Mid Morning - Early Summer : Northeast of Apple Orchard Mountain | Virginia

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*Beep!*

-Not bad...- Quickly navigating to my inventory, I created several folders to help organize everything, and finally selected the one item I didn't scrap.

*Beep*

"If I didn't use one of these things before, I may have been able to save Draco from the wipe..." It was an item that stored equipment in a different space rather than the inventory to allow you to equip it without interacting with the system; however, during the wipe, the ring I had lost its connection to that space and became a simple, sturdy ring.

*click-click-click-click* Opening up the armor around my hand, I looked down at the old Dark Mythril [1] Equipment Ring on my finger and felt my heart ache.

It was the Equipment Ring that stored my axe, Klímaka Drákou [2], which I called Draco for short.

It was the axe that I had 'used' for nearly 200 years, and while many items were better than it at times, it was something called an Evolving Item, something that grew stronger the more it was involved with killing monsters.

But calling them rare was an understatement. Over the 500 years I was bouncing through worlds, I only ever found seven. -But they were so strong that I can understand why...-

Every single one of them was absolutely insane, with more power or utility than almost anything you'd be able to find for hundreds, if not thousands, of worlds. -But they would always fall off...-

However, although Draco's growth was slower than a snail's, it never stopped.

Once the quality of gear dropping off monsters started to taper off, I put more effort into crafting my own items, and while they were all far above even the best of what I was finding, Draco made them look like trash.

-But even if it was practically indestructible, all the system had to do was wipe it...- Turning the ring around my finger, I tried to activate it one last time before finally taking it off and replacing it with a basic sky-blue mythril ring that looked like it would shatter if I sneezed near it.

"Haah..." -To think I would actually take this ring off...- My heart ached a bit as I looked at it, but eventually, I opened up my inventory and dropped it inside. *vwoom*

-I should probably just scrap and remake it... At least then, I would be able to use it...- I tapped the ring icon the moment it popped up, but instead of saying my goodbye and scrapping it for the Dark Mythril, I froze.

*Beep*

A part of me struggled to believe what I was looking at. -It still has Draco in it?!- Quickly tapping around the panel, I tried to find a way to open the ring, or even just a clue on how to gain access to it, but to no avail.

However, that didn't mean all hope was lost. -Is the system thinking I'm a different User and locking me out of it?- *vwoom* I instantly pulled it out of my inventory and slipped it onto my finger. -Like hell I'm going to give the system a chance to wipe it!-

When I had it on my finger, the system didn't even seem to recognize it as an item, and after it was meant to wipe my entire inventory, I was sketched out by letting it interact with the system in any way. -Thank goodness it didn't wipe it right away...-

Although I wasn't sure what level of gear would be available on Earth, I was absolutely certain that I wouldn't find anything capable of replacing Draco. -Even if I cleared another hundred thousand missions, I can't be sure I'd find anything even comparable... But in the meantime, I should either find or craft a placeholder. I just need some materials...-

*click-click-click-click* Finally closing up the armor around my hand, I closed the system windows and looked to the horizon, where I found a colossal mushroom cloud stretching well into the upper atmosphere. -I guess if humanity can still make those, they should have a market where I can buy something...-

Having left a cloud that stretched into space and a hellish heat that lingered over the ground like a low fog, the scene was more than just recognizable.

It was the aftermath of humanity's trump card.

Nuclear fusion.

It was the absolute pinnacle of advanced technology during my time on Earth, a creation that could easily bring entire nations with millions or even billions of people to their knees.

But those weapons, as powerful as they were, took immense amounts of infrastructure to create. -The fact they still have a functioning one, at worst, means they have the capabilities of maintaining them...-

Just like with the aircraft, it was an incredibly good sign.

-But it's a shame there aren't any more...- Looking up at the empty sky, I looked for another jet that could give me a ride, but there weren't even birds. -Maybe that's a sign telling me to look around by myself...-

Before the jet I was clinging to got atomized, I did manage to spot a clearing that looked like it could be a road off in the distance, but at the very least, it was extremely overgrown. -It should still be worth checking out though...-

Finally standing up, I brushed off my armor and glanced down at the mutilated head of the Warden.

It was a little too weak for me to bother harvesting much from, but after a bit of contemplation, I ripped out a few of its teeth and tossed them into my inventory. -If humanity is really doing alright, then I'll need some money... Maybe I can sell or trade these...-

Quickly sorting them into a folder, I hopped back out of its mouth and finally started making my way northeast.

From the air, the strip-like clearing I saw stretched from horizon to horizon and was very thin, likely only about 50 meters, but I was still quite skeptical about whether it was a road or not. -There's only one way to know...-

Not bothering to hold back more than I had to to avoid plowing through a tree, I quickly arrived at the clearing. -That must be it.-

*tap-crack-FWOOOSH* A huge blast of air ripped past me as I stopped on the edge of the clearing, immediately knocking over several trees and laying them onto the bed of roots that covered the ground.

However, even with the ground being so overgrown that it was hard to tell what it was made of, at the very center of the clearing, there were four metal rails laying half embedded in moss-covered concrete. -What are those for?- Unlike their surroundings, the rails were pristine, still maintaining a bright metallic shine. -Could this be a railway of some kind?-

Overtaken by curiosity, I moved up to tap it, but when I got close, a huge arc of electricity jumped from the rail to my hand. *crackle-ZAP*

Although far from enough to do much more than startle me, it made me jump a bit. "Geez..." -How much electricity built up in that rail?- Quickly continuing up to it, I touched it with the tip of my fingers and instantly felt a huge amount of electricity coursing through them.

It made my eyes widen, and put a smile on my face instantly. -It's live!-

Looking down the rail, a gleam appeared in my eyes. -That must mean this leads to a town!- Finally getting excited, I looked at the sun looming over the glistening rails and vanished. *crackle-CRRRRACK* The concrete instantly shattered, and the sound barrier ripped apart, but I was long gone before the debris could even leave the ground.

*FWWWOSH* Following the rails, I threw myself to the horizon and finally let my mind imagine what society will look like.

But my thoughts were almost immediately interrupted as I zipped past a large sign with its base covered in roots.

It was thick and mostly made of a white, almost bone-like material, with large text reading: 'I-65 - -- - Charlottesville, 13 Kilometers - -- - Richmond, 124 Kilometers'

Having been away from Earth for so long, the names didn't even ring a bell, but all I needed to know was that they were the names of towns. -13 Kilometers to a town?- With my adrenaline finally starting to pump, I sped up even more and traversed that 13-kilometer stretch in just less than 10 seconds.

However, the sight to behold me wasn't quite what I expected.

-Huh?- As the town should have started coming into view, the horizon simply turned white, as if the sun had been laid at the end of the tracks. -What in the world?- Unsure of what it was, I started to slow down, but as the gap between the final trees widened, the light only grew brighter.

Until eventually, I passed through those trees and was presented with a sight I would never forget. "W..what the..."

It was a field of glass that stretched to every horizon, glistened in every color imaginable, and combined to create an ocean of light. -But why are they so shiny? The forest was all dirt and clay...-

Finally slowing down to a stop about a kilometer into the field, I walked over to the edge of the cement road supporting the rails and reached down to pick up one of the countless pebbles within my shadow.

They were all incredibly smooth, with many of them being as reflective as a mirror and others showing visible layers of heavy metals, obsidian, or glass in them.

However, the oddest thing was their shine. -Are they covered in oil?-

But before I could actually grab one to see, I sensed something and stood back up. -Wow.. that's pretty smart...-

Looking out into the blinding sea of light, I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the energy escaping my body like I had done before.

Almost immediately, an image was being painted in my head, and sure enough, about 10 meters in front of me was something about 4 meters wide sticking just out of the ground.

Although I couldn't see it with my eyes, it was easily recognizable.

It was a snake. -Wow.. to think a monster would not learn to use the blinding light to hunt prey...-

With its eyes just above the ground, it had an unobstructed view of its surroundings, while anything standing would be essentially blind. -It's a shame it ran into me...-

*crunch* Stepping off the concrete road, I crushed several pebbles beneath my feet, and as if it was the signal, the snake sprung out of the ground. *FWOOSH* A wall of darkness instantly appeared out of the sea of light as its jaws closed in on me, but just before its fang hit my side, I caught it and held its mouth open. *pat* -So this guy is why the pebbles were so glossy...-

Oozing out of its mouth was a thick oily substance that glossed it and its surroundings like polish and made the ground so slick it felt like walking on firm quicksand. -How fascinating...-

*CRUNCH-CRACKLE* It immediately started squirming after I caught it, kicking up a plume of dust, blocking out most of the light, and revealing its glossy silver scales and diamond-shaped head. -So it's a burrower...-

It was honestly quite a beautiful creature, especially when compared to the Warden or the creatures I was fighting before returning to Earth.

But it wasn't anything more than that. -I wonder if the venom is any good...-

Firmly holding its fang while it squirmed, I saw a small droplet of liquid form at the tip and lifted it up to drop it in my mouth. *drip*

A nice tingly sensation spread through my mouth as soon as it hit my tongue, but it was followed by a terrible bitterness.

"Blegh..." I quickly tried to spit it out, but the taste lingered. -What a horrific taste...-

Having to live off monsters for nearly 200 years before I lost the need to eat, I used everything at my disposal to make the meat taste better, and venom was easily the most versatile. Depending on its properties, it could taste like almost anything, from soy sauce to sour candy. -I was hoping for something I could sip on now that my Southern Serpent venom is gone though... I already miss that taste...-

*CRACK* Snapping off the fang, I flipped it in my hand and threw it into the snake's throat, immediately blowing a hole straight through it and sending it squirming around in pain before finally realizing I had let it go and burrowing itself back into the ground. *CRUNCH-CRACKLE*

As I watched it squirm away under the grace of the clay dust in the air, I finally let out a deep breath and turned around.

"Haah..." -Well.. I guess it was too much to expect such low-grade venom to taste good... It does make me wonder what human food will taste like though...-

My smile returned to my face as I hopped back onto the road and looked back at the horizon. -I guess I can only wait and find out.- *CRACK-FWOOSH*

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[1] - Mythril has several grades that will slowly be revealed over time, but the darker the color, the higher the grade. Dark Mythril is a dark purple color.

[2] - The name with proper characters is Κλίμακα Δράκου for those who want it.