Murai faced the foe he hoped for, yet the circumstances were different from what he expected. It changed his mind. He wasn't ready to face the common sense he didn't have.
This was a normal reaction. Those who talked and thought like normal people wouldn't regard him as something special. He was still a duck, while this man had clearly no thoughts to give him back.
Perhaps it was a far too improper idea to meet someone sensible in this regard. Expecting someone to talk to him, or give him any thoughts was way out of the line.
It ended up infuriating him, rather than giving him hope to talk to someone who knew Anatidaes who visited this temple.
So when he had an actual person before him, the kind he hadn't battled that much in this life, he felt skeptical if his ideas were just lies and over-the-top expectations. Perhaps he was just too fed up with those stairs, making him look for a scapegoat that wasn't Lorry or Lisa.
However, Murai doubted it was all that easy to be angry about these stairs all the time. It was honestly refreshing to battle without any consequences in these Islands. Killing those who wanted his head was just another tinge of blood left on the floor, ending another life like a drop into the ocean. There were truths behind these issues or questionable meanings, but it was honest.
Such was the law of the jungle.
It was the kind of truth that he got used to in many of his intense lives. There were times when he simply couldn't care less for anything else than power and people who wanted a piece of it too. Perhaps this world was the same. Dealing with those who looked at him wrongly, or those who wanted revenge or wealth, were all the same, or similar. He wasn't that different, he believed.
For a weird sense of reasons, it was a kind of melancholic and almost rhetorical for him to think of it right now. To be free of the norm, fighting without care, and being without any consequences was a sincerity and free part of the universe. It went hand in hand with those who understood some laws, knew what the true consequences of living were, and how one dealt with them.
Few comprehended those aspects and even fewer beings mastered them.
Killing was just part of something that balanced the universe, similar to destruction, void, annihilation, and other kinds of power that moved the Chaos or balanced the Order.
The man before Murai was one of those foes he simply couldn't hate or like. On one wing, he did piss him off, and on the other, he stood in his way like fools he used to like or hate. There was usually nothing in between.
Squinting his eyes, the half-naked man looked at his opponent, thinking to make a first move, but he realized he had misspoken. He accepted an extensive mission he had taken, and then it backfired.
“Oh, sorry. I suppose animals like you can't speak the human tongue? Have my apologies but...” he instantly appeared shocked as if he realized something. “Does it even understand me? You? I speak to myself all the time like a fool?” He almost wept a tear upon realizing his embarrassment, but he had time to shake these feelings off or slap his face.
Murai was yet to attack because he was curious about what this level 41 foe had to offer him. He should be definitely much stronger than the triplet of messiahs he killed not that long ago, what those Undead knights in Gate 1 provided, and whatever that bat was about.
According to the difficult approaches to this Gate, the higher level and grades meant always tougher foe. Perhaps the Grade was more than sufficient, as some Grade A foes of the lower level were much tougher to deal with than Grade B of the higher level.
“Anyway, duck. I heard that your kind is very intelligent, so can you understand all sorts of tongues? Mine included, is that right? Nod in return.” The man asked a good question after going over his initial shock. He spoke with a seemingly honest attitude, yet his whole body remained tensed up, unlike his words.
This remark almost snapped Murai in half of his slowly dissipating anger. What?! Hmph! What do people even think am I? Some nodding toy? Are they sane to make fun of me? I am not laughing. Murai grunted as his mention reminded him of Iris, whose fate was still unknown to him on all fronts. Even Timmy was somewhere around his mind, close to Iris, but away from his reach and knowledge of what even happened to them.
They were rare people who actually assisted him in this life, followed by Ceila and Lia, but who knew where those were after he disappeared into the forceful teleportation? He never saw or knew what became of all of them, which was perhaps a good thing for him and Lisa.
Were the kids safe?
Were those Suns plotting something because of Vermillion?
Should he care about the kids or those Suns?
Murai was a bit perplexed over these issues for some reason, which was unlike his typical attitude when it came to things that were way out of his reach. He usually stayed focused on what mattered to him, rather than what didn't. Perhaps it was the goodwill that came out of these meetings that made his consciousness a bit weirder than usual.
Or was it all because of the body of a duck, the life passing through it, or the world that wanted his life? He had a hard time getting over it.
It was the aftermath that he got after almost meeting his End in that well, which Iris worsened by a whole week of catering that he, unfortunately, forced into existence by refusing Wave of Life. Murai wished to forget these times, same as enduring the stairs bridges, and those hunts for his life. It changed and stuffed his head with undesirable thoughts and intentions.
Yet, as if remembering Iris and the past, Murai involuntarily nodded, letting the man know that he understood what he asked.
“GOOD! I like this!” he cheered, putting his arms above his head. He immediately went to a fighting stance by putting his arms forward. “I suppose the terms of this service and these Gates are known to you by your Guide, Challenger. Let me warn you, I ain't giving up against such a beast like you, sir Anatidae! NOT! Giving... UP!” The man shouted and with each of his latest words, he put forth a trembling aura around his limbs.
Each held up his precious equipment, assembling gauntlets around the arms that held no finger protection, and ankle armor without the feet protection. They were the treasure of his life, empowering his Path and equipment that fueled his magic.
Murai figured it out right away thanks to his Sonar. He felt no Mana Core on this man whatsoever, which made him a Handler that used the body or some treasure to guide the mana into their techniques.
Core would be obvious to him, similar to how Menthir had it like a revolving glowing stone in its midsection. When sensing the mana, his Sonar always dug for any mana-related links, making spells, flow of mana, or cores obvious under his senses.
Things he could sense weren't only living things. Materials, the aftermath of some techniques, or the mana sources themselves were all sensitive to his Sonar.
But Sonar was the best when sensing the living creatures who were working or holding the mana close to their bodies. It made them pop up, pushing their flow forth, while his Sonar viewed and sensed the intricate notion of their movement, the input of mana, or upcoming techniques. It was like knowing what the enemy was doing from the inside out, which was a fine advantage to have.
So far, it was great supporting power, but what if the flow or power of his opponent was much wilder or greater with mana? Murai bet he wouldn't feel this advantage. Sonar seemed to be the best against weaker foes and normal flow.
Around the man's limbs, lighting vortexes zipped, stirring and coming from the equipment that was his Catalyst. There were quite a lot of powerful and quick lighting fluctuations all over him because of them, and even his insides weren't spared. Lighting and mana started to flow around his skin and muscles, twitching his body and seizing his attention.
Handlers were more than capable of feeling mana like a Shaper, but their bodies were more like a conductor, rather than the source.
It allowed them to handle the mana of the world like a tool, guiding it according to their techniques. Catalyst helped in the guiding process, making the might and Shaping easier to push around. Thus, it was an advantage that allowed spells or various techniques to flow stronger and better.
The man visibly tensed up as he went almost all out, and his flesh screamed in pain from the high input of mana. Murai noticed it with his Sonar as well, noting it as a weakness, but also a strength.
His flesh didn't take all those limbs performing whatever technique he was using that well. He won't last that long, so when Murai jolted up after sudden recollections and his Sonar findings, he looked at the man who undulated a rather intriguing technique that he recognized after a few rounds of overlooking his memories.
In terms of Shaping, it was nothing special as it depended on the lighting-based Catalyst that was fueling him with mana and tensing his flesh. He was using what he should be familiar with, while Catalyst and his Handler status made it still very potent. The man had a talent for sure, and the power of those lighting Catalysts was kind of well-established under his limbs and familiarity. It didn't crash his flesh or the lighting hadn't gone out of his touch, making it at least passable.
After stabilizing for 4 seconds, each Catalyst that was part of the set arranged a revolving vortex, appearing like chunks of flickering lighting waves coming from the ankles and palms. They could have various depictions and shapes depending on the Shaping. Called Lighting Vortex, they could become a weapon of fury, capable of obliterating all kinds of foes in all sorts of sizes.
However, it had a clear price of stressed flesh, creating time limitations that Murai noted at first sight.
Murai held this sort of power before, albeit not as a Handler, and it was a long time ago. He barely felt the impressions about it right now, yet memories were always available for this sake.
One's Physique had to be truly excellent for this kind of spell that ate to one's flesh, guiding the mana into savage constructs to empower it better.
A fist-powered Lighting Vortex can tear the whole person to pieces, cutting, crushing, and scorching. A kick can cleave a person in half, and not in a clean cut either. It was a rather savage technique, but Murai knew his foe wasn't a master of this technique. It was fairly difficult to get it going, and in this world, it should be over his level because he struggled.
Under the Battleworld, this technique was called Vortex Shaping, and it could have various elements and styles. For this man, it was lighting, describing the storms under his limbs.
The apex of his technique allowed the users to surround their whole bodies or surroundings in crystal clear vortexes of lighting—or other elements of their choice—killing anything in their path. It could shatter, cut, or obliterate anything in its quick and rough power, and the dependency on the Catalyst wasn't small, similar to Physique or Shaping.
Even obliterating mountains and rivers was possible aftermatch, but what kind of apex powers weren't capable of some ridiculous feats of strength?
Well, few definitely couldn't bear such costs.
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Some powers had their specific uses, thus some were better at pure destruction. Others were flexible, or full of gentle straightforwardness, albeit one shouldn't take it any lighter than wide-scale power.
Upon these inspections of his foe's powers, Murai felt a sudden idea that he was way too considerate of this foe. It happened after noticing a familiar technique, pausing his mind and body. It made his mind calmer, previous anger disappeared, and his itch to handle such powers himself became stronger. He sure thought too much into it than he should.
So when he watched how his foes kicked the sand, flying high in the air with both fists coming at him, he was slightly taken aback. The man didn't hesitate to attack at all, striking with the highest power he held, and letting the lighting speak first. This wasn't a stupid call when meeting an Anatidae. It was what anyone like him should do in this Gate known to be a grave for a few Challengers, or tools used against them.
The power of his Vortex Shaping could handle striking and pouncing like nothing, but was his body the same? His mana output wasn't the smallest at all.
One thing became clearer in Murai's mind. Mindarch was yet to mention his foe or if he was even supposed to kill, or defeat him.
There was a mention of giving up though. He heard Mindarch's tone before he entered this arena, marking this as some sort of special Island with a better premise. If he wanted, he could kill him or not. Either way, what was he supposed to do than choose when fighting was starting?
NO! It is kill or be killed. One of the primordial rules that follows all eras of the universe. It is the same now as long before I was even... born? Murai turned serious, meeting the incoming attack with the most intense beak attack he could start in under a second. Doing so required nothing on his part than a readied beak, a firm step forward, and a surge of mana going through his mana space and his body.
Because he got plenty of experience out of those 67 Islands behind his back, his handling of his beak was better than ever.
Beak's Blitz allowed his beak to become a fine-tuned weapon. It can move at incredible speed and power of momentum with its simple activation. An input of mana was all he needed, but it worked differently than the Peak. Depending on the input of the mana, it had semi-closed stages in its structure. Low, medium, and high input made his Blitz feel different, but it was always more flexible than his Peak even at the highest input.
Looking at approaching lighting fists, he aimed the medium input Blitz right at them. His body was quite a small target, so the man had no choice but to angle his fists at an unfamiliar angle. Murai felt another lacking power this man had. He was unable to change the direction of his Vortext Shaping when he pounced at him like a rocket. He had no chance for that at this steep straightforwardness. A change to force his fists downwards was all he could muster.
Striking his foes with his Lighting Vortex Fists, as he proudly called them, allowed only this much at his level.
A sharp sound and explosions resounded in a wild impact, storming the sand and dust dozens of meters into the air, followed by crips sounds of lighting. Only one figure staggered afterward. Murai did.
His beak turned a bit numb because of the constant flow of this lighting element, but it wasn't hot or sharp. Nothing was a problem for him, thanks to a couple of smacks he forced under a breath, forcing his Blitz against the fists. He just backed away because his weight and angle to take these fists weren't that great.
As a duck, he had to think twice about enduring or going against such heavy attacks head-on. His footing was terrible in the sand, but he wasn't hating it that much.
But his body endured the Vortex Shaping rather well. Perhaps too well, considering this power was above common above Level 40. I gave him a nice surprise indeed, but most of all, a nice answer. His feathers were part of his body that always wondered and surprised him. All over his body, they were crisp, soft, or hard when they needed to be.
At the moment, they were all pointing outwards while the lighting zipped around them, leaving no shock to go deeper to smear his flesh. He attacked with the beak first, until the lighting hit his whole body like swirling snakes. It should've paralyzed him, hurt him, and punished him.
The man looked at Murai in disbelief. He pushed the small duck only a few meters ahead without it bleeding profusely. He knew his fists were powerful and lighting nasty, but it seemed he met his match or saw something more insane than that. That beak was much stronger than he thought.
Yet he went against this Anatidae all by himself without any regrets and with his own power. He felt no regret when he left no injurious on his foe. His hands only hurt more; a tingling sensation zipped over his knuckles and section of his shoulders.
He felt quite a bit of recoil, as if he hit a massive boulder that bounced back away, forcing the majority of his storm to hit nothing but those feathers, while the beak felt... weird. It smacked his fist and lighting away, but it didn't feel powerful or insane. It just felt... robust. Like something that moved past the steel or powerful alloys.
But he did strike this tiny duck successfully. He understood that if he became greedy or careless, it would have very unpleasant consequences. “You... You are strong! Strong! I will fight with everything I have, so I expect you to do the ...” The man paused, glancing at Murai in flabbergasted face, as a voice spoke to his soul. Will of the Battleworld did, as he was a subject to his own set of rules, albeit without being Blessed. “Huyah!? WHAT THE FUCK! You are level 17!? Are you serious?”
It seemed the information about Murai was clearly there, albeit in a more conservative manner, spoken to his soul rather than to his ears. This moment gave him a much clearer picture, which showed on his face.
Murai wasn't sure if the other foes he fought against also knew about him, or if they had some warning like he usually had against them. Did it matter right now or before? Little, if any. For him, not at all.
Either way, he will fight the same way as before, train, and find some footing in this Gate.
While his opponents probably knew his level, it could be that alone or much more. Murai wasn't sure, nor did he care. Would it be too weird to see others having various information-gathering methods that he had as well? Not really. Abilities like Appraisal existed for a reason, while Mindarch and Will of the Battleworld clearly voiced many things when battles became important.
For all of that to have balance, both parties should know about the other.
Which was weird. Murai didn't hear anything about this man from Mindarch or Will of the Battleworld.
Murai winced his beak against the lighting, patting his feathers and getting these numbing feelings out of the way. The power of these Vortexes aimed at him without regard for his beak, but perhaps it would hurt more if it would crash at him with full power. His current defenses were still rather unknown, as he preferred not to experiment with the damages or his health. He got enough of that from Razmund, so some pain and misery wasn't on his radar.
This didn't hurt him that much, so in terms of the power alone, his defenses countered it enough. That posed a few interesting questions about what levels and abilities truly meant. How did they interact with his body, attributes, and defenses he didn't even know that well?
Murai found it all a bit confusing since this Vortex Shaping this man had was clearly his primary weapon of choice. They should be around the limits of his level, yet they haven't done much against him.
Did it mean his defenses were around this man's technique and level? Was the balance of everything in this picture clear and countered one another?
Murai wanted to see some limits of his body, but he wasn't willing to take risks to find these answers. The lighting definitely held some edge and power over his Blitz, as they failed to damage him in a deeper capacity. But he didn't manage anything against them either. Those lighting fists barely flinched as he took them head-on.
All sorts of comprehensions were involved to make the speed and stability of Vortex Shaping passable. This man had a full Lighting Vortex of quite some thickness at each end of his limb. That, in itself, was almost as impressive as stupid. The ones around his legs were basically useless. They added no inherent bonuses besides establishing cycling, which was adding only more flow and problems.
Murai figured they must be a set of Catalysts, or straight-up equipment to fuel Vortex Shaping alone, or they hold the lighting to give this man this technique to handle. His foe didn't know how to take it that well, so Murai felt rather melancholic as these issues were something he felt many times in the past.
One had to constantly cater to Shaping elements and their constant flow. It was like taking care of his current cores that ate and put his mind aflame.
Lighting was an element that was very hard to handle, tame, and control. But when stabilized, the Lighting Vortex can then swirl on its own for some time, allowing one to wield intense power.
Problems went ahead when the instability of the lighting and body went hand in hand. It could cause a domino effect and crack everything apart. Hence, Vortex Shaping had no need for too many Catalysts, even when one was a good or inadequate Handler. One or two Catalysts were plenty enough since more attention often meant more flow.
Endurance and Will of the user, thus, played an important role in such techniques because Mana Flow itself was a limiting factor for the Catalyst and all Handlers.
Either way, Murai didn't think of this Vortex Shaping as something bothersome. Did it slightly hurt his wings and neck, and touched his feathers? Sure. Was this hug of lighting bothersome, albeit it didn't even scratch his flesh? That was the truth, as it did more than well to tense his body and crack his head.
It changed back to normal when the feathers changed, and his decision to fight moved his soul.
This clash was a challenge to go against his body, so killing his foe may be a dangerous prospect if he had no qualms about his safety. Tactics must be adequate and manners less dangerous. If those 4 Lighting Vorexes all arrived at him at once, there could be problems.
But Murai didn't have to kill him, as he recalled. All he had to do was make him give up. That might come in all sorts of ways that he was too numb to think about, so some brute force better be enough.
The task was clear like his beak touching these lighting fists. He understood his foe more than enough in this single clash. And that was exactly what Murai was thinking about. A strategy.
Once again, this Gate made him think twice before acting.
The man before him kept staring at him with a flabbergasted expression and pushed his fists ahead. Murai caught them again, looking at a face of utmost hesitation, while those Lighting Vortexes shimmered and remained in their cycles, pushing onwards against the beak.
The man understood what was up against him, and shock and terror moved his insides. Level 17 Anatidae? That meant a completely different thing for his level.
Not a single good idea came to his mind after knowing this information. What it meant was a simple fact. A reputation and premise. He still had to keep fighting against this Anatidae of a significantly lower level than him, but it was allowed and already proceeding by Mindarch's rules. It was insane, so giving up appeared in his mind instead.
Mindarch recognized both foes to be in a similar bracket to one another.
That was a terrific prospect.
Well, well. What to do now with this guy? Murai thought to himself as he rested his beak against the man's hands. Feeling the man with his Sonar made certain thoughts about his power clearer, while his Soul Read dealt with the emotions. Murai learned a lot about both of these abilities and how to get more out of them. In fact, more than 60 enemies behind him provided some answers on how to properly use most of his abilities to his advantage.
Noticing differences, slight emotional distress or changes was an excellent hint for counterattacks or attacking at weak points. Soul Read was creating a different approach to battles than without it. Mana Detection was many times worse than Sonar, which was an excellent tool against strategic fights where mana was important, rather than emotions. Such differences were the power that made stupid beasts weak, and intelligent beasts stronger.
He will keep up with this approach without any shame.
Mana Sonar viewed mana with the waves of his senses. Whenever he activated this ability, certain flickering lights acted in his field of vision that jumped off of the enemy or the surroundings, constructing a clear picture under his Shaping and mind. In this manner, it was similar to the Heatsight, which worked with heat alone, but he wasn't sensible to the warmth, but to the degree of mana that was around him. How powerful and clear it was depended on the power that made Sonar work. That was his magic, partially his Will, and how or when he used it.
One had to actually understand what one was seeing after all, as Sonar wasn't working with eyes alone. It was very mental and every rush of Sonar was a small explosion in his mana space. It echoed far and worked better with further usees and familiarity.
In front of Murai was no glowing sphere, hidden inside the man's chest. There was light and quick-moving lighting instead, forming from each limb, but around them was a web of glowing veins of mana zipping around the flesh. Those weren't notable with the naked eye thanks to the Catalysts.
From there, he could see mana move around to each limb, making each Catalyst strong and revolving into his technique. It was continuous, meaning that there weren't only some limitations, but it was a set of Catalysts as Murai expected.
The ability to distinctly feel and see the flow of mana was worthy of some interest. Sensing the density and speed of their power, flow, or revolutions can allow him to discern the quality of the foe or see the incoming change of attacks.
Against Shapers, this should be fairly overpowered, but against Handlers, it was like a cheat, making the upcoming strategies and counterattacks much easier to predict. Anything else wasn't strong or apparent as the use and flexibility of the Mana Sonar.
On the offensive side, the familiarity over the Beak's Blitz was up to his wild standards. Murai was quite flexible with his attacking patterns, 3 sets of inputs, and one tasty surprise in the end. Blitz can fuse and absorb damage after every clash, increasing the might of his attacks instead. That was unlike what his Peak could do, so he was happy to try anything it could do.
In a weird sense, Blitz was akin to swordsmanship, but it was part of his body.
So what to make of it?
Blitz was limited to the way his neck allowed him to move, while the only token of disadvantage was how he could move or not. His neck was an issue, and so were his feet or wings that affected his movements.
He could move his whole body alongside the swiping, stabbing, and slashing motions with his beak, adding some momentum and weight to each swipe. Blitz took it all in, unleashing the power, and absorbing the momentum and each clash added to its strength. Releasing it all was unexpected but not a bad feeling.
Soul Read made up for the rest of the situations, albeit it was mostly useless against chaotic and dumb foes. There were a few ambushing foes in a couple of Islands filled with vegetation or deep fog or darkness. In those cases, Sonar or Soul Read proved to be capable of helping him finish those than anything else. He could sense the hiding foes like few beings could.
As for his spells or mana-indulging abilities, Murai didn't work with a huge variety of things, albeit some Mana Arrows were often useful. He was more curious about the Heavely Shaping Tome that was on top of his mind. It was something he wanted to read or research while Gate 2 was ongoing, but he had foes to beat first.