Absolute Beast Dominion

Chapter 491 - 1st Day Inside The Secret Realm

Chapter 491: 1st Day Inside The Secret Realm

Leo quickly adjusted to the heat wave—enough to make any normal person collapse in an instant—and finally paid attention to the scene before him.

In front of him lay a land with sparse vegetation; gone were the corners filled with lush grass and trees. Now, patches of grass appeared only here and there, half-dried and brittle. Trees with slightly ashen bark stood every now and then, and this pattern stretched endlessly beneath the crimson haze blanketing the sky.

The ground looked no better—a completely dried-out land with little to no moisture in most places, blackened by volcanic ash that had likely accumulated over time.

As for the rumoured volcano, though Leo couldn’t see it clearly, he could still make out the silhouette of a massive landform hidden within the crimson haze. The view remained unclear as dust particles limited his vision beyond a certain distance.

Leo narrowed his eyes, focusing on an interesting spot far away. There was actually a patch of green trees there, their leaves swaying amidst the dry heat wave.

"Are you both alright?" Leo asked the elves.

"Yes, my lord. We are fine," Lyswenna replied, though the truth was that only Naelith seemed exceptionally comfortable.

Leo noticed the surprised look on Naelith’s face as she stared at her palm, as if something within her was reacting.

"Naelith, is something the matter?" Leo asked.

"My Lord, this place... I feel very comfortable here. And also, if you permit me, I would like to try the move you told me to learn last month. I think I can do it now," Naelith said confidently.

"That’s natural. This place is rich in the fire element. It will be far more cost-effective to use fire-related skills here. Not to mention, they will be easier to control since you won’t need to concentrate too much on maintaining the output," Leo explained, and Naelith listened attentively.

"And no, I won’t allow you to use the move right now. It’s a large-scale move and might attract unwanted visitors before we’re prepared."

Naelith nodded immediately.

"I understand. Please forgive me for this oversight."

"No problem. By the way, do you feel you might be able to break through to the next realm if you stay here?" Leo asked.

"Yes... I think this place is helping refine my fire affinity, and it might actually help me advance," Naelith answered, though her tone suggested she wasn’t completely certain.

"Good. I think some fire-related natural treasures will surely help. Those will be your reward if you successfully cast the Flame Tornado."

Naelith bowed respectfully.

"My lord, you are too generous. Thank you very much for this opportunity."

Leo waved her off as they headed toward that patch of green trees as their first destination to explore.

As they walked, the environment gradually began affecting them.

"So uncomfortable..." Leo muttered, tiny beads of sweat forming on his forehead despite them not even being a few kilometres in.

Lyswenna was faring even worse. Her bluish-green hair had already turned damp with sweat. Only Naelith seemed to be thriving in these conditions.

Suddenly, Leo recalled a life-saving skill.

[Iceveil Hide] – 15% Low: The user condenses surrounding cold into a thin, translucent layer of frost over its body.

Mana: 50 Mana / Minute

This was the skill copied from Zelut’s skill set, and it was perfect for this environment.

He immediately activated it, and coolness washed over him as a faint layer of white, misty particles pulsed around his body. Those particles instantly condensed into tiny droplets of water before completely evaporating into the scorching surroundings.

Even if it had little practical use at the moment, it was enough to ease the blazing heat.

Maybe if I master this enough, I can eventually form a sturdy ice armour. That would be great, Leo thought.

He then noticed Lyswenna staring at him curiously before lightly tapping her own head, as if realising something. The next instant, a faint layer of water enveloped her body.

She carefully deployed the water barrier slightly away from her skin so it wouldn’t soak her clothes, and though she succeeded, the precise control clearly required intense concentration.

Well... skills of an element and affinity for the same element each have their own advantages and disadvantages.

While Leo could only use the ice element to cover his body with a faint icy layer—[Iceveil Hide]—and deliver an icy bite—[Frost Nibble]—he couldn’t freely manipulate ice formations despite technically wielding the ice element. That limitation was negated by direct elemental affinity, which granted free control, though it demanded conscious effort and precision.

Leo extended his hand and hovered his palm above Lyswenna’s forehead.

"My Lord?" Lyswenna asked in confusion.

The next instant, her body was also covered in the same faint icy mist surrounding Leo.

"My Lord! Please conserve your mana for necessary situations. I can use my water affinity to cool myself. I just need a little time to adjust to the control," Lyswenna said hurriedly.

"It’s no bother. The cost is too small for me to even notice. And just so you know, my recovery is faster than what I’m consuming."

It was true. Combined with the [High Speed Mana Regeneration] trait, Leo could recover more than 6000 mana units per minute. A cost of merely 100 mana units was practically nothing to him.

However, although 6000 units was his theoretical recovery speed, it still depended heavily on the surrounding environment. If the area were dense in mana, Leo could recover optimally. But here, the mana density was slightly lower than average.

Around 5—20 MU/m³.

Generally, common areas ranged between 20—50 MU/m³.

[MU/m³ = Mana Units per Cubic Meter]

Still, since Leo wasn’t stationary and was walking at a casual pace, covering roughly 160 m³ per minute, he could still recover around 2400 mana units every minute—far more than he was consuming.

"Then... thank you very much, my lord," Lyswenna said softly before deactivating her water shield.

Naelith politely refused when Leo asked whether she also wanted the skill’s effect, saying that remaining exposed to the heat was actually beneficial for her.

After walking a few more kilometres, they finally stopped. Leo activated [Spiritual Sense] to detect nearby presences but found nothing.

"Looks like it’s time," he said quietly, swiping his hand as two figures materialised.