An hour after leaving River Bend, Leon remained stunned by the environment around him—things he'd never experienced before.
Wild flowers in brilliant colors bloomed along the roadside. Towering trees spread their branches wide, offering shade. The sky here looked brighter and more expansive than anything he'd seen in his city of ruins. The atmosphere felt like another world entirely...
The world he'd imagined from adult stories was supposed to be wasteland—nothing but wreckage and death. But what he saw was full of life... though eerily quiet.
No people... no market chatter... only wind through the grasslands and birdsong he'd never heard before. Flowers he was seeing for the first time gave off gentle fragrances. Small woodland creatures scampered past without fear of humans.
He tried picturing the mutant rats he knew so well—ugly, terrifying things driven by savage instinct. But the animals here seemed peaceful, part of this beautiful natural world.
Still, he realized this false paradise couldn't last long. Danger lurked everywhere.
"Well... looks like we've got uninvited guests. Mid-tier Vine-born." Xiao Yan, leading the group, spoke calmly but with obvious caution. He reached for the spear at his side.
Leon, still absorbed in the strange scenery, startled and immediately looked where Xiao Yan was staring. "That's... a mid-tier Vine-born?!" Excitement and curiosity shone in his eyes.
"Let me handle this one, Chief!" Raven stepped forward. Dark energy began forming around both his fists as metal gauntlets appeared from thin air, fitting perfectly over his hands—the same type he'd used against The Exiled. He set his stance, ready to charge...
But then... the dark energy suddenly flickered out. The gauntlets vanished, leaving only his bare hands.
"Uh... oh...?" Raven made a confused sound, looking between his hands and the Vine-born ahead. "Haha... forgot that I used up all my power fighting The Exiled."
Cyrus, seeing Raven's predicament, tried to laugh but the sound came out dry and tinged with sadness. The group fell silent for a moment, remembering that battle... and losing Genus...
Raven crouched down awkwardly, poking at the dirt in embarrassment. Leon watched with mild confusion but could understand their feelings.
"Alright, here it comes." Xiao Yan broke the uncomfortable silence. "We'll get your gear repaired at headquarters, Raven."
Without hesitation, he drew his spear. In an instant it extended to match his full height, the razor tip gleaming coldly. Xiao Yan didn't waste time on fancy moves—he simply hurled the spear with swift precision!
Whoosh! Thunk!
The spear cut through air and punched straight through the mid-tier Vine-born's heart! Its body convulsed violently before crumbling to black dust that scattered in the wind. Soon the spear floated back to Xiao Yan's hand effortlessly. He flicked it once before shrinking it down and storing it away smoothly.
"From here on... we'll be running into Vine-born more often. Stay ready." Xiao Yan warned in his level tone before turning to Leon. "Here, kid. Use this to defend yourself."
He tossed Leon a rather worn but still sharp-looking sword.
Leon caught it in confusion. It was Japanese-style... a katana? Where did he pull this from? I don't see any bags... Leon wondered but didn't ask, simply tucking the blade at his waist.
Fifteen minutes later, they reached a small abandoned town. Collapsed buildings and vines crawling over everything showed this place had been deserted for ages.
"Let's rest around here. I'm getting tired." Cyrus complained while flopping onto a pile of bricks. He still looked more dejected than usual.
"If I didn't have to wait for you guys, I'd have run to headquarters hours ago," Xiao Yan muttered back, but settled against a rotting wooden crate. He looked at Cyrus and Raven with understanding eyes, recognizing their grief.
Suddenly! A low growl came from behind Leon!
Xiao Yan, who had barely closed his eyes for a minute, opened them again with familiar annoyance. "Look out...!" He started to shout a warning.
But Leon heard the growl first! His instincts kicked in fast! He quickly drew the katana and raised it to block the attack from behind just in time!
Clang!
Another mid-tier Vine-born's razor claws crashed into Leon's blade with force! Perfect chance! Let's try this new weapon! Leon thought with excitement and determination.
He didn't hesitate—pushing the block aside to throw the Vine-born off balance, then dodging swiftly to the side before spinning back to thrust his blade in a counter-attack! The katana's point drove straight through what should have been its heart with precision!
Schink!
The Vine-born let out a sharp cry before going completely still!
"Oh..." Cyrus breathed softly, his eyes widening with mild surprise. "Even if it's just a mid-tier, that's pretty good skill, kid."
"But don't get overconfident," Xiao Yan warned in his steady tone, though his eyes showed small satisfaction.
Before he finished speaking, a gunshot rang out! Bang!
Cyrus fired into the head of the Vine-born Leon had just dealt with for good measure! Leon looked startled, turning to Cyrus in confusion.
"Check first! Make sure you actually hit its weak spot!" Cyrus said while raising an eyebrow. "Maybe it was just playing dead. Especially after that thing with The Exiled."
His words made the atmosphere go quiet again. Everyone thought about the recent battle.
Leon looked puzzled since he was confident he'd hit its heart dead-on. But he didn't overthink it—maybe Cyrus was right. These people had way more experience than him.
"Anyway, staying here too long isn't good," Xiao Yan said. "Looks like they're starting to track our scent. We need to keep moving."
Cyrus pouted slightly. "Chief... we haven't even rested two minutes..."
But Xiao Yan ignored his complaints, standing up and walking ahead immediately. Raven shook his head at Cyrus's attitude before following their leader. Leon looked at Cyrus and shrugged before hurrying after them too.
Another hour and a half of tense travel passed. Everyone stayed grimly silent with only the sound of footsteps and breathing. Finally... they began to see it in the distance...
Leon's eyes went wide at the sight before him—a massive, strange structure beyond anything he could have imagined.
The central building resembled a giant dome made of dull yellow-brown metal. Its surface didn't gleam but looked solid and formidable, like a fortress weathered by time. Ancient but still commanding respect.
At the dome's peak, an enormous clock face stood prominently. Metal hands of the same material still moved precisely, as if mocking the outside world where time had nearly stopped since the apocalypse.
Around the main dome, four smaller cities were positioned in a circle, connected to the center by suspension bridges and walkways of reinforced metal and concrete. These satellite settlements looked more lively than the wasteland they'd just traveled through, with scattered lights and thin smoke rising to the sky.
Though Crafter's overall appearance wasn't as luxurious as the futuristic cities Leon had seen in old books, it held an engineering complexity and organization rare in this era. For people struggling to survive in a broken world... this was true luxury and hope.
It looked strong, mysterious, and full of secrets waiting to be discovered... So this was... Witherborn headquarters... the territory called "Crafter"...