Mutagen

<strong>Day 237 - 7:26 PM - Secret Realm, Mount Madia-as, Panay Mountain Range, Province of Aklan, Island of Panay</strong>

Nighttime came fast while everyone was left busy dealing with the aftermath.

Although the battle had ended, it was not over yet.

The [Infected] scattered by the explosions all over the mountain were hunted down one by one. It was not hard to do so as the [Infected] were rather easy to bait and would not pose much of a threat when they were alone. Still, as they were scattered everywhere, it took a lot of time and effort to find and kill them all. In fact, everyone was still on guard, as they would not know whether there were still some [Infected] that they missed.

Since the [Infected] could take different sizes and forms, it would be easy to miss some of them. Not to mention smaller magical creatures, such as [Sylphs] and [Buralakaws], got infected during the battle. That was why they could not finalize that they had already eradicated the threat.

To be sure, Silim assigned some of her warriors to patrol the mountain regularly. This way, they could feel safer, although it would likely take days for things to calm down.

And after the rain ended and all the big fires were extinguished, everyone could finally see the aftermath in a clearer picture.

On the north and eastern areas of Mount Madi-as, the fire caused by the [Mutated Infected] left a wide area of burnt forests and grassland. Not all fires had been extinguished yet. Some piles of rocks and rubble seemed to be smoking from beneath them, indicating a possible source of fire that the rain could not put off.

It was the same for the large trees, as the rain could only touch the surface of the burnt trees. Inside the large trunks of these trees, there was the possibility of still ignited coal. Of course, at the current state, these threes would not pose a threat any longer as long as the coal burnt out before the burnt tree was fully dried up.

The darkened and burnt forest might be eye-catching. Still, not as eye-catching as the gigantic hole at the north-eastern foot of the mountain. It was wide enough that it literally reached the northeast border of the Secret Realm. Furthermore, the crater was deep enough that a person would definitely die if someone fell into its deeper areas.

Imagine falling off a crater as deep as a large mountain. And if one did, there was no need to imagine having their bodies intact once they reached the bottom.

Such power... It was the raw power of a Deity used for destruction.

What about Gods, then? How much power could they display?

This question sure entered everyone's minds. There was no way no one would question it after seeing the full might of a dying Deity.

***

Under the shade of the sleeping [Pure Spirit Tree] of the Ancient Visayan God of Death, Sidapa, a gathering of people was happening.

Of course, it was no other than Mark's group, who were cooking and preparing dinner.

In normal circumstances, no one would be allowed around this tree. Only Silim and her close confidants could approach this sacred tree.

Today, an exception was made.

Due to the events that transpired earlier today, Mark and his group could be hailed as the heroes that saved this Secret Realm.

They were literally on the verge of defeat and destruction and would have to succumb to such fate if Mark was not present.

Silim was nearing defeat against the [Encantado], and if she had fallen, there were no other people here that could fight a being of his level. Not to mention the event when the [Encantado] self-destructed.

If Silim did manage to defeat the [Encantado], there was no guarantee that he would not do the same in that circumstance. And if the [Encantado] self-destructed after Silim defeated him, the [Diwata] had no way of stopping the explosion, and it would end up obliterating the entire mountain.

Mark did them a huge favor. Not only did he defeat the [Encantado], but he also stopped the utter destruction of their sacred mountain and saved the lives of everyone left inside it.

Letting Mark's group approach the tree and allowing them to sit under the sacred tree was nothing compared to the favor they now owed him. This tree might not even exist now if the [Encantado] succeeded in whatever he planned to do so.

The whole group gathered under the [Pure Spirit Tree], and the [Mini Cube] could be seen nearby.

Like before, cooking was mainly left to Mei and Mark. Boiling water intended to make hot chocolate was left to Spera and Ilia. The two women untalented with cooking sure could do this much.

What was the hot chocolate for?

A mountain after rainfall sure was cold. Furthermore, hot drinks would help people calm down.

And without a doubt, Feng Zhiruo needed some calming down.

Fighting and killing the [Infected] would not faze this female Chinese Cultivator. However, it was not surprising that she felt fear after experiencing the intensity of the explosion that the [Encantado] caused. Without Mark, that event was more than enough to erase them from existence and the only thing separating them from death was Mark's wall of [Miasma].

The fear towards overwhelming power. It was not new to Feng Zhiruo as she felt the same feeling after meeting Mark. Even so, it was not something that she could get used to.

Well, unless a person was crazy or had some mental problems, no one would get used to the feeling of being on the verge of death.

That was why only Mei and Mark, who were cooking right now, even though Feng Zhiruo would also help most of the time. She was not in the best shape to do so.

One surprising thing, however, was Amihan. She, who one would expect to have the same reaction as Feng Zhiruo, did not look too affected. They almost died, yet, she seemed fine. It was really surprising since she was the type to scream and flee just after being seen by a human.

It looked like even Amihan had grown mentally after all this time, and her trust that Mark would protect them negated her fear towards the frightening situation.

On the other hand, Mark was not in the best mood either. He was chopping vegetables with an annoyed expression that everyone could see.

The reason for Mark's foul mood? Well, the [Encantado]. The guy self-destructed, making Mark get nothing after defeating him. Worse, the explosion that the [Encantado] caused swallowed a large area and created a crater, destroying everything in its wake.

It destroyed everything, including the majority of the [Infected] horde, the giant [Mutated Infected Turtle], and even the already dead bodies of the [Infected]. It meant that all of the possible loots that Mark could have acquired were all erased from existence because of a sore loser who would not just die peacefully.

Who would not feel annoyed with that? A gamer would feel annoyed losing things in a game, not to mention losing things in reality.

With all those antics going on, dinner was soon served. This time's dinner was vegetable and egg soup. Perfect for the cold temperature of the mountain.

Halfway through their bowl of soup, Silim arrived with Magwayen. The two were away all this time to assess the damage throughout the entire realm of Mount Madia-as.

And looking at their faces, the damage seemed to be enormous. Well, the burnt forest and the crater were more than enough to assess the damage. However, it seemed that they managed to finalize the unfortunate result.

The damage in the terrain of the mountain aside, the number of casualties was massive for the realm's population. More than half of the warriors that fought the horde died, with most deaths coming from the explosion that the [Encantado] caused.

Those deaths caused by the explosion were not only the ones swallowed by it. Some got buried under the landslides. There were also those that accidentally encountered the [Infected] that got blown away by the explosions.

Apparently, there were some magical creatures coming from other parts of the mountain to help when the explosion happened. Not knowing what was going on and what the threat was, they tried to help the creatures they saw that were sent flying because of the explosion... Only to get bitten and killed by surprise.

The army of Mount Madia-as was reduced by a third in one event. There was no way that Silim would not feel dejected for this.

Furthermore, it seemed that the barrier separating this realm from the outside world was damaged when the [Encantado] forced entry and let the [Infected] in. With the explosion, the damage to the barrier intensified and it would need a while to fix it since this realm was different from those that [Diwatas] could make. It was made initially by the Ancient Visayan Gods and Silim would not be able to fix it easily.

Furthermore, although no one was able to notice it, the time flow inside the realm was beginning to catch up to the time flow outside. It was due to the damage to the barrier. If left damaged for too long, the flow of time inside the realm would stabilize at the same speed as outside. It was not something deadly or devastating but it was not something desirable.

But at this point, a question came from Spera.

Why was it always that the flow of time within subdimensions was far slower than the flow of time in the mortal world.

And this question made Mark and the others nod. It was not the first time. All the previous realms they entered, even the [Spirit Dimension] had time flow slower than the mortal world.

Yet, none of them knew why.

And here, Silim gave the answer after Magwayen allowed her to do so.

The main reason for this was because of Earth.

In the first place, Earth was a world created without magic. It was a world destined for scientific advancement and lifestyle.

And when the foreign Gods arrived during the lost era, it was only when that Earth first experienced to have magical energy. The existence of the Gods caused magical energy to be abundant for a long time.

But when the next era arrived and the foreign Gods were either ousted or killed, the remaining magical energy was transferred to the Spirit Dimension. And without the abundance of Gods, there was no source for large amounts of magical energy to be created in a supposedly magicless world.

Unfortunately, magical beings needed magical energy to survive. Thus, the remaining magical energy would be used up quickly if left alone, unless people managed to find means to generate it.

In order to preserve the magical energy longer, the flow of time inside the subdimensions and the [Spirit Dimension] were slowed down compared to the [Mortal Dimension].

In the first place, the difference in the flow of time was one of the factors differentiating the realms from the world outside. If the flow of time was the same inside and outside, both dimensions would revolve together, soon erasing the barrier and fusing the two dimensions immediately without resistance.

After hearing that, Mark realized something.

Before the fusion of dimensions, the flow of time inside the [Spirit Dimension] began to catch up to the flow in Earth. This made Mark understand that the change in the flow of time was all a preparation to allow the two dimensions to fuse with fewer repercussions.

Now that Mark thought about it... What would happen if two dimensions with different time flow merged abruptly.

Would it cause a rupture in time and space?

It was such an interesting thought for Mark that his mood raised a bit.

The talk continued over the non-existent dinner table.

In the next few days, Silim would dedicate her time to fixing the damage in the barrier of this realm.

Unfortunately, Mark's group did not have the luxury to loiter around any further. After another day of rest, they would set off to continue their journey.

After all, Sinogo would not just stay put and wait while they waste more time.