"Uummm... hello there, my name's Ryan. And... and... to be honest, what happened with your cub was an unintentional mistake... I sort of understand what happened and how it led to her current 'situation.' But please be assured that I have already done treatment and she's out of mortal danger... I think..." I answered as slowly and calmly as possible, while also making a fool of myself with that last part. I don't know what came over me to spout such things.
The words sounded feeble even to my own ears, inadequate in the face of the ancient power before me. My voice—the voice that had commanded primordial energies, that had reshaped reality at its most fundamental level—seemed small and insignificant beneath the weight of the Guardian's gaze.
Still with the scowl and growling turned on me, the female parent replied, her voice resonating through the air with an authority that seemed to vibrate the very molecules around us.
"You *sort of* understand? You *think* she's out of danger? Do you want me to put you in such a state and answer like that? Do you think I'm blind to mana poisoning? You humans disgust me with your means..." she snarled her fangs practically showing, and at this point looked ready to pounce but did not at the same time, as if she was having an internal struggle.
As she spoke, the runic patterns in her fur glowed more intensely, pulsing with her anger. The massive antlers atop her head began to emit a faint greenish light from each tip, the ambient temperature around us dropping perceptibly. The ground beneath her massive paws cracked slightly with each shift of her weight, revealing just how much power she was restraining.
Don't get me wrong, it's not that I was afraid of the beast itself; I just did not want to harm an innocent over a mistake that occurred due to me or whoever was responsible around here.
At this point, I'm even questioning Codex's information on why such a territorial beast was not attacking me on the spot.
And focusing on that point, my senses suddenly picked up on the happenings of my environs.
The patch of empty land, which had completely suffered from my awakening, was healing, and that too at a rapid pace.
Where there had been only glassy, barren ground moments before, tiny shoots of vibrant green were pushing through the surface. The process that should have taken decades was unfolding before my eyes in seconds. Small plants emerged, grew, branched, and flowered in accelerated time. Saplings burst from the earth, stretching upward at impossible speeds, their trunks thickening, branches extending, leaves unfurling in a blur of growth.
The perfect circle of destruction was being erased systematically from its edges inward, the border between devastation and untouched forest shrinking steadily. The very soil was reconstituting itself, transforming from the glassy, dead substance back into rich, living earth teeming with microorganisms and nutrients.
Even the air was changing, the sterile, ozone-scented atmosphere giving way to the rich, complex bouquet of a living forest—decomposition, growth, flowers, resins, all mingling into the signature scent of The Groove Canopy.
"Codex, what's happening around me?" I asked to the freeloader in my head as I faced the pissed-off parent before me.
"It seems that our host has arrived," Codex replied...
And promptly after, the mother Groove Guardian before me completely had a 180. From a very scary and murderous look with intent, she quickly calmed down and seemed distracted, as if she was listening to the words of another in her mind.
The transformation was remarkable to witness—the burning rage in her eyes cooled, the aggressive posture softened, the glowing patterns across her fur dimmed to a gentle pulsation. Her massive antlers ceased emitting the greenish light, returning to their natural state. Even her breathing changed, from the sharp, angry rhythm of a predator about to strike to something deeper and more measured.
And I could tell, with the way she was looking at me and her daughter back and forth, there was a resignation of not wanting to let go of her anger and revenge intent, to the soft and caring mode a mother has over their injured child.
It was like watching a violent storm suddenly dissipate, leaving behind a calm that seemed almost unnatural in its abruptness. Whatever or whoever was communicating with her held enough authority to override even her maternal protective instincts—a fact that was both reassuring and somewhat concerning.
And after what seemed like a moment of a long internal struggle, she simply approached her injured child and, using her aura supported with her mana, lifted her up and turned the way she came, silently and without a word.
The young Groove Guardian floated gently in an amber-colored field of energy that conformed perfectly to her body, supporting each limb with precision. As they departed, I noticed subtle changes in the younger Guardian's condition—her breathing was steadier, the runic patterns in her fur glowing with more consistency, suggesting that whatever partial healing I had begun was continuing.
They disappeared into the rapidly regenerating forest, the massive Guardian's passage barely disturbing the newly grown vegetation, as if the plants themselves were moving aside to create a path.
"Phew, that was tense. I feel bad for the kid, but there's nothing I can do if they've got an overprotective mother. I can't even think of inspecting the core in this particular state, y'know..." I said as I loosened up my tense muscles. Though I was prepared for a fight, I would mostly have neutralized her unconscious, properly healed the young one, and moved along with my business.
The relief of avoiding confrontation flooded through me, not because I feared the outcome—even a demigod level Groove Guardian was within my capacity to handle—but because unnecessary conflict would have complicated matters in ways I didn't need right now.
"Well, my lord, I believe you will need to do that either way... our 'friend' who provided us with ample space for your evolution has put in a request to meet you while also healing the young child of the alpha female of the Groove Guardians..." Codex replied as he then created a holographic indicator showing me where to go in the direction of where the mother had just left with their child...
The indicator materialized in my field of vision—an elegant arrow composed of light particles that shifted between gold and azure, pointing deeper into the forest. Unlike the crude directional markers I remembered from Earth's video games, this was a work of art in its own right, a dynamic construction that seemed alive, adjusting its brightness based on the ambient light and occasionally emitting soft pulses that synced with my heartbeat.
"Seriously? Now the landlord wants to meet?" I asked, annoyed.
After nearly two millennia of isolation and transformation, the prospect of social interaction—especially with an entity powerful enough to command the respect of demigod-level Groove Guardians—was not particularly appealing. I had plans, trajectories I wanted to follow, a universe to explore with my newly evolved capabilities.
"Think of it as common courtesy, though it's completely up to you to decide whether to go or not. I'd recommend you going. Strengthening and recognizing the bonds of those willing to assist you is far more important than taking a lonely road as you had planned, my lord..." Codex advised.
The road he speaks of was one of imminent danger all around, especially now that my foundation has been set and, due to my awakening, those who hunt me are probably on the move. Most likely caused by the sudden burst of energy announcing my success. At that time, when the aegis barrier went down, a multicolored beam of light had burst up from my position as if announcing to everyone "here I am, come find me!!" with signboards and fingers pointing at me. The weirder part was that, at the same time, a different multicolored beam of light came down from gods-knows-where and interacted with mine. I don't know what caused it, but it wasn't my immediate concern... and boy, was I wrong.
The memory of that moment was vivid—the sensation of the barriers finally coming down after millennia, the rush of unfiltered reality flooding back in, the strange feeling of exposure after so long in isolation. The beam that had erupted from me had been spectacular and terrifying in equal measure—a column of light containing every color imaginable and some that defied description, shooting upward with such force that it had parted The Groove Canopy's dense foliage like butter, creating a perfect cylindrical opening to the sky above.
And then, the answering beam from above—equally multicolored but somehow different in its composition, descending through the same opening my energy had created, meeting my beam in a spectacular confluence that had sent ripples of power outward in all directions. At the time, I had been too focused on controlling the aftermath to give it much thought, but now...
Anyway, by the time I was done mastering the swordsman and magician jobs, my body and cores had fully developed their foundations and settled down. My immediate environment had not.
Because of the help that Codex's formation that introduced primordial mana was that helpful and robust, it needed time to break it down slowly as he stopped introducing primordial mana in the space said formation occupied, and after around 20 actual years, the primordial mana had reduced greatly, but it was more than enough to cause quite the commotion once we took down the aegis barrier.
It was then up to me to continuously absorb the remainder for the next 10 or so years, and what remained was a differentiating mana pressure of such absurd quality in comparison to outside the barrier that I was only lucky that the area under the aegis barrier had been affected.
Who would have thought that in that short period of time, when I was absorbing the last vestiges of primordial mana while also releasing the aegis barrier, that the young Groove Guardian curiously entered the space, wondering why there were erratic mana vibrations all over the place, as I had assumed there were.
If it were not for my quick thinking of shielding her properly, she would have evaporated on the spot, already beginning her next reincarnation journey. Sadly for me, being in a constant state of controlling primordial mana made me forget a crucial yet dumb move. Since I've been accustomed to using primordial mana from my main core as my sub-cores continued working in the background... interacting with people outside of myself would not be that easy.
It was also one of the reasons why I opted with having sub-cores that would always be handling mana or any energy type of the same environment as I am, while my main reactor core would be my source of primordial mana.
It wasn't a joke when I stated that primordial mana was literal death-evaporating rank poison for anyone who's not a strong enough nova ranked primordial, and even those guys were careful with such high-quality mana.
Of course, me being the exception is another story, but for anyone else, without the proper measures? I won't even be able to pity such a soul, considering that it won't exist in the next milliseconds.
As such, the young Groove Guardian got infused with a healthy dose of primordial mana from the shielding I made with it, and again, if it were not for me being in control and quick thinking, she would have experienced a fate much, much worse than any death anyone could give her.
Me removing the primordial mana as fast as possible saved her, but I was worried about her core, which leads us to my current conundrum.
"Sigh... fine, let's go. It'll probably eat me from the inside if I leave the young cub with a messed-up core because of me anyway..." I resigned as I followed deeper into the jungle, wondering who this mysterious person is, since even Codex has not explicitly revealed who they were...
The newly restored forest parted before me as I walked, creating a path that wasn't there moments before. Massive trees bent their trunks slightly, undergrowth receded, vines lifted themselves out of my way. It wasn't just that obstacles were moving aside—the forest itself seemed to be actively guiding me, subtle shifts in light and shadow drawing my attention in the direction I needed to go.
As I ventured deeper, the character of The Groove Canopy changed. The trees grew larger, their trunks wider than houses, their canopies so high above that they disappeared into misty heights. The vegetation became more exotic—flowers that seemed to track my movement, fungi that emitted soft musical tones when I passed, plants with crystalline growths that refracted light in impossible patterns.
The air grew thicker, heavy with life and power. Each breath felt nourishing, as if the very atmosphere contained sustenance beyond mere oxygen. Light filtered down in shafts that seemed almost solid, creating pools of golden illumination on the forest floor. The temperature was perfect—neither hot nor cold, but exactly matched to what my body found most comfortable.
Everything about this deeper region of the forest spoke of intention, of design, of a consciousness that had shaped this environment over eons. This was no wild growth but a carefully cultivated sanctuary, every plant, every creature, every element precisely placed and maintained.
And I was being invited in.