Chapter 60: Morning Light

Chapter 60: Morning Light

As the first morning light brightened the sky, Bran opened his eyes. Black Cat Huahua was on his lap, opening her mouth wide in a comfortable stretch.

He moved his body slightly, then rekindled the campfire and began to prepare breakfast. Huahua crouched nearby, looking like she was in a hurry but still being obedient, waiting for Bran to serve her.

…

Danny looked into the distance at the thick smoke rising from the damp morning and smiled.

…

Bran carried Huahua and set off on his journey. He was thinking about a problem: how to make a Magical Beast swallow his Mana cluster. If it were just a slightly larger beast, it would be easier. He could simply pry its mouth open. But how could he pry open the mouth of an ant or a mosquito?

Without Mana entanglement, the cluster and the living creature existed in two completely different dimensional spaces. Could he really stuff a Mana cluster into an animal’s mouth?

Probability-wise, among a large population, there shouldn’t be too few individuals capable of transforming into a Mana form. So, as long as he discovered a Beehive or ant nest and observed nearby for a while, he should gain something.

A small team of Knights from the Castle trotted in this direction from afar. Bran did not avoid them; they were Knights on rotation patrolling the Northlands.

When this team of Knights spotted Bran’s figure from a distance, they began to speed up. This area was already beyond where a child should be walking alone. They intended to safely bring this child back. This was their duty, and also a rule of conduct that every adult in the Northlands followed. After all, naughty children are naughty children, and there would always be some who slipped through the net and wandered outside. But soon they noticed something was wrong. Several White Wolves that ran ahead with the team actually greeted the child affectionately. Then they noticed the Black Cat beside the child and the swirling clusters of Starlight. As they got closer, they finally recognized Bran.

“Bran!? Why are you alone here? Where’s Danny?”

Bran shrugged and said, “It’s just me, no need to look. And even if you like my Danny, you should at least show some concern for me first. You know, without my blessing, you can’t marry my Danny.”

Amidst the laughter around, the young Knight’s face turned red. Then he said, “Alright, little Bran, how did you come here all by yourself?”

Bran proudly raised his face, pointed to the faint markings around his eyes, and said proudly, “Recognize these? Facial Markings, my Trial has begun.”

All the Knights focused their attention on his face following Bran’s words. Then a group of grown men from the Northlands crowded around the child, taking turns leaning in for a close look, as if looking at a Monster. Well, they were indeed looking at a Monster.

A Knight released his Snow Falcon, sending it flying toward the Castle. They needed to confirm the accuracy of this news. In the meantime, they chatted with Bran.

“What is this?” a Knight pointed at the Starlight.

“A form of Mana.”

“Your ability has improved?”

“Yes.”

“Why aren’t you riding a horse?”

“Better to let one less die.”

The Knights fell silent for a moment. Someone said, “You will come back.”

“Let me take a look at your weapons. You know, after my ability improved, my skill at repairing weapons improved a bit too. Your patrol must have caused some wear on your weapons.”

The Knights declined this tempting offer. “You should conserve your strength and focus on your Trial.”

“It’s fine. I need to do something before entering the Wasteland. At least I should leave some trace, so you might remember something about me. Besides, handling these weapons now is no burden for me.”

So, the team of Knights chatted with Bran while watching him, cheerful and relaxed, restore everyone’s weapons at a speed they couldn’t imagine.

A Knight watching this scene remarked casually, “I really wish you didn’t have to take this risk to complete the Trial.”

Bran said, “We are Northlanders. We must follow tradition. I just hope the name engraved on the swords I make will be ‘Bran of the Northlands.’ Even if I die during the Trial, I will still be Bran of the Northlands.”

The Snow Falcon released by the Knight returned. The Knights who had confirmed the news bid farewell to Bran and left.

…

Through the feedback from the Mana Web, Bran could avoid many dangers in advance. But now Bran’s curiosity and adventurous spirit were soaring, or rather, the Northlander’s innate penchant for trouble was reawakening within him.

On his journey forward, Bran sensed a fox about a few hundred meters away. It was not too big or too small, and just the right plumpness. So, this unlucky little creature fell into Bran’s hands. It then made a huge contribution to Bran’s Mana research, offering its precious life for the cause of science…

After that, Bran drew the following conclusions:

The Mana cluster existed in a different dimension from the surrounding environment; Mana was the channel connecting them. The cluster’s influence on reality also needed to be achieved through Mana. There were too many puzzling aspects here. Bran decided to stop thinking about these annoying problems. What he observed now was just a corner of the puzzle. As the puzzle became more complete, he would eventually find the answer. However, Bran wouldn’t live to see that day. But from the process of gathering puzzle pieces, Bran found joy, and that was enough.

…

A few days later, Bran arrived at the nearest human settlement to the Castle, Sancha Town. Sancha Town was located on a major transportation route. Heading north led to the Fertile Plains Grassland, west went straight to the Western Territory of the Northlands, and east reached the North Sea.

A fence made of Giant Trees enclosed a fairly large stockade. When Bran entered this stockade, he attracted the attention of some children. By now, Bran had stopped resisting the summons, so the Facial Markings on his face began to expand. Two dagger-like blue lines descended straight down from his eyebrows, though these blue lines were still somewhat blurry.

Seeing this, the children naturally guessed Bran’s purpose. But looking at his small frame and comparing it to their own, a feeling of defiance and resentment gathered among the group of children.

Another cluster of Starlight now orbited around Bran. This was his harvest when passing by an ant nest. Then he realized that the size of the cluster had no direct relation to the creature itself; at least, this newly acquired cluster of Starlight was the largest and most dazzling. Bran’s current bizarre appearance was unique in the Northlands. So, while the adults in the stockade wouldn’t crowd around to gawk like the children, many still cast curious glances his way.

An older child stepped forward and issued a challenge to Bran. Bran simply took a step forward and threw a punch, hitting him just below the chest on the diaphragm. The child then crouched on the ground, drawing circles.

Ever since leaving home and deciding to answer the call, Bran had begun to feel changes in his body. A craving accompanied the awakening and growth of strength. But this awakening required too much nourishment, so it also came with a huge sense of hunger. Bran finally understood the voice from the Wasteland: “Come, there is meat here.”