After Lin Wu saw the notification, he let out a sigh.

~Sigh~

“At least it was fast this time.” Lin Wu muttered to himself.

“Open Map.” He commanded.

~Ding~

A new map now appeared in front of Lin Wu. The perspective on the map had now changed, and it was functioning as an overlay display. Lin Wu felt as if he was playing a video game and the map was guiding him to the path he was supposed to go.

The map was now of two types. A smaller map that had an overhead perspective appeared on the top right corner of his vision, and the rest of the map had now instead changed to a navigational perspective. The map showed an arrow pointer on the path he was supposed to take. Similarly, on the mini-map on the top right corner, a long and winging line showed the route that he was supposed to go.

“Amazing! This is just like a video game. Huh, it seems like the stupid system is improving.” Lin Wu exclaimed.

Having understood the route, Lin Wu then began his journey. The path was long and winding, with multiple dangers along the way. There were parts where the area was lit up with blazing flames while others that were filled with molten rock and dirt.

There were cracks that had been formed in the ground along with random pieces of rocks and debris scattered on the way. There were some sharp pieces of the rocks scattered along the way as well, which Lin Wu had to dodge. He noticed another thing, the path that he was taking would actively change and adapt according to any changes in the environment.

For example, a piece of rock had broken off and fell into his path. The overlay thus changed and showed him a different route that was safe for him to take. Lin Wu was impressed by the adaptability and was now starting to like it.

‘Seems like the energy was not wasted at least. If it’s this adaptable, then it should be worth it.’ Lin Wu thought.

Lin Wu eventually reached a point where he had to climb an elevated rock. The rock was extended over a large pool of lava, and there did not seem to be any other way than that. The rock was tilted in such a way that, if one reached the very edge of it, the distance was short enough for them to just jump over the lava pool.

While this would be dangerous, it was the only way that the map was showing. Every other time, the map had shown him an alternate route when he was stuck, but this time there didn’t seem to be any other choice.

“System, is there really no other way?” Lin Wu questioned with a hopeful tone.

~Ding~

—————————————————————————————————

ANSWER: The lava pool surrounds the quest target completely, thus the host can only take this route.

—————————————————————————————————

~Sigh~

“If you say so.” Lin Wu muttered before starting his ascent.

The rock was about ten meters tall and was irregularly shaped, with there being several sharp edges that jutted out of its sides. Lin Wu had to wind around the rock to find a suitable path upwards. Although he was only ten inches long now, it was still difficult for him to climb up such a steep rock.

A couple of hours later, Lin Wu finally reached the top of the rock. Once he reached it, he straightened his body and looked around. Due to the elevation, he finally got a clear sight of his surroundings. He could see the devastation and destruction that had happened.

Lin Wu could also see the far edges of the forest that were still burning and the earth that had gone into a complete upheaval. Since he had traveled underground most of the way and because he couldn’t see far because of his height, he didn’t actually know the scope of destruction.

Even when he had seen it on the map, it didn’t look as harsh as this. The current view was greatly shocking to him.

“Chickie nuggies! What kind of explosion was this, really?” Lin Wu exclaimed as his jaw was left open in shock.

Lin Wu then turned to the location of the energy source and saw that there was nothing there except for an extremely deep crater which led to god knows where. There was also a faint green glow that was arising from the crater, which looked eerie.

Lin Wu then began his descent from the large rock. The top of the rock was tilted at a 45-degree angle, thus it was a little tricky for him to proceed. He had to be careful enough to ensure that he didn’t just tumble off the rock and fall into the lava below.

Fortunately, the surface of the rock was rough and uneven, such that he could get a good grip on it and didn’t fall. Eventually, he reached the lower part of the slope and was at the very edge. Now Lin Wu had to figure out how to safely cross this part.

There was still a short distance between the edge of the rock and the other side of the lava pool. If Lin Wu were to make any mistake, he would end up becoming ashes.

‘Whoa! I gotta be dead careful in crossing this or I’ll really become dead.’ Lin Wu thought to himself.

Lin Wu carefully looked over the edge of the rock and estimated the distance. He guessed that it was about a foot away from him. His body was just a couple of centimeters short of that, and this meant that he would have to jump over it.

“How does a worm jump?” Lin Wu wondered and tried to imagine it.

Figuring out a method, Lin Wu coiled up at the edge of the rock and aimed towards the other end of the lava pool. Then he gathered strength in his body like a spring and pushed the lower end of his body hard. This caused him to spring forth and shoot in the air.

Lin Wu was sent soaring in the air and was flying over the lava pool. He landed face first on the other end of the pool and made a low thunking sound. But unfortunately, not all of his body was successful in crossing over.

“AHHHHHHHH!” Lin Wu shouted in pain as the lower end of his body touched the lava.