Holding onto the coconut tree to support his weight, Apolo coughed out a mouthful of blood. He never imagined that crossing that ocean would be this dangerous.
"That was probably a bronze-ranked beast. Escaping it was pure luck."
He thought with lingering fear, his heart still beating wildly against his bruised ribs. He tried to climb the tree, but the result was—
"Arrgh..."
Just raising his arms sent unbearable pain shooting through his body. His ribs screamed in protest.
"It's crazy to imagine I've been through even worse injuries, and yet this one hurts so much more. Why is that?"
Apolo thought as he took careful steps to the back of the tree where a huge rock lay half-buried in moss and dirt.
"What if a barbarian tribesman just walked by right now? Could I escape with these injuries?"
Apolo thought, his brow furrowed, as he sat down on the ground and rested his back against the cool stone.
"Ayhhh... why am I overthinking things? My luck isn't that bad."
Closing his eyes, he shut out all the noises—the ribbiting of frogs, the buzzing of insects, the distinct chirping of birds hidden in the canopy above. Apolo was lost in thought.
"Ever since waking up, there's this empty feeling in my chest that was never there before. Even after awakening my bloodline, it wasn't there."
Taking a deep breath, he tried to catch that strange feeling and focus all his attention on it. The humid air filled his lungs. Sweat dripped down his temple.
He tried but failed. But Apolo didn't give up. He kept trying.
"I won't just give up yet. Who knows—this might actually be connected to my bloodline evolution."
A few hours later, all of a sudden, Apolo's body was shrouded in a faint red aura. His hair shifted to crimson. His eyes glowed the same shade. Even his tattered clothes began to float in the air as if caught in an invisible wind.
At first, it was barely noticeable. But as time went by, Apolo's body started giving off deep, rhythmic sounds—like bones expanding and contracting. His chest rose and fell as if a wind-generating device had been planted inside him.
"So this is it! This is how to activate my bloodline."
Apolo thought as a red glowing space started materializing in his mind. As the space formed, so did the image of a beautiful red phoenix. Its wings spread wide, feathers flickering like living flames.
"So that's how it is. My emotions are directly connected to the phoenix bloodline. If I'm unstable, my bloodline becomes unstable. If I'm calm, my bloodline responds."
"That's so deep. Is this how other hybrids' bloodlines work? Is their power directly connected to their emotions, or is it just me?"
Apolo thought as he watched the image slowly become more complete. The phoenix's form sharpened—wings, talons, beak.
"What happens if I'm angry? How would my bloodline react?"
As Apolo watched the image grow clearer and more vivid, something else caught his attention.
"How can a phoenix have horns? I thought they were birds—just more powerful ones."
The image of this phoenix forming in Apolo's mind had horns—curved, sharp, and crimson just like the rest of its body. They jutted from its head in a strange, elegant shape.
Just when the image was about to be completed, the faces of his parents flashed briefly in his mind.
Just that brief flash caused the mental space and the phoenix image to collapse like shattered glass.
Opening his eyes—only for them to be pierced by the setting sun's rays—Apolo had a confused expression on his face. The warm orange light painted the jungle gold.
"What just happened?"
"Did my thoughts wander too far, or what?"
Standing up to his feet, a series of popping sounds echoed in his ears. Clenching his fist, Apolo stretched his body experimentally. More popping sounds followed as his joints readjusted.
He gazed at the setting sun, eyes narrowed into slits, and wondered,
"How long have I been out trying to activate my bloodline?"
He tried to feel for the injuries he'd sustained earlier, but he couldn't sense them anymore. He looked down and saw dried blood crusted on his shirt, dark brown against the fabric.
"I guess I've been out for a while if my injuries healed this much."
Apolo had been wandering aimlessly across the barbarian island for a while now.
The sun had long since been overshadowed by the silvery moon. Shadows of darkness stretched their tentacles across the island. The trees here were massive—so tall and thick that the ones he'd seen at the outskirts of the Wilderness now seemed like sprouting saplings in comparison.
The air was thick with humidity. Every breath tasted of earth and moss. Strange sounds echoed in the distance—rustling leaves, distant growls, the occasional snap of a branch.
"According to the map, the Ape Tribe's territory is somewhere in this area."
Apolo thought as he looked around, his brow furrowed.
The map had mentioned that after traveling a distance of over thirty kilometers inland, the Ape Tribe's territory would begin. He'd already walked what felt like thirty kilometers—maybe more—and still saw no signs of habitation. No fires. No voices. No cleared paths.
"Could it be that the map is wrong or something?"
Apolo thought as he decided to climb one of the huge trees to get a better view of his surroundings.
Because of how tall the tree was, it took him a while to reach the top. His arms burned with effort. Bark scraped his palms.
"Why are all these trees so tall? The smallest of them is probably over a hundred meters."
Apolo thought as he looked down, seeing how far he was from the ground. The forest floor looked tiny from up here.
Looking around him, there was nothing as far as his eyes could see. Everywhere was filled with trees—some so tall they looked as if they were piercing the clouds themselves. The canopy stretched endlessly in every direction, an ocean of green under the moonlight.
"How can I locate those barbarians like this when I literally can't explore my surroundings properly?"
Apolo thought in frustration as he started climbing back down, gripping each branch carefully.
Suddenly, the scent of grilled meat entered his nose. It was faint—almost negligible—but to Apolo, who was hyper-focused on his environment, it couldn't escape his notice. The smell was smoky, savory, unmistakable.
"This scent is very far from here—probably several kilometers away."
Apolo thought with sudden delight as a sigh escaped his mouth. He turned his head, determining the direction based on the wind.
"Finally, a lead!"
He thought as he jumped down from the tree, landing in a crouch. Without wasting a moment, he started racing in that direction, his feet barely making a sound as he moved through the underbrush.
As he was running toward the scent, hope flared in his chest.
However, as he broke through the tree line, what he saw made him freeze."