The uncanny vision stirred Nick. The reason why he said this place had more secrets than he could imagine, was because the only instances when the bloody, ruthless acts that he saw in the vision would happen in reality, was when some big calamity had occurred.
Not only because of the vision, but Nick suspected there was more to this place anyway, that it worked on a different set of rules in some matters.
It was obvious that living things needed water and breathable air. But this was only needed for beings that were carbon lifeforms.
There were different kinds of lifeforms, at least in theory on Earth. There can be electrical lifeforms, silicon lifeforms and so on.
Having seen the cow-like creatures and their ability to eat stones to satisfy their hunger and live normally, made Nick think there was much more to what he saw.
His curiosity got the better of him, and Nick moved closer to the cow-like creatures. He was not scared of their attack as he had his passive shield and could sense their levels.
The Stone Cow — yes, Nick christened these creatures as Stone Cow — spotted Nick coming closer to them. They first looked at each other, and then back at Nick.
Nick was about to encounter an attack — at least, that was what he thought. But then something that he never dreamed of, happened.
“You weird being, why are you here? Which race do you belong to?”
One of the Stone Cows came forward and started talking. At first, Nick could not comprehend how a cow that ate stones was capable of speaking in a language that he understood.
But without losing himself in thoughts, so that he did not appear suspicious, Nick answered.
“I am new here. I am kind of lost actually. Would you tell me about your race and where is this place?”
The cows looked at each other again. And then the Stone Cow that took a step towards Nick earlier, started talking.
“We are the Rock Cow race of the Dark Rock Realm. You are in the Dark Rock Realm – Grey Stone Island.”
Nick took a deep breath, trying to process this new information. He thought to himself.
“It seems what I thought was true. I am no longer on the main continent or anywhere close to places like the Anderium Forest or the Blue Tear City. This place is a completely different planet and most likely stationed in a different universe altogether.”
Nick answered thoughtfully.
“Thank you for your answer. Would you have a map of this continent or the realm?”
The Rock Cow snorted and answered.
“The realm is not explored fully, and the map of the continent is in our camp, the Rock Cow Camp. But you need to pay something to get the map.”
Nick thought a little and flicked an Ether Stone towards the Rock Cow.
The Rock Cow did not get scared of the Ether Stone. It slowly inspected the stone and then licked it. Then, the Rock Cow quickly took the stone in its mouth and started chewing on it. Once it ate the Ether Stone, it looked immensely satisfied. It started talking with excitement.
“You strange being, this thing you gave me is too good. Do you have more of it?”
Nick smiled and answered.
“Of course! May I use these stones as payment?”
The Rock Cow laughed, which was a bit strange in Nick’s eyes, but he did not show it in his expression.
“Of course, you can use these stones to pay for the map and many other things. However, the details will have to be discussed with our Camp and Tribe Chief. Please follow us.”
Nick did as he was told. He followed the Rock Cowherd to its base. He did not see any evil intention in the Rock Cow’s eyes. Even if it did harbor any bad intention, it should not be able to harm Nick in any way.
Just going by their power, Nick did not fear any ambush or scheming. In any case, even if the worst-case scenario did happen, Nick could always use Portal Teleportation to escape.
An hour later, the Rock Cowherd and Nick reached a camp.
Nick inspected the tribe as soon as he stepped foot in it. It was not big. The houses were made of natural stones and there was a bonfire in the middle of the camp. There were about 40-50 stone houses made with some kind of magic that he was not familiar with.
Nick gave out a deep breath and at that time, a creature showed up in front of him. Nick laughed a little. He was definitely not expecting this.
“I am seeing so many surprises that it is not funny anymore.”
The creature that he saw was like a Rock Cow, except for one major difference — it was walking on two legs like humans and holding a big stone spear. It was a minotaur.
Nick could tell from his first impression that this creature used magical power, and was at about the same level as the minotaur he killed back in the Anderium Forest road. Most likely though, this minotaur had more defence power due to its sheer nature and that it was part of the Rock Cow race.
‘Rock Cow Humanoid (Chief Rock Cow Tribe)’
‘Level 5 (Imper Peak Warrior)’
‘Abilities’
‘Spear Throwing (Level 1) (Can throw spears accurately in 20 meters)’
‘Spear Mastery (Level 3) (When using a spear to fight, the enemy would be dealt with 15% more damage)’
‘Passive’
‘High Strength (Racial Ability) (30% more physical strength due to being a ‘cow’)’
‘Rock Skin (30% more defence against slashing, piercing and magical attacks)’
Nick could see this minotaur’s status was different from other creatures. It seemed like this creature was strong enough to have a dedicated status information panel in the system.
Of course, it was a different matter that if the creature was too strong for Nick, he would not have the chance to see any information whatsoever.
