Magnus stepped out from the cave they were staying and took a deep breath. This was technically his second day in this world. Yesterday was a bit of a bother when he faced off with the giant firs ants. Thankfully, with Suzaku, it seemed he can handle waves of enemies with his current strength.

Deciding to allow Braxt to rest after they talked, Magnus tried to digest what he learned so far.

“So… Suzaku… It was ten thousand years ago, at least, since you showed up here.”

<“What of it? And weren’t we supposed to kill those monsters that are making me… us look weak?”>

“Yes, we did decide that didn’t we? But… shouldn’t we set our priorities first?”

<“Ehhhh? Is there something more important than my – our reputation>

Magnus sighed; it seemed he overdid it when he was teasing his “partner” earlier.

“Listen… Yes… we need to take care of our reputation in this world. But to do that we need to uphold our dignity first.”

<“And how are we supposed to do that?”>

“For starters… we need to find or at least make some clothes for us to wear. We’ve been butt naked since yesterday!”

<“Huh?! You care about that?!” We don’t need clothes.”>

“Are you being serious right now?! True, it seems this body of ours isn’t affected with temperature at all. All thanks to you. But, did you not notice? How Braxt can’t directly look at us?”

<“I really do not care.”>

“YOU SHOULD CARE! We must care! Think of it like having no feathers back then when you were still a giant bird!

I do not want to be going around killing monsters with our dick hanging! We may be the strongest here but if another adventurer like Braxt sees us, we might be labeled as a crazy person.”

<“That would only make us more intimidating!!! Hehehehe>

“Or you will be labeled as a perverted deity! King of the southern DONG! The “DICK” of Timugan!”

<“WHAT?! I WILL KILL ANYONE WHO DARES SAY THAT!!!”>

“No matter how strong we are, we can’t easily kill rumors my friend. The wind has ears and news flies fast.”

<“Alright! You win! So what do we do first then?>

“Let’s hunt…”

Magnus jumped off the cliff near the cave where they were staying. From there he was able to easily enter the forest of Daragang. He figured that the mountain is technically just a “clearing” deep in the forest. He should be able to find wild beasts around easily.

He walked towards the north, surveying the area, his eyes eager to find his first prey. He then noticed that the trees nearly blocked off the sun. Barely any light penetrated the forest floor. He looked up and saw thick branches spreading wide with leaves adorning them like crowns. The trunks of the trees were also thick. And all the trees in the area looked like this, it seemed that nobody were able to exploit this part of the forest for lumber.

“Hey Suzaku… Do we have the ability to sense any living being around us?”

<“We can sense anything with a hundred kilometers if we want to… hehehehe. That is how great our senses are”>

“How do we use it? Teach me.”

<“Ehhh? We just use it. It should come naturally. I just think I want to sense something back in the days. Then I was able to sense anything.”>

Back in the days? Magnus was thinking, trying to hide his thoughts from his “partner”. But I can’t sense that far at all.

“But I don’t sense anything beyond a few meters.”

<“Wait… that can’t be right… stop… try focusing…>

Magnus sighed, but he closed his eyes nonetheless and tried to expand his senses. Then he was able to slowly feel what was happening around him. He was able to detect the small insects crawling up the trees. He even felt worms under the ground. He can tell what direction the leaves were swaying and somehow measured how strong the wind was blowing. He tried to reach further then he felt that something was breathing not far from him towards the northeast.

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“There… it should be a beast.”

Magnus dashed towards the direction of his target, careful not to alert whatever it may be. He kept his senses spread to know whether the beast will move of not. As far as he can tell, this beast seemed to be resting.

What sort of beast leisurely uses this place as his resting spot? Magnus tried to guess. And he deducted that this may be an alpha predator in this area. Some kind of a boss that is far stronger than anything living in this part of the forest, at least until this moment.

When Magnus felt he was just around twenty meters from the target. He leaped to a branch and tried to hide. He should be able to see the prey from where he is.

The beast was sleeping. It looked like it was a wolf, an overgrown one at that. It should be around five meters long from the trunk of its tail to the tip of its nose. If it stood up, it should be at least three meters tall with its thick paws and legs. The toe nails looked as if they can easily cut down anyone they fancy to crush. And even though he cannot see, Magnus can tell from the size of the mouth of this wolf that its teeth are also enormous and sharp.

<“What are we waiting for? Let’s take it out!”>

“Can we really? That thing is huge!”

<“Coward… did you forget that we wiped those ants out?”>

“Those were insects, they are naturally vulnerable to fire, and you were the one who did that with adrenaline. You were pissed off. Can you emulate that level of strength each time we need it?”

<“Ha! Yes I can! Let us switch. I will show you my strength!>

“Very well… this is your department… just don’t burn it to ash. We need its pelt and meat”

<“What do we need its meat for?... Never mind… just stand back… I’ll end it in one strike… time to rampage…>

Magnus closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, they looked as if they were the eyes of an eagle.

Suzaku bent his knees, readying to spring fort towards the wolf. He kicked himself off from where he was breaking the branch he was on. In a matter of seconds, he was beside the gigantic beast. He opened his right hand as if it was the tip of a spear. He was determined to end this with one strike.

But when he was about to launch the attack, the eyes of the wolf opened and it sprung backwards to evade the blow.

Suzaku clicked his tongue. It surprised him that the wolf was able to move back. And now, it was ready to fight back. But what was more shocking to him was why he clicked his tongue. He did not have this habit ten thousand years ago.

<“Ha! What happened?! Where is that one strike you were bragging about?!”>

Shut up! We forgot to hide our presence. It is your fault!

Magnus thought that it was Suzaku who broke the branch, but he still stopped teasing Suzaku, he can tell that his partner was pissed. Surprisingly though, Suzaku did not go into blind range. He seemed calm, calculating, as if thinking what to do next. He was sure what happened was just a fluke.

The wolf changed its stance, it was aiming to attack. It showed its fangs, trying to intimidate its foe. In a flash, it lunged towards Suzaku aiming for his neck.

This caught Suzaku in surprised and was forced to dodge. He started to feel uneasy, not because he does not have the strength to fight, but because this monster was unafraid to retaliate. Much has changed this pat ten thousand years. He no longer holds absolute authority over the southern realm of Terra.

The realization of having lost what he had, a cloud of regret started to form within his mind. He glared at the wolf with piercing eyes. Anger started to also creep into his consciousness. He no longer sees the wolf as prey. It is now an outlet to vent off his rage. His power started gathering on his palm, as he was about to unleash the same attack that wiped out the giant fire ants.

<“What on earth are you planning SUZAKU!”>

Magnus’ shout within his mind jolted Suzaku back. Though he still has anger boiling within him, he decided to hold back his attack.

“Tsk, this mutt was just pissing me off… and we are on Terra, not Earth!!!”

<“That was just an expression! Jeez… Calm down… I know you realized something… but we can talk about that later… remember… priorities.”>

Suzaku could not help but smile. Magnus’ words gave him a sense of serenity. His anger can wait. Now, their goal was the pelt this beast can give them. And… of course the meat, though he still do not know why his “partner” wanted it.

Suzaku focused on the wolf again, this time, he was ready for it. And when the wolf once again lunged to attack, Suzaku stepped his left foot back. He then used his right palm to calmly swipe out, hitting the face of the wolf, effectively deflecting the blow. This caused it to crash to the ground with all the force behind its attack.

Seeing the wolf in pain, Suzaku turned and face his downed opponent. He breathed in deep and then released a strike using his left palm. He targeted the part where the heart of the wolf is supposed to be. The attack echoed and it caused the wolf to be thrown, back first, to a tree around ten meters away.

<“Nice one Suzaku! That should do it right?!”

“Heh! Now you know my strength… But it is not over yet… one more strike and we can enjoy the trophy of our first hunt”

The wolf weakly stood up, its legs are shaking because of pain and fear. This was the first time since it was a cub that it faced something stronger than it. It growled in discomfort and anger. It realized it cannot use the same attack more than once. Its opponent was clearly on another level. And it must use all its remaining strength to survive the fight.

Suzaku observed the wolf again. It is clearly up to something. Though the difference in strength was clear, he must not let his guard down. This wolf will do anything just to win this fight. It seemed its pride of being the alpha was preventing it run away. This was to Suzaku’s advantage though; he did not want the additional hassle of chasing it for its pelt.

The wolf readied itself again. It spread its hind legs a little and seemed to be bracing itself for imminent impact. When it opened its mouth wide, Suzaku saw a ball of pure energy starting to form from within. This must be its trump crad.

“BRING IT ON WOLF! SHOW ME YOUR POWER!!!”

The wolf’s eyes were determined, focusing on the target. Then in a split second, the force of the concentrated energy was released towards Suzaku.

Suzaku assumed a horse stance and crossed his arms in front of his body. His closed fists were covering his face. He braced for impact and then in just a moment, he felt the attack striking him with full force.

The explosion caused a shockwave of wind to spread in all directions. Some trees in the immediate vicinity of the attack were blown away. The result was clearly devastating. A new clearing within the forest was formed; it had a radius of around one hundred meters wide.

The wolf, seeing the result of its attack finally relaxed its stance. Smoke was still rising from the middle of the area of effect. Covering the body of the target, it was sure nobody could have survived that.

Wind blew and started to clear the smoke away. When the wolf focused on his defeated foe, its eyes opened wide. The enemy was still standing with its arms crossed.

Suzaku slowly stood up and peeked out from his crossed arms. A sinister smile can be seen from his lips. He lowered his arms that were clearly uninjured. The last attack had no effect. He could not help but laugh out loud.

“WAS THAT IT WOLF?! Heh, and here I was thinking you can entertain me more.”

The wolf tried to turn back; it was ready to run away. His pride could no longer fight off the fear it was feeling. The opponent this time was truly terrifying. It made a mistake of thinking that it can win with his final attack. It prepared itself to escape, but it was too late.

Suzaku already dashed and intercepted the wolf, blocking its patch of escape. He opened his left hand to form a spear. The wolf was now frozen with fear, its limbs defying its plea to move. Seeing this, Suzaku plunged his spear hand to its neck.

Blood started to burst from the wound on the wolf neck. Suzaku’s hand still stabbed through it. Some blood flowed on Suzaku’s arm, dripping to his elbow. Yet, he did not retract it. He remained still with a wryly smile, looking at the wolf. He watched as life slowly left the wolf’s eyes. When the eyes finally closed, Suzaku cut the wound further, completely decapitating the wolf.

<“Suzaku. You idiot! Why did you cut its head off?!”>

“Huh? I just killed it! Didn’t you want its pelt?!”

<“That was the point, we need its pelt, its full pelt”>

Hearing these words, Suzaku finally realized where he went wrong. When he cut off the head of the wolf, he also separated the pelt of its head from the rest of its body. This thought made him forget that he just won the fight and he unconsciously slouched his shoulders.

<“Nevermind… Let us just make do of what we have now… Let us switch back… I will skin it for us… this needs finessed and not brute strength”>

“Fine… I do not want to do that anyway… have it your way.”