto the cavern’s coordinates. “Very well, I shall pay it a visit right now and reap its life.” Ken shot forward, tearing through the air like a loosed arrow, while the Ashura Gorilla flapped its bone wings and vanished back into the shadows of the forest.
At the encampment, the night air grew increasingly biting. Andin, pulling her cloak tightly to seek warmth, suddenly gasped as her gaze fell upon the campfire.
”Hah! What in the world is this? Diyah, look over there!” Andin exclaimed in awe, tugging at her friend’s sleeve.
Diyah turned her head, as did Julia. Hovering directly above the blazing campfire was a transparent, small dome-shaped sealing formation. The seal radiated a golden luminescence, swallowing every single plume of smoke generated by the hearth so that not a microscopic wisp ascended into the night sky.
”Wah, what kind of magic is that?” Julia murmured, her eyes widening in profound curiosity.
The three maidens drew closer, observing the seal with unadulterated awe. Diyah’s spiritual comprehension, newly elevated after absorbing a high-tier monster core, instantaneously deduced the mechanism. “Ohh! I understand now,” Diyah stated, snapping her fingers with a bright smile. “This is undeniably a smoke-absorption formation. Brother Ken deliberately erected it so the smoke from our hearth wouldn’t scatter with the wind and attract the scent of savage Star Monsters prowling nearby.”
”Oh, heavens! Your logic is absolutely flawless,” Andin nudged Diyah’s arm playfully, flashing a teasing smile. “Wah, that Brother Ken of yours is truly a meticulously detail-oriented protector. He even foresaw our safety down to the most minuscule details.”
”Hahaha, you are incorrigible, Andin! Do not start again,” Diyah retorted, her cheeks flushing crimson, inviting crisp laughter from the three maidens that shattered the tense silence of the nocturnal forest.
Amidst the warmth of their banter, Suta abruptly stepped toward the hearth wearing a triumphant, proud smile. His arms cradled several massive fruits with scaly, faintly glowing skins, resembling colossal golden pineapples. Exactly as Suta set the fruits down, the flapping of wings echoed from the canopy above—Garu had returned to perch upon a branch after delivering the logistics.
”What exactly did you bring? Did Garu drop those for us?” Diyah asked, picking up one of the fruits, which felt remarkably warm against her palm.
Suta puffed out his chest. “Wah, you all must know! These are authentic Star Tree Fruits! According to the literature I’ve studied, these fruits condense the absolute essence of nature over thousands of years and are phenomenally rich in cosmic minerals capable of fully restoring the body’s vitality.”
Andin raised an eyebrow, staring at Suta with newfound appraisal. “Is that true? I assumed you were merely a cowardly man whose sole talent was screaming. It turns out that beneath your cowardice, your intellect is somewhat passable, Suta! Hahaha,” Andin mocked, ending with a derisive laugh.
Driven by rumbling stomachs and the irresistibly sweet, tantalizing aroma of the fruit, the four youths split them open and devoured them ravenously. The taste of the fruit’s essence exploded in their mouths, intensely refreshing their parched throats. Once their energy reserves were fully replenished, they immediately rose and focused on harvesting the petals of the Colo Herbs blooming between the crevices of the colossal tree roots.
”If the absolute healing recipe dictates that a single vial of elixir requires fifty petals from the Colo Herb, then mathematically, we must harvest a minimum of one thousand petals to yield twenty vials, ensuring the Little Prince’s life is secured for the next ten days,” Julia muttered, calculating their harvest quota with a furrowed brow. She surveyed the surrounding meadow with creeping anxiety. “But Diyah… although the fields of Colo Herbs here are incredibly vast, not every stalk has blossomed into a flower!”
”Calm yourself, Julia. Do not allow anxiety to commandeer your mind,” Diyah patted Julia’s shoulder, offering a pacifying smile. “I am absolutely certain Brother Ken has already calculated a solution. Our only role now is to focus on assisting him by gathering as many bloomed flowers as humanly possible tonight.”
”Yes… you are right, Diyah. Thank you for grounding me. I simply panic too easily when contemplating the fate of my little brother,” Julia replied, returning the smile with a far more relaxed visage.
After hours of meticulous harvesting beneath the dim moonlight, their ears caught the rustling of footsteps. Ken finally emerged from the thicket, carrying five plump wild hares that had been cleanly skinned.
”Brother Ken! You have finally returned!” Diyah cheered joyfully, abandoning her harvest basket to sprint toward him.
”Yes, naturally, I have returned,” Ken answered, returning Diyah’s greeting with a faint smile.
Suta, spotting the raw ingredients, hurriedly stepped forward. “Lord Ken, hand that meat to me. Allow me to manage the roasting tonight,” Suta offered, attempting to prove his usefulness to the vanguard.
”Very well, I leave it in your hands,” Ken handed the skewered hares to Suta. “In that case, I shall lean back for a moment to regulate my breathing.” Ken walked slightly unsteadily toward one of the colossal roots of the Star Tree and slumped against it.
Diyah’s vigilant eyes immediately noticed a glaring anomaly in Ken’s posture. The moment the youth sat down, his black robes parted, revealing a patch of fresh, dense blood seeping heavily into his left waist.
”Brother Ken! Heavens, you are wounded?!” Diyah gasped, stifling a shriek. Her visage instantaneously drained of color from sheer panic. she immediately dropped to her knees beside Ken, intending to support his frame.
”A-ah… it is nothing, Princess. Do not panic. It is merely a superficial scratch. Once I swallow a pill, the laceration will seal itself,” Ken assured Diyah, concealing the agonizing stinging sensation radiating through his nerves.
Ken refused to remain reclined for long. He immediately retrieved a pill from his Star Ring, swallowed it, and closed his eyes to rotate his cultivation energy, rapidly accelerating the regeneration of his torn cells.
Diyah’s eyes remained locked onto the tear in Ken’s robes. What kind of horrifying entity possesses the absolute might to injure Brother Ken’s mortal shell and shred his protective robes like this? His waist… the wound looks exactly like three massive, lethal claw slashes! Diyah thought, her heart aching as she visualized the hellish combat Ken had just survived to procure the Tear of Fire.
By the hearth, Andin glared at Suta with absolute, threatening intensity. “Hey! Are you absolutely certain you can roast those properly?! Lord Ken risked his very life and returned with severe injuries just to hunt that meat. If you dare burn them, I swear I will skin you alive!” Andin threatened, clenching her fists.
”Relax, Miss Ferocious. Do not underestimate my survival skills. I frequently roasted meat during academy camping trips,” Suta retorted with high confidence, rotating the wooden skewers over the embers.
Julia approached Diyah, who was still kneeling anxiously near Ken. “Diyah, how severe is his injury? What in the world happened to him?” Julia whispered, her voice laced with profound concern.
”The lacerations are quite deep, Julia. It appears Brother Ken suffered a direct strike from the claws of a savage Star Monster. This forest truly is an absolute nightmare,” Diyah answered softly.
”Hearing your explanation gives me chills. And we still have to force our way back through this lunatic forest tomorrow morning to return home,” Andin added, having listened closely from the hearth, rubbing her arms as goosebumps erupted across her skin.
Half an hour drifted by. The aroma was indeed tantalizing, but Suta’s focus occasionally wavered. The youth covertly stole glances at Ken, who remained in deep meditation.
The pill Lord Ken swallowed just now… its shape and the aura it radiated were absolutely disparate from the ones he bestowed upon us this afternoon! The Level 2 Pancasona Pills we consumed radiated a crystal blue hue. Meanwhile, his pill… I swear upon my life I saw it emanating a dual-colored luminescence simultaneously: blood-red and pure gold! Could it be… was that the Immortal-Tier Star Pancasona Pill that I have always dismissed as a mere myth?! Suta mused, his brain exploding under the weight of his own insane assumption.
Because he was entirely too engrossed in daydreaming about that legendary treasure, Suta’s nose suddenly caught the sharp stench of char. Hah! Heavens, I’m dead! The hares have been roasting for too long! Suta fumbled in panic, hastily yanking the wooden skewers away from the licking flames.
Meanwhile, the energy within Ken’s mortal shell slowly stabilized. He parted his eyelids and exhaled a long breath, a murky mist containing the residual toxins of his wound escaping his lips.
”Brother Ken! How is your condition now?” Diyah instantly leaned closer, her visage brimming with absolute concern.
”I have recovered completely, Princess,” Ken answered, his normal, tranquil smile returning.
”Thank the heavens! Come, let us have dinner first. It seems the hares are perfectly roasted,” Diyah invited, standing up. “Suta! Is the meat ready to be eaten?” Diyah called out.
”Yes, absolutely! Everyone, gather around!” Suta replied with a dry, nervous laugh.
Once they had all gathered in a circle, Suta began distributing the fruits of his labor. “Here, this largest thigh cut is specially for Lord Ken, this is for Diyah, the breast section for Julia, this part for Andin, and the remainder is mine,” Suta explained, distributing it fairly. “Enjoy your meal, everyone!”
Ravenous from a full day of exhausting their energy, they immediately bit into the rabbit meat.
Andin bit greedily into the top of her portion, which tasted delightfully savory. However, the moment she flipped the meat and bit into the underside, the intensely bitter taste of ash violently assaulted her tongue. Her eyes bulged. “Puh! What in the world is this?! Suta! I warned you from the very beginning not to roast it until it burns to a crisp, you absolutely useless man!!” Andin screamed in absolute fury, glaring at her portion, which was completely blackened on one side.
”E-ee… f-forgive me, Andin! I drifted off into a daydream for a moment and was too late in pulling it from the hearth,” Suta scratched his head, admitting his blunder. “Furthermore, Andin, could you please lower your volume? What if your shrill screaming awakens the savage monsters lurking around us?!” Suta added in a panicked whisper, glancing nervously toward the dark shadows of the ancient trees.
”Alright, alright, cease your bickering. This is still perfectly edible, even if there is a slight sensation of bitter charcoal. Hahaha,” Julia intervened with a laugh, deliberately teasing Andin, whose face was already scrunched in utter annoyance.
”Suta, you just wait! You will face my absolute vengeance once we are out of this forest,” Andin threatened with a lethal glare, forcing herself to continue chewing her meal.
”Heavens… very well,” Suta resigned himself, swallowing hard.
While finishing her remaining food, Diyah leaned closer to Ken. “Brother Ken, I hope you can tolerate their childish antics. Those two always appear like cats and dogs that can never get along. Yet, back at the academy dormitories, they are actually a romantic pair who constantly rely on one another,” Diyah whispered, exposing her friends’ secret.
”Hah! Truly? Heavens, judging from their interactions, I assumed they were merely teammates who happened to perpetually clash,” Ken replied, slightly taken aback but highly amused.
”Yes, that is exactly how they are. They project a harsh exterior, but in reality, they love each other to the bone,” Julia added with a mischievous smile.
”Hahaha, you people truly are full of surprises,” Diyah chuckled.
Suddenly, Ken’s eyes locked onto the discarded chunks of thorny peel lying near Suta’s feet. His eyes narrowed, instantly recognizing the remnants of the meal. “Wait a moment… Did all of you just consume that fruit?” Ken asked, the tone of his voice abruptly turning tense.
”Oh, these golden pineapples? Yes! Garu dropped them for us this afternoon. The taste was incredibly sweet and profoundly refreshing! The four of us finished one whole fruit per person,” Diyah explained with an innocent visage. “Oh right, there is still one entire fruit remaining! D-do… does Brother Ken wish to eat it as well?” Diyah offered, presenting the leftover Star Tree Fruit.
Garu!… You idiotic bird! What in the heavens have you done?! Why did you bestow a fruit overflowing with pure Yang energy to them?! Ken cursed violently within his soul, massaging his temples in sheer frustration.
”Ah, there is no need. It seems my stomach no longer possesses the capacity to swallow anything else tonight,” Ken declined, formulating a logical excuse so as not to arouse their suspicions.
”Hmmm, very well then,” Diyah replied with a sweet smile. “Oh right, Brother Ken. Today we only managed to harvest a small quantity of Colo Herb petals. Will we have sufficient time to gather the remainder before we depart tomorrow morning?”
”Do not worry. If the supply remains insufficient tomorrow, I shall personally return here alone after safely escorting you all back to the palace,” Ken explained casually.
”Since we will be returning to the capital soon, do you have any desire to remain for an extra day to witness the opening ceremony of the Pandhega Trial held the day after tomorrow?” Julia inquired.
”Yes, exactly, Brother Ken! There will undoubtedly be countless exhilarating duels from the young cultivators during the opening event. You must sit upon the main podium and watch it alongside me!” Diyah added enthusiastically, her eyes sparkling with a pleading look.
Witnessing the pure, unadulterated hope radiating from the maiden, Ken’s absolute defenses crumbled. “Very well. In that case, I shall attend and accompany you,” Ken agreed with a warm smile.
They then returned to the crevices of the roots to resume their task of plucking Colo Herb petals, racing to meet their quota before surrendering to sleep.
However, one hour later, something gravely awry began to unfold.
Diyah slowly stood up from her crouching position. Her breathing turned increasingly ragged, and warm sweat drenched her neck. She staggered unsteadily toward Ken. The maiden’s gaze was no longer clear; her eyes were incredibly heavy, clouded with a bizarre, feverish mist of lust. Realizing the drastic surge in Diyah’s body temperature and her clouded gaze, Ken instantaneously held his breath.
Disaster. The extracted Yang energy from that fruit has finally triggered a backlash within their mortal shells! Ken tensed.
Shortly after, Julia also stumbled toward Ken from another direction. Her condition was identical to Diyah’s. Julia’s cheeks were flushed a deep, feverish crimson; her lips were parted, inhaling the night air heavily, as she stared at Ken with an uncontrollable desire awakened by the potent energy of the fruit.
”Huft… You people truly never cease to bring me absolute trouble,” Ken sighed, rubbing his face with one hand. “Speaking of which, where did the other two brats disappear to?!”
Ken narrowed his eyes, searching for Suta and Andin’s silhouettes. His gaze caught movement behind a thicket of Colo Herbs. There, in the dimness of the night, the silhouettes of Suta and Andin, having utterly lost their sanity, were visible. They were fiercely embracing one another, kissing wildly, before finally tumbling and sinking into the dense meadow.
Heavens above! They lost control first! Whatever, let them resolve their own affairs over there! The absolute priority right now is dealing with these two princesses, Ken thought, a profound headache forming as he witnessed the hormonal chaos unfolding before him.
”Brother Ken… My body is burning up… Please do not leave me alone,” Diyah babbled with a hoarse, yearning voice, her hand reaching out weakly to grasp Ken’s arm.
”Calm yourself, I am right here. I am not going anywhere. Now, lie down,” Ken commanded with a firm yet pacifying tone. He caught Diyah’s arm before the maiden could collapse, then laid her down gently upon a bed of clean grass. He immediately struck several meridian points on Diyah’s neck, severing the flow of her consciousness. Diyah instantly plunged into a deep slumber.
Having secured Diyah, Ken pivoted toward Julia.
”Ken!… Please help me… I feel like my blood is boiling…” Julia whispered in a half-moan. She attempted to press her searing body against Ken’s broad chest in a desperate search for cooling relief.
However, as a cultivator who held the path of the Dao and absolute dignity in the highest regard, Ken was not the slightest bit tempted to exploit their vulnerable state. With a visage as flat as ice and completely devoid of lust, Ken grasped Julia’s shoulders and instantly struck her sleep pressure points. He lifted Julia’s body and laid her gently right beside Diyah beneath the shadows of the colossal Star Tree roots.
Because the blistering heat from the fruit’s energy was so extreme, both Diyah and Julia, in the final remnants of their delirious consciousness earlier, had loosened and unfastened the clasps of their outer robes in a desperate bid for air.
I shall leave them in this state. The searing heat from the Star Tree Fruit requires ventilation so it does not incinerate their internal organs. Combined with the freezing temperature of tonight’s air, they will experience pleasant dreams, and the toxin of lust will evaporate entirely on its own by tomorrow morning, Ken analyzed from a purely medical standpoint. He harbored absolutely no disrespectful thoughts toward them.
Ken then outstretched his arms, chanting a spiritual incantation, and erected a dome of absolute isolation and defense encircling the sleeping area of Diyah and Julia, as well as the thicket where Suta and Andin were located.
Very well, the encampment perimeter is securely locked down. Now is the perfect opportunity for me to slip into the Green Ogre’s cavern and harvest the ‘Tear of Fire’, Ken concluded inwardly.
He looked up toward the branches of the Star Tree. “Garu! Keep your eyes wide open. Monitor every single one of them from up there until my return. If any monster approaches, annihilate it!” Ken issued an absolute edict to his mount.
Garu flapped its wings in comprehension, gliding down from the heavens, and landing vigilantly on the lowest branch directly above the encampment. Having ensured everything was under absolute control, Ken shot forward, piercing the darkness of the night.
The following morning. The rays of the morning sun pierced through the gaps in the leaves, blinding Andin’s eyes.
Andin blinked slowly, letting out a soft groan as her consciousness resurfaced. She felt a heavy weight pressing down upon her stomach. As she lowered her gaze, her eyes widened in absolute horror. She discovered herself lying upon the grass, locked in a fierce embrace with Suta.
Hah! Wh-what just happened?! By the Gods… Where are my robes and outer garments?! You utter bastard, Suta! What did you do to me last night?! Andin shrieked hysterically within her soul. Panic detonated in her brain. She hastily scrambled for her scattered garments, donning them with trembling hands at lightning speed.
”Hey! Suta! Wake up this instant, you perverted beast!” Andin hissed furiously, lightly slapping Suta’s cheeks to rouse the youth without sparking a massive commotion.
”Ugh… what is it, Andin? Hah, is it morning already?” Suta mumbled hoarsely, rubbing his sleep-encrusted eyes.
”Keep your mouth absolutely shut! I will exact my absolute vengeance and torture you later once we return home! Remember, do not even dare to breathe a single syllable about last night’s events to anyone if you still value your life!” Andin threatened with a gaze dripping with killing intent. Her visage was as crimson as a boiled crab. She immediately stood up and sprinted away toward the river stream, leaving Suta completely enveloped in mass confusion.
Haa… What is wrong with her this early in the morning? Suta thought, blinking stupidly. A split second later, his gaze fell upon his own body. Hah! Wait a minute! Why is my chest exposed?! Why are my robes discarded on the dirt?! The wild, fragmented memories of the previous night suddenly slammed into his brain like a colossal sledgehammer. Heavens above… What in the world did I do to her in these bushes last night?! I’m a dead man! My life is over, Andin is going to skin me alive! Suta realized, his visage instantly draining of all color, turning as pale as parchment.
In another corner of the encampment, Julia began to flutter her eyelids open. She yawned softly, stretching her body, which felt phenomenally light and invigorated. However, her movements halted abruptly as she noticed the freezing air grazing her chest.
Hah? Why are all the clasps of my silk robes completely unfastened like this? Julia wondered in profound bewilderment, hastily readjusting her garments. As she stood up, her gaze caught the silhouette of Andin walking hurriedly with a fiercely crimson visage.
”Andin! Did you just wake up as well?” Julia called out, approaching her best friend.
”Ahh! Y-yes… Julia! What a beautiful morning, isn’t it? Come, let’s find Diyah quickly. I saw her sitting upon the rocks by the riverbank over there earlier,” Andin stammered, visibly flustered. She appeared incredibly panicked and tried desperately to shift the topic of conversation, pulling Julia by the arm.
”Umm, alright, let’s go,” Julia agreed, opting to ignore Andin’s highly suspicious behavior.
The two maidens walked toward the bank of the crystal-clear river carving through the Forest’s Core. There, they found Diyah sitting leisurely upon a massive boulder, soaking her feet in the flowing current.
”Hey! You two are awake already? Come here, the water is incredibly refreshing!” Diyah greeted cheerfully, noticing the arrival of Julia and Andin. “Hurry and bathe. The water genuinely revitalizes the nerves. I already finished bathing with Brother Ken earlier this morning,” Diyah explained with an absolutely sinless, innocent visage.
”HAAAH?! YOU TWO BATHED TOGETHER?!” Andin shrieked, her eyes nearly popping out of her skull, her mind instantaneously conjuring the most scandalous scenarios imaginable.
”Y-yes, indeed! This morning when I awoke from my slumber, my body felt feverishly hot, burning up. Brother Ken immediately lifted me in a princess carry and brought me to this glacial river stream. Then we cleansed ourselves here,” Diyah explained, describing the event with absolute honesty, completely oblivious to the massive ambiguity of her phrasing.
Heavens above… Is that true? And… where is Ken right now? Julia swallowed hard, her own imagination running wildly out of control.
”Brother Ken is over there at the edge, busy spearing fish for our breakfast,” Diyah answered casually, pointing toward the downstream waterfall where Ken stood upon a boulder with rolled-up trousers, hyper-focused on spearing fish.
Hearing the actual, unadulterated chronology of events, Andin exhaled a massively long breath of relief. Huft… It appears the magical effects of that cursed fruit forced all of us into a deep slumber and triggered hallucinations due to our chaotic body temperatures. At the very least, it seems only that bastard Suta genuinely seized the opportunity amidst the chaos to exploit my suffering last night! Andin fumed inwardly, clenching her fists in annoyance yet feeling slightly relieved that her secret remained veiled.
”In that case, I wish to soak for a while to cool my head,” Julia stated, immediately shedding her outer robes and wading into the refreshing river water.
”Ahh, yes! I definitely need this freezing water as well,” Andin swiftly followed Julia, submerging her mortal shell into the currents.
How incredibly bizarre… Why does it feel like I had a wet dream engaging in utter lunacy with Ken last night? And come morning, heaven knows which demon unfastened all the clasps of my robes! Hah, whatever. I shall merely attribute it to the side effects of exhaustion from absorbing the monster core, Julia reasoned, shaking her head beneath the gentle cascade of a small waterfall.
After cleansing themselves and devouring a breakfast of roasted fish, they all returned to their original routine. Utilizing their remaining time to the absolute maximum, they harvested as many Colo Herb petals as their dimensional rings could possibly accommodate.
As noon approached, the entirety of the harvest had been secured. They packed their provisions and prepared for the return journey to the Ice Kingdom.
”If everything is securely packed and nothing is left behind, we shall depart from these coordinates immediately,” Ken announced, standing with his arms crossed, overseeing their preparations.
”Yes, give us just a moment, Brother Ken! Grant us a little more time,” Diyah requested. She was running around alongside Julia and Andin, busily gathering a few final, exceptionally rare petals of differing color spectrums in the corner of the valley.
”You are granted permission to harvest absolutely any botanical specimen within this valley! However, heed my absolute edict: Do not a single one of you dare to bring a Star Tree Fruit back with you! If you recklessly attempt to store it within your spatial rings, you alone will bear the lethal consequences of its energy radiation!” Ken delivered a harsh, uncompromising warning.
”Y-yes, we understand, Lord Ken!” Andin responded, shivering upon hearing the lethal threat woven into his tone.
Suta, who happened to be crouching down to pick up two of the colossal, golden-skinned fruits, froze instantaneously. Hah! We can’t bring them back?! What a pity, even though they tasted incredibly sweet… Very well, I’ll just bring these blue berries, they seem perfectly safe, Suta thought in profound disappointment. The moment he registered Ken’s horrifying warning and recalled his own disastrous fate with Andin the previous night, he hastily dropped the forbidden fruits back onto the earth as if they radiated lethal venom.
Once all preparations were concluded and the encampment area was sanitized, Ken’s vanguard remounted Garu. They flapped their wings and took flight, leaving behind the eternal tranquility of the Star Forest Core, embarking on the journey back to the political intrigues of the Ice Kingdom’s capital.
”If I may inquire… Approximately how many hours until we breach the airspace borders of the Ice Kingdom, Lord Ken?” Andin shouted, her voice slicing through the wind, shattering the silence atop the saddle.
”Barring any severe weather anomalies or demonic monsters seeking a swift death intercepting our path, Garu’s velocity will allow us to touch down flawlessly just as the twilight dusk begins to blanket the horizon this afternoon,” Ken explained, his tranquil gaze anchored upon the clouds drifting further and further away from the territory of the Monster Forest Core.