Robust Defense was one of the most used Robust Spirit identity abilities Murai hadn't held behind his head. Apart from the Indomitable Strike; he was yet to try it because of its expensive and offensive structure. Besides that, he felt everything.
Robust Will was pretty much not that useful at all, as its use against the enemies around his level wasn't that great if straight up not needed at all. It held very distinct protection against powerful mental attacks that the Robust Spirit couldn't work against on its own.
This meant around his level, Robust Will held almost no uses because foes had no way to challenge him to use it. Robust Spirit's structure and his soul ensured he had no enemies on that front. At least for now... He felt Ceila or Thar would challenge him any day.
And in the physical realms, things were much different.
In Robust Defense, however, levels or Will didn't matter. It can catch and protect against anything on the physical levels and means. Be it a low fool, or someone like Ceila who felt it herself, it worked the same. Each ability under his Robust Spirit revolved around the same principle of his soul, but each had different uses.
His soul, Will, and Soul Power were what fueled them, giving him what he considered as trump cards. Each of them had some advantages and drawbacks, and depending on them, Murai could use or increase them by his merits and development. He already did increase their levels a few times, although he hadn't seen much difference in their might.
Robust Defense was the toughest to seek in this regard since its defensive properties had a wide range where he didn't see any improvements. He guessed it got... sturdier. How much exactly? There were no foes that would test it, Murai believed.
Increasing the might of them wasn't up to his time, but to luck, use, and Boosts, since he had almost no way of trying to train them. Limits in the Soul Force were the reason why, and frankly, training them wasn't possible. They were powerful on their own. Too powerful, if what Lisa said was right.
He needed more familiarity to put them to good use. But not to the extent that he was in a hurry with them. His new addition to his arsenal was much more useful than the overpowered abilities of his soul that had its limits because of Soul Force.
Robust Defense had the lowest expenditure, so he wasn't that stingy about using it even in situations where he didn't feel his life was on the line. Its use was far better than the rest anyway.
He used it in special and tough circumstances that either ensured his victory, or he needed it against an attack that threatened his body.
All in all, he used it 5-times. Robust Will went only once because it was more of an experiment at that time. Against an undead that was soul-based, it cracked and crept into his spirit. He activated his Robust Will and literature ceased its existence in a puff of smoke. It angered him a little bit, but Lisa ensured the time and Soul Force's natural recovery wouldn't hurt him.
His stinginess was still apparent, even though Lisa understood why he was like that. After all, the powers of Grade SS ability were hard to seek, and he had got that before his first evolution! That was the most ridiculous part that she questioned internally for days. She still didn't get why he got that, or... how?
Murai was viewing his Robust Spirit as his best trump card, which wasn't wrong. Its use should come at rescues.
Against Uqari, this was the 6th use of Robust Defense.
Uqari had no time to adjust herself because Murai was quick in his decision, while the flow of his Robust Defense was quick and sudden. A white glow spread from his head, gleaming from his feathers and bathing him in manifestations of his Soul Power.
Enveloping him in a matter of a moment, Uqari's Piercing Hearts came upon this impenetrable barrier that was stone-certain to be sturdier than his beak. It was just a little bit above his feathers, glowing like a barrier.
Murai wasn't sure about its limits or his beak, but both of these were much more useful than what made his level. To this day, Murai was still questioning the aspects of levels, which Lisa more or less touched upon in the last few days herself.
They were useful only in terms of rough meaningful topics, which wasn't all that clear. Lisa didn't get that either because of him, but it was true that Murai's level was lower than it should be. Age might not be the sole cause of it, but Murai wasn't that interested in that either way. He worked around the levels anyway. He had done that ever since he came here.
Mindarch wouldn't change that, nor the Gates.
Shrouding Murai's body, the energy of his soul gave him warmth and confidence.
Though his heart still bled in his stinginess, the Soul Force had its limits, so using it was hurting his questionable duck's pride.
Uqari struck him without regard to the sudden glow. She expected something to come, which was why she attacked with all of her might, but she had no clue what would come out of this duck or glow.
Her nails didn't shatter, nor did the white gleaming barrier aura. She had no idea what it was about. All she saw was something ridiculous in this light. Then she shoved her forth, hitting something small yet unmovable like a mountain.
Uqari felt it more than she would prefer. Each of her nails twisted unnaturally, and so did some of her fingers that bent and cracked under her momentum of meeting an unmovable duck.
Murai stood on the ground, unmoving as if his tiny legs had roots miles deep. Uqari growled, stumbling on her feet, and cursed her fingers and the momentum behind her attack.
Murai didn't attack. He couldn't.
She smacked herself to him instead, damaging her fingers and flailing at him.
Attacking Murai was indeed weird to her in all regards because of his low center of gravity and overall weight.
Then, she fell head first to the auric barrier as well, yelping and feeling as if she hit the tip of an iceberg that hid most of it underneath. Her back bent when she used the other half of her Piercing Hearts, and each of her arms twisted as she fell behind him. It felt unnatural for her stature to come to a sudden halt, but she truly came to an unstoppable wall.
Spitting blood, she rolled away as Murai watched her with a clear sneer on his face. He was ready with his beak, although the Robust Barrier had to retract first. When active, he can't move. Uqari tumbled dozens of times, not knowing what else to do other than ready her Bloodline powers and try to ready her hands.
But she felt dread coming and it was closing. Murai stopped his Robust Defense quickly, letting it glow for a whole 3 seconds which required half a dozen hours of recovery. He could afford it without trouble since his overall pool of Soul Force was above 100.
That was the truth, albeit his mind still complained.
Adding the expensive Robust Will and Strike, it wasn't a lot indeed.
Uqari had no idea what she was hit with, but it was humiliating to shatter herself by her own weight and move. Robust Defense was a perfect counter, which some of the figures around the perimeter felt and saw with fear. A clutter of whispers echoed, but neither of the fighters cared for that.
Uqari quickly tensed her arms, quivering and readying her Bloodline in glowing velvety aura around her. Stopping on her belly, she glared behind her, feeling mana that shimmered and tensed the air.
Beak's Peak was in its glory on Murai's beak. He almost considered pouncing upon her neck but chose to be a bit more careful. A wounded demon was no different from a wounded beast.
So he still went for the head, but carefully bidding for his time and to see Uqari's last cards. She had something left in herself after all because the spirit in her eyes didn't dim. With her arms and twisted body, she felt Murai gave her not enough time.
It was fair in the battle to disregard the morality of death and life.
Uqari pushed her Bloodline like thin veils of aura, pouring her control all around her like shimmering fog. Murai felt it closing, flying at him like an arrow. When he felt these foggy layers and the scent of the Lust, he could only laugh with his closed beak.
It didn't affect him whatsoever, although it was the best shot Uqari had left. Her quality of Bloodline and control over Lust could influence the mind even for the Wicked below, or around her level. She tested it herself.
“Drop your beak... and sleep,” Uqari demanded under her bloodline power that all succubuses had in one way or another. She was relatively good at it, but she met the wrong opponent.
It backfired splendidly.
Murai walked up to her calmly, showing off his beak and glaring at her like she was a fool.
Uqari tensed up in embarrassment and immediately panicked. She got to her knees, twisted her hip, and pushed the remaining power over her hands into Murai's head. Neils became whips and blood sprayed.
It came quickly, Murai must say, but not enough power was behind it.
He jumped, dodging one of her arms and smacking the other with his Peak aside, crashing the bone into an open wound that cracked the muscles and let the blood spill around.
Uqaru had no time for yelping. A Peak arrived at her neck.
Murai did not clutch her tight, nor did he twist it apart. He made a simple motion with his clutched Peak, swiping it as if a fly was flying around. Then he kicked her chest to move away, letting the blood seep out of her neck in a matter of few seconds. Murai did one motion his Peak lacked in terms of flexibility, by using it as a tool.
A sweep had many faces; it didn't have insane power, but his beak had good shape to think of it like a sword. Peak was still incredibly jarring in terms of flexibility as it guided a lot more power through his spine, core, and onto his beak. Using it in a different way than it was intended for wasn't wrong. He used its energy to swipe around, essentially creating a crevice in her neck by the little tip of his beak.
Through this Gate, he had time and foes to experiment with, forcing some ideas and familiarity to bear their results.
A rough cut divided part of Uqari's neck, moving the thin armor plates aside, or directly cutting into them. A fatal wound, Murai knew.
Uqari collapsed under a breath, wincing, gasping for breath, and dying in a pool of her blood, unaware of how she could have done something else than do her best. Voiceless, she had no way to fight the dread.
She made a fatal mistake numerous times, but this was a punishment that meant her End.
It was unfair. It was too quick... Tough reality swallowed her, but when the darkness enveloped her, she felt nothing. It was eery darkness.
Murai would sympathize with her if he was half the man he used to be. Killing her didn't prove or satisfy his heart nor change his mind about anything. His acts did. Gulping a few drops of her blood that remained in his beak, it tasted bitter and slightly sweet at the same time. It didn't give him anything, so he spit it out.
The whispers that his Eater Status worked with didn't tell anything either. The blood tasted weirdly comforting though, and in fact, it had a good aftertaste.
Murai was inclined to try some more, so he glanced at the pool of blood hesitantly. But it wasn't probably that great of an idea when he was in the middle of a place that wanted his skin. Literary.
There was a group of demons around one side of the street, whispering and itching in fighting spirit and veiled doubts. Murai felt them all with his Soul Read, but thinly, because there were too many of them to seek them one by one. Soul Read had troubles with multiple souls around him at once.
Murai can ignore some completely, but it was an exercise that he wasn't that successful with. He didn't get any splitting headaches, which was enough for him.
If his memories served him any good, then eating another demon in this sort of circumstance would be worse than a slap on their faces. It would just lead to more trouble and agitation.
He was satisfied with what he accomplished anyway. A pair of enemies were around this street, unmoving and gone out of his mind.
Flipping his feathers like a duck that got out of the water, he was free of any blood, apart from some that was left on his beak that stopped glowing. Murai didn't know how to comfortably clean it, so he left it as is.
His mana was fine. He used even less mana than against the Goliath Golem if the dozen Blades shining above the street weren't included.
Turning his attention back to the street and leaving Uqari behind, howls, cries, and anger issues of demons welcomed his full attention. Not only demons were loud, but beasts that were half wolf and half-orcs, or those that were even harder to describe, all made some noises. They all wanted a piece of him, albeit they all lied in one way or another. It was all a front, but some of them were truly itching to taste him. It was their honest desire, Murai felt.
Some doubts stemmed from fear of an Anatidae. Demons and beasts were most vocal, but none of them pushed their mana or aura forward. It wasn't allowed unless Mindarch voiced his will.
One way or another, whether he hadn't eaten Uqari or tasted her blood, killing a demon was close enough to eat one. It was directly done in their lofty temple, so Murai understood where their howls were coming from.
It was a front. Probably for the Challengers to feel tension or the heights of this place. There was no way they would all come at him as a group.
But what if they did?
Murai thought he would be dead for sure, unless he would crack his head around some nasty tactics, or he could just jump away to safety. That was the edge of the Island, which was an act he had never considered in his mind. It wasn't worth it for his legs and mind.
He knew he couldn't afford it. It would be laughable, but it was a better idea than dying.
On the Last Island, it sounded worse than terrible.
Murai sighed, feeling that letting his actions speak for himself worked the best. He had no trouble killing someone who wanted to kill him. Those demons can growl and lie or play some sort of game all they want. He didn't care.
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Morality didn't matter. Killing was a basic of basics across every Sky he had seen, and every world he saw and lived through. Even a child would get it. Well, maybe those didn't need to understand it everywhere, but every world had some corners where death and utter hopelessness cherished the world or those above the hopeless.
Mindarch's voice carried some force and surprise. He was no longer that pissed off.
He should just go over the Murai's act in 93rd Island and leave the armor as a basic cost for questioning an Anatidae. It backfired, unfortunately, but it wasn't his fault.
[Citizen M has slayed another foe. Congratulations.]
[Island 99 has it tough, albeit Citizen M does prove his tactics shattered even a punished member of the Lust Palace who thought of going solo. It is a Lesser Lust Demoness nonetheless, but the kind that has been through this temple more than twice.]
[Killed, as she deserved, bonus points have been added for your quick wits and accomplishments.]
[The next opponent shall be coming sooner than later, right after Citizen M waits for the situation to calm down.]
[Dowtime: 3 minutes.]
[Stemming from the cherished and those that acted through time and will of Levandis, the owner and the mighty Ruler of this temple, comes the next well-thought-out opponent.]
[Factor of a splendid challenger upped the degree and limits of what Citizen M shall get. The low-tier opponents shall just wait or disappear, bark and howl how they desire, but low as they should, I must tell. They aren't worthy subjects to test your might, much to my careful picks that didn't seem to meet the rightful demands.]
Murai heard a bunch of excuses that Mindarch must voice not for him alone, but because some folks from Hell Havens must be watching this place.
He wasn't sure if he was correct, as he couldn't even feel the Pressence or Will of those that could do it from far away. It was a hunch he was watched. He trusted it.
[Difficulty has been increased for the purpose of Gate 3.]
[Who knows if it will be the last opponent, but some things glide through space and come to higher grounds.]
[Because Citizen's M threshold of higher mana added nasty surprises and great tactics, the next round shall be splendid.]
“The last one wasn't?” Murai asked, feeling and knowing that Uqaru wasn't that weak. She was just... unlucky.
Mindarch stopped his words that seemed overly exaggerated for someone's sake.
Not his, Murai bet his wings on that.
Hearing his message did provide some answers. Murai glanced left and right at the foes: demons, beasts, undead, and a couple of golems alike. He wondered what or who would step forward.
He waited for his minutes to end while calming his breathing and mana. It was not that useful, obvious to the hovering Blades above his head. 3 minutes was barely enough to change his mind or do something with his complicated mana space.
It was perhaps bad for him since these minutes could lower the flow of battle he had endured. Downtime could lower his instincts or carry other problems like a less tense-up body. For anyone unfamiliar, it was akin to a loss of adrenaline, or preparedness when one focused on fights.
He was like that a lot of times, but this Gate had rather simple duels in its premises.
This Island was different from that, similar to the 93rd Island that had 5 whole waves and dozens upon dozens of fights back to back.
Enemies back then were in the lower tier to these, however. He could tell that, albeit killing them was still difficult because of Sachitori.
Murai grew from that time as well. His beak, footing, and flow of his movements were improving better against tougher opponents. He acknowledged that, so he wasn't afraid of anyone who would come at him next.
He was far from his limits. And if someone will test them, he will welcome it.
None of the foes on each side of the street dared to do anything else than growl in displeasure. No one stepped forward on their own, and Mindarch didn't speak either.
Some wanted to come forth, but unless they had a death wish, they needed the acknowledgment as dogs of this temple.
Their levels didn't go over the 43rd. Anything lower than 50 was considered Fodder around the Hell Havens. That was the undeniable fact unless age or talent moved in different ways.
Level 43 was the upper limit of Murai's current limits that Mindarch could push against him. Any more than that, and it would be a Breach of the crafted rules of this temple, which worked with balance in mind. Most of it was under Levandis's care, making Mindarch a principal of her rules.
It should be fair. That was what she wanted and desired, unlike a lot of places in the Surface.
So when Challengers that were outside of the norm often closed toward the limits, Mindarch had endless problems ahead and a lot of work to do.
Such circumstances were then met with special cases of challenges that Mindarch loved or hated. Nothing in between.
The current situation was exactly that since Murai wasn't normal and fair to Levandis's rules. But either because of his level, might, or age, Murai was still moving within the established rules. Barely, but enough.
All because of his somewhat low level, it was possible. Spending fools below Level 50 wasn't an issue for any Hell Haven, but some talents and absurd members were different. Wicked were that, while many Divine Beasts or special Bloodline Demons had height ceilings for Levels or fighting capabilities. These could be similar to Anatidaes.
Around the streets, the beasts and demons growled. Mindarch and Levandis were their masters, so they didn't move.
Soon enough, the unwilling, or in this case, unhinged and indifferent figure stepped forward. All of the growls stopped, turning the street into complete silence.
Demons looked at the moving figure, jaws open and eyes bulging. The figure that stepped forward was the one they didn't expect, as it was a rare and special case they had never seen before. For this one to do anything else that serves as a mascot, toy, and fearsome memento, it was strange. They didn't know what to expect.
Anatidae Golem walked forth, walking steadily and in a relatively weird manner. It swayed its chunky upper body, walking on relatively thin legs. Its body was mechanical and its wings were made of well-crafted alloys that resembled feathers.
Murai realized it was a golem earlier, but the kind that he couldn't see through at all. Even now, he felt or saw no mana out of it. Its mana veins must be hiding, or its efficiency or mana control was high. Looking at the two-legged golem, not one bit bigger, or smaller than himself, he couldn't help but question this damned Mindarch.
Golem walked like a machine, slowly and with an unnatural form of movement and steps. Featherless, its body held armor alone, but the legs weren't protected. They were thin and flexible pieces of metal rods that held flexible and mechanical curvature, allowing golem to move. Those had no armor, but Murai bet some nasty materials went to their creation.
Almost nothing indicated an Anatidea apart from its stature. It had made-up feathers etched around some armor pieces, but nothing else.
The golem's body wasn't an object made of flesh, but in some cases, it could be. Depending on crafts, and Vitality-based treasures or materials, many wonders happened under talented hands.
But in the end, souls were hard to forge into the lifeless metals.
This golem was hard to figure out, as it held no mana undulations even after it began to move. It was relatively silent even in its mechanical steps. What it was holding underneath all of that armor wasn't under Murai's vision at all. From the basics he could see, it formed a special case of well-crafted layers of armor, but they were tiny and thin, and working as protection, weight, and he didn't know what else.
Its quality was exceptional if the mana wasn't leaking, but something was still suspicious. What was its level? It was looking far better than Acaman Golem—which was even forcefully put to his level—without relying on its tactics.
That could change. Murai wasn't sure how, but this golem should be on his level or higher, yet it was small and weird. Almost like himself.
Everything about it was hidden, unlike the Goliath Golem who had its issues as a mass-created war golem. Its runes and magic that would make the shape whole were hiding.
That was his hunch. The runes made golems always work. They would be scraps without them, while a mana-less exterior meant a complicated interior. It made up for the shortcomings that Goliath had, but it was a wonder what kind of lunatic was willing to make such a nice golem in duck's appearance.
Well, the materials weren't that wide or large, so perhaps that was one of the reasons. Another idea could come from the inspiration. Anatideas were quite fearsome creatures in this world after all.
Murai wondered what sort of attack patterns it could have, or what its defense patterns were like. Runes of the golem ensured there was a certain set of motions available, which made certain outcomes different from the figure that held the proper soul.
A machine can't learn that well. That was usually the norm, as runes worked with calculations and outcomes to cause actions. All sorts of situations that a proper living wouldn't think about, a golem needed more time for them.
In this case, it was a wonderful idea of an Anatidae Golem that included inspirations from the former Challengers.
As for which, or what this Anatidae accomplished, Murai didn't need to know it. He was curious about it, however.
From the attitude of the demons and beasts, Murai felt their clear emotions. They appeared to be scared of that golem for some reason. Perhaps it was honest fear of an Anatidea, or was it because of this golem in particular? If so, why they weren't afraid of him? Or it may be a fearful reverence that caused that, or death, anger, or who knew what else?
Murai couldn't read everyone's faces, but one thing was clear as stone that made up the ceiling of this cave. He had to defeat this thing that wasn't even alive.
Turning his attention and attitude to a proper situation, Murai focused his physical and mental interests with utmost caution. He was ready for this laughable fight against the enemy his size.
It was that important to him! This was his first time coming into contact with another kind of his species, albeit it wasn't how he expected. It didn't matter to him it wasn't proper. What it will be like had its merits, as its quality and power should give him some ideas about his species.
Whether it was a bad idea or not, it didn't matter to him. Carelessness wasn't in his mind. Before, he followed the suit of his experiments and heart, but now? There was no way he wanted to taste a tinge of defeat against someone like him! Especially against a non-living Anatidea.
That sounded quite terrible; he was unwilling to taste this sort of defeat.
Murai maintained his Blades above him. They waited for their chance, hovering as if they were under his mental control. They tensed up before Mindarch even acknowledged the start of the fight, or introduced the enemy.
Murai straightened up his Blades, forming a strange arrow made of dozens of them. He was very close to unleashing them like an arrow, thrusting them to see if this golem would take it head-on or not.
Any kind of outcome, input of mana, or actions with good timing would give him some answers and expectations. How good depended on his strategy and view of this golem.
But he was yet to unleash it. He waited for the Anatidae Golem to move closer.
Unexpectedly, its movement speed was terrible... abysmal like a duck would walk. It walked forward carelessly, ignoring anything as its runes of motion stirred its internal structure.
And its fight was yet to start, so it was calm.
There was a clear delay in what a golem could do. How well they performed changed how the makers or the golems worked, or how well designed they were.
But at their core, golems can't do anything else than act under the written rules, set up by the maker. No one knew what to expect from them until they acted.
Murai didn't know what to expect from this thing that, as far as his eyes went, looked sturdy, but that was about it. It even had a shiny beak that looked sharp, protruding from the helmet with a crystal and shiny appearance. It looked impressive, unlike the legs.
Should he take the initiative? He did most of the time but against this golem?
He rather waited to see what it would do, thinking what sort of patterns it would do and what his Blades would accomplish.
Many questions turned around Murai's mind in a dozen seconds as the golem moved its slow metallic legs.
Before he knew the right answer, he sneered. “Of course, it is as easy as it is. What else is there for me here? This temple is turning into a serious adventure, but it hardly changes my heart.”
Upon shouting this in his mind, Murai let go of the knots of a few Blades.
Without words and any Mindarch's care, they split from the rest, swinging and trembling in fine thrusts, appearing as spears instead.
A triplet of sharp Blades arrived at the golem in a split second. As if expecting some form of explosion, Murai squinted his eyes, preparing the rest of the Blades just in case. Being prepared was his strength, so be it in the quick success or not, he could pull the trigger and let the storm descend. It wouldn't stress his core at all, because his mana was already out. His Shaping would be difficult and the Blades's structure poor, but it was possible.
Overwhelming the foes was a good way to kill them, while expenditure was often neglectful if the mana of those Blades would come back inside of him with diminishing return.
He was ready to see something, but what he expected didn't occur. The sole thing that changed and stood up from this Golem Anatidae was its beak that could open up, clutch things with ease, and twist and tear with teeth made of some rocky gems.
The metallic helmed was made accordingly to the beak, as it was one of the most important aspects of an Anatidae. The beak itself had a golden azure luster, perhaps because of the materials it was made from, forming some alloy or natural treasure. Murai wasn't sure about the metals or forging. He wasn't that active in this crating profession that demanded a lot of time.
In the world set with mana, his mind worked well enough for it. Mana can be Shaped and forged like the finest of blades as well. So when he viewed this golem, unless he was one to research the golem closer, he had no idea about its armor or structure. He had to pique it with his beak to see its quality.
Or he could just watch.
Feeling the tension in the air, Murai looked at how it opened its beak and twisted its legs, before literally catching the fast-moving Blades in midair. Friction and metal sounds echoed in the street, and a glint of mana shined in a quick clash. The clear winner was obvious.
Blades twisted and turned to specks of light, unable to take the jab of that beak. With a quick sweep of the neck and clutch of the beak, Blades disappeared into a puff of fog. Just like that, the golem solved this quick attack from 3 directions.
Its internal structure also made some audible noise akin to a beast grumbling, yet its mana was still hiding. It was a fairly unnatural sound coming from such a small golem.
It decided to initiate its attack next, figuring that the attack came so it shall counter it on its own. It was the general procedure of how golem worked. One action would lead to consequences, while myriad changes, orders, and possibilities can make the runes that much more complicated.
Out of many subdivisions of magic, rune crafting was a complicated and ancient prospect that worked with principles of ancient energies, Laws, truths, and power structures that moved through time and lost histories. It was said to have roots in the universe that once was, but it got destroyed to set a new life.
It was more of a rumor, with almost no redeeming answers to set it as truth.
Runes followed the suit of the mana, or was it backward? Energies that moved the universe were mana in many names, while Laws were supposed to be set in stones, similar to runes. They followed all golems, creating one of the most intricate and hardest kinds of crafting magic to learn, let alone master.
Murai never did much with it in a long time, since the premise of turning attention from oneself to other things wasn't up to his tastes.
Gaining a thorough understanding of how golems operate, what makes each one unique, and how to take advantage of particular vulnerabilities, was something he took care of throughout his lives numerous times. It never became his focus.
The structure of the majority of golems wasn't as intricate as their creators. They were often levels below them, causing issues about their expected touches. If a golem was too strong, it meant expenses and repairs that one would hardly swallow.
Murai wasn't surprised to see his attacks fail. If they caused some damage, that would be way too boring. Looking at the golem with his overserious and focused gaze, he was much more serious than in the last few Islands put together.
And for the start, he pushed his Mana Sonar forth, pushing a wave all around him, but focusing on the golem with all of his attention. To his happiness that his focus worked, Sonar pushed at it more than around, even if there was a blunder.
Sonar bounced back, not revealing golem's mana structure or runes. That never happened before.
“Oh? Surprising... That armor has some interesting properties, I suppose. Can't see anything, or it might be something else. If my Sonar can't reach what is deep, that is... weird. There should be at least some sort of resonance. No golem should have something this great, which makes.... what exactly? Whatever it was, it stopped my curious eyes, which the maker of this golem did plan for, or it could be something else.
That is weird... my Sonar works wonders and mana is universal. There would be some form of destabilization in the runes if my mana can't get in. It is about the mana flow that runes need. Right... Mana. I can't find its core like this. Is it the chest? Head? All I can see are its armor, wings, legs, part of the neck and beak. Murai deducted, looking at the charging golem that was walking toward him like an angry duck.
Nothing about its aura was threatening, which made its small figure that much less menacing.
Anatidae Golem was seriously charging ahead, however. A clutched beak was coming for his neck and there was no way he would call himself great if he wouldn't use his own as well.
Murai clutched his beak, striking with all of his physical strength and power of his own body, and clashing against the golem. It had no abilities granted by Battleworld, nor did it have a soul on its own.
But it could have some other nasty things, as the maker was the decider of its structure and abilities, giving it any unique set of favors one could want.
It should have a multitude of intricate mana-based abilities and they would become obvious from the outside. It was how it always worked in golems, even if their mana was initially hidden. Mana would flare up in motion.
With no flare-up, that meant it didn't use anything else than the physical strength of its body.
Which Murai met. A crisp metallic sound and a small explosion echoed around the street.
Demons shuddered, frowning, and whispering amongst themselves. Beasts backed away on instincts, fearing these small beaks.
Some of the more acclaimed and lofty demons were making deals, others made bets among one another. Who would win this exchange between a pair of quite hilarious foes? None of them knew the answers, but some dared to imagine the results. They all realized what this golem meant.
They didn't doubt its ability; they doubted its reality. How come it was here? In a place where fodder fought for opportunities?
Murai went toe to toe against that metallic beak with multiple strikes and clashes. Its strength wasn't the least bit smaller than his. Murai was inclined to believe it was hiding more strengths or cards under its armor.
Yet, the beak's tips went against each other, and soon, Murai felt overwhelmed. He had to step back, allowing himself a breather that this golem wasn't prone to. Its flesh had limits, but in a different way to Murai who had his own set of troubles.
He didn't lose. He changed his tactics by getting away and changing stances.
This little maneuver left the golem stumbling forward, flappings its neck and beak to the ground. Whatever change or structure this golem had, Murai didn't know it. Sonar didn't work, but he could use his imagination and set of rules he would use in such a golem.
What this golem had or hadn't was diverse.
Thus, Murai began his dance of figuring out how to slowly chip this golem apart and discover its secrets.