The Martial Unity

Eventually, the flood of thoughts in his mind dimmed as his consciousness darkened, before he fell asleep. He hadn't been concerned about his vulnerable position given that the inn was hardly a secure place, but he had confidence in his passive senses and emergency reflexes. 

If his subconsciousness felt threatened, then his Martial Heart would blaze into full power. Of course, he would do a lot of damage to his surroundings inevitably, but it was much more acceptable than allowing any harm to befall him.

Regardless, he was finally ready to get started. It wasn't long before he had freshened himself up and was ready to get started and head on to the Great Forest of Hypnonarak.

STEP

Rui stepped past the large fence that separated the rest of the Gereign Region from the forest. 

A large eerie and murky forest stood before him. The forest was silent in sharp contrast to the bustling human domain behind him. It reeked of the same odor that could be smelled across the human domain of the Gereign Region. The same narcotics that were harvested and processed in the Gereign Region may as well have been omnipresent in the Great Forest of Hypnonarak.

One of the reasons that the narcotics supply sector was viable despite the danger of the Great Forest was because one did not have to go in deep to harvest the narcotic flora.

The only ones who chased deeper were the Martial Artists. While the dangers of the forest were not low, the rewards of succeeding were worth it. Furthermore, to a certain extent, Rui felt his inner adventurer coming out.

While the allure of the unknown wasn't something that Rui was too driven by, he was not immune to it. This had also been the case when Rui had explored the Shionel Dungeon. A nightmarish place to others had been much more adventurous to Rui.

"Alright then," He heaved a sigh, before heading into the forest. The moment he approached a certain radius of the flora, he had already begun experiencing pressure on his mind, which continued to rise until he fully entered the forest.

A sort of fuzzy weight that clouded his perception of the world and his mind. On top of that, the odor of the narcotics flora grew even stronger. Although his body and mind were too resilient to be affected by it, he could see why so many were addicted to it.

Furthermore, he knew that the odor was only going to get stronger from there on out. It was one of the ways that the flora of the forest predated visitors of the forest.

He could feel his sensory prowess diminishing as he traveled deeper into the forest.

'I wonder if I could create a stealth metabody based on the principle that the flora suppressed the mind and senses.' Rui wondered. 

It was an interesting thought, but he quickly pushed it out of his mind. He didn't have much leeway to focus on much else now that he had entered the forest. 

As diminished as his senses were, his range was still large enough to perceive hoards of people cutting away at plants and placing them within large crates. The outermost layer closest to the human domain was filled with people cutting away at the flora of the human domain.

The quality of the narcotics flora increased the deeper one went, yet the dangers and risks also spiked as one went deeper. Higher-quality narcotics could only be found when one went deep enough into the forest, a job that only Martial Artists were qualified for.

The pressure and the odor continued mounting on Rui even as he traversed the forest, heading in deeper and deeper. As powerful and vibrant as his mind was, even it had a limit. Although his limits were far higher than those of his peers, it was definitely going to push him to his absolute limit.

The flora of the forest continued growing more colorful and vibrant the deeper he went. It went from the familiar green that he was accustomed to, to a strange myriad of colors that flashed across the entire forest.

It was alien, and yet it was beautiful, even he couldn't help but stop and admire the breathtaking sights that he beheld standing on a cliff that oversaw a vast section of the forest that extended far beyond what the eye could see.

He came across many little creatures that had somehow managed to adapt to the hostile flora environment of the Great Forest of Hypnonarak. 

"Chirrup chirrup," A strange squirrel-like creature with wings and six limbs landed on his hand. 

Rui's eyes narrowed as he activated his Martial Heart to actively empower his sensory techniques as he tried to gauge how the creature had managed to survive in such a hostile environment.

The close-range scan from his senses revealed some interesting revelations. 

'The neurobiology of this naraceen isn't based on a bioelectrical system.' Rui's eyes widened with surprise. 'It has evolved to develop a consciousness and cognition without relying on bioelectrical phenomena.'

It was a truly shocking revelation, but his sharp senses told him that it relied on a chemical system to process and store information. 

'That's shocking.' Rui noted as he studied the docile creature with interest. The intelligence supplied by the Beggar's Sect had mentioned the creature, however, it hadn't mentioned this trait.

'Then again, the Beggar's Sect has no idea how the brain actually works.' Rui mused. 'Still, for there to be creatures that have developed an entirely different genetic... That's incredible, it shows that the biodiversity of the Panama Continent is vastly greater than that of Earth.'

Of course, this wasn't surprising given how much larger the continent as compared to all landmasses of Earth. However, it was still shocking when he saw how that manifested.

'Back on Earth, all intelligence and cognition in the animal kingdom was entirely based on a bioelectrical neurotransmitter system.' Rui thought as he continued studying the creature. 'Even octopi, which developed remarkable cognitive capabilities in an entirely different line of evolution compared to mammals, still rely on a bioelectrical system for cognition.'

He set the naraceen away, watching it scurry away before turning back, and heading deeper into the forest. He had initially wondered if he could develop a Martial Art technique based on the principles of the naraceen resisting the mental suppression of the forest, but that proved to be impossible.