"What happened here?"

Nova muttered as he walked through a town.

It didn't take long for him to set foot on solid ground, and the first thing he saw was a coastal town.

Wanting to know where he was, he headed toward it but what he found were ruins.

Buildings with varying degrees of damage lined the streets, which were filled with debris and several collapsed houses.

When he narrowed his eyes, he could even see faded bloodstains scattered across the area, probably worn away by time and rain.

Not a single living being was left in the town.

At least, if one didn't count the plants.

Thick vines coiled around every part of the town, as if trying to swallow it whole.

Nova thought nothing of it and casually stepped on one that lay in the street, crushing it into mush.

Twitch.

The sound was low, so low, in fact, that a breath would've made more noise. But…

"Eh?" Nova exclaimed.

His ears instantly picked up on it and he turned around.

He stared at the vines for a moment, a thoughtful look on his face.

Then, he stepped on them again.

Before his foot could land, two vines covered in thorns lunged toward him.

Nova's eyes remained tranquil as his hands shot forth and grabbed both of them.

As soon as the thorns came into contact with his skin, they shattered.

"When did plants start preying on humans?" he wondered.

As the vines in his hands writhed, trying to escape, he thought aloud, "These two are stronger than the strongest man on Earth before the apocalypse…"

His head turned to look around the city, now covered in vines, and he muttered, "Did they cause this, or are they just the aftermath?"

Never would he have thought his return to Earth would begin in a dilapidated town overrun by plants.

"I don't know what's going on, but I'll clean up this mess while I'm here."

With a thought, the two vines in his hands turned to ashes.

He pointed at the ground, and a four-fold magic array spanning the entire town appeared.

Then, as a small flame fell from his finger and entered the magic array, he slowly said,

"Fire Pulse."

The vines in the area seemed to instinctively sense something was wrong and shivered but it was already too late.

If a mage from the Vireah Empire was here to witness a rank 4 spell with such a massive array, they would've fainted on the spot.

Whoom.

A pulse carrying heat that could vaporize rocks blanketed the town in an instant.

Vines, buildings, streets, everything it touched was instantly reduced to ashes.

In mere seconds, where a town had once stood, nothing remained but a lone figure amidst scorched earth.

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Nova watched this and muttered, "The materials here are truly too weak."

He had intended only to destroy the vines but everything was now gone.

The silver lining…no one else was there.

//////

Back on his way, he passed through several more ghost towns and even small cities, all of them filled with signs of destruction but he didn't bother stopping.

Since it wasn't a one-time phenomenon but a recurring one, there had to be a reason and he guessed his friends would know of it.

So, he pushed forward.

That was until he came across a convoy of carriages.

The carriages resembled the old models, except the driver's seat wasn't exposed to the outside. Instead, it was enclosed, and the carriages weren't pulled by animals. A faint mana glow surrounded them, propelling them forward.

'They must know where we are,' he thought.

Without hesitation, he stepped in front of the convoy.

The driver of the first carriage drove with complete relaxation. His eyes were half-open, and if he could, he would have gladly closed them entirely without slowing down.

In these times, roads meant little as few traveled outside except for convoys due to the dangers beyond the cities. Even convoys were rare due to the high demand of strong people to ensure safety but their low supply.

As the driver lounged, his eyes suddenly widened.

Out of nowhere, someone had appeared several meters in front of him.

In a desperate attempt to stop the carriage, he poured every ounce of mana into it.

The carriage slowly came to a halt, a meter or so from Nova.

Seeing the first carriage stop, the others followed suit.

"Is there a beast outside?"

"Shh… even if there is, don't say it."

"There's no need to panic. We have strong warriors escorting us."

Murmurs spread through the carriages as people curled up in fear and nervousness.

When carriages stopped, it meant beasts had appeared.

It was a common saying, given how deserted the roads had become with otherwise no need to slow down.

The warriors solemnly peered through the glass but saw no sign of beasts, which puzzled them. Still, they didn't let their guards down and kept watch.

Meanwhile, the driver sat in his seat, panting for breath. His face flushed red from the strain, yet inside he was cursing the person who had dared to step in front of his carriage.

That was when he heard the door to his box open.

Nova calmly stepped in, surveying the small space before turning to the middle-aged man.

With a smile, he asked, "Hello. I'd like to know where we are."

The driver, who had just caught his breath, saw that smile and couldn't help but curse inwardly once more. How dare this man smile when he had nearly burst a vein because of him.

He had to take several deep breaths for his anger to subside.

Then he said, "We're in the east, currently heading toward Quarath."

"How far are we from Quarath? And point the direction as well."

The driver didn't mind the questions. He guessed this person was someone who had just cleared a Green portal and found himself in the middle of nowhere.

It was an everyday occurrence by now.

He pointed ahead and said, "There. We'll reach Quarath in half a day."

"Thanks."

Nova threw a Gold coin at the driver and vanished.

Sitting in his chair, the driver stared in disbelief at the coin in his hands.

It was more than he earned in a year and he wondered aloud, "Did I just meet an angel?"

//////

Having the direction pointed out, it was only a matter of moments before Nova stood in front of Quarath's walls.

"Hmm?" He noticed the walls were different from what he remembered, faint traces of arrays were etched across them.

"How much did the Federation pay for these?"

Intrigued, he stepped closer to touch them.

"Halt!"

A shout rang out from the nearest city gate before he could touch the walls.

Nova turned toward the source and saw a young man dressed in black hurrying over.

"Touching the walls is not permitted for outsiders. Please, refrain from doing so," the young man said evenly. Despite his efforts to maintain a composed expression, a sliver of excitement shone in his eyes.

This was probably his first time admonishing someone while on duty.

Nova lowered his hand and asked, "When did Quarath change the walls?"

"Two years ago, all of the city's external walls were replaced with better ones," the young man answered, as if he could recite the textbook even in his dreams.

"The Federation must be swimming in gold to replace the walls of all the cities…" Nova muttered under his breath.

If Quarath's walls, being the fourth largest city on Earth, had been upgraded, it was safe to assume the other three had undergone the same treatment.

He didn't know the exact cost of such walls, but it must have been enormous.

Hearing "the Federation," the young man frowned and said, "It wasn't the Federation who upgraded the walls. It was Nem—"

"Hn?"

Nova only caught half of the young man's sentence before his head snapped toward the distance.

The young man, stunned by the sudden movement, followed his gaze but saw nothing.

He turned back to Nova, about to speak, when a droning noise came from afar.

His face immediately changed.

"Not again," he muttered and dashed toward the city gate.

Soon after, a long, deep horn rang out and soldiers poured out of the gate.

From the skies, a shuttle came into view, stopping a hundred meters from the city gate, ominously hovering in place.

One by one, soldiers dressed in green jumped down and formed a line.

A quick count revealed nearly a hundred of them.

At the front stood three soldiers dressed in yellow who stared unblinkingly at the city gate.

Nova watched as a spectator, seemingly unbothered, though a trace of confusion crossed his face.

"Can someone tell me what the hell is going on here?"

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