After hunting for over an hour, Kael returned back to the Great Tree and arranged his meal, which was the meat of one of the beasts he had killed.
He had spent so much time surviving in a doomed world that he didn't really need a survival guide to live in such a forest.
Still, he did realize that his survival here would be very easy, so he didn't need to worry about it.
His draconic body had high durability, so he didn't need to eat regularly as he could survive through his mana. He also had his [Beast Sense] to alert him of any enemies.
He didn't want to rely on that alone though, so after trying out his skills, he came back to take some rest and also plan for his future.
Coming near the giant tree, he jumped a few times, using the twisted parts of the trunk to reach one of the higher branches and sat upon reaching there.
The branch was as wide as a bed, so he easily fit there along with the meat. He roasted it using his lightning and began to eat it.
One more thing he noticed about his new body was that it allowed him to eat basically anything without worrying about poisoning—unless the poison was of a very high level.
'Hmm, Alpha, where do you think I should begin?' Kael asked.
[Master should first secure food, water, and shelter. Once that is done, we can begin searching for your first recruits.]
Kael nodded in agreement.
Alpha was the [Sage of Wisdom] skill he got after contracting with Draven. After he named her, she evolved once, turning into [Great Sage].
She was now a premium version of an AI who knew a lot of things due to being connected with Draven and could also analyze things for him.
'Shelter, huh. This area should do it, as there aren't many high-rank monsters here for the time being.'
There was a reason he chose the Northern Valoran Wilds for his start. The Valoran Wilds was a region of endless forests, vast plains, and mountain ranges running from the North to the South of the world.
The Solvane Highlands, the domain of humans, was located on its west, while on its east were the Slyva Forests, where the Elves lived.
There was also the Ironspike Mountain Range on its northeast, where the Dwarves ruled.
The Northern Valoran Wilds was a very good location as it connected the three domains, and Kael wanted this advantage.
As for why the region wasn't conquered by any race despite being such a good location—it was because of the beast tribes of this region.
As a child of a merchant, Kael had learned a lot of things about the world and also about the trade routes. From his memories, Kael got the information about the beast tribes.
Apparently, in the Fourth Epoch, the Beast God was slain by the Goddess of Dawnfire, Solmara, and since then, the beast tribes had lost their leader and scattered away.
But they still had their fearsome strength, so even when divided, they were still a force no race wanted to provoke unless absolutely necessary.
Besides, everyone knew that in the absence of their God, they would grow weaker as time passed—and it turned out to be true.
The current beast tribes were weaker than other races even if they combined their forces, but the other races were wary of each other and didn't want to waste their resources exterminating the beast tribes.
This was the main reason he had chosen this region. His Ultimate Skill allowed him to share skills with the beasts he tamed, so what if he had a whole kingdom of beasts?
He would have so many skills to choose from—and since he also had the locked [Skill Fusion] skill which allowed him to fuse multiple skills, he could make many new ones.
That would make him an insanely broken monster, and that was the best use of his Ultimate Skill. But to do that, he needed to unite the beast tribes under one banner—his leadership.
It was practically impossible, as many had tried it before and failed nonetheless. But for him, it was easier than defeating the Apocalypse, and anything like that could be done according to him.
'My race will definitely help me in that, but I also need to grow stronger first. The majority of the beast tribes demand strength above all, and without enough strength, I wouldn't be able to run my kingdom properly.'
He would need to hunt down not only beasts but also go into the dungeons. That would need a separate search for it.
After he was done with the meat, Kael cleaned his hands and began to climb up the branches of the Great Tree. It took a few minutes, even with his physique, to reach high enough to overlook the forest.
'Just how big is this damned tree? Also, if it's really so big, then it should have been documented.'
Kael looked up, only to see the trunk continuing to rise, as if ready to pierce the heavens. He shook his head and went to the end of the branch.
Soon, he found himself looming over the endless forest from where he could see a blanket of greenery spread in an uneven manner.
'No clues about my location. It all looks the same.'
He then spent a few more minutes going from one branch to another to assess his situation and also locate the beings of the forest.
His [Beast Sense] could sense beasts within a 100-meter radius, and he used it to draw a map of the surrounding area—or rather, he asked Alpha to draw it.
After half an hour, he was once again sitting on a branch while looking at the map on the hologram. It was rough, and many details were missing, but it would do.
Kael had planned to make the Great Tree and its surrounding area his territory and start building his kingdom from here.
The Great Tree would become his capital city's distinctive feature. He could sense some Lightning Elemental Energy from it, so it was just better.
'Hey, the tree isn't some demonic tree, right? I don't see any powerful beasts near it.'
[I can't sense any intelligence from it, but it is dangerous… for others.]