Seed of Titan-Chapter 134: Drai’s Life in the Valley

Days passed in Funky Valley, and Drai had gotten more used to his new routine.

In the morning, he had breakfast with Max in their base, usually roasting some meat or vegetables that they had in stock. Then he would head out to hunt or forage for food, mostly at the usual spots not too far from the base. The dimensional storage was really useful for this, as Drai could easily stash his yield without having to go back and forth to their base or manually haul them along.

By the time he was done, it was usually almost midday. He would then find a suitable spot and train for a few hours.

In the afternoon, Drai would spend his time exploring the valley while gathering some essence. He could theoretically do this in the morning, but Bio Drain always withered his catch, which made them unsuitable for consumption. So Drai had decided to prioritize food gathering while letting his essence gathering occupy a supplementary role.

He was still traumatized by his last level up, which made him more apprehensive toward speedrunning his progress. Once, he even had a short nightmare, in which he leveled up without getting any stats or SP. This had left him rather compulsive, checking his notification screen periodically to make sure he hadn’t accidentally leveled in vain.

Jian would probably have a mental breakdown if he ever found out that Drai had become afraid of leveling up too quickly.

In the evening, Drai would return to the cave and sort out his yield together with Max. They would then have supper, with Max teaching Drai to prepare and cook the ingredients.

When it came to their food supply, Drai had offered to store their meat and vegetables in his dimensional storage, where they wouldn’t spoil. However, Max declined, choosing to stick with his usual methods.

Drai suspected that Max’s refusal stemmed from not wanting to burden him, but he decided not to press the issue. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

After supper, Drai often spent time chatting with Max, usually while practicing his butchering skills under Max’s supervision.

During one of these sessions, Max mentioned that he had actually been in a better position than Drai when he first arrived here due to having hunted frequently with his family and VV’s venture party, which made him quite proficient in processing game.

In comparison, Drai was only proficient breaking rocks and munching random plants.

Following that, Drai would always go out to train and return around midnight. Then he would sleep on his new leaf bed before repeating his entire routine.

Unbeknownst to Drai, Max had been secretly observing him during his first days alone. After all, Max was worried that Drai would be too adventurous, straying to unfamiliar locations and landing himself in trouble.

But Max was quite surprised when he realized Drai was truly a man of routine, sticking to his schedule without fail and only venturing a bit during the afternoon when he was collecting essence. That’s why Max decided to end his monitoring early, not doing it for a full week like he had intended to, and left Drai to his own devices.

In the blink of an eye, nearly a month had passed.

Tonight, Drai was sitting high on top of the rock formation that housed their basecamp, his new favorite spot for a quiet reflection. The atmosphere was particularly serene due to the full moon that was hanging high above, basking the valley in a soft glow.

Looking at the scenery, Drai smiled. Although he was wary at first, now he had fully adjusted to life in the wilderness. His hunting and foraging were consistently successful, and he had found himself suitable training grounds for his regimen.

And just a few days ago, he had braved himself to try out the poop-laced fish that Max had told him about, which turned out to be quite the delicacy.

’Honestly, I prefer this over studying at the academy...’

The thought had been lingering in his mind for a while now. He felt that the wilderness really suited him, both in his personality and needs. The creatures here provided constant challenge, especially since he was suppressing his powers. Some of them required heightened speed and reaction to hunt, while others tested his strength.

One thing that Drai hadn’t expected was the usefulness of Arachno-Sense—it enabled him to hunt underground creatures that would’ve been impossible to locate otherwise. Even Max was surprised when Drai returned with his underground hunt one day, bringing many creatures that Max usually stumbled upon by chance, including a species of scorpion with a sting that that could be turned into a razor-sharp needle or piercing tool.

Unsurprisingly, Drai didn’t miss his friends or the bustling campus life much. Of course, he valued his friends’ company and his professors’ lectures, but those things weren’t essential to him. Strength had always been his priority, and here, he could train whenever and however he pleased—no lectures, no meetings, no rules to follow.

And if he wanted, Drai could also wreak havoc with Colossal Augmentation without having to worry about squashing another person or crushing a building. Such was his freedom in the wilderness.

Still, Drai knew his stay was temporary. Unless he intended to abandon his parents, he would have to return to civilization. And then there was Zar’s cryptic remark.

’The Verdant Order will aid me until I reach my goal... I wonder if their founder saw something related to the titans’ fate. Or was it something only tied to Gaia?’

Drai shook his head, setting the thought aside. This was a concern for another time.

’For now... I think I’m ready for another level up,’ he thought, opening the System screen. ’System, I must’ve gathered a lot of essence by now, right?’

[Yes. Outside of your reserves for three full recoveries, there is more than enough for another assimilation.]

’Can you limit the amount used so I don’t over-level? Just let me get the bare amount of EXP to level up once.’

[Negative. Your current EXP is hidden, preventing precise adjustments to match the required amount for a level up. However, I can set the essence consumption to the minimal threshold necessary for assimilation, regardless of whether you gain a level or not.]

’Oh, right. EXP is quite a secret for us evolvers. The creators of this System really didn’t want us to treat it like a game, huh?’

Drai chuckled as he imagined slapping himself repeatedly while notifications constantly popped up: [+25 EXP], [+25 EXP], [+25 EXP]...

’Okay then, just set the minimal amount. If I don’t end up leveling up, I can just train until I do it naturally.’

[Affirmative. Do you wish to proceed with the assimilation?]

’Yes.’

[Are you sure?]

’Yeah, just do it already.’

[Authorization acquired. Commencing assimilation of various essences. Please refrain from moving excessively until the process is complete.]