Watching the boy who had nothing in mind and hands, and certainly felt like an empty husk of an elf, Murai was speechless. Was he supposed to fight him? What an insult Mindarch had created.
This boy was empty like a piece of parchment paper that went through a cow's stomach, declining over a long time afterward and withering. That was most notable by his lifeless and spaced-out-looking eyes, making him look as if he had given up on life itself.
None of the elven qualities was shining in his appearance apart from a little bit of his fair skin. He looked more like a broken doll.
His eyes were staring at the other end of the platform without any purpose, duck, or hope in his eyes. Coincidently, he stared right onto the entrance, directly into an approaching animal that entered 93rd Island. It was a weird idea to see a duck, but he didn't seem to care.
“What is this!? Who in their right fucking mind thought of this?” Murai quacked loudly as if he stepped on shit. “Mindarch! Explain yourself!”
No one would understand such loud and insane quacks other than ridiculous things such as Mindarch or those who knew such quacks. This boy didn't even flinch after sharp quacks echoed around dozens of meters wide arena, echoing loudly.
[Well, Citizen M has moved through mud and dirt, fighting like an excellent Anatidae specimen. So, what else but more fighting goes around the corner?] Mindarch voiced smugly. [I, great Mindarch, always move ahead, putting effort and mind into the proper ways of this place, giving anyone a chance and mighty learning opportunities that everyone loves. Citizen M shouldn't complain, as you've hardly seen a tip of what I mean to offer.] Mindarch began his willing message by speaking relative nonsense that sounded more like a bunch of excuses.
He did sound lofty enough to challenge Murai's anger. He saw straight through them, as he was already well familiar with this weirdo that talked to him usually twice on every Island. Since this whole mess started, he spoke before, in, or after every Island or a kill.
Alone, Murai knew his quacking noises were heard. He quacked how he wanted, knowing that Mindarch understood his every tone, quack, or grunt under his intentions that moved out of his beak. It was fairly convenient, but Murai was still unaware of how it all worked, or what even allowed someone to understand such nasty sounds.
He forgot about using his Question Mark that Mindarch granted him for anything useless. That started days ago, gone behind the dust of his travels, battles, cracked enemies, or cut-down beasts.
Murai was still the same duck as before. Nothing about him changed apart from a slightly worse appearance as he hadn't gotten a plunge of water in days. Constant fighting and following his way into the Ending Isles gave him a tough appearance.
But he wasn't in a bad state like the child before him.
It was time for Mindarch to voice what he kept for himself, and better timing wouldn't come unless Murai demanded it.
He got what he wanted, but not in a great way.
[I get it. I do. Citizen M is having a mental breakdown, but it is hardly true. Worse things can happen in Islands of Greatness. Trust me! Wanna know some projections? I have a full-on archive of funny moments!]
“No thanks,” Murai replied without thinking.
[Shame. There are thousands of those who rather jump willingly out of the Islands than be stubborn to the bitter End of their battles. So trust me, some stress is the least of an issue.]
[Citizen M stands in 93rd Island as I've said before, but it is one of the Variants among the Ending Isles. It holds no Key or Question Mark, but a graceful point multiplier and my interest.]
[It shall be further revealed at the end, as you've chosen this Island yourself.]
[Difficulty: Grade S]
[Special mission is assembled in this levelless arena.]
[Goal: Protect the child against waves of enemies and you shall be rewarded with my grace.] Mindarch said cheerfully as if he couldn't wait to give Murai more attention.
“What the fuck!?” Shrill quacks echoed, stopping Mindarch's dozen tones of cheerful laughing. “A protection mission? Really?! Are you seriously messing with my wings? Laugh at my neck, I dare you! Or are you thinking of kicking my nuts or pinching my limbs to stretch them apart? I swear, who the hell do they think I am?!” Murai wasn't having great mental stability right now, which always changed in a blink because of more than 90 Islands that were already behind him. Those meant... a lot of bridges or stairs to ascend, or descend.
Pretty much every Challenger had various issues at this stage. Mentally or physically, they were reaching their limits. This was where stronger minds always won, while success meant great merits that crushed difficulties.
Nothing was free.
Mindarch knew all about it as a provider and jailer of this whole temple, which made Lorry a partner in crime in this regard.
This left out Lisa, who, for once, touched on this subject more than once by having a rare period of peace with Murai. She had a lot to mention and pursue with many topics between them, ensuring that the last 2 days weren't that dull and full of fighting.
Things slowed down significantly because of streamlined difficulties that hid tests, forcing Murai to always think of strategies, or on what to focus on before every Island.
Why? It wasn't his usual practice, Lisa knew. One always went on and on, failed, restarted, or kept going until the bitter end.
While Mindarch shouldn't be an overly active voice in this regard, as Guides were enough to point out any of his interests.
Lorry was still part of this picture, but Mindarch was more of a ruler of this temple than Lisa understood. It gave interesting topics much better touches. She knew that a lot of Challengers were up there in Mindarch's interest, but seeing him give so much attention to Murai was interesting. She doubted it was just a coincidence, which might be good or bad depending on some unclear doubts.
Slowly, she began to ignore it after Mindarch spoke to them more than a hundred times, giving her a much better understanding of the situation. Murai deserved this interest, similar to how he deserved her interest. Mindarch had some motivation to be like this, similar to her, yet some things may be obvious and unlike her.
Lisa knew better. It hardly mattered if she heard Mindarch's voice on her 1st visit or not. In her other time, it was a different story because her power and interest shook some limits and Breached some fools along the Gates. She angered some Overlords, but she laughed at them instead. In that matter, she was no different from Razmund and Murai, albeit in different layers.
The issue about Murai was on another level from hers. She acknowledged that idea a long time ago. So while Murai was clueless about a lot of things because he had a lot on his mind, she began to understand him better.
Mindarch spoke again of some sense, rules, and statements that didn't need any questions. Murai can quack how he could, high, low, like a horse or a dog, but it didn't matter.
[Island 93 shall start in 4 minutes. Be ready and quick, Citizen M.]
[The ongoing procedure of this protection goes by an untold amount of waves and untold time limitations. Isn't that an exciting variable? Kill them before being overwhelmed!]
[Oh, and let's not forget about the target. Don't let your chess piece die.]
[Citizen M should do his best.]
[Try us!]
An involuntary horror filled Murai's mind when Mindarch stopped speaking, and instead of his voice, a beeping sound echoed into the arena, noting him every passing second. He hated it immediately.
“Kidding... Foolish cretins. They are toying with me. Shut up! Screw you!” He cursed this noise that posed as nothing but additional stress. He loathed it in less than dozens of beats.
But in the end, he had no time for arguments, since Mindarch was unwilling to make any compromises. He always stated his messages with relative fairness, but Murai still acted the way he did because the stress was getting on his nerves.
No one was around him to berate him, stop him, or call him names. Lisa would certainly get him from his high horses, grounding him like a whispering succubus behind his ears.
She was good at it. Unsurprisingly.
With that said, Murai was either to do this protection mission or... There was only a single choice.
Murai changed his stressed voice to the silent acceptance as if he had faked it. Mindarch's words were more like a simple statement where giving up meant stopping this whole ordeal, but that wasn't the case. By all rights, if a Challenger went through a couple of Ending Isles successfully, that meant they could get it done either way.
But how exactly?
A single goal entered his mind. He had to protect this boy at all costs, which could mean many things or a single act. Mindarch wasn't specific on dangers or waves, but one thing was clearer than the stars above his head.
There were none, same to his calmness or the Order in this place.
Protecting the boy was all to this situation. It was a single rule, so was he even supposed to kill those waves of foes? It sounded like a recommendation, even though Murai wasn't included in the rules besides being a protector who handled the fate of this boy alone.
He concluded that this Island wasn't about him whatsoever. Foes will want the elven boy instead of him. Was that all? Was he too sensitive and overthinking this? Mindarch hadn't mentioned failure once, while protection and waves were completely different from the other Islands.
Well, it wasn't as if Murai would care to hear about a failure. Those words were better left out before becoming reality.
With a firm mindset, Murai stretched his neck and legs. Then he walked towards his target who remained stagnant, stoic, and hardly impressed by Mindarch's voice, Murai's soft feathers, or ridiculous quacks.
Perhaps he hadn't even noticed his presence, or how Murai appeared before him like a lost duck.
Murai wasn't even reaching his waist. In fact, he was far away from it because this boy was around 130 centimeters tall.
“Well, dogshit...” Murai almost cursed this situation again but refrained himself like a proper protector. Wrong! He was a bodyguard! That sounded way better in his head.
He had done that sort of job in his past life, so he cheered himself up by appearing like a thug duck that was ready to smack some asses, kick some faces, or crack some skulls. Or was it different? Had he gotten it backward?
“This kid's going to be bothersome. He is already half in the End with this kind of attitude.” He mumbled to himself, glancing up to see the lifeless face this boy had. “I swear my Soul Read can be way too assertive sometimes. It gives me flashbacks... Not good ones too. If he dies, will it be my fault? What am I even considering... Of course, it makes sense. I will protect him, I suppose. Not for myself by the way! Don't get me wrong...” Murai quacked, pointing his wing upward to make a statement but the boy kept his expression numb.
Murai stood before him next, appearing to wait in calmness, but deep down, his Shaping was itching for a change and everything under his arsenal was ready to go. He can go all out right away, regardless of this boy or not. It looked a bit weird, considering a duck stood before a lifeless elven boy who lost touch with reality.
With the time ticking by, the minutes disappeared and even the beeping noise stopped.
Murai hadn't even noticed it as his mind went over every possible scenario that could mean protection in mind. His plans could be numerous, various in length and mass, but he knew the aspects of such missions. Strength wasn't important. The job was. Protection meant many things, similar to magic, rather than his body. As a duck, his range of motion was limited around this large Island, so when protecting this large target with his body, he believed in his magic more.
But that will be not up to him. If his magic won't be enough for the waves of enemies... Well, this will be difficult if it would be the case.
Experience from his past life—that was relatively fresh—played a surprisingly firm role in his decision-making process. As a former assassin, actions and possible ways to kill this child meant he could act against them.
Murai wasn't aware of what Mindarch had in mind with those waves, but let's not forget this was an Island Graded at S! It was supposed to be difficult like that freak of a Low Lich!
Plans often changed amid some storms, so Murai was sure of his uncertainty.
A prepared man was often a safer man. It could be said with ducks in mind too, hopefully.
Can his fight go well while protecting this empty boy who lost the will to live? That, by itself, sounded like the hardest thing that was contradictory and weird.
Sensing his Soul Read revealed massive dread pain and numbness. Like his appearance, everything about this boy was a lost cause.
So Murai ignored his Soul Read for the time being and opted for his Sonar. A surge of it cruised around this whole Island, shimmering the mana, ground, and dust around. The child held some familiarity over the blissful magic. A fledgling Mana Core was hiding under his midsection, but dull and barely flinching under his Sonar that washed over him, shuddering him a few times.
The boy moved for the first time but in fear and instincts rather than serving the norm. He still kept his expression numb and stood like a doll.
“I feel sorry for you.” Murai reckoned, noticing that his mana was also lost cause, but that wasn't because it was poor. It hadn't gotten its chances to shine at this sort of depth, but it had a general quality that an elf might hold.
But with a broken mind, thinking about magic was useless. Both malnourished and empty in mind, he was the best example of a broken slave that went through |Hell.
Choosing to become numb to every emotion, or living as a doll was a mere physiological trick and excuse to get out of the misery.
Murai saw an unnatural amount of people like this in some of his lives. Misery went along nicely with the power and cultures of many worlds that touched on the aspects of higher powers. Gods were all about it, unsurprisingly. Strength and power made it all possible.
It didn't matter when considering intellect, culture, or how advanced some worlds were from others.
This Battleworld may be advanced in terms of power, its people and cultures may be brutal, harsh, and primitive on many continents or places.
Murai wasn't surprised even a little bit to see this boy like this. After all, where was he again?? A place that toyed with living lives, acting like a farm, where their worth had specific values. He killed many of the foolish foes that Mindarch sent after him, so Muraio knew he was right.
The starting wave began with a portal that went straight from the Hell Haven or some other place, appearing like a bright hole a dozen meters before him.
It opened right away, revealing limbs that stretched from it to the ground, air, and screeching noises revealed a nasty aura and silhouettes from nightmares.
For a nice starting touch, a demon emerged. It wasn't the kind that Murai was as familiar with since there were so many variables in the universe of beasts or demons alike, there were literary millions of their variants. Demons were insane.
Battleworld with its evolutions messed with it even further, giving them more faces and powers.
To remember the names of them wasn't what Murai ever thought of. He will kill all that will move anyway. Roughly, it resembled a myth of Minotaurus that was barely salvageable in his mind.
Bigger than any human, it had curved legs and countless tendrils of hair that had hands at their tips. It walked on a pair of sturdy legs, and it was fairly muscular and pretty much like a human in structure but bigger. Hands ended with wide and sharp claws and its body was hairy and had no clothes. It had no intellect, as it was primitive and demonic to its bone.
And the most bizarre thing was its head which had a thick and rather weird inhuman appearance. It was what made this a demon, rather than a beast. That was the most rightful claim, as it was hard to point it in words. Resembling something human but at the same time inhuman were the basics of being a demon.
Eerie.
Disgusting.
Sick.
Those words were often definitions of anything demon-related, but even demonic races held incredibly vast differences. Some were rich, some were weak.
Something like a Succubus race was much more gracious in their powers, rich in intellect and latent talents. They held vastly superior bloodlines, which meant status when it came to any demons.
Murai would know about it. He was one of them at some point, while his current body had some demonic roots as well.
But roots were roots. It was the difference that mattered, establishing demons as progenitors to insanity.
This one was clearly that, as it almost looked abstract in the sense of its head and tendril hands. It had a grotesque jaw that was wide and full of white teeth. And it screamed when it stepped out of the portal, revealing its 4 meters of height and thick body like the toughest rock.
Murai wasn't impressed. It looked as if it was an experiment gone wrong.
He imagined it wasn't far from the truth.
Demons had universal flow onto their Bloodlines, which made them most suitable for experimenting or researching anything related to naturally occurring evolutions. Breeding powers, science, and so on then played some parts in many worlds.
Demons were ancient beyond common means. It was said their wild predecessors birthed everything under the heavens because of the sheer mass of their variants and then... mutants that changed the status quo of the universe. That was long ago. Even humans were part of that, along with countless other races that went out of them.
However, more often than not, demons were disfigured monsters filled with madness and Chaos.
It was a bit peculiar topic, considering how Murai viewed this topic in his old head. He was put into this flow literary thanks to his Anatidae's quality or secrets that were unknown to him. One thing was still there. His mana and the context of his memories.
In some way, he wasn't that far from such creatures internally, but as with everything, the exterior mattered. He was duck... so he wasn't interested in contrast. He needed to seek his own improvements and secrets and what he could do to change it.
Direct knowledge and how it all was happening was one key to moving forward. That was the rule he had always desired, and for some reason, he felt he wasn't far from having some basic understanding of his current circumstances.
Fighting helped with that.
In his mind, this demon in front of him was far from a speck of intelligence, nor was it strong enough to pose a mental threat.
But its thickness and power weren't that poor, as it seemed ready to grab and shred him to pieces. Well, it was not aimed at him, because it was loud and hungry against the boy behind him.
That was to be expected, he reckoned.
Murai realized the anticipated problem. This demon could end the life of this boy with a flick of its hand because Mindarch provided its name and difficulty next.
[First Wave has started.]
[Foe: Demon called Minoxar.]
[Level: 35-38.]
[Pathless tools.]
[Notable aspects: demons with thick bodies and powerful flesh. Their intellect is shit, but their flesh is strong.]
Murai got this idea even without this message, so the premise of this Island was as he expected.
Problematic.
Without a moment to waste, Minoxar went at his enemy, ignoring Murai who was in the way.
He preferred this idea after some thinking, realizing that there was clear aggro at play. That meant an exploit that he could force, but it was a straight gamble instead because the boy was a huge target that could die in a blink. If the foes weren't aiming at him, he could move much better against their necks or sides, aiming at their weaknesses.
Thinking twice over it, it appeared Minoxar had made a rookie mistake like many of his past foes. Most underestimated him, before realizing the monstrosity and power he held.
It went straight to their instincts or some speck of intellect, viewing him with high regard, unlike with common sense. Either fleeting or fighting with the life on the line, which usually turned the fight more savage than it should've been, most foes he met were dangerous cowards that endangered him more because of it.
That was why Murai wasn't cruising past the upper half of this Gate as he did with the starting half.
Against this sort of enemy, he should be ruthless because of the rules and his decisions.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
It attacked with its arms, wanting to squash the boy in a quick finish. Its sharp and wide claw went for a fly that was unmoving, and it was expecting to crush him to end this Island on a high note.
Alas, before it was even halfway close, it was still far away in this desire when a duck made its move.
Murai shoved his glowing beak into Minoxar after he jumped high, flying like a rocket, clutching it so tightly and straight, he penetrated deeply into its neck. He wiped the part of its flesh apart, and thick and dense red blood, almost as if it was black, poured from the punctured neck. Murai winced his beak before it even reacted, moving sideways to make a quick swipe to the side, attacking the torse with the residues of his Peak.
Part of the torso split open, letting even more blood away, but it was yet to be death.
Murai had to abandon its upper body because its hair swirled to a motion, attacking him. Landing on the ground, he successfully ended its charge as blood poured out and steps trembled. Dangerous hands were still reaching to touch the boy, but they were far away.
Murai sneered at it, letting another flick of Peak crack into the already revealed cut, exploding and forcing more blood onto the ground. Even through this gore and filth, the boy was yet to even flinch at this sight. Some of the blood even ended up on his shirt and face, but he didn't seem to care.
Murai didn't care either, knowing that the boy was a lost cause. Minoxar was still standing when the bloodshed took its toll. It took a second before it crumbled down to its End, growling in unwillingness, but the bloody mess was too much for it.
Seconds later, Murai watched as another Minoxar appeared out of the still-opened portal. It was the exact same one from before, and even its actions were the same.
This enraged him. Nobody seemed to learn a lesson. Not even Mindarch, but it seemed he got more than he deserved. Levels 35 to 38 acted as an interesting selection since it wasn't that long ago when such foes would be a dangerous threat to him. Now, he was killing such foes in quick steps, albeit without the magic he wanted to test.
He figured he was wrong. He needed to be quick, and his magic wasn't enough against this sort of foe.
Not only did Murai have time to act, but he took advantage of this chance by jumping sideways after witnessing that it ignored him again. At incredible speed and force, he ended his Peak on a much more accurate and stronger note, reaching the side of the head and neck, before crushing into its temple that was its clear weakness.
Brain, tendrils, and skull exploded, and through cracks in the skull that were hiding behind the weird tendrils that couldn't stop his Peak, another Minoxar met its End.
Blood flowed and gore splashed through the holes and fleshly crevices of this poor Minaxor that stumbled to the ground as if struck by lighting. it barely knew what ended its life, or how it even happened.
This starting wave went on for about a dozen or so times, dumping one Minaxor after the other from a glowing portal. Murai figured this was getting intentionally time-consuming because each of them was quite a sturdy target to kill quickly and well enough to disallow them from reaching the boy.
This was meant to test his patience or stamina, Murai thought.
Well, he was sure it was about stamina the most, or his acts or strategies were also tested? He didn’t know it, but Hell Haven was watching this play that Mindarch was constructing for days.
At the end of nothing but his patience, he was absolutely certain he had a chance to go for at least a hundred kills in this manner, as long as he will conserve his strength and his Peaks ended up being clean and accurate. He ended up using the most gentle Peak possible while ushering the stronger ones to ensure the nastiest kills.
His mana space should allow it, while his Beast Core wasn’t barking at him like an untrained dog. It visibly calmed after he kept his Artificial Core going, but he always put some care into it, fearing the repercussions of his mana that skimmed with a technique from a very different world.
Murai didn't want another overdraft, so he paid his Beast Core as much attention as he could. If the goal was to not go overboard, it was partly up to him and these waves, rather than anything else. And this was especially dangerous and harsh when those damned demons came in their thickness that needed his Peak, wanting to devour and kills the boy.
Spending mana and killing them was still doable. Until the whole platform was littered with gore and blood, making moving around painful and fighting unclear.
Murai was no different from the floor, feeling that every feather on his body was dark red. He had no time to flap his wings and shake his body like a sorry duck.
He was basically slaughtering each Minoxar so far, but how much Chaos do these waves have in them?
Not much, he hoped.
A new foe went ahead from the portal, ending the fighting against sturdy-looking Minoxars that went for exactly 12 quick back-to-back duels. Murai didn’t count how many he killed, and from the blood around the arena, he thought he fought more of them because of their mass and thickness.
Another wave looked to be much easier to see, as they were not thick demons. It was a familiar foe—an undead. To be specific, Undead Knight was his next time-consuming project. It looked to be similar to the ones he fought at the end of Gate 1, but stronger like the ones he met a few times in the past Islands.
A single shiny Knight that was of the human race walked out of the portal. The premise of duels wasn’t there, as its hunt for the boy still prevailed even though Murai’s obscurities or bloody sight around the arena. At least so far, nothing should change even if a bunch of bones comes here to play.
The knight was looking strong, and as it extended its steps forth, it revealed its weapons.
Mindarch felt to bear his responsibilities and talked.
[Another wave has started.]
[Foe: Undead Knight.]
[Level 33-37]
[Various Paths: Vibrant Sword, Vanguard, Herding Shield, Vibrant Earth.]
[Same ol’ shit. Kill before your boy is dead.]
[That's it.]
Holding a neat sword, the knight’s armor protected its bones. A shiny aura was dense around the visible bones, giving it a noticeable enchanted feeling that the majority of undead got in this place. The sword was ready to chop the boy to pieces, and its steps were steady and experienced.
Murai already knew this kind of enemy from more than a few fights. This one was looking stronger than those Minoxars even though they were lower in level on average. They should be much more powerful because of the differences that proper Paths provide. He wasn’t sure which Path this one held, but not like it mattered.
Mindarch picked a few from the many undead armies this place didn't lack, and from the way this Knight held his shield and sword, it was no wonder why.
When lives get lost, the undead can rise.
It didn’t mean much to Murai if he killed them anyway.
Alas, this knight was better than the ones in Gate 1. Its speed, flexibility, and strength were all great, making it a foe that held some specific advantages thanks to its Path. Starting to appear around Island 60, the qualitative change over the undead drastically changed his opinion of them.
It was hard to use some advantages or tricks against them. Brute force was the best way to crack their bones, rather than find a way around their armor or swords. Murai had to think or use twice as much power than usual to deal with such knights.
Mindarch ensured the variety of foes. Undead were still the most common kind of foes, albeit their faces and powers can vary too. But at the end of the day, the Islands of Greatness that Murai went against still lacked substantial differences or variants of them.
It was all because of his level. 100 was a number that established time and battles, but at its core, this temple had only one kind of tool that was very easy to replenish and use.
Undead. Most of their kind was easy to create, thanks to the various living and warring states of efforts around Hell Haven, bearing those that touched the ways of the Chaos.
Murai was glad about that idea and these knights. He discovered what this Variant Island held.
Essences. numerous foes will mean more chances for drops and some loot. Undead didn’t fear their injuries, so they were fairly easy to manage since they lacked the basic instincts of living targets. Well, how easy that might be depending on their equipment and power.
Murai pushed himself hard, so he started to meet much tougher undead than ever before. Now, the ones from the Welcoming Party were laughable.
Similar to Minoxar, Undead Knight went straight for the boy, but this time, it made some changes by noticing Murai who stood before its target.
Knight held a much lower height, so its perspective and glowing Soul Flames had their effects, insights, and intellect. It was stronger, even though its level wasn’t necessarily that high. In its instincts, it was the kind of undead made from well-trained knights for nobility.
The knight was still a dull undead without the ability to speak, making its decision lean on instincts alone. That overlapped with the basic prose of its rules or way of nature, disregarding many kinds of norms. In a way, they were slaves to their makers or their bones or instincts alone. Death wanted more death. It was a common quote.
But what were undead if not heaven-defying? They shouldn’t exist, but their mere existence was making their souls unable to go to Afterlife. Chaos should have no problems with it, and given the body was already dead, its advantages were obvious.
Murai also thought of such enemies. It could be suicidal, pushing it to die and kill the boy as well. It was something that went against human nature and Order, which made many undead formidable enemies if they were numerous.
But numbers weren't important in this Island, nor in Murai's decision processes.
He hated that he was correct. Undead Knight’s appearance was way too great to pass on since they should be one of the best choices to kill the boy behind him with very little cost. Just giving them enough power, defenses, and strength, and some limits won’t matter.
In this way, the undead was almost like a ticking bomb that would explode, killing itself and the boy in the process.
For now, this didn't happen.
Undead Knight was still acting in a reserved manner, giving rise to its sturdiness that was looking to be quite annoying. Its armor was Murai's main opponent in his mind, right behind the shield it held.
Though the demon from before wasn't that far from its level, the flesh was at least easier to cut and shatter. The bones were not much different, but its current equipment looked to be leaps and bounds better than those loose excuses in Gate 1.
There was a clear line between having good equipment ranging below level 30 and those around level 40.
Murai discovered their differences, while the most significant change was their Paths and auras around them. Their strength and qualities, along with differences, moved under his experiments whenever he met an undead in a few dozen Islands in total. His beak moved against such things, testing their qualities among many other things.
Some of those held great and old instincts that one would expect from a master. It put forth some differences at some specific angles, and Murai couldn't truly take advantage of his beak against well-established armors most undead were wearing.
Aftermatch usually meant his beak slid off the metal, or the undead’s deflection would push his body away, or straight up hit him back. Lacking puncture and proper physical collision from his hits diminished his attempts.
And this Undead Knight wore one of the better-looking armor sets that he had seen in on an undead. It was almost alarming how smooth and proper it looked, which meant its speed shouldn't be that high. A tough fortress was hard to move in when meat wasn't there. And looking for openings or doors was often a risk that was often met with dangerous traps.
Undead Knight was holding a shield in one hand, brandishing a long sword in the other as it strode forward. Slow, its steps were weighing its choices and the prey.
It walked away from the portal, directly marching towards the target, ignoring the mess of gore in the arena. Its shield wasn’t tall or heavy, but round, meant for quicker combat and easier maneuvers. It was about the width of its armored torso, giving it flexible and great defense manageable for one hand.
The longsword was right at the side of the shield, where its pokes should be very effective. It put the shield forth, protecting the upper body but not the legs. The left side of the shield held the sword aside, forming the weakness that Murai had exploited whenever he met this kind of foe.
How?
By blending his magical flexibility and brute strength.
Shields were fairly easy to work around in many ways. Their effectiveness depended on the shield, but the wielder usually limited himself by trusting it far too much. Murai could shake its structure or crack its fundamental structures like a piece of wood, but as long as its base or the wielder wasn’t lacking, Murai didn’t know if the equipment was good for his tries.
And then, the armor sounded like the real problem.
In his perspective, the added flexible and good shield was a nice combo towards its Vanguard Path that this knight held. Its sword was ready on the side, making it apparent that it knew what it was doing. However, there was something strange and obvious that Murai could do.
Considering there were no duels on this Island, Murai could ignore this half-dead boy and focus on every enemy first by killing them without worrying about him.
It was an idea he got after dealing with the Minoxars, and his style of gambling choices and fighting wasn't that bad. However, he wasn't sure how viable it was against proper foes. All he had to do was to kill the enemy without thinking anything else.
Easily said, right?
Whatever foe will end up before him, all he should do was to kill them before they would harm the boy.
Sounded like a simple rule. Well, perhaps.
He still went with it.
Murai jumped forward, leaving the boy alone. Attacking the Undead Knight in a swift motion of his Beak's Blitz, he engaged in combat right away without giving the knight any chance to touch the boy.
It worked.
And the knight fought back, ignoring its purpose which was to hunt the motionless elven boy.
A thin spread layer of mana was around Murai's beak, while the further it went on in its barrages or exchanges, the brighter and greater it became.
Like a maddened duck, Murai slammed and swung his neck, pounding the shield, or crashing against the swinging blade that went against his beak. The qualities of his Blitz worked better against this sort of exchange than he expected. Fabulously, even. Blitz was far too flexible and taking the hits well. Not only did he not lose a speck of momentum, but instead, he pushed the undead a step away.
He put a lot of effort into it, hoping to see how quickly he could deal with it in the least amount of pain and time.
His Blitz went under its constant shifting attacks that went strictly against the shield or sword. Both were stronger than he thought, but they still trembled after dozens of strikes. And a few cracks spread in the shield's metallic luster, closing on cracks.
Seeing the decreasing chances, or Murai's strength, the knight struck with the sword in a much stronger fashion by switching its stance, aiming at the crazy duck that was right on his angled shield because its knees bent backward.
A swing met an open Blitz.
A swift, ready, and sharp crack echoed in the arena. Murai broke the sword in half, which was impressive because it didn't shatter into countless pieces as he expected. That meant the metal quality was excellent, but still lower than his beak.
Murai snapped his beak, making the same move against the top of the shield by using Blitz in a different motion than stab or swipe.
It had some biting power too, as the beak was still a beak and not some sword. Peak didn't have this sort of flexibility at all. Not even a little. Peak was all about the qualitative yet closed powerful smack. Nothing more.
Forcing and focusing on his powerful bite, he pushed with his momentum to move the shield down, crashing the knight to the ground.
It struggled in its fall, but it still held no proper stability because of the weight of its armor and Murai's push. It fell, so Murai jumped up, kicked the shield away, and smacked the helmet aside. Taking a moment to destroy its skull, he shoved his Blitz at the section of the shoulder, swinging upward to crack the neck apart. Hence, this Undead Knight was out of its life.
Before having a chance to cheer for his kill, another knight appeared from the portal.
It was the same-looking one that was on the gory ground, but this time, it was quicker in its legs because its armor was less thick and its shield was round and barely as wide as its forearm.
And it hurried closer to the left-out boy, who remained indifferent to everything. Knight took advantage of Murai's mistake to fight it out in a location that was slightly away from the portal and the boy. Murai screamed, jumping to action to save that fool of an elf.
Knight's charge was way too quick, disallowing Murai to act that far. In his momentary panic, he conjured a Proper Mana Blade as fast as his present time allowed. Mana moved so quickly and savagely, that it swayed and swirled in barebone motion of Shaping. A rough cutting edge of a blade cut the air, making up for the lack of his range while the flow and its appearance were sketchy and poor.
He successfully pushed the knight away, by stumbling its steps when he hit its side and back. He didn't kill it. Knight staggered but its long sword cut into the boy, making a shallow cut.
It still counted.
Boy didn't care for it, unlike Murai who was furious. This simple mistake was like a slap to his face because a failure wasn't on his mind.
But not entirely. Perhaps he was thinking of it too badly because the slave was a child and this place carried quite a savage grading scheme. Unfortunately, it took its toll, since Murai was starting to get used to it after more than 90 Islands.
Hurrying back, Murai knew the knight was still closer to the boy, but it was wide open. He waited for nothing. A quick second swipe of the swirling blade manifested a little better, moving like a shadow, and ensuring another cut.
The knight noticed the change and its failure. It swung again at the boy after quickly stomping the ground, but the sword clashed against mana. Clash ensured, and another Blade later, aimed at the head, the back of its helmet cut into the bones, opening enough for the blade to move through, cutting into the neck.
It didn't go well, so Murai put his mana into more shaping and used simply more of it. Quantity was often the answer for lacking strength, so with dozens of slices and clashes, he cut the head off.
The clutter of bones became dull inside of the armor, so when it hit the ground, it made noise.
Celebrations or curses were useless.
Another Undead Knight followed the suit of the fallen one, ensuring that the wave was consistent and quick.
Murai went back and forth, but closer to the boy and portal than before, dancing and flying like a maddening duck.
Sometimes, they managed to reach the flesh of their target, but nothing was worse than a cut. or small stab. Nothing life-threatening, apart from Murai’s consistent curses and anger issues.
So far, he recognized his overconfidence and the harsh conditions of this Island. Protection was very hard for him.
Murai found different difficulties, unlike in pretty much any of the past Islands. Thanks to the changes between Blitz and his Proper Mana Blade, moving and paying attention to his actions, the boy's location, and his enemies worked wonders for his understanding.
He opted to not use his Sonar because its action wasn't needed. Clashes went quickly and weren't difficult. His problems were more in his movement and the fact that he had to keep others in mind. Sonar also had a clear cost that he rather kept behind unnecessary expenditures.
Murai cursed wildly inside his head, but there was a weird pleasure in overcoming such a difficult challenge.
Every kill of the Undead Knight of various Paths eased his anger a little. Some were light in shields and armors, while some held some thick eart and stone elemental shield or armors, noting of some Paths that he didn't care about. All of them were around the general power of an undead human species.
Knights depicted the body, while their Paths all moved within a Chaos Divide and Pathway of an Undead. Undead Knight was merely a point in undead life that was better than being a skeleton, hence the name. Above it, there were other names for them.
After more fighting, Undead Knights slowly disappeared, followed by a few other waves.
1st were demon Minoxars.
2nd were Undead Knights on the verge of a breakthrough to become Captain, while still holding onto the instincts of their Paths.
3rd were Lizards holstering weapons like Undead Knights but were living tougher beings and complicated foes in different ways.
A Lizard was a humanoid monster in the shape of a crocodile but with more human features. It had a thick tail behind it, and instead of normal skin, it had tough green-colored scales. The color depicted their bloodline legacy that pointed to actual Dragons. While their head was resembling them in a much broader and wild manner, these Lizards weren’t that potent because of their level.
These were low in talents of their bloodline, but their bite held sharp teeth, and their skill in weapons and fighting weren’t worse than that of those Undead Knights.
They were great fighters as they should be, because they were one of countless battling races that lived in this world. They held light and round shields with short swords for quick combat, but some of them held broadswords, or even construcs for Handlers, making them rare magic-wielding foes.
And here in this Variant Island, they were problematic, as they could attack from distances. Murai paid them especially grim focus and price with his mana or body for none of them to hit the boy with some long-range spells.
They weren't clumsy enemies at all, making them filled with possible evolutions and many Paths. Their tough scales were their armor, proving elemental protection that was part of their skin-like armor.
But before Murai, they were just Lizards. Their attacks did meet the wide-open boy just a few times, while it took some effort on his side to kill each of them cleanly so no magic or flying dagger went to the boy.
Sometimes, Murai was even using his feathers and wings like a shield, figuring that their defenses were enough to deflect or push some spells or daggers aside. It was a neat addition to his discoveries, making the wings kind of cool and unexpectedly flexible.
He dealt with Lizards without thinking and fighting more than a single enemy. So far, he kept his time limits tight.
As for the 4th wave, those were very problematic foes.
Armondols.
Those were devilish creatures with wings that held devil and demon bloodlines. It resembled a sickly thin human, with thin features and bodies. In a poor sense, they were like vampires, but feral like beasts.
Then, they stormed from the portal and ended up having much notable intelect. They even spoke, but most of them growled, screamed, and hoped to kill the boy.
Murai didn't care for them, so a series of raspy shouting Armondols, who wanted nothing but the blood of that boy, died one by one.
Their speed ended up disappointing Mindarch, as it was not enough to pose a threat to Murai's Shaping or strategies. Murai changed his strategy to move along with each foe, while his idea to move in a circle and close to the elven boy gave him numerous advantages. Overall, he had fun with his strategies and his arsenal gave him a proper outlook on his limits.
Armondols lacked defenses, so Murai killed them all in exchange for a few wounds on the boy that he couldn’t catch in time.
By this point, the boy was shuddering in pain and bled, no longer able to ignore the pain. He would've begun to cry, but perhaps he wouldn't dare to even start that act.
Murai noted some bolstered emotions that began to appear in the boy. Soul Read was constant, albeit he often opted to ignore it as much as he could. Having flaring soul-based powers that worked at all times wasn't appealing. Thankfully, having few around to read wasn't giving him any problems.
He discovered that the boy was hiding even more pain than expected.
Slowly, emotions moved beyond the forceful indifference as blood overcame his mind. He started to cry in silence, trembling and appearing like a doll that was lost in some swamp.
Expressionless but crying, he looked even more miserable.