Chapter 129: The Will of the World

Greem was startled awake by a cacophony of clamor.

Outside the cave, chaos reigned. Even the Rock Python, tasked with guarding the entrance, had thrust most of its massive body out, ferociously attacking something while using its thick tail to block the mouth of the magma cavern.

By the time Greem had gathered his belongings and stepped out, the battle was nearing its end. The cavern, not particularly wide, was littered with the broken remains of seven Lava Hounds, with crimson, semi-molten magma pooling across the floor. For these creatures, rock was their flesh, and molten magma was their blood. With so much of that "blood" spilled, the chances of their survival were slim to none.

Where did so many Lava Hounds come from? Could it be that the small fire-eroded cavern he had occupied was their den? A series of questions surfaced in Greem’s mind, but he quickly dismissed them one by one.

He had been careful when choosing his resting place yesterday, avoiding the vast majority of active zones for fire-based creatures. Under such circumstances, how could he have been ambushed by a pack of Lava Hounds? Furthermore, he had set the Rock Python to a "defensive counter-attack" mode, meaning it would only strike back if provoked. This meant the hounds had initiated the assault.

The more he thought, the deeper his brow furrowed. He felt this was no mere coincidence, but rather...

Sure enough, a rapid search by his Chip revealed that Core Giants possessed the ability to summon and command fire-based creatures.

Just as he reached this conclusion, barking erupted from several adjacent lava tunnels. By the sound of it, a large number of Lava Hounds were rushing toward his location.

Damn it, the enemy had found him! He just didn't know if a Core Giant was among them.

Greem didn't hesitate. He leaped into the open maw of the Rock Python, urging it to dive quickly toward the tunnels leading to the upper levels of the volcano. Regardless of where the enemies came from, the further he was from the Sea of Magma—the home of the Core Giants—the better.

The Rock Python swayed its thick body, forcing itself into a narrow lava tunnel. Its protruding rocky scales scraped against the walls, sending sparks flying and shattering rock. Once its entire body had entered the passage, the python delivered a powerful lash with its tail. Instantly, the entrance to the lava tunnel collapsed, and falling debris quickly sealed it shut.

Just then, a dozen Lava Hounds burst from the neighboring tunnels, only to be blocked by the pile of rubble. The irritable creatures began to roar, frantically digging at the blockage while sending out warnings to their master in the distance.

A moment later, three Core Giants—one large and two smaller—arrived on the scene with heavy, thundering footsteps. Given their immense size, they could not fit through the smaller lava tunnels. Most of the time, they were restricted to the large passages eroded by subterranean magma. As for enemies hiding in narrow crevices, they could only rely on their fire-based minions to flush them out.

Seeing the collapsed tunnel before them, they understood at once.

Driven by the shouts of the adult Core Giant, Alec, the remaining Lava Hounds abandoned their attempt to dig through the blockage. They turned and plunged into the nearby intact tunnels, intending to take a circuitous route to intercept their target.

Alec turned to the two youngsters of its clan and commanded: "There is only one enemy, a mere human apprentice, not a threat. Go tell Arug that there is no need for such a grand mobilization; I will pursue and finish this myself."

With that, it turned and walked toward the thoroughly sealed tunnel. As it marched, scorching, terrifying streams of flame erupted from its body. Before it, the rock, once hard as iron, instantly began to soften and melt, turning into a flowing river of magma. With almost no resistance, Alec melted a path large enough for its body, allowing it to continue its heavy stride forward, leaving behind a molten trail where no outsider could stand.

However, Greem had already escaped five miles away.

In this subterranean world of winding tunnels, while five miles had been covered, the straight-line distance was perhaps only four or five hundred meters. Moreover, the concentration of fire elements in the rock strata here was incredibly high. If the Rock Python wanted to tunnel directly through the earth as it did in the Dark Caverns, the consumption of earth elemental energy would be staggering. Thus, unless faced with a life-or-death situation, Greem was reluctant to drain the python's energy in such a way.

This pursuit, where the two sides never caught sight of each other, lasted only half an hour before the Core Giant voluntarily gave up. It seemed there was a clear boundary in their minds; once an enemy escaped beyond a certain range, they would no longer risk venturing out to pursue.

Sensing the intense heat source behind him gradually receding, Greem let out a long sigh of relief. He dared to assert that it must have been a Wizard-level adult Core Giant. If he had encountered such a behemoth, even deploying his entire squad of magic puppets would have resulted in a miserable defeat.

Lacking a sturdy earth-elemental brute to go head-to-head with such a creature, and lacking elemental puppets capable of free operation in a volcanic environment, it seemed his magic puppet squad was still a long way from being combat-ready.

Furthermore, it was evident that the Core Giants were highly protective of their young. The two quasi-wizard-level youngsters he had sensed from afar did not participate in the pursuit and rarely acted alone, which undoubtedly increased the difficulty of capturing them. After all, with his current strength, Greem couldn't even dream of challenging an adult Core Giant; only these quasi-wizard youngsters offered a glimmer of hope.

Driven out of the core area of the Sea of Magma, Greem had no choice but to wander aimlessly in the upper regions, waiting for his body to slowly recover while exploring new paths to the magma sea. After all, this colossal volcano had been eroded by eons of subterranean magma into thousands of tunnels, web-like and dense. Nearly every path eventually pointed toward that mysterious and profound magma world, making it virtually impossible for the Core Giants to block out intruders completely.

Timing it perfectly, as soon as his body returned to its peak state, Greem snuck back into the Sea of Magma. This time, he soaked for twice as long as before, and the progress he gained was even more gratifying.

The transformation of his "Fire-Bathed Body" surged from 23% to 37%. His body had once again been pushed to its limits; one-seventh of his flesh and blood had been burned away, yet his rapidly soaring constitution drove new tissue to regenerate just as quickly.

His body was like a factory constantly being demolished and rebuilt. Each time a delicate balance was achieved through tissue regeneration, it was shattered by the further strengthening of his fire-based talents. Then, everything was torn down again, and new organs and tissues slowly grew to match the latest iteration of his Fire-Bathed Body.

Amidst this constant repetition, changes compatible with his fire-bathed constitution were retained, while temporary or unsuitable adaptations were cycled out in new arrangements.

Greem had originally intended for the Chip to intervene in this reorganization, but after a small-scale experiment, he had to give up. Due to its limited perspective and framework, the Chip could not intuitively or foresightfully reserve the appropriate evolutionary space for future fire-talent enhancements. Yet, his body’s instincts, shrouded in haze and chaos, could achieve this in an incredible way.

In fact, many subtle organ changes guided by bodily instinct had initially been judged by the Chip as ineffective or redundant. However, after two or three rounds of bodily transformation, Greem was astonished to find that the previously "useless" parts had seamlessly become the foundation for the latest adaptations.

If this had been an isolated occurrence, Greem would not have been surprised. But as the Chip monitored his body, these discoveries became like sparks in a prairie fire; similar examples could be found in almost every part of his body's transformation.

From then on, Greem had to abandon the Chip's meddling, allowing his body's instincts to lead the process while the Chip retreated to the role of a comprehensive observer, recording the entire process with detailed and accurate data.

The more comprehensive his observations and the deeper his thoughts, the more Greem understood the term "World Will," which was frequently mentioned by Wizards.

The world Greem currently inhabited was merely one large plane within a vast multiverse, and such a boundless, resource-rich world was but a grain of sand in the depths of the infinite star sea.

If the Earth of his past life and its universe were a "low-magic" world, then the Wizard Plane and the multiverse he now inhabited were a "high-magic" world. Endless energy tides filled every void in this world.

Under the influence of such abundant energy tides, mysticism itself became a terrifying power. Any world, any plane, or any individual could manifest power far exceeding their own inherent capabilities. All of this could be encompassed under the powerful category of mysticism.

In his past life on Earth, if someone claimed the Earth could also develop consciousness and possess its own will, it would have been a joke that would make people laugh until their teeth fell out. Because the scale of Earth was too vast, and to support the birth of individual consciousness, the matter and energy it possessed were far from sufficient.

Thus, in a low-magic world, it was almost impossible for a planet to develop consciousness!

But... he was currently in a high-magic world, where great energy tides were everywhere, permeating every inch of space. This provided a solid foundation for a planet to develop self-awareness. Of course, in the multiverse, there were no planets—only planes.

Floating continents wrapped in planar barriers were constantly soaked in endless energy. They carried vast amounts of soil, sand, forests, mountains, lakes, mineral deposits, and countless living beings on their expansive bodies. Whether it was a common rock or a top-tier Wizard standing at the pinnacle of the world, all were part of the plane.

Countless materials, billions of various beings, and the endless energy tides all provided a solid basis for the birth of a collective consciousness. Perhaps the initial form of a World Will was this collective consciousness—a great fusion and melting pot of countless individual lives and basic matter. However, as the plane grew stronger over time, a hazy and illusory planar consciousness would eventually, imperceptibly, come into being.