"But I am glad you brought this to my attention. I will return the money you spent and double it as a reward," Gaia said as she turned to face Karl. The corpse lying behind her disappeared without a trace, having been transported away so she could study it in detail. She intended to examine every cause and effect surrounding the incident, hoping to uncover even the smallest clue, although she knew the task would be incredibly difficult. The corpse was saturated with void energy, making it fiercely resistant to manipulation by any being that was not of the Void itself, leaving her with little hope of success, but even the smallest discovery was better than finding nothing at all.
"Thank you. I am certain that Bernie will be glad to hear the treasury has been filled," Karl replied with a relieved smile. His gamble had paid off far better than he had expected, and he silently thanked his own instincts for trusting Arin's warning. Summoning Gaia had cost him one hundred thousand silver coins, every last coin remaining in the treasury, making it one of the most expensive decisions he had ever made. Considering that the amount was equivalent to nearly a billion euros, receiving double that amount back within a matter of minutes was a reward beyond anything he had dared hope for.
"Now, if you will excuse me, I have to track down the reason behind his disappearance," Gaia continued. According to her vast database, the man had supposedly died of natural causes four months ago, yet she knew with absolute certainty that the official record was a lie. That realization irritated her far more than she allowed her expression to reveal, as corrupted humans were capable of causing immense damage to humanity's future. They possessed methods that could rapidly strengthen a person, but every shortcut carried a terrible price that she would never permit any of her people to pay.
Although Gaia despised those forbidden methods, she also understood the harsh reality before her. Humanity's civilization was still too young and too weak to completely eradicate such corruption from the world. There were simply too many weak-willed individuals who desired power without effort and willingly accepted dangerous bargains in exchange for immediate strength. As long as that desire existed, corruption would continue to spread no matter how many of its followers were eliminated.
"No problem. Thank you for showing up as quickly as you did," Karl answered respectfully as he lowered his head once more. Around him, the rest of his family remained on their knees, unable to stand after experiencing the overwhelming pressure radiating from Gaia's mere presence. Even though she had never intended to threaten them, the aura of a being standing at the pinnacle of existence was simply too much for ordinary people to endure. None of them dared complain, as they understood they had just witnessed a miracle.
"Good. And you did well to listen to Arin on this matter. His physique is quite unique," Gaia said with a small, amused giggle. The mysterious smile on her face lingered for only a brief moment before her body dissolved into countless shimmering particles of light. In the blink of an eye, she vanished completely, returning to her own realm as silently as she had arrived. The suffocating pressure that had filled the forest disappeared alongside her, allowing everyone present to breathe freely once again.
"That was intense," Teun muttered as he slowly pushed himself back onto his feet. His legs trembled slightly from the lingering effects of Gaia's overwhelming presence, and he had to steady himself before he could stand upright. Even though the danger had passed, his heartbeat refused to calm down immediately, reminding him just how insignificant he had felt only moments earlier. It was an experience he doubted he would ever forget.
"Yes, that is certainly true. Relax, everyone. The threat is over," Karl said with a reassuring smile as he looked around at his exhausted family. To confirm everything had truly returned to normal, he guided a stream of mana through his body, expecting to encounter the familiar resistance he had felt before. Instead, the circulation was astonishingly smooth, allowing far more mana to flow through his body than he had previously believed possible. The unexpected discovery immediately filled him with excitement, as he realized Gaia's brief visit had left behind far more than just answers.As before, Karl had believed he was on the verge of breaking through to the next stage of his class. Now, however, that invisible wall seemed much farther away than he had expected, leaving him with far more room to continue improving his body. The realization filled him with excitement, as it meant he could continue strengthening his foundation without rushing his advancement. Considering everything the scientific community had discovered over the past few months, that was an opportunity no cultivator would willingly waste.
The world's researchers had never stopped investigating breathing techniques or the mysterious way mana interacted with the human body. After years of experiments and countless willing test subjects, they believed they had finally developed a reliable theory. Three months ago, they published their findings, causing an enormous sensation across the globe. Their research suggested that, during the early stages of cultivation, circulating mana throughout the body did far more than increase one's current strength. It gradually tempered every muscle, bone, organ, and mana pathway, creating a much stronger foundation that would greatly benefit future breakthroughs.
Because of that discovery, cultivators everywhere had begun changing their training methods. Instead of advancing as quickly as possible, many now focused on tempering their bodies to the absolute limit before attempting their next breakthrough. The stronger the foundation they built now, the greater their potential would become later in life. That was precisely why Karl was so pleased. Discovering that his body could still contain considerably more mana than he had previously believed was a blessing he had never expected to receive.
Karl was far from the only one who experienced that improvement. Every living creature throughout the forest had unknowingly received the same blessing, which was only natural considering who had just visited them. Under ordinary circumstances, Gaia's true body remained inside her hidden private realm, isolated from the physical world and unable to influence her surroundings. However, whenever she descended onto Earth, she became the very embodiment of the planet itself, causing nature to flourish simply through her presence.
If Gaia remained in a barren desert for a single month without doing anything at all, that wasteland would slowly transform into a paradise overflowing with life. Plants would bloom where nothing had grown before, the land would regain its fertility, and the surrounding mana would become richer than ever. Such miracles required no conscious effort on her part, as they were simply a consequence of her existence. Compared to benefits on that scale, it was not an exaggeration to say that paying one hundred thousand silver coins to summon her had been an incredible bargain.
Gaia had remained inside the forest for barely fifteen minutes, yet every inhabitant had benefited enormously from her brief appearance. The mana density throughout the entire region had increased, countless plants had become healthier, and every cultivator present found that their bodies had been subtly strengthened. Some of those changes would not even become apparent until months or years later, when people realized their cultivation had progressed far more smoothly than expected. The value of those hidden blessings was impossible to calculate with mere money.
"Okay, tell everyone that the emergency has been lifted. I will call a quick meeting of the trade families, as this information is quite interesting, and they have the right to know," Karl said as he began walking toward the center of the forest. His expression had become serious once again, as Gaia's warning carried implications that affected far more than his own family. If corrupted humans existed and had methods of hiding themselves, every major organization would need to be informed immediately. Waiting any longer would only increase the danger.
"Sure," Teun replied without hesitation, immediately taking responsibility for informing everyone himself. He was fully prepared to argue with—or even fight—anyone who tried to stop him, though his enthusiasm had less to do with duty than anyone realized. Arin had fainted, and by now his wife would undoubtedly be in an exceptionally bad mood. Experience had taught him that whenever she needed someone to vent her frustrations on, he inevitably became the easiest target.
As far as Teun was concerned, staying as far away from home as possible for a few more hours was the safest decision he could make. If he had a legitimate excuse for being absent, he might escape with only a lecture later instead of enduring her frustration in person. Unfortunately, if he returned home too soon, he knew he would never manage to do anything right, regardless of what he said or did. Seeing the determined look on his face, no one volunteered to take over the task. Instead, the others simply gave him sympathetic smiles, silently acknowledging that they understood exactly what he was trying to avoid, as most of them were not expecting a pleasant reception when they returned home either.
Deep beneath the surface, at the planet's core, Gaia was carefully reviewing the enormous database that contained the complete recorded history of the world. Her normally calm expression had become noticeably grim as she updated several of her analytical subroutines to account for the new tactics the corrupted humans had begun using. Somehow, they had discovered a method of making their deaths appear completely natural, allowing them to avoid detection even by systems that had successfully monitored humanity for countless ages. She still had not determined how they accomplished that feat, only that it was somehow connected to preventing them from spilling their plans.
Although that mystery remained unsolved, Gaia had uncovered something equally disturbing. She had finally discovered how those corrupted humans had managed to spread from one continent to another without attracting her attention. They had been exploiting the secret realms, entering one that had already been overrun by corrupted creatures before somehow disappearing from within it. Moments later, they would emerge from an entirely different secret realm on another continent, bypassing the vast distances between them without triggering a monster tide that would have immediately exposed their movements. It was an ingenious method of infiltration, and the fact that it had remained hidden from her left Gaia deeply dissatisfied with herself.