Chương 56: Chapter 55: Secret Freed Left Behind

No clues could be found despite looking all around me, so I could only lie around, unable to move. Though the cast could be destroyed normally with my strength, I was far too injured and weak right now to do so. The only option was to wait it out for my injuries to heal or for Selen to come and help me. I wondered where Selen went, as she was still around when I passed out. Unable to do much else, I waited for something to happen. I was interrupted as banging started happening in the distance.

It seemed Trisha still hadn't given up and was still trying to get in. Surprised that this forest could still hold back someone as strong as Trisha, I began to wonder what this forest truly was. It was simply absurd that a simple-looking forest was this strong. While deep in thought, I was interrupted again by something I never thought I would see again. It was a message from Freed, but it was different from the one he had left me previously.

On the system window, Freed's new message said:"If you are seeing this, it means you have made it to level 9999 and have come back to the forest. I congratulate you on this achievement. I'm not sure if you can defeat Trisha in your current state, but I will give you an option to be completely sure. I lied to you in the previous message, as I do indeed know the secret to reaching level 10000. I didn't tell you previously so as not to make you overly reliant on my words.

Not to mention, it isn't something you should really come in contact with unless you are strong enough. Back in the day, I came into contact with a strong power that existed in this forest. This power is the key to reaching level 10000. I didn't know this back then and absorbed the energy recklessly, and it caused me large bodily damage. This was the main reason I lost to Trisha when I fought against her. On the bright side, I gained partial control of this forest that contains strange power.

This power is simply far stronger than even high-level Gods. From what I found, if one were to come into contact with this power, they could potentially reach level 10000. Unfortunately for me, I tried absorbing the energy too early and caused lasting damage to myself. This made it so I could no longer level up and permanently lost my chance of surpassing level 9999. You, on the other hand, if you have made it to this point, can now access this power with no drawbacks.

I have experimented enough to know that if you absorb enough of this power and understand it, you can meet the condition to reach level 10000. Once you reach that level, defeating Trisha should be an easy task. The choice is up to you if you want to pursue this power, as no one has ever achieved this and this is only based on my own experiments. If you feel that you are strong enough to defeat Trisha yourself, then do so.

If you want an extra layer of assurance, then pursue this power and be the first to level 10000. Since I'm no longer alive, I can't affect your decision, but just know no matter what you choose, it is fine with me as long as the results are satisfactory. The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. I will list below everything you need to know to absorb this energy and level up if you choose to do so. You can just skip it if you don't want to.

That's all from me, and I wish you the best." I was stunned that Freed had planned so far ahead after his death. I truly believed I was alone after his last message, but he still had more to say. Even in death, Freed still helped me fight against Trisha, and I was very grateful to him once again. Freed's message gave me new hope for the future, as I now had a direction to reach for. Still, I was astonished that such an ordinary forest contained such unbelievable power.

Other than the forest having strong protection from the outside, there was truly nothing special about it. The instant I thought about it, I realized something, as this forest truly was unnatural since it had kept powerful Gods out this entire time. If what Freed said was true, then this forest contained power even stronger than the most powerful Gods. This would explain all the questions I had up until now, as it didn't make sense how this forest had managed to protect us from Trisha all this time.

It would only make sense if the forest had power surpassing Trisha herself. Another question popped into my mind, as Trisha had leveled up shortly after coming to this forest. If the situation was what I thought it was, then she had understood the power in the forest, managed to comprehend some of it, and leveled up. If this was true, then perhaps in the near future she would fully comprehend the power in the forest and gain control.

If this happened, then I would no longer be safe, and the forest would become her territory instead. This possibility scared me greatly, as this forest was now the last safe area that I had. If I no longer had the forest, then I would have no other place to run and would be at the mercy of Trisha. To prevent this, my only option now was to quickly comprehend the power in the forest and level up. If I did so, the forest would still be my safe haven, and I could finally fight against Trisha on equal ground.

Unfortunately, I was still too injured to move currently and couldn't do much about it. Since I couldn't move, I decided to just study what Freed left for me, as I still wanted to learn the method. Soon after I started reading, Selen came back after I had waited for so long. She soon saw I was awake and came over to check on me.

"How do you feel?" Selen asked after she arrived.

"I tried my best to bandage you. You may feel slightly uncomfortable, but your body is a mess and needs to be protected by thick bandages."

"I feel fine, but you are indeed correct, as this is extremely uncomfortable. I can't move at all and it's very annoying."

"Get used to it, as you seriously need to heal. You were so badly injured that you have been passed out for an entire month."

"A month?" I asked in shock.

"Has it already been that long?"

"Yes, it has indeed been that long. During this time, Trisha has been very persistent and has not left the edge of the forest. She attacks us every day and stops once she gets bored. Once the next day comes, she starts again."

"I see, so Trisha is still here."

"That's right, and I don't know what to do about it, as we aren't strong enough to stop her. So, what should we do now?"

"Don't worry, I have found a method to solve everything."

"What would that be?"

"I am going to become stronger and fight against Trisha. This forest contains some kind of power, and I'm going to take advantage of it and make it mine."

"How long will this take, and is it reliable?"

"I don't know how long it will take, but the source of my information is credible."

"I see. Then do you want me to do anything to help?"

"Just continue to watch over Trisha and help me heal. Once I'm healed enough, I will start leveling up immediately."

"I understand. Is there anything else you would like me to do?"

"Help me move somewhere. I can't do it in my current condition. After that, you can just go about your business, as I have no other plans at the moment."

"Alright, let's just do as you say. So where to?"

"Deep in the forest, there is apparently a very interesting tree that is hard to miss. Take me there, as it is the key for me to become stronger." Selen understood immediately and came over to pick me up. She started to carry me on her back as she took me deeper into the forest, following my instructions. After some time walking, we arrived deep in the forest where I had never been before. This place was mentioned in Freed's message where the forest's power originated from.

If I stayed here, absorbing the power would be significantly faster. What I saw upon arriving was a very strange tree that was completely white on one side and black on the other. One side was full of leaves and vibrant with life. The other side was withered, decaying, and looked like it could die at any time. Selen understood that this was the tree I was talking about and put me down next to it. She gave me one last look to see if I was fine and left after confirming so.

Now alone, I began to try and sense the so-called power that Freed had mentioned.