As they crested a low mountain ridge, everyone stopped in their tracks.

In the basin-like valley ahead of them, an unimaginably enormous skeleton lay silently.

The skeleton was so immense that a single rib towered like a small mountain.

Its massive skull was like a palace, its two cavernous eye sockets seeming to devour all light, a silent testament to the terror it must have been in life.

Most of the skeleton was buried beneath dark red rock and soil. The exposed parts had taken on a jade-like luster, a clear sign it had been there for an immeasurable age.

Even Sun’s hundred-meter-long draconic body looked like a tiny speck before this skeleton.

"What... what creature’s remains are these?"

Sun muttered to himself, his golden draconic eyes filled with shock.

"I can feel it. The Power this creature wielded in life was definitely greater than mine."

He could sense that even as a mere skeleton, it still retained a faint, terrifying pressure that made his heart pound.

One could only imagine what a world-destroying existence this Giant Beast had been when it was alive. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Raylo’s heart sank.

This skeleton had once again redefined his understanding of this world’s power levels.

’Stronger than Sun... that means it was a Tier Six Catastrophe Level Giant Beast.’

Just then, the Spiritual Power that Sun had spread out caught a trace of an unusual life aura more than ten kilometers ahead.

"There’s something up ahead."

Sun immediately grew vigilant.

They concealed their auras and approached the edge of a cliff, peering down.

Below the cliff was a relatively open, flat plain.

On the plain, smoke was rising from a crude camp.

The camp was built from massive stones and Beast Hides. A bonfire burned in the center, its flames licking at the charred corpse of some unknown Giant Beast and emitting a rich, meaty aroma.

And moving about the camp were a dozen or so figures.

Giants!

Every one of them was at least fifteen meters tall. They were bare-chested, their bronze skin covered in ancient and mysterious tattoos.

Their muscles were gnarled like granite, radiating a sense of explosive power.

Some were carving up their prey with huge Stone Axes, while others roughhoused by the bonfire, each collision producing a dull THUD that made the very earth tremble.

Raylo even saw one Giant effortlessly lift a house-sized boulder, as if simply exercising.

Raylo said nothing, merely observing in silence.

Most of his knowledge about Giants came from ancient texts.

They were a naturally powerful race, and like Giant Dragons, they had numerous branches, such as Hill Giants, Frost Giants, and Stone Giants.

Most Giants could reach Tier Four upon adulthood, and the most outstanding among them were capable of advancing to the Tier Five Domain Level.

Some Giants with powerful bloodlines even had the talent to reach the Tier Six Catastrophe Level.

Though these dozen or so Giants were just a small tribe, a direct confrontation would undoubtedly be a brutal battle.

They were newcomers who knew nothing of this world; there was no need to provoke such powerful neighbors.

After observing for a moment, Raylo made his decision.

He gestured for his companions to fall back.

Caution was a universal Law of survival in any world.

They withdrew silently, moving away from the Giant camp.

The sky gradually darkened.

Dusk in this world was exceptionally magnificent.

The two suns, one gold and one white, sank below the horizon one after the other, like two giant eyes.

The sky was first painted a brilliant purplish-red, then was swiftly replaced by a deep, inky black.

When the last sliver of light vanished, the entire world plunged into darkness.

But soon, the ferns and fungi beneath the giant trees began to emit a faint fluorescence, like countless stars fallen to the mortal realm, decorating the savage land with a dreamlike beauty.

Raylo and the others returned to the vicinity of the stone cliff where they had first arrived, finding a dry cave nearby, concealed by giant vines.

The cave’s entrance was well-hidden, and the space inside was large enough for the few of them to rest.

Raylo started a small bonfire, and the light from the Flame cast a warm, orange glow across the cave.

Moonlight curled up by the fire, its silver fur looking especially soft in the firelight.

Coal Ball yawned and leaned against Moonlight, falling into a deep sleep.

Sun, meanwhile, lay at the mouth of the cave. His massive body blocked most of the entrance, and his golden draconic eyes watched the bizarrely beautiful fluorescent forest outside with vigilance.

The wind carried the roars of distant beasts and the chirps of all sorts of unheard-of insects.

This was their first night in this new world.

It was unknown and dangerous, yet also filled with infinite possibilities.

Raylo leaned against the cold stone wall, his gaze calm as he watched the dancing Flame. A long-forgotten excitement and anticipation, the kind that came with "pioneering," welled up within him.

As the night deepened, the fluorescent forest outside grew even more brilliant. Points of faint blue and emerald green light floated and flickered in the darkness, like an inverted sea of stars.

Raylo’s gaze passed over Sun, who was lying at the cave mouth, and drifted toward the night sky, which was fragmented by the canopies of the giant trees.

The stars were still there, clear and bright, but a familiar, gentle moon was missing.

This world had no moon.

The faint starlight could not reach this world.

All the light of the night came from the land underfoot, which teemed with Life Force.

This realization caused the "pioneering" excitement in his heart to settle, transforming into a deeper sense of vigilance.

’A completely alien ecosystem means completely alien rules.’

The Flame crackled softly in the silence.

"AROOO!"

A long, deep roar echoed from the depths of the forest, piercing through the layers of canopy, carrying with it a primitive savagery and the scent of blood.

The sound was distant, but the pressure contained within it made Sun let out a low growl from deep in his throat.

The muscles of his enormous body tensed involuntarily, and a solemn glint flashed in his golden draconic eyes.

Raylo patted Sun’s neck, signaling for him to remain calm.

’This is only the beginning.’

In the time that followed, all sorts of strange shrieks and roars rose and fell, as if the entire forest was putting on a grand carnival of predator and prey that night.

There were sharp cries, heavy roars, and a dense, tide-like chirping of insects, all interweaving into a chaotic and dangerous symphony.

THUD... THUD... THUD...

After an unknown amount of time, the sound of earth-shaking footsteps approached.

With each step, Raylo felt the ground beneath his feet tremble slightly.

He could even hear the groans of massive trees being brutally pushed aside, their branches snapping.

Something was getting closer—a behemoth of unimaginable size.

Sun’s massive body also felt the vibrations. He slowly turned his head, questioning Raylo with his eyes.

The arrogance from earlier in the day was gone from his gaze, replaced by pure solemnity.

"Conceal all of your aura."

Raylo’s voice was extremely low.

Sun didn’t need to be told twice; he was already doing it.

His pressure, which flowed like molten gold, was rapidly drawn inward. His enormous body became like a lifeless golden statue.

Raylo held his breath, gathering all the Power in his body inward.

The footsteps grew closer, and the tremors more intense.

Small pebbles inside the cave began to skitter about uneasily.

Finally, a colossal shadow fell over the cave entrance, blocking out most of the dreamlike fluorescence from outside.

Raylo’s pupils contracted sharply.

Through a crack at the cave’s entrance, he saw a part of the creature.

It was a leg, a leg thicker than the giant trees, covered in rough, rock-like, dark gray skin. The outline of every muscle bulged with a sense of Power.

The Giant Beast merely walked slowly past the cliff face where they hid, but the oppressive feeling from its very existence—enough to seemingly warp the air—made Raylo’s heart palpitate.

It was a pure, overwhelming suppression on a fundamental level of life.

’This Giant Beast’s strength is definitely beyond the Tier Five Domain Level.’

’A Catastrophe Level Magical Beast. Its Power is enough to destroy a nation, to bring a cataclysm like a flood or tsunami down upon tens of millions of people.’

Fortunately, the behemoth seemed to just be passing by. It didn’t pay the slightest bit of attention to the small, vine-covered cave.

In its eyes, Raylo and his group were perhaps no different from a few insects.

After a dozen or so seconds that felt as long as a century, the massive shadow moved away. The heavy footsteps and tremors gradually faded, eventually disappearing at the other end of the dense forest.

The deathly silence within the cave was broken.

Sun let out a long, silent plume of Dragon Breath, the scorching air ruffling the bangs on Raylo’s forehead.

Throughout the entire night, Raylo barely rested. The various sounds and movements from outside kept drawing his attention.

Raylo waited. When morning came, the system’s updated information should contain plenty of news about this new world.

However, the night in this world seemed exceptionally long.

Raylo calculated the time. More than twelve hours had passed, yet there was still not a single sign of dawn.

Not until the twenty-fourth hour did two slivers of light faintly appear on the horizon.

One white, one yellow.

The two faint glimmers appeared, about to leap over the horizon.