The Mana Train was moving through the rails at a rapid speed, not seeming to stop anytime soon. Isaiah could see the desert plain stretch high and wide from the window. He grabbed his backpack and wore it on his back.
It was an expensive backpack that he had specially bought for this trip. It was made of a special material which could stretch to accommodate items worth 5x its initial size. One could also negate dragging one too full by encompassing it with their mana to help it keep its shape, making it truly deserving of the 25k GC Isaiah had paid for it.
He slided open the door of his unit and got out to the corridor of the train. He made his way through the nose of the train, where he was stopped by a man that wore a red suit, “Excuse me, Sir, was there a problem?”
Isaiah nodded, his hand slipped into his button ups pocket to pull out his VIP ticket, “Indeed, I have to make an emergency exit.” The man held the ticket Isaiah passed him and checked it.
After confirming its authenticity, he looked back up and nodded. He gestured at the door that stood behind him, “You are free to use this emergency exit, Mr. Isaiah. I wish you a fruitful journey.” With that he went back to his guard, leaving Isaiah alone.
Isaiah held the handle of the door, due to air pressure he had to apply heavy strength onto it before it would open, WOOSH! The air hit his face, threatening to consume all that was inside the train, luckily this was a special compartment designed specifically for this purpose. Due to the sheer speed of the train all that could be seen was an orange blur with the heated sky above.
He bent his feet, SHOO!, the compartment shook slightly as he ascended towards the sky. He delved through the air pressure and made his way above, then his descent started, THUF, he landed on to the sand.
He fixed his jacket and scarf that was messed up, then he took in his surroundings. It was filled with nothing but sand, sand and more sand, “Hmm, now where is this floating island?”
He slowly began walking on sand, in this grand desert, these few steps he took held no meaning and he was aware of that, ”Let’s have some fun”, he mused, formations appeared beneath his feet carrying him forth without taking a step.
It looked as if he was sliding on sand as if it was ice. His legs didn’t move a inch, his hands were in his pockets as he sped through the dunes. Sand dust was sprayed behind his back, creating a line of his path.
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This was his gain from the 3rd gen vehicle he owned, it was heavily simplified and modified to fit the human body but it allowed him to travel without moving any muscle. His jacket was flowing on his back like a cape as he slid at his speeds.
This was the improved version of the same movement technique he had come up with back when he first fought with Terry Incendio. Back then he didn’t have enough mana nor the knowledge to use it like he was right now.
A few hours had passed and he had yet to come across anything substantial but his speed has increased slightly due to his constant tweaking of the formations that created the movement technique, “My mana is nearing half way.” Just as he was about to take a small break to use his vortex technique to replenish some mana, ROAR!
A loud roar that resounded throughout the dunes, shaking the very ground beneath Isaiah. His sense immediately heightened and his interest was piqued.
He jetted through the source of the sound, ascending to the highest point of a dune nearby, “Oh! That’s so cool.”
Beneath the dune, he saw a mana beast for the first time since his transmigration. It was a huge beast with the regal head of a lion, its sharp fang filled mouth was roaring towards the sky. Its long mane flowed within the wind. It had four legs, two front legs belonging to an eagle and its hind legs to a goat. His second head was on the end of his tail which was a serpent with sharp venomous fangs.
He exploded formation beneath his feet to launch him as he slid, his ascent to the sky was fast so was his descent, SHOO! He dived feet first, his legs covered in condensed light. Just as he was about to land he shifted his body to kick out a powerful leg attack, THUMB!
All he managed to his was sand as right before attack was about to land, the manticore’s instincts kicked in as he put all its strength into its front legs sending him back by a few steps.
Before Isaiah could move out of the way, the moment he landed, a huge serpent head snaked its way towards him. Its mouth open wide as its two poisonous fangs were about to close on Isaiah.
Isaiah however didn’t dodge or run, he used the opposite momentum of his landing to shift his balance to throw a punch with his fist covered in condensed light mana, CLASH!
Isaiah was dug into the ground under the strength of the beast's tail but managed to block the attack. His light covered hand and the monster's serpent head’s fangs clashed together, sending shockwaves to the nearby surroundings.
The monster’s lion body didn’t waste its advantage, it kept its tail on Isaiah as its left claw attacked from Isaiah’s right side. While Isaiah had sensed the attack, there wasn’t much he could do but put up his hand covered in light to try to block some damage.
As the claw connected with his other hand, it sent him spiraling a few steps back. Isaiah’s hand with no momentum behind it couldn’t block the creature's claw, luckily he got launched in a calculated manner where he didn’t drop from his feet once.
Isaiah and the creature now looked at each other, assessing each other’s abilities, “Seems like this is gonna be a fun battle.” Isaiah raised his arms as he took position, his left hand was leaking blood from blocking the creature’s claw but it didn’t erase the smile on his face.