5.6 per cent for option I, 11.1 per cent for option two and 83.3 per cent for option three.

……

[Option 3]

【Territorial Awareness】

Specifics: The approximate location of prey and powerful enemies within a radius of several kilometers can be detected.

……

Zheng Zhuo chose [Territorial Consciousness]. This is the only evolutionary direction among the three that improves the ability to explore.

Points are paid. He gained new skills.

……

【Zheng Zhuo】

[Race: Shadow Fire (Kumquat)]

[Ability: Identification, Evolution]

[Evolved: Ignite, Venom, Dexterity, Territorial Awareness]

[Points: 0]

[Optional Evolution: None]

……

This time, Zheng Zhuo didn't have any special feelings. His body was not deformed, and he didn't feel like he could do anything special.

It's just that the scene in my eyes has changed a little.

"The vision has become stronger...... Not really. ”

Zheng Zhuo noticed that the hue of the scene that his eyes could see had darkened. The vision seemed to be toned, and the gray of the sky and ground became darker.

In contrast to them is the gray of the dead grass on the ground. They have become lighter, in gray, with a slight yellowishness.

Zheng Zhuo turned his gaze behind him.

Rustling.

The sound of small rodents running past the mountains can be heard. Originally, their gray-black fur was the same as the ground, and it was extremely difficult to distinguish with the eyes alone. But now, Zheng Zhuo saw that the bodies of these marmots and hares emitted yellow and orange lights that were much stronger than those of dead grass.

This allowed Zheng Zhuo to be able to see them at a glance even from a very long distance.

Moreover, it does not seem to be seen with "eyes" in the traditional sense.

The groundhog burrowed into the ground, but Zheng Zhuo could still see the light from its body. The hare jumped to the back of the mountain, but the light it emitted did not dissipate. The light only became more blurry, but it could still be seen by Zheng Zhuo through the stone and earth.

"Heat."

Zheng Zhuo thought that what he saw was the heat emitted by living things.

At the same time, he understood what he was preying.

He preys on the heat of living things and uses them to drive himself to evolution.

Zheng Zhuo looked in the direction of the city.

“…… Wow. ”

This time, the city was not at all as depressed as he had just seen.

Scattered yellow, orange, and red patches are in a patch.

The city is quiet and lively. Lots of heat-emitting creatures roam the abandoned city and beyond, the heat they emitted slowly gathering and parting.

The distance was quite far, and Zheng Zhuo couldn't see it very clearly. But apparently, these creatures are much larger than marmots and rabbits.

Zheng Zhuo was a little numb.

He thought of the humans he had seen in the golden space, the humans who had transformed into monsters because of the changes in heaven and earth.

“…… It's all people? Don't......"

He doesn't really like to interact with people.

At least not right now.

……

Zheng Zhuo turned his back to the mountain and left. He walked along the deserted path, slowly in the direction of the abandoned city.

Now, the cold wind in the mountains no longer affects his flight, but he doesn't take off for a while.

The wildfire did not spread to the north of the mountain. Here, his golden-orange body stands out against the dark gray sky.

He wasn't sure if the enemies who were emitting heat would have the means to attack him. He couldn't expect every enemy to be a mountain giant.

"Chu Huairen. Hey, are you there? ”

Zheng Zhuo flowed through the gap between the stone slabs while calling out to Chu Huairen through the [Collective Subconscious] software.

“…… In the ......"

There is a benefit to the huge time difference between inside and outside the subconscious. When you call, there's always someone to answer – because it doesn't take long.

“…… You lit the fire again? …… Wait a minute...... I didn't see ......"

"I didn't light the fire." Zheng Zhuo said, "I'm here in the north of the mountains. Ahead is a city. ”

"Can you see the structure of the city clearly? How big is the city? In what direction was it built? Which is the closest location to the Tower? ”

He asked many questions.

[Territorial Awareness] can help Zheng Zhuo identify prey and enemies, but it can't help him confirm his location. Zheng Zhuo still can't see the tower. He guessed that he was still far from the tower—he had to rely on Chu Huairen's high-altitude perspective.

(I wanted to check the direction at the top of the mountain.) ）”

The plan was disrupted by the mountain giants.

However, the other party sent a core as an apology. The tolerant and generous Zheng Zhuo decided not to care about this trivial matter.

“…… The city is a structure in the shape of the character 'Hui'. The whole is square. ”

Chu Huairen's words pulled Zheng Zhuo back to reality from his distraction.

"Probably ...... 1.5 mountain ranges in length. Wait, the north-south direction will be a little longer and not a perfect square. On the northeast corner, there are two white spired buildings. ”

"Start between the two white-roofed buildings and go straight ahead. The tower is at the end of this extension. ”

"Okay."

The city is bigger than Zheng Zhuo imagined. 1.5 Mountains in Length? Although the mountain is narrow, this area is obviously not the size of a small town.

Zheng Zhuo thought of the white seaside city-state in the [Magic Academy World].

It sounds like the size of a capital city.

Thinking of this, he asked:

"Chu Huairen, can you still see other cities?"

“…… I can't see any further...... This is around the ...... That's all there ......."

I see.

At the least, it is also a cultural center or transportation hub. Zheng Zhuo had a rough estimate in his heart.

"Thank you. I'll get back to you later. ”

He said simply, and prepared to cut off the communication.

“…… Be careful...... ...... in that city"

However, Chu Huairen said one more thing that made him care.

"Huh?"

“…… Watch out, there's a big object moving in that city. It's like a building. ”

"Buildings? Moving? ”

“…… I can't see ...... clearly."

"I see."

Zheng Zhuo wrote down this information.

He cleared the interface and moved on.

"A moving building."

Zheng Zhuo wasn't very worried about whether it would be some kind of "building giant". After all, as a shadow fire, he wasn't afraid of large enemies.

He is thinking more about efficiency now.

"Can you give a ride?"

Zheng Zhuo muttered to himself and flowed away along the path.

……

The ground is getting smoother and smoother, and the steps made of rock are becoming more and more obvious. Zheng Zhuo passed under the stone arches one after another, and the abandoned city gradually appeared in front of him.

There are ruins everywhere. Zheng Zhuo had just worried that he wouldn't be able to enter the city, but now, he realized that he didn't need to worry: all the walls were in tatters. Most of them had been shattered by some enormous force, and not even a quarter of them had been preserved.

And the shining buildings that Zheng Zhuo had seen in the golden world had long since ceased to shine. They became as gray as the sky.

And next to the city walls......

"Oh...... Ah......h

The humanoid monsters let out low cries and roamed.

The walls were broken. But the monster is still there. Zheng Zhuo carefully observed his surroundings and climbed a stone pillar next to the city wall.

Jump off the stone pillar to enter the city.

Zheng Zhuo looked at the city again, and there were four kinds of buildings in front of him, and next to these four buildings, the [Territorial Consciousness] did not mark the monster for the time being.

……

【Question】

[What kind of building do you want to jump into?] 】

[Option 1]

[A building that looks like a private house with a blown up roof]

[Option 2]

[A building that looks like a public place, half of which has collapsed, and there are many long tables and benches inside]

[Option 3]

[I can't tell what place it is, a big hole has been punched through the wall, and a lot of books have fallen out of the big hole]

[Option 4]

[It's like a temple, it's a fully open building]