In the midst of a silent exchange, Alka and the others didn't even notice the whereabouts of the person who had come to relieve Lishi.
They were led, dazed, by Lishi, into the mountains ahead.
Now they finally understood how Lishi moved. It was as if they had melted into the rock and rubble.
They might not even need to emerge, simply moving through the earth. If he hadn't been worried about Alka and the others being unable to keep up, and not knowing where they were, he might not even have shown his head, but would have simply slid into the mud.
As a last resort, Alka and the others could only hop along the surface.
Thankfully, while the terrain was steep, most of the area was relatively flat and sloping, making it navigable.
And contrary to their previous assumption, the so-called stone forest wasn't in the center of this forested area, but rather on the edge.
They hadn't walked far.
It was not far from where they had just stopped, perhaps only twenty or thirty kilometers away.
No wonder they encountered the sentry here. It turned out they'd intruded into the gathering area.
As they drew closer to the gathering area, Splitstone ceased his mere lurking beneath the earth. Instead, his entire body emerged from the ground and began walking on two legs.
Or rather, hooves.
And so they arrived at a steep overhang.
Alka looked up at the height of the rock face before him. It was at least 20 meters high, covered in sharp, steep rocks.
Climbing to the top would still require some effort, though Alka could fly.
However, Splitstone didn't continue his ascent. Instead, he stopped in front of the wall.
"We're here."
With that, he completely disappeared into the rock face.
Alka and the others were left standing there, staring at each other in bewilderment. Two seconds later, Stonecrack slowly emerged again. Though his face showed no expression, everyone could sense a hint of embarrassment.
"Sorry, I forgot."
He walked over and rubbed his clay arms, which seemed made of clay.
Several small pillars appeared in his hands.
Gripping the pillars tightly, he uttered a sound that sounded like an incantation, yet also like the rhythmic sound of striking stones.
As the sound emanated, Alka and the others felt something different about themselves. A simple brown totem appeared on the backs of their hands.
"You can enter now. Follow me."
With that, Stonecrack once again passed through the stone wall.
Alka could have used the Earth Card to pass through directly, but he chose not to. Instead, he reached into the stone wall and plunged his hand into it, like a hand into mud, sinking directly into the solid stone. This experience made Alka smile. "Interesting!"
With that, he completely immersed himself in it.
Sofia and the others followed closely behind.
They began to cross the stone wall, holding their breath as they did so. After only seven or eight seconds, they saw light and emerged from the stone wall.
Looking at the scene before them, Alka stood still. Sofia and the others, who had filed out, also stopped and took in the scene before them.
They were in a depression, surrounded by towering stone walls that formed a hollow, completely enveloping it.
And in the center of the depression, sharp stone pillars rose from the ground, piercing the sky.
Each stone pillar was like a tree in a forest, and the arrangement formed a stone forest.
Perfectly matching the name of this place, Arka immediately sensed the extremely strong earth elemental aura.
But it wasn't pure, for the air inevitably carried the water element, which permeated the entire world, and even here, it was still somewhat thick.
The problem lay with the inhabitants of the Stone Forest.
At first, they'd assumed the Stonehoof tribe resembled the Stone Cracks, with upper bodies resembling humans and lower bodies made of ox hooves and tails.
But their imagination was clearly different.
The first inhabitant Arka saw was a creature whose lower body still had ox hooves and tails, but whose upper body had completely transformed into stone, leaving no trace of its head.
Its strength was probably only at the third level, and its size was below average among the inhabitants.
There were also half-elemental creatures with strange, lizard-like upper bodies. Of course, there were also many with upper bodies still resembling humans.
Compared to these bizarre appearances, the cracked rock, which had already been considered bizarre before them, seemed somewhat normal.
This showed that the upper bodies of these half-elemental creatures didn't seem to have a fixed appearance.
Next to them, a guard was watching them.
Looking at this guard, Alka nodded with satisfaction.
For this was the most harmonious and normal thing he had ever seen.
The upper body of the half-elemental creature before him wasn't human, but rather a human body with a bull's head.
Paired with the bull's hooves and tail on its lower body, it looked incredibly harmonious.
This harmonious combination made Alka feel very comfortable.
It felt like a minotaur shaman with a strong earth elemental style, and even gave Alka a sense of familiarity.
This familiarity came from his past works.
Even his weapon was a totem, resembling a stout stone pillar standing nearby.
"Strange flesh-and-blood creatures? Did Stonecrack bring you in?"
The sound it made was even more stuttering than Stonecrack's, with long intervals and a cacophony of knocking noises.
Arka nodded.
Stonecrack waved his hand nearby, engaging in a silent exchange with the minotaur before him.
His strength matched Stonecrack's, and the depth of his energy was perhaps even slightly stronger.
As they conversed, Aka spotted a half-elemental creature, far taller than Stonecrack, slowly approaching.
The overall appearance was strangely harmonious, but the upper body was a specimen Arka had never seen before.
It looked a bit like some ferocious beast, with three extremely thick horns atop its head.
Bone spurs were also visible on its elbows, waist, and back.
This towering half-elemental creature looked incredibly intimidating, and it put a certain amount of pressure on Alka and the others. It was no weakling.
Alka blinked and looked over.
The energy reaction had actually reached the seventh stage—amazing.
As he approached, he first glared at Alka and the others with his strange, vertical pupils, then nodded politely.
Stone Split turned and looked at him, and another silent exchange ensued.
Stone Split then introduced Alka and the others: "This is our elder, Steelhorn."
Alka looked at the elder, Steelhorn, nodded, and introduced himself.
"Humans are friends. I can sense the demonic blood stained in you. You are a powerful friend."
The elder's voice, while still a percussive sound, was remarkably smooth.
"The treasure hunters who've come here before have been interested in the areas further inland. There are many abandoned mines there, but they harbor evil spirits."
The elder seemed to know exactly what Alka and his group might be aiming for, and he spoke directly. Perhaps most treasure hunters who come here will search deeper inland, not spending too much time here.
He was right, and Alka immediately piqued his interest.
"Evil spirits? Can you tell us roughly where they are?" Alka asked curiously.
"They're all there," the elder said, pointing in a direction.
That led deeper into the mountains.
From the sound of it, they only knew a few things about what was going on there.
Alka pondered the information on the map. Even if there were evil spirits there, their strength would be no more than Stage Five. Why didn't these semi-elemental creatures go in there?
"Are those evil spirits very powerful?" Alka asked.
The elder shook his head. "They're not powerful, but they're very restraining, so we rarely enter."
Arka understood what he said and didn't ask any further questions, as any further inquiry would have infringed upon the secrets of another race.
"Are you heading in that direction?"
Looking at Arka, who was lost in thought, the elder asked.
Arka nodded. Although they didn't have a clear destination, they had a map, so they definitely had to go in.
In the worst-case scenario, he was worried that the indigenous people here might interfere with his treasure hunt.
In the best-case scenario, the indigenous people were very friendly to humans and even willing to serve as guides and provide more information.
In the end, neither of these happened.
"If you're going in, please help me find the core of our people. It's very important to us."
"Core?"
Hearing Alka's puzzled voice, the elder nodded. "Yes, three of our people are missing in there. They should have merged with the earth, but their cores should still be there.
If possible, could you bring them to us? We'll provide any rewards you might need."
Hearing this, Alka couldn't help but think of the blue dots in the area.
"What do they look like?"
"Like crystals of the earth, you can feel the rich earth element."
"How long have they been missing?"
"810 years and 13 days and nights, 723 years and 21 days and nights, 557 years and 6 days and nights."
"..." Hearing the elder's words, Alka fell silent. He didn't need to remember them so clearly, did he?
And they'd been missing for so long?
Judging by the elder's tone, Alka had assumed his people had been missing only a few years ago.
It seemed that every treasure hunter who ventured into the interior would receive a mission from this elder.
So, when Lishi heard they were treasure hunters, he wasn't too resistant.
After all, no one likes treasure hunters; they'll just wander around their territory, searching everywhere.
If they were specifically told that certain areas were off-limits, they would specifically go to those areas.
If they didn't wander around, how could they find treasure?
"Every time a creature like you tries to venture inside, I ask for their help.
It's too dangerous for me and my people. My people can't afford even the slightest loss.
Thank you very much, friends. You've helped us locate the core of two of our people," the elder said.
It's truly a common mission, isn't it?
Then, looking at Alka and the others, the elder said, "There are many evil spirits there. Flesh creatures have strong spirits, but you also need to be careful."
Alka nodded. "Thank you for your suggestion. We will pay attention."
"We are not flesh creatures, so we can't properly entertain you. Please forgive us."
After all, they may not eat.
"It's okay, it's okay," Alka said quickly.
After a few words, the elder left.
Alka and the others followed Cracked Stone and wandered through the stone forest. The entire stone forest was unusually silent, as all semi-elemental creatures communicated without vocalization.
Alka could see what seemed to be a kind of spiritual connection, a wave of communication.
The entire gathering place seemed unusually quiet.
Also, the stone forest was much smaller than Alka and the others had expected. These sharp stone pillars, one after another, probably represent their habitat.
They are completely solid stone pillars, merely infused with more earth elements, perhaps serving as hibernation pods. Alka offered a more vivid analogy.
Besides the small size of their gathering place, the entire Stonehoof tribe is also extremely small.
A simple calculation yields a little over 300 individuals.
That's about the size of a small village—far too few.
These semi-elemental creatures can be roughly categorized by their size. The weakest are at Stage Two, the strongest at Stage Seven, and the majority are around Stage Three.
"How do you reproduce?" Lucilia, perched on Alka's shoulder, finally couldn't help but ask, albeit a bit presumptuously.
After all, these semi-elemental creatures have been here for over 800 years, yet there are only a little over 300 of them—a truly alarmingly small number.
Hearing Lucelia's words, Stonecrack replied, still haltingly, "We cannot reproduce... This is no longer our former home. We are the Stonehoof clan, but only a remnant of the remaining branch. These are all we have."
Though his voice was calm, Alka and the others could sense the loneliness and desolation within it.
Simply put, they were called semi-elemental creatures, and it was clearly impossible for them to reproduce like normal humans.
The reproduction process was perhaps more similar to the birth of elemental creatures.
And how could this place possibly possess the same high concentration of a single elemental property as the elemental interface of their former home?
Without external support, they naturally had no space to continue reproducing.
As time passed, they would lose more and more of their people to various accidents, until the extinction of their entire race was their foreseeable future.
Because they no longer had any hope for the future.
If their thoughts leaned towards humans... Perhaps elemental creatures don't have such worries, but that's not necessarily true.
Arka couldn't help but wonder.
As he wandered around and learned more, he discovered more problems. While the elemental concentration here was indeed high, it was perhaps too mixed for the elemental creatures before him.
And some of the water elemental didn't seem suitable for them.
Arka had previously thought the cracks on their bodies were decorative, since every member seemed to have them.
But clearly, he was overthinking it.
These cracks were evidence of malnutrition.
Most elemental creatures obviously don't eat food, but rather absorb elemental energy to survive.
In this vast ocean, the concentration of water elementalism was far higher. Even though they had gathered so many earth elements here, it was still not enough to match the world of the past.
This race, with only a few hundred remaining, was far more pessimistic and miserable than Arka had imagined.
I couldn't help but sigh silently.
"What's wrong?" Sitting in Alka
Lucilia asked from his shoulder.
"Nothing, just saw some problems."
After wandering around for a bit, they felt there was nothing more to do in this place.
They passed through the stone wall and exited the stone forest from the other side. Under the gaze of the cracked stone, they headed towards the interior of the mountain range.
"Their future prospects are quite pessimistic, aren't they?" Lucilia asked.
It had been difficult to put it into words just now, but now that they were alone, Alka nodded and spoke out.
"Ah, that's true..." Pororo was at a loss for words for a moment.
But the word "miserable" certainly applied to them.
After a few words of casual conversation, they didn't move forward quickly. After all, this place wasn't very safe.
Alka looked at the map in his hand.
Looking at the blue dots on it.
The map was incredibly vast, encompassing almost the entire mountain range and its surroundings.
Furthermore, they certainly hadn't conducted a very detailed survey of the mountain range, so the mountain area was drawn rather blurry, but it was still considered an accurate map.
This also meant that even though the location of interest was small, it was still depicted on such a large map.
If zoomed out, it would certainly occupy a large area.
In other words, the location was extremely vague.
It seemed that once we reached the location, we would need to survey the area surrounding it and have Sofia draw a more detailed map.
Thinking this, Alka reached out and tapped on a blue dot.
There were more than a dozen blue dots here.
So, only a few of them should be their targets, if the so-called core of a dead half-elemental race could be considered a magical item.
He tapped several more times, but each time, a blank bar displayed no information.
Finally, Alka found one that displayed information.
[Stonehoof Elemental Life Crystal]
[Difficulty: Elemental Sensor (Stage 2)]
[Notability: 325]
[Treasure Information: Elemental crystal left behind by a deceased member of the Stonehoof tribe, a semi-elemental creature of the earth.
For them, this elemental crystal is like the core of their body, and a very precious and rare elemental material. It seems very important to semi-elemental creatures.
Normally, it can only be found in areas with extremely high concentrations of a single element or at elemental interfaces.]
Arka looked at the information above and it seemed that this item must be the item the elders had asked them to find.