Lisa watched how the Heavenly Shaping Tome flickered in its pages, letting the intangible Will back to the sleepy-looking Murai. It felt like a push of wind that winced his body. He got back inside where he belonged and looked at Lisa a feather distance away.
“Are you fine?” She asked when Murai shuddered on the spot and backed away from her as if he saw a ghost.
Feeling his mana space fine, he calmed when the bits and pieces of the large legacy entered his mind. Overdraft passed and everything that Pillage wanted to give him was there in his mind. Ready to be taken by his memories. There was a lot of information, but also a lot of discovering, learning, and teachings he had to go through.
All of the memories were kind of chaotic and shambled as if Pillage piled them without regard for Order.
Which wasn't wrong. That was exactly what Pillage wanted and intended. Sorting things wasn't up to him.
Murai was no longer that confident to cruise through them in a heartbeat. It will take time to take the most out of them. He will have to apologize to Pillage, who kind of hoped for more time, but he already talked to him for what felt like numerous minutes.
That was longer than average expectancy because the first-time connection always spent most mana in the exchange of legacy. Pillage not only introduced himself, got his ideas across, but also showed him the example of his Heavenly Shaping. He created that Blade so effortlessly and with such low mana, Murai felt he caught the master playing with a kid's toy.
Adjusting his position, Murai was still in a little shock. Legs wobbly, he was on the ground close to the Space Cage. “I've met someone interesting in that book,” he said to her head as he got over the shock in a heartbeat.
“Met?” Lisa asked out loud, forgetting about Lorry. “Who?”
“Ghost.” Murai laughed and went over the flashes of Pillage's information first. It included ideas, pictures, and techniques that touched with the fundamentals, truth, and principles of the Heavenly Shaping for a beastly Child.
It wasn't specific for Anatidae, unsurprisingly. He expected that, so he was satisfied after a perfectly fine legacy entered his mind. It was like Pillage wanted and desired. It was a highly versatile Shaping Technique.
Anyone could usually adjust and touch these principles on their own, while Pillage only set the spark ablaze by creating this foundation.
It was as universal as Murai expected, which provided only a single response. It was suitable for his needs, albeit it was rough and Pillage wasn't all that familiar with the Anatidaes, but Murai didn't know it.
Feeling it at first glance, there were doubts, but the Blade example that Pillage created, along with a bunch of mental images, helped a lot in practicality. It corresponded well with the information he sent him, or his brief explanations.
Murai was very efficient in sorting them out, viewing them, and getting them into a proper spectrum of importance and interest. Their context moved to the rest of his memories, mashing most under his mind that thought of them as important or not. The degree of that changed when he shuffled some things away, viewing what he deemed worth or what Pillage considered as a priority.
It was a straight-up foundation that his life always lacked, and it arrived unexpectedly while carrying surprising qualities that he hadn't expected. So he cheered to no end in his mind, obvious to Lisa who glanced at him in confusing shock after she felt his emotions and who knew what else.
It didn't matter to him if Heavenly Shaping was more complicated than he thought. It was perhaps even better, from what Lorry and Lisa said about it from the very start, while Lisa talked about Pillage and the Tome aside numerous times in their resting exchanges.
He realized that most wouldn't handle this sort of idea, or Levadis didn't want to make it public, so the piece of shitty book kept rotting away without its use.
So.... why did she let him take it?
It was kind of sad. Murai felt some sympathy for Pillage for sure. His living gave him more than enough time, life, and memories, so this was like the finest set of gifts that could fuse with even older context. It cleared many of his doubts to the heights of some insanity.
Lisa looked at him in doubt. “Was it that good there? What... are you thinking and seeing?” She asked after getting some idea that she felt through their connection.
“Yes. Good stuff.” Murai nodded, which she took for what she had assumed was correct.
Murai found something great through the gift Lisa took for something else. She felt something move thinly in his soul, but it was too confusing for her unless he would give her the memories or some mental help. A simple voice or his Fragments would give it much better clarity.
On her own, getting clarity—that occurred out of her sight—wasn't that easy. She had to dive deeper for more attention and Murai wouldn't give her this privilege yet.
She needed patience, so she shut up, figuring to ask about it when the time would be better. If it involved Pillage as she dared to think, it could be massive.
“Then cheer up.” She slapped the side of his beak, almost stumbling him away.
Murai growled and didn't care for that. He kept thinking of what he learned, half glancing at the flickering Space Cage, closed Heavenly Shaping Manual, and Lisa who talked about Pillage at great lengths not that long ago.
He talked to his Intent. Not him, but him also. It was weird. It wasn't some ghost, or something lost or artificial. Such things as letting a piece of one's mind survive through the End were fairly impressive achievements that were hard to tame in their meaning. Pillage stored his essential part, unwilling to part away from what he created, or he clinched for his life.
Now, he was a unique existence that was partly whole, yet not really. He was alive and not alive at the same time. A piece of his soul that might have been crazy and powerful at some point in time, ended up rooting in slumber.
Pillage didn't mention how he did it, but it was something insane that Murai comprehended. It was about soul fragmenting, which was something he knew but didn't know from where or how. Anyhow, Pillage died, yet some piece of his soul stayed, remaining in some form that hindered the Order and Laws of the universe. It was him inside of that manual, forever trapped unless some special touches came to his rescue.
Such things as warping the lines of what was physical and possible for souls was a vague concept as anyone would expect.
Why did Pillage fragment his soul? Was he dying, figuring some curse on his own, or had no willingness to touch the very End of everything? Was that act for the sake of his Heavenly Shaping alone? If so, Murai was more than impressed by his sacrifice and firm decision that must've been hard.
Shaking his feathers and standing up, Murai calmed his mind. “How long have I been gone?” He asked Lisa.
“Like an hour?”
“An hour? Felt less... or more? My soul space seems stable enough and my mana too, so that seems about right.”
“Does it? Must be because of that tome, or the effect of your Replenishment and this Gate? Mana kept flowing into you, cycling like your mana and this world offers. Cheaply as I've said, you see.” She gave him her idea; it was better than his guess.
“Murai shouldn't look for great answers that have already happened,” Lorry said without knowing even half of what they did.
Murai got plenty of answers to pass upcoming madness. He will take the mantle of the opened Heavenly Shaping without thinking twice about any regrets. If Lorry didn't care about losing this thing, then Mindarch or Levandis were the same.
It wasn't about the beast alone as he proclaimed to Pillage. Murai was right after all, but someone old or stubborn like Pillage trusted his failures.
There was far too much importance in Order of mana to create such things as locked limitations. Bloodlines did these, but mana was a universal-scale power. There weren't errors in Pillage actions or words either. He was right in his way, but Murai believed that Chaos was everywhere.
When he thought of this technique further, it was a concept that braced chaotic powers that many had. Mana allowed it, so where did the start and end of this idea end?
Why did Pillage consider beasts to be prime targets for Heavenly Shaping if he knew about the wilderness? Was it because of this world specifically?
Murai heard how this was Battleworld-involved power, yet he didn't understand it even after sorting his ideas out. Pillage insisted on the answers and his truth, depicting the Chaos and wilderness of beastly mana as one of many plausible reasons to make Heavenly Shaping workable. Perhaps something else would do the same thing.
But first, mastering it was the key.
Murai was skeptical. He didn't trust his guesses because Heavenly Shaping needed proper assurance and acted across all kinds of aspects of power. Only one thing mattered when touching what was hardly untouchable.
Comprehending the efficiency and flow of this technique weirdly resembled handling a massive amount of raging blob of currents. Dense and opposing, that was the gist of the mana that Pillage had in mind and Murai handled.
It wasn't as if beasts were loners in that vision.
But Pillage trusted it, and his position shouldn't have been small.
So Murai decided to offer this technique some thoughts, and further information gathered about it around the Battleworld will give him better ideas. Or Pillage will. Going into his manual anytime his mana could allow sounded like a good way to 10 times more help. He should be a good source of information, even if a bit outdated in general senses, but this was his legacy.
Murai found it kind of inexpensive, which confused him and his prior worry about why it remained in this place. As far as Levandis was concerned, tossing it to the Vault before forgetting all about it was a fitting choice for something hardly usable. She could've destroyed it straight away too, because as Ruler of a Hell Haven and a God, she saw through it right away.
At the end of the day, no one batted an eye at it at this place, even if a lot of beasts throughout the Battleworld looked for such legacies, hoping to change their lacking status that was just above the animals in general.
Heavenly Shaping had many variants that supplemented its one kind of legacy, but the true vision of Pillage's legacy was kept in a pair of his manuals where he kept the bits of his soul. Those were heaven above the rest, as they held much more than the secondary techniques Pillage also created and spread around the Battleworld for beasts or demons alike.
But all of it was known as Heavenly Shaping, or it went through many hands, changing in names or legacies.
Filled with all sorts of ideas that had many concepts, its history was clearer even if lost in their origin. Many of these were public or parts of the powers of this world, flooding or filling its purpose. Those were different and much easier to digest, as they held specific sections and bits of the overall technique that signified interest in Boosts or Will of the Battleworld's messages.
What Murai got wasn't everything, but it surely encompassed a whole more things than many sects preferred. His stage was set in motion without leaving a single page behind. Pillage wasn't cheap because he wanted it; the Heavenly Shaping by its physical picture posed as a portal to its internal world. Not a book to read.
Inside his head, along with the might of his soul that ate it all up, all sorts of things went along with his soul's incredible mass. It will turn, churn, or fuse where everything belonged.
Without hurry, Murai stretched his body and ignored Lorry as usual, while thinking about his mana, or how beasts did their bindings from his older memories, rather than his current body. It corresponded less than well, and the motion and rules seemed to be different when the workings of Heavenly Shaping came to his mind.
At its core, there was only one single thing that mattered. Something that he liked as a basic principle. A lot of techniques following mana took this idea in many forms or eights. That was ridiculous efficiency, which was a rough word for an act called training. Efficiency won't come on its own when wilderness was countering that possibility, because it lowered efficiency quite a lot.
He felt it numerous times as Pilalge teased him.
That was why Murai usually Shaped things before fighting, leaving Blades hovering around him. Arrows were the same, but Flame Shots needed Flame and aim, so he usually never pre-shaped them. They wouldn't get stable at all and turn useless instead.
All Shaping techniques, manuals, and mantras had their unique approaches to the rules of magic. Finding a good fit was thus, very important.
Murai told that to Pillage himself. What Pillage created was something that he pinched from all kinds of ways of magic, which adhered to the core of it all: mana and wilderness of the beasts.
Mashing many things together and creating something nice for the beast—which he was a prime example of—gave further headaches. Certain complications arose, and the deep roots of the racial issues arrived. Perhaps it was caused by this world that Pillage was part of, or was it the universe that didn't allow some acts?
Murai heard some mentions of something nasty in his memories. He decided to ignore them for the time being, which made him a little grumpy because there were many problems ahead.
Working in hindsight of the normal widespread Shaping was like shooting into the void for the beast with potent Bloodlines and talents. Shapers were exactly that, so Pillage created something for such beasts to rely on.
It wasn't shabby nor poor, more set like a convoluted high-class Shaping with different truths in it that made it eccentric and unique. It wasn't made for weaklings at all. More likely for the top 1%, if not more.
Wildnerness made it complicated, overhalling the norm and pointing to a chaotic direction that Murai wasn't unfamiliar with. In handling it himself, he wasn't that great.
Murai guessed the potential origin, similar to Pillage. Heavenly Shaping touched on the principles of demons and how their mana came to be and turned into beasts in distant eras. Demonic mana wasn't all that calm either, but their truths and foundations were deeper in different layers. They should be as chaotic, if not more than beasts, yet some demons knew magic in great heights.
Shouldn't they handle Heavenly Shaping as well? Murai thought so at first.
Not all beasts were the same, nor all beasts were magical or demonic. Demons were similar, as the spectrum in Chaos and talent was wide.
Murai found an interesting new toy that would cause numerous interesting problems, new time, and learning that he had never done in this life.
“Shall I finish these Islands, before going over this mess?” He wondered, looking away at the wide cave. The current platform was quite large even from his small perspective, but the scenery around the platform before the Space Cage was enough for his eyes.
99th Island was close to the other end of this cave, clustered and surrounded by almost 30 large Islands that were relatively close to one another. Not every one of them was part of the Ending Isles, but most were. Some were small or tall, or near the water, making the maze of bridges that were connecting some of them.
Among the pillars, his current location was one of the tallest and widest. Surprisingly, a lot of swaying or firm bridges came to this island, connecting a dozen of them into this one.
He wasn't paying attention to these cursed bridges that had been on his mind for a long time as well. At least the benefits of difficult Ending Isles were the tougher fights than going up or down the stairs of those bridges. Some were smooth pavement roads, but those were rare. He grew accustomed to them by the time he reached Ending Isles.
“What are you so afraid about, Murai Hisagi? It's just a couple of knocks ahead and you are over it.” Lise tried to cheer him up, noticing that the Heavenly Shaping would wait for another time.
“A couple? Does it sound that easy for you?”
“No.”
“Shit I hear you say is sometimes worse than stairs or those bridges” He sighed to ease his mood, uttering nonsense. He wanted to overhaul his mind to focus on the task at hand, rather than bearing the success of the Heavenly Shaping.
It will be a long-term investment he admitted into many stages. The number of exercises that Pillage recommended went according to his Panacea sup-species; Child and Beast Core included. Those were various guesses and things Pillage figured would fit Murai's choices.
He agreed with most of them. At least with something, Pillage helped more than Murai guessed.
Lisa smiled at him, figuring that he was planning to finish this Gate first before worrying about anything else, but that might not be good. She knew what awaited on the last Island, while her mind was halfway into Gate 3. She wondered what he would do against the enemies she had no clue about, but she heard his voice.
“Repeating or excusing the same shit over and over again isn't my style. I will do it, alright? This god-forsaken place can screw right off the face of the earth. I see it as I see it! I will do it! Yeah! Finish! Finito!” Murai hyped himself up, spreading his wings and quacking loudly, his voice echoed into the huge cave. Some currents and waves were hitting every pillar, creating ambient sound and wind. but not his quacks.
“Still so cheerful, huh?” Lorry wondered and knew some things that Murai didn't. Glancing away to the cave, he noticed someone interesting behind.
A lone figure, followed by a half skeleton moved on a bridge less than 200 meters away. Razmund was coming, bleeding and cursing the echoing quacks that he heard with discomfort. It was coming from some location he didn't want to see right now.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
The Last Island!
It came at last.
Razmund realized his time was gone out of his hands.
And Murai didn't even see him. Lorry did. Murai couldn't care if Razmund was close or far. He stepped into the Space Cage, leaving Lisa and Lorry behind.
Lorry glanced out of the current platform that was acting like a waiting room before the entrance. It was rectangular and enough to house a giant.
“Should I've told him?” Lisa asked, smirking and crossing her arms. She had a surprising amount of enjoyment in all of this facade that had questionable reasons.
“Doubt Murai would care for that either way, so no need. It's always funny to see people hype themselves before the last push of these Islands without even knowing it's the last one.” Lorry chuckled, no longer cursing his mind over what was happening with Murai or the Heavenly Shaping. Hoping he would have some understanding, Murai was remembering grudges quite well.
But their little secrets were just small white lies. 99th Islands was just a mark surrounding thousands of them. The true weight was on the Ending Isles, which Murai held in 10 whole fights back to back. Sometimes, Challengers wouldn't take so many of them, since Mindarch was the decider of what was considered Ending Isle, so that made the whole choice of the bridges and Islands kind of pointless.
Still, in the end, the road always ended in this one. 100th Island was a reward Island that took care of Keys, Influence Items, or special Artifacts that one might get a chance to acquire. Points came afterward.
“Lisa should've gotten Murai some potion, at least. For fun, or Murai's slowly creeping anger issues.” Lorry said as he turned away from watching Razmund shake his head, pulling his middle finger in his direction, before continuing onto his 89th Island.
Murai was in a state of blissful ignorance. A little look outside of the platform would give him nothing more than anger, but also clarity that Razmund was far away.
All of the rising tides of this place ended here, merging into a huge Cage on top of the enormous pillar.
Perhaps not knowing it was the last one was for the better. If he knew that a Guide and Lisa hid this behind their heads, he would've cursed them the same.
Beyond the veil of Space Cage, Murai arrived in what one would assume as a small town. Well, calling it a town was a generous term that had very little to warrant for it.
The pillar itself secured a large platform that was at least 100 meters in diameter. Dozens of big buildings formed a single wide street with them aside, creating a path ahead.
This was the arena for the last Island, extending across the whole diameter and dozens of meters in width.
On the opposite end of the street was something very nice for Murai's eyes. A huge portal glistered with a single purpose: let the winner out of this cave.
It was fairly big for a portal, with edges made of some stones, and with swirling mass of Chaos Space in the middle. It had various waves within its dozen-meter-tall appearance, acting as guiding factors of Chaos itself. It looked like a gate to another world, rather than a place to escape this hell.
The end of the Islands of Greatness held no choice of bridges to go through. That fact alone would cheer Murai up more than anything else, but he wasn't in the mood for that.
Hyping himself up ended useless as he stepped further into the street and looked around carefully. The sight of that portal was the least of his concerns.
He did take it for an escape, however. And a problem.
On each side of the street, many figures were standing, acting as his enemies to fight. They had a big variety, as some were still immobile statues that he had seen in Gate 1. Others were breathing, eyes looking, and hands or heads shaking in his direction and anticipation. Those were all curious, unlike the golems that looked like statues but had clear validating status. They were easier to lose than living beings.
One thing among them was clear. They all wore some form of armor filled with ornaments, colorful gems, skulls, bones, metal plates, scales, and even furs. A wide variety of races among them ensured diversity that this place always followed.
There were very few undead, which surprised Murai a little, as he fought them the most. Perhaps he was at the point where they would no longer put dull death against him? Those always died much easier than those with clear Will in their heads, but then... He remembered those Undead Captains and Low Lich, and he shut his ideas down. There was nothing easy when his balancing point was reaching its peak.
Murai looked at each of the foes, noting the most insane ones by his Soul Read, while his eyes noted the strengths of their peculiar races or their physicality. There were demons, a couple of low-level devils, some beasts, golems, undead, and even a succubus.
One, in particular, looked far too strange, as it was so tiny compared to the rest, he wondered if his eyes were in his eyes. It was as small as himself, reaching 30 to 35 centimeters in height, and creating weird power dynamics amongst the other figures.
Murai was speechless after seeing it because it looked familiar.
“A freaking Anatidae!?” He quacked, undoubtedly seeing a pair of small legs bellow a rather impressive rest. Its body had sturdy-looking plated armor that held layers into them, creating high-quality armor. There was also a nice helmet with a glowing opening for eyes, shoulder armor that didn't seem that useful, and behind the armored neck, a pair of mechanical wings rested in its unfolded form.
Murai noticed straight away what he was looking at. It was one of the figures that weren't alive, as it was a golem with unknown might and an artificial core that was hiding deep, causing not a sliver of mana to go to the surface. Its layered armor looked impressive, probably for what was hiding underneath, or was it part of its skin?
Golems were machines, so everything was part of some greater purpose. It was standing motionless, waiting for its fighting chance.
Someone made sure to let its power seal fairly well, even though the rest of the figures around it—the ones who were alive—didn't take its existence well.
Similar to Murai's steps, unsurprisingly.
Soul Read was an excellent way to find who was alive and not. If it was dull like a tree, soulless like a piece of wood, and standing without doing a thing, it was easy to assume things. Without Soul Read, it wouldn't be that easy since most of them were hiding underneath their armor. He would have to see their movement, acts, or way of fighting to assume their golem status.
“Well, this is an unexpected charade. There are 26 of them in total?! Mindarch! You damned fool! How am I meant to fight against them?” He shouted but no answer came back.
He wasn't one to give up.“Foolish... There are some nasty fellows there, eyeing me like food to eat. Tsch. I will smack them. Whoever comes forth. Who came up with this?” He wondered.
Then, he observed the Anatidae golem further. “Utilizing the concepts of the prior challengers to create golems might be this? Is that it? Did someone create a golem out of me or the past Challenger Anatidae? What is this Island? I swear, what a questionable originality. Even a child would come up with something like this.” Murai scowled, looking left and right as he walked forth a little bit to take a better look at them.
Just to be sure that he wasn't ready, he hadn't activated his Sonar or Shaping. The figures waited on their designated positions anyway, clearly not ready, or they waited for Mindarch to introduce this Last Island.
To see what would happen next, Murai wondered if he had to fight them all or not. 26 foes in total seemed a bit ridiculous, but when he thought about it, the essences that would come out of them wouldn't be shabby.
Unlike his stamina, mind, and everything else. Every single one of his enemies was in a similar state of effort as the majority of Ending Isles. Not at the level of Lucider, but most were close to that beast. So far, Murai hadn't met any golem, so he was looking forward to fighting one. These should be easy to deal with.
Stopping just before the start of the street and this huge flat arena that had brown sturdy soil for the floor, he eyed the start of his fight.
Should he choose? Will someone come at him first?
That large-looking portal at the end looked enticing enough for him to run into it. It was open after all. Could he storm into it and disappear without a fight? That seemed possible, but who would do that?
Most people who would reach this far would take any challenge and fight for learning, or valuable treasures. Essences and points had incredible value if one considered the outside world.
Murai knew it already, thanks to his Artificial Core that needed all it could get. Heavenly Shaping needed time and training, and it wasn't fit to train it when fighting for one's life. He did that for long enough.
So the situation before him piqued his interest.
Looking provided not many answers besides his Soul Read. So he nudged his Sonar a little bit, figuring to feel these fools. The situation was quite bizarre considering the past Islands that were behind him. They had a vastly different layout than this, which made up for something new.
After all, Mindarch barely mentioned much before this Island, leaving Murai curious.
And because of the issues about Heavenly Shaping, he wasn't asking Lisa for any advice that she would find fitting. Lorry would be helpful, but out of spite, Murai wasn't thinking of that skull.
“What now?” He asked as his Sonar provided some insight, but he put it forth very little, barely creasing the 26 foes to see who had Mana Core or not.
Most did not. Some, he couldn't perceive with this level of attention.
“Well, that portal is my road forward, and you will keep me out of it, correct?” He quacked out loud, but no one listened to him again. Every living enemy among the 26 didn't seem to understand him, which was the expected and normal thing.
Demons and devils were eying him with fervent eyes. The moment he pushed his Sonar at them, they winced and the beasts growled. Then, a succubus in one row looked at him with her livid eyes. Her unrestricted armor revealed some skin and her aura showed its fangs. The succubus eyed him like a toy, which shifted his core and mind as he felt her soul or the effects of her Path.
It was his first time meeting such a variety of talented fools. “Bitch... I think I get the gist of why Lorry calls Lisa names.” Murai thought.
Where did this lead to? A final boss? Who the hell was he to make sense out of this?
He sneered, slapped the ground with his feet, and pointed with his wings forward. “Come at me, idiots. I will smack everyone regardless of race or ideas. Go one! Can't step forth? Let's see who is a coward and who is not.” Murai taunted them without knowing any better.
It was good timing because Mindarch's voice echoed next before Murai would taunt them with some of his rare gestures.
[Citizen M, welcome to the Island 99. The end of the Islands of Greatness, filled with opportunities to prove yourself with stakes and high-class clashes.]
[Grade is SS in its purpose, but lower it might get if might allow that.]
[Level is individual, varying in races and golems, but Level less than 40 won't come at you.]
“What about 26 of them, however?” Murai asked a good question, glossing over the fact this was the last island.
[Enemies vary in might, as you won't fight them all. The past comes to seek the present, obscuring the present for the sake of the future. Those are golems of various strengths, while the rest are here to clutch your neck.]
[Demons, undead, or devils alike act within the reaches of the Hell Haven, thanks to the Trial Missions put in place.]
[You are their target. Their success means their chance to prove themselves.]
[The first enemy shall come forth.]
Hearing those words that didn't seem to give him much regard, Murai watched as one huge figure moved, walking to the middle of the stress and overshadowing the portal.
It was a humanoid knight with armor that looked the same as his physique: huge. Its size was enormous, its steps loud, and its speed lacking. It was a golem, notable by the rigidity of its movements, and creasing mana that went around its Artifical Core in its chest, flaring around the limbs in visible veins. Unline the Anatidae golem, this one had its mana active, while its armor was more open. Perhaps Anatidae had similar veins, but those hid underneath its armor.
Murai watched the golem make its huge steps. The height of 4 and a half meters ensured a wide gap between it and him. And then, its massive sword resting on its shoulder made the last impression. The sword had a long handle, thickness like a tree, and length as far as the golem's height.
It looked big. That was about it. Not many other qualities were there. Calling that sword a mace wouldn't be too far from the truth either.
“So, a golem made of the past Challengers?” Murai wondered. “Sounds stupid. I dislike this sort of concept. Where is some originality and dignity?” He sighed to himself, moved his wings back, and readied his mana. He let the floodgates go, Conjuring a vast amount of mana into a pair of blades that he Shaped like he always did.
“I don't know how many of you will come, but if worse comes to my legs, I will stab you even with my feet. Now, you don't laugh, but imagine what is that like?!” He chuckled and swung his blades quickly around him. It was quicker than what a knight of his level would manage with real hands and a real sword for sure.
Surrounding figures realized it too. At least the living ones, who were observers, while the statues were here to provide the rightful numbers, aura, and providing factor that this place had many foes. Those probably would be put into use against group-plays, or Hell Parties that would come here. On its own, the factors of 26 foes were useless.
Unlike Murai's mana. “I have very little possibility to lose control in this state. Pillage isn't wrong though. I think it is just a point of more research. That is about it. The pool is full, much to that manual, but I feel no instabilities either. I am fine probably because of this environment, the squeeze of my core and flow. So yeah. You will lose!” he quacked loudly, proclaiming his power that no one cared about.
Among the figures who were alive, each held various ideas about Anatidaes. A few of them didn't even want to be here, hoping their turn wouldn't come at them, as this was more like a punishment after discovering a new Anatidae had gone through the starting Gate.
But against Mindarch, few could bear some loss.
Alas, some of them desired the test of their spirit, power, and talent, hoping to clash against this little duck. They may not be the Regulars, sent through the channels of the Hell Haven that Mindarch did care for, similar to Overlords and many Gods.
Regulars were a major faction of Challengers. All of them were Levandis troops. Most of those were closing on Laws or lurking above level 50. Murai wasn't near that level, so what was before him weren't as intense figures, but Fodder. Levels above 50 depicted them in this Hell.
Which was a good sight, and an endless problem for Mindarch, because he had to give Murai his challenges that shouldn't be weak or gone out of proportion.
Mindarch did what he could, while most decisions about this Island came from someone else.
Levandis had awakened, desiring her little own touches to the current mess, and had no qualms to give any care about anything else. It involved Murai more than a little, much to his cluelessness that had some bounds, but not much was in his mind other than essences, Heavenly Shaping, and some greed. Probably a lot of greed, frankly.
The owner was looking into the current mess that was part of some human scheme. Gods were watching too. They watched a lot, similar to the figures eying the young Anatidae.
Few were even trembling upon seeing his steps, the might of his feathers, and clear laughable quacks that one shouldn't take lightly. Their potential enemy was an immense one, albeit most of them won't fare well against it, since Mindarch was the one who decided when was enough, or who was to come here. So that meant Levandis did have the last words in this matter, but among those present, no one was worth knowing that.
Very few trembled in excitement, however, but perhaps those won't get their chances either.
The first was a dull golem anyway. It was a member, imitation, and fine tool that depicted Goliath. Those held Giant Bloodline in dullutied qualities. Battleworld had a lot of these chances, thanks to various bloodline-related treasures, Influence Items, or internal or outer breeding of living beings. Added together, Bloodlines was a power desired by a surprisingly huge chunk of this world's population.
Goliaths weren't that big when Giants came into consideration. With varying sizes up to 5 meters, they would never reach the adult-sized Giants, let alone Titans.
Before Murai wasn't some sort of weak golem that took all of its qualities and weakness for granted. Its armor was thick, and mana quick and revolving. It should be fairly close to the prime appearance of a Goliath, but a golem was a golem. They would never be as good as the real deal. Its prowess and capabilities weren't even supposed to be that high.
Numbers. They were there to provide fodder in wars, thanks to their size, and equivalent to Level 40 in strength.
Murai could see it with his own eyes.
Unlike the Acaman Golem in the Acaman Tower, this one was much better as it wasn't forgotten, or ancient. This must've been recently made. Months at least.
Its Artificial Core was smoothly etched in the chest, undulating flaring power when Goliath stepped on the ground, making ferocious and intimidating tremors.
Goliath made some noises of heaviness and mana fluctuated around its arms that held its weapon. It was like glass shattering, rocks smacking together, and its sword moved.
Just in time for Mindarch's introductory that resounded out of nowhere.
[First of unknown amount of enemies is Goliath Golem of an Adult. Level 40. Artifical Core of some quality and mass, capable of wielding a sword of quite some size. Care for it, but care less of its speed.]
“40? Met tougher nuts to crack.” Murai reasoned. “Well, not as if I am complaining, as it is the first golem I am meeting. How is the essence coming out of it then? It has... Wait. It works for Artificial Cores too?! This place?” He asked a good question, but Mindarch was no longer speaking.
Murai grunted, swung his Blade around as if pissed. It hardly helped to ease his mind. “Who am I kidding? Enemies don't matter. Low or high, they will die by my beak or Blades anyway. It looks fair when looking at the other fools. Fair, huh? Wait, this doesn't make much sense...”
Thinking of this further wasn't in his mind. Murai almost hadn't caught a massive cleaving sword coming in his way. He swung his pair of Blades above his head.
Goliath's arms gripped the handles tightly in both fists. They were undulating waves of mana currents that stressed its artificial mana veins.
They were visible all over it, depicted by wavy patterns of veins that pumped up the mana from its core everywhere. With noise, heat, and movement, it had a good form for swordsmanship.
For a golem, this was an impressive feat.
Which was lacking against Murai, who had met foes in this cave that were many times tougher. The physical strength of this Golem wasn't that poor, but its strength went for the sword anyway.
Murai moved his pair of Proper Mana Blades that got 2 meters in length and shining Sharpness. They were thick, so he intersected them to stop the incoming chop. He remained standing on the spot below this clash, confident that his blades wouldn't crack.
Goliath attacked from far away thanks to its long hand and reach of the sword. Goliath stepped next, traversing a long distance in its chop, letting it closer to where Murai was.
The explosion of the physical sword clashed against the mana-based Blades. Goliath had a simple goal of its maker in its core: kill any foe. According to its sensors, it was below the pair of shining Blades.
Murai was looking up, indifferently focusing his eyes on the large sword. It was big, but so what? Even a tiny thing like his beak could crash it apart if he wanted. A moving mountain like this golem was a fine target in his mind, or so Murai thought.
“Hmph! This made-up thing.. It has a strong grip. I can't shatter or move the blade away.” Murai frowned, feeling how the pressure was growing under his Shaping.
He caught the sword, dealing with a massive pressure in his mind, as his primary hold of these Blades came from the outer Shaping, without physical touches.
A Shaper could Conjure any amount of mana from their core as long as their channels, mana space, and mind allowed it. It was usually stressful in all manners if too much went out, or too much force went against their senses. Shaping it afterward was what defined a good mage. Without it, simply Conjuration posed as nothing but useless mana.
Of course, this concept went in a different way when Murai thought of the Heavenly Shaping. Pillage figured workarounds, excuses, and other problems thanks to beasts and how their mana acted by their birth factors. He showed him the way to redirect his wilderness and unkept mana. He just needed time and it won't hurt him anymore.
Regarding that and even regular Shaping, controlling the mana was always a mental battle. If the body can take the output and input well, of course.
Similarly, the Handlers without Mana Cores handled this issue in the same manner, but they carried Catalysts to ease this aspect and give mana more physical touches. It still revolved around the control of the mind or the body. Long Zi was the perfect example of a Handler that carries Catalysts.
It was all just a matter of perspective, talent, and what one could learn. Murai was universally knowledgeable in almost anything regarding such fundamental aspects of magic. It was generally finite, hardly capable of changing too much, so its set of rules, powers, causes, and effects, were no different even if he jumped through time or many lives.
Mana Core followed such stone-set rules, even though living beings might not. That could lead to quite interesting consequences, as Path and new Paths can allow some changes.
Pillage was that.
Such things hardly followed the unchanging principles, so time or beings moved things that could move. Those could be techniques themselves, various mental strains, and many other things.
So what if Murai had trouble wielding unfamiliar mana in an unfamiliar body? The battles that he underwent in this Gate gifted him time, answers, and help exactly where he needed it.
Push that over the edge. Force it all. Get used to it. These were small sentences that moved many of his lives.
Murai kept holding his own against the pressuring attack that was just a half meter from his head. A thick sword was coming closer.
All sorts of thoughts flowed through his mind. Most of it was glimpses of Heavenly Shaping. Could he influence the already shaped-up mana? Yes. That was one of the general principles of most Shaping, and Pillage came with his own sets of principles about it too, and even something more.
Heavenly Shaping worked with mana like a moldable storm in a way. He could turn the Blade apart to Shape a new thing, but a Blade shouldn't become a shield. There were some limitations in success, or speed and efficiency. Murai knew why it was the case, even if he hadn't heard Pillage's reasonings.
He forgot these ideas, deciding to do what he had done in this Gate. Could he go against this sword with his beak alone, destroy the golem whole with his Peak, or was mana and his Blades all he needed?
Perhaps all of the above was correct with varying successes, but he wasn't willing to try them all.
At the moment, only one of them will suffice. That was mana that he needed to improve one way or another.
Grinning with a devilish smile, Murai didn't stop with the forceful clutch of his Blades. In fact, he increased his Conjuring, forcing more mana toward the Blades and turning them brighter and brighter. This wasn't against any principles, nor it was part of the Heavenly Shaping, or it was, but to a different degree?
Again, he focused on what he was used to. Which was the flow of mana that he squeezed into submission, using it alongside his Proper Mana Blades that were already familiar to him like his wings. Well, those weren't that familiar, as wings had their clear purposes that lacked their premises in Murai's head.
Bright mana exploded next, letting the crossed Blades snap into 4 pieces, which then wrapped, slashed, and bent around the large sword in a split second. Then, the sizzling and crackling noises spread as Murai pressed the wrapping motion to its limits and let the Sharpness do its job by ending and stressing the large sword. Part of it was still his Shaping.
Murai wasn't even sure what he did. He just used the Sharpness and mass of his mana pool to do the job of cracking that thick sword in half.
It didn't budge, so he kicked the floor and slapped the side of the sword, snapping it at last.
With nothing obscuring its path, the halved blade slammed to the ground behind him. His Blades were twisting mess of whips and Sharpness, which bent and cracked this sword. The gust of wind and slam still surprised him afterward, but he pretended he was fine.
He backed away a couple of meters, fearing that Goliath Golem would change its strategy. It indifferently stood there, aware that half of its Mountain Blade was gone. Its tip was gone; so was the reach. It would be of utmost disgrace to a proper Goliath, who would cry and smack their heads to the ground in shame.
Alas, the golem had no emotions, nor memories of proper Goliaths. It was just a tool. A construct that moved according to the Will of its maker who only provided its acts, so they would get the reward without spending any lives.
But sometimes lives were equal to resources.
It was a good test against Murai, or so Mindarch or others thought.