Crossing his arms, Vidar stared down at the overgrown fox with a condescending sneer. He wasn't expecting a struggle that'd push him to the brink of death, but the beast could've at least survived a single blow.
Even giving it a warning with his scream hadn't done a thing, the monster was still unable to react to his attack.
How pathetic.
He sighed, letting out his feelings of contempt as he refocused on the task at hand. There was still one more thing the fox could do for him other than being such a boring combatant.
"Harvest," He muttered, watching as the wisps of the fox's essence coalesced into its eternal soul. The colors of the wisps were mixed, oddly enough, with a majority of them being gray and a small minority flickering a crimson–
"...Oh."
The fox… had a Pseudo-Petty Soul. That wasn't an actual ranking of one's soul, but an indicator of how close the soul was to evolution. In this instance, with the soul mostly resembling a Petty Soul, it was clear the fox was on the cusp of getting strong enough for a Lesser Soul.
Despite the small difference, nothing about it changed functionally. The Pseudo-Petty Soul still served zero purpose, and it would still require four other Petty Souls to create a Lesser Soul.
"Dammit," He cursed under his breath, "If I'd just followed it around for a bit, it would've evolved into a Lesser Soul all on its own."
With that, he would've gotten a good fight out of a newly born opponent and he would've gotten a Lesser Soul when he eventually won. The circumstances were a lucky encounter that he'd squandered in his lust for battle.
Sighing, he rolled his eyes at himself and grabbed the soul out of the air. He could whine about his lack of critical thinking skills later. For now, he needed to find a place to train. With this final Petty Soul, he could enact his plan and work on training in seclusion.
Opening up his inventory with a flex of his magic, he unceremoniously tossed the soul inside.
[-1 MP.]
[Remaining MP: 0]
"O-oi!" A scratchy voice abruptly called out behind him, startling him out of his thoughts. He'd almost forgotten about the people who had been fighting the fox before him. "W-who the hell do you think you are? You can't just steal our prey like that!"
Vidar turned around and saw the same boy as before, screaming at him despite being out of breath and bleeding all over. He couldn't tell how old he truly was as he was an alien, but from Earth's standards of looks, he seemed to be around the same age as Vidar's current body. Unlike Vidar, though, the boy was toned beyond his years, looking as if he'd been fighting all his life.
The boy visibly shuddered as Vidar inspected him from head to toe. At most, he'd give me a Petty Soul. Not worth it.
"It's all yours," He told the kid emotionlessly, turning away from him disinterestedly.
While he wasn't scared of the child, he didn't feel like provoking anyone who might've been related to the child. Even if he killed everyone watching, trying to dispose of the bodies in a perfectly clean way without Ki would be a fool's errand.
People were too numerous and too annoying to kill at the moment. Even the death of a few random people could spiral into a feud between himself and an entire race of people. If there was one characteristic that all intelligent races shared, it was the paranoia that surged when presented with a hidden enemy.
If they thought of him as someone they needed to get rid of but couldn't track, they'd stop at nothing to get rid of him.
Meanwhile, the only benefit he would've gotten was… maybe four Petty Souls. Perhaps even less, considering how weak the girl with the bow seemed.
Not worth it in the slightest.
As soon as he took a step in another direction, one of the men ran in front of him, pointing the spear at him threateningly.
"Sorry, kid, but I can't let you go," Vidar tilted his head at the sudden interference, a little puzzled as to why he was being bothered. "If I let a random Faunilith kid wander in the Forsaken Forest on his own, my master would skin me alive. Literally."
Ah, so that's it. He almost felt bad for the man, as the loyal spearman didn't want to get in Vidar's way, evidenced by the fear in his eyes and sweat rolling down his forehead. He had no idea what a Faunilith was, or why the man assumed he was one, but it didn't matter.
Sadly, he didn't care about the man or his circumstances.
"I'm in a decent mood today, so I'll give you one chance. Get that spear out of my face and move out of the way, and you'll keep your head." Vidar said calmly, his voice carrying an unwavering gravity to it.
"I'm in a decent mood today, so I'll give you one chance," Vidar said calmly, his voice carrying an unwavering gravity to it. "
It was clear to anyone who heard him that he meant every word.
The moment he said those words, the clearing went dead silent. Not a single person moved, the wind rustling the grass being the only indicator that time hadn't frozen.
If it was anyone else, Vidar was sure they would've laughed in his face at a declaration like that. But seeing as how he was the one who managed to one-shot the beast they'd been struggling against, it made the statement all the more serious.
It wasn't even all that impressive, Vidar thought to himself. I just focused the majority of my ki into my leg.
The technique granted him a temporary small increase in power, making the kick much stronger than his own power level. But those trained in ki usage all knew this technique, meaning the small boost was equalized against other fighters.
Eventually, the tension snapped as the other spearman threw the spear to the ground in a huff and marched right up to him, pointing his fat finger into Vidar's face.
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"Now you listen here, you little shit. I don't care whose bastard you're supposed to be, you will respect your elders like a good–" The man's tirade was like nails on a chalkboard, grating against Vidar's last nerve. With each word, his blood boiled hotter, the comments from his 'elder' inciting his ki to swirl angrily within him.
A little spittle flew out the man's mouth and landed on Vidar's face, burning away the last bit of restraint Vidar had for impudent fools.
In a swift, almost instinctual motion, Vidar's arm lashed out, propelled by a surge of pent-up fury. His hand connected with the man's head with a sickening thud, and time seemed to slow as those around him watched in horror.
He put in a little too much force.
The man's head didn't just explode; it disintegrated. In a flash of crimson, his skull dissolved into a fine mist, dispersing into the air like smoke from a snuffed candle. There was no blood, no bone, just a haze of red that hung in the air like a grotesque fog.
Vidar let out a sigh of satisfaction as the man's body flopped onto the ground like a wet rag, the corpse's vitality drained by the sudden and violent end.
"Ah, well," Vidar bent over and picked up the corpse by its clothes, "No one can say I didn't try."
With a quiet exertion, Vidar infused his body with latent energy, flinging the corpse at the spearman with all the force he could muster.
-Swoosh-
"Aargh! "
The cadaver hurtled through the air, striking the man and sending him careening into the forest with a sharp thud.
Vidar watched with blank eyes as the two men burst into a mess of flesh and gore the moment they crashed into a tree, the gruesome sight enough to make even hardened warriors at least a little queasy.
With that done, Vidar intended to simply leave after killing the adults. From his perspective, killing the children would only make the situation worse.
He had no experience when it came to covering up a 'crime scene', and he was sure he'd leave tracks no matter what. If he killed the children as well, anyone who came to investigate would think he was a hostile enemy without any morals.
This way, they would assume he was above killing children, and thus wouldn't be as gung ho in attempting to hunt him down.
In other words, it was a tactic for stalling the inevitable. Having more time to train was his utmost priority.
"Fucking b-bastard!" Before he could leave, though, the boy finally spoke up after watching his people be mercilessly slaughtered. "You Faunilith all t-think you can just treat us like livestock, don't you?! I won't let you get away with this!"
That word again– Faunilith. Is that a variant of their race or something? Or perhaps a derogatory term?
Slowly, Vidar turned and coldly stared at the boy, watching as the child flinched under his gaze. After a few seconds, Vidar cocked an eyebrow at the boy, waiting for either his bravado to crumble or for him to do something.
For a few more seconds, nothing happened as they stared at each other. Despite how tense the situation was, Vidar's scrawny body was poised and his posture lax. The child, on the other hand, looked ready to move at any moment, his posture wound up as tight as a spring.
Vidar snorted at the lack of action, casually kicking a rock at the kid as he reached into the spell that was still hanging into the air. Pulling out the glass sword, he sprinted towards the kid.
Unlike himself, it seemed the child became calmer amid battle, relying on his instincts and training to guide him. His breathing evened out with each step that Vidar took.
The child calmly avoided the pebble with a spin, throwing a dagger from his belt at Vidar in the process.
The dagger was fast, piercing through the air at high speeds before reaching Vidar. However, he ducked at the perfect moment, not losing any speed as he rushed forward.
With his speed, it was only a few steps before he reached him, the glass sword clenched in both of his hands.
One would think that Vidar would have the advantage of range with his sword, but this was not the case. Likely because of his race, the boy was lanky but much taller than Vidar, their difference in range being equalized.
Realizing this, the kid threw a textbook haymaker at Vidar with all his strength, intending to blow him away with all his strength.
"Just… die!"
-Swoosh-
Right before the fist collided, Vidar twisted his body to the left, forcing him to aim the sword away from the kid to avoid being hit.
Although Vidar was confident, the kid was not weak by any means. If a singular hit impacted, that fist would manage to hurt. It wouldn't kill him, but he didn't have a way to heal himself in the event of serious damage.
Seeing the chance for what it was, Briar didn't relent, sending a jab at the side of Vidar's face with utmost speed.
Suddenly, though, the world had gone black in his eyes.
Sunlight pierced his eyes, blinding him temporarily as the light was amplified by the sheen of Vidar's glass sword. Unbeknownst to Briar, he'd purposefully maneuvered the flat side of the blade to take advantage of the environment.
Vidar smirked as he jumped into the air, being clipped by Briar's punch on the tip of his ankle.
The force of the punch sent Vidar into a backflip, letting him use the momentum to simultaneously kick at the back of Briar's head.
"Brother, watch out!"
Somehow with just the sound of his sister's voice to guide him, the lanky boy ducked and narrowly dodged the foot heading for him, rolling forward on the ground and turning Vidar.
Landing from his backflip, the glass sword not in his possession, Vidar glanced at the younger sibling of the two. How did she see that? Well, not that it matters.
In any case, the short skirmish was already finished in Vidar's eyes.
The child stood tensely, once again paused as he stared at Vidar with intense focus. Another stare-down occurred on the battlefield, but once again Vidar was the only one not taking it seriously.
Suddenly, Vidar spoke, shaking his head in disappointment.
"I'll be honest with you. You're not bad for a kid without any formal training…"
The defiant child clenched his jaw, eyes narrowed. "Don't talk like this is- Urk!"
Suddenly, the missing glass sword came down from the heavens, piercing the green alien clean through the shoulder and out the other side. The weight of the blade came down hard, pulling his body down as it shattered on impact with the ground. A combination of abrupt sensations knocked the boy out, his head crashing onto the ground sealing the deal.
"It's a real shame you had to meet me."
"Briar, no!" The girl abruptly screamed, pitifully crying as she scrambled her way to her brother.
Vidar watched the scene calmly, lamenting the loss of his sword.
Even though the kid was about as strong physically as Vidar was with just energy, the two were not a match at all. With just a glance Vidar could tell that Briar was simply someone who trained, he was not someone with any amount of fighting experience.
If Vidar didn't have his sword to help him, he wouldn't have dared to flippantly go up against such a strong opponent.
But with the ability to blind his opponent even once, he threw the blade high into the air. The kick on the back of the head wouldn't have killed, or even sent him flying, as it was simply to put Briar into the correct position for the sword to fall.
Yet somehow, his sister had seen the kick coming and warned her brother, allowing him to dodge at the last moment.
In the end, he could only conclude that the sister was talented with ki control, while the brother was physically stronger. That was his only explanation, as her ability to see the battlefield was unnatural considering she was weaker than Briar.
It had to be an acute sensing of ki. Something he hadn't expected to see from one who didn't look like she trained even a little bit.
The fact that their only escorts were a bunch of easily disposable weaklings was truly a waste. If he had intended to kill them, their talent would've been snuffed out without even a chance of help.
With that thought, Vidar shook his head again and took a step toward the girl and her brother. She looked up at him like a deer in headlights, unable to say a word as he strode over to her.
When he was right in front of her, he reached out toward her forehead, his fingers curling slightly as he focused a minute amount of ki into them.
At that moment, a gravelly voice traveled over the clearing, "Hold it."
With a speed eclipsing anything that Vidar could ever hope to see at his power, a man appeared from the skies.
A dark-skinned man with short black hair and strikingly golden eyes. He was wearing silver-colored light armor, black underclothes, and a belt with a silver metal plate in the middle.
Unlike Briar, it was clear this man had both the power and experience of a warrior.
"I want a clear explanation of everything that happened here. Now. And don't bother lying…"