Chapter Eight: Spectacular Views, Yearning, Astonishment

Following the guidance of the scoutflies, Su Yi climbed upward along the thick roots of the ancient giant tree, using the vines that grew upon its trunk.

“Even after being hurt, it still managed to run so far. What a lively one,” Su Yi muttered to himself.

With the help of a grappling hook, he ascended the tree trunk. The ancient tree, storing abundant rainwater, channeled it through its intricate internal structure, forming countless small streams that flowed along channels of wood and earth, winding through the ancient forest before ultimately reaching the sea.

Right before him, such a slender stream gurgled by.

Inside the ancient tree, layers upon layers formed a complex structure—a world within a world where myriad plants and animals lived among the wooden corridors, and all manner of botanical and insect materials could be found.

“Something’s coming, meow!” Dewgrass cried out as the scoutfly beside Su Yi suddenly retreated into the scoutfly jar at his waist, instantly alert.

Su Yi, following the stream deeper into the tree, froze abruptly, then slowly stepped back, cold sweat trickling down his face.

A monster clad in pale blue scales, accented with tufts of white fur, moved on all fours like a leopard. With silent, measured steps, it emerged from a nearby passage within the trunk.

It was a Tobi-Kadachi!

Su Yi cursed his carelessness even as he counted himself lucky, for outside of the main storyline, Tobi-Kadachi rarely attacked hunters unprovoked.

At the intersection of the tree’s passages, man and wyvern met. The Tobi-Kadachi’s serpent-like head turned toward Su Yi, its pace halting. Its vertical pupils, snake-like and wary, fixed keenly upon him.

Seeing Su Yi retreat and yield the path, the Tobi-Kadachi kept its gaze on him as it exited the passage, only turning away once it had gone a safe distance, vanishing into the lush canopy of the ancient tree.

“Phew!” Su Yi let out a long breath.

Though in the game the Tobi-Kadachi would not attack hunters unless provoked, in reality, there was no absolute certainty—especially since their encounter had been dangerously close. With the monster’s agility, had it suddenly attacked, he would have had no time to react. It was a narrow escape.

The Tobi-Kadachi’s four sharp claws were padded, muffling its steps, and it moved as silently as a jaguar stalking prey in a dense forest. That was why Su Yi had not noticed its presence until the last moment.

Thankfully, it had not seen him as an enemy.

After this narrow but safe encounter, Su Yi pressed on, advancing through the tree’s passages toward its middle layers.

The interior of the ancient tree was hollow, with a spiraling wooden path winding upward all the way to the very top, forming a natural wooden tower.

The scoutflies still led upward, tracking the trail of the Kulu-Ya-Ku.

Su Yi muttered in surprise, “The Kulu-Ya-Ku’s nest shouldn’t be this high... Above here is Rathian territory.”

“Would a Kulu-Ya-Ku really venture so high into the Ancient Forest? What is it up to?”

He puzzled over it. The Kulu-Ya-Ku, being of low status and cautious by nature, would never risk climbing into the perilous upper reaches of the forest.

Setting aside his doubts for now, Su Yi continued to follow its trail, but with greater caution.

As he climbed higher, he noticed a few wingdrakes perched on the inner branches of the giant tree. Up ahead, a large gap in the wooden wall revealed a sweeping view of the world outside.

“Aibo! Hurry over! There’s a breathtaking view ahead!” Su Yi ran to the edge of a broad platform on the trunk, gazing out from the heart of the ancient tree.

“Coming, meow!” Dewgrass skipped over, standing beside Su Yi to take in the sight.

Beneath a sapphire sky, several wingdrakes soared and called, drifting above a boundless, verdant sea of trees. Below, herbivorous monsters grazed in sunlit clearings, while sparkling lakes and streams meandered through the forest. The vast woods teemed with life, each region offering a unique tableau.

To the south, the endless ocean bordered the forest.

Looking east, Su Yi could see Astera—built atop the cliffs and reefs, a base of grand ships scattered like stars. Waterfalls cascaded down the cliffs, powering massive waterwheels whose force was carried throughout the settlement.

Beyond Astera to the east stretched the desolate Wildspire Wastes.

Northward, sheer cliffs rose like a thousand stone blades, their labyrinthine valleys and chasms isolating the Ancient Forest. Encircled by towering rocks, within lay the Coral Highlands and the fetid Rotten Vale, their layered ecosystems intertwined.

Squinting, Su Yi peered as far north as he could see, to where the Land of Confluence stood—a place where the strong gathered, where the ley lines converged, at the end of the Underworld River.

In a single glance, he could see more than half the geography of the New World.

The world suddenly felt vast and open, a gentle breeze drifting by. His mind cleared, and he was filled with exhilaration, as though he’d ascended a mountain peak and beheld a magnificent panorama.

But this spectacle was unique to this world alone. The soul, dulled by a steel jungle, was now cloaked in the same brilliance as the enchanted vista before him.

“Aibo, have you ever seen a sight like this before?” Su Yi asked with a gentle laugh.

“Never, meow. I’ve always stayed in the lower forest or its outskirts,” Dewgrass replied, her wide, watery eyes eager to take in every detail.

“I’m so happy, meow! I can finally see it all—so this is the Ancient Forest, meow!” Dewgrass leaped with joy, waving her paws in delight.

“That’s Astera over there, meow!”

“And that’s the Wildspire Wastes, meow!”

“So north of the Ancient Forest is a totally different world, meow!”

“That way! And that way! And over there! What wonders might be out there, meow?” The little feline’s eyes brimmed with curiosity and longing, her paws pointing to every new horizon, as though she wished to charge into the unknown right then and there.

Su Yi, too, felt the same stirring in his heart.

He smiled. “This is only the beginning. I promised you, Aibo—we’ll see it all, together!”

“Meow!” Dewgrass jumped high, meowing in anticipation.

Yes, this was only the beginning. The spire forests and oasis deserts of the Wildspire Wastes, the remains of the Serpent King and the acid springs of the Rotten Vale, the coral forests and the cloud-piercing peaks of the Coral Highlands, the crystalline lands and the Heart of the Ley Lines in the Land of Confluence.

The frigid Hoarfrost Reach!

The lonely island of beginnings!

One day, they would see them all.

...

Suppressing his surging emotions, Su Yi grounded himself and returned his focus to tracking the Kulu-Ya-Ku.

Yet its strange route gave him pause—the next level was the very crown of the ancient tree. In fact, where he now stood was already Rathalos territory.

“What on earth is this Kulu-Ya-Ku planning?” Su Yi murmured.

A thunderous roar shattered the air outside the ancient tree. Su Yi crept to the gap in the tree wall and peered out, spotting a female Rathian hurtling toward the canopy, roaring furiously.

“What happened?”

Another roar followed, this time echoing from the crown of the tree.

A wild idea struck Su Yi’s mind.

“Could it be... that Kulu-Ya-Ku is trying to steal a Rathalos egg?!”

He was shocked by his own thought. No Kulu-Ya-Ku would be so brazen—unless it were a "tempered king Kulu-Ya-Ku."

Another roar! Explosions and the whoosh of flames erupted above as the Rathalos unleashed its fury.

“Did it get caught?”

Just as Su Yi was preparing to retreat, hoping to avoid being caught in the chaos, a pale yellow figure came scrambling down the passage from the canopy in a desperate rush.

“It’s the Kulu-Ya-Ku! And in its arms—!” Su Yi stared in disbelief as the battered Kulu-Ya-Ku sprinted toward him, clutching a massive egg.