Out in the wild and unknown, Murai traveled through space-time itself, becoming entangled with the inability to feel up, or down. He was taken aback by the chaotic nature of that forceful teleportation, but it only took him a moment before he realized what had happened and where he was.
It wasn't a problem to him, as he had a powerful Will, but he couldn't do much about it, which angered him slightly. That strength of that spell was strong, and it happened in an instance where Ceila took the matter into her own hands, and hesitated without the ability to do a thing. She squeezed him tightly, but that was about it.
This... Bah! Another plot of their desire. I swear... Centralis Kingdom works and does what it could, and for what? I don't do shit, yet they try like a bunch of woven chicks. Laughable. At least I should be glad since they got me out of that woman's clutch. Seriously! It's whatever, but I wish I could leave this thing with my intention, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Yeah. I am not kidding. Folding and touching this sort of chaotic space is unlikely.
He thought around him, glancing around the waves, matter, and strangeness of this bizarre space itself. One can't fathom it all that well, as if the notion of this travel cleaved through the truths of space itself.
It looked like being stuck in a strange maelstrom or inside the eye of a tornado, but it was more vivid, and mysterious. Ripples and cracks outside of his travel would kill any being that would try to step out, and without the spell that provided the protection, travel through this sort of thing was difficult ~ but not impossible.
I guess following the aforementioned path of that bloody spell is the only thing I can do. Causing the space to crack, or forcefully go away somewhere else doesn't seem to be my possibility. I know that, but I am welcoming it anyway.
He accepted the truth, and the travel didn't take that long.
In a gust of light, his body moved through the ending path of this maelstrom, shooting out of the beam of light to a dark forest. He struggled to the ground, feeling as if the earth pushed to his insides, yet the travel itself didn't bother him all that much, which was strange. Any novice wouldn't fathom this and would convulse, lose consciousness or their innards would scream. If someone had some internal injuries, they would cause some problems.
Murai didn't have it the worst, as he stumbled on the ground and after getting to his feet, he didn't utter a word. There was nothing much around him, but many trees and deadly atmosphere. This forest seemed to be lacking the life force, and natural elements.
The ground was dark, and the trees and bushes were in darker colors. Something strange was happening to this forest, and he was feeling it to his bones. Everything was eerily silent, death, and stoic, yet those facts didn't upset him all that much.
Taking a deep breath, he stretched his body and spread his wings. “Finally away from those women! Thank to not myself... but I will take it.” he sighed and began to flap his legs, walking away from the spot. That sort of teleportation was forced and dangerous if the spell wasn't good enough. Thankfully, it was a splendid treasure that was akin to a life-saving object, yet the Centralis Kingdom used it in exactly the opposite way to move him away. He didn't complain, however.
That was an interesting thing that I've seen. Murai thought. That gem radiated the chaos... and intent of a powerful mage that walked the path of its kind. Was this meant to crush me, or help me? Well, that was a treasure the Centralis Kingdom got by some random chance, I bet, or not? I wonder which is it since each thing means drastically different things.
Murai recognized that gem from the sight alone, while its activation and his Mana Detection dealt with the rest. But that didn't mean he could feel its intricacies as he wished. His own comprehension was lacking in this body, so he didn't feel things right. His knowledge did make up for it. It was the same with pretty much anything when one's eyes and mind worked just fine. He also recognized the power that Lia possessed, which made him quite impressed that powerful bloodlines like that existed. A dragon-kind, of some sort.
Power, Rules... The Will of the Battleworld mentioned some things before. That Breach and errors, rules of that Ruler? I suppose the system of this Lordis guy isn't as stupid as I thought, or it isn't fine to work with me in question? It calculates things, and it also mentioned errors or whatnot when it comes to certain Rules. I remember that. In that well where I moved up, a whole bunch of things happened. I suppose the current reality is up to my tastes, but the Battleworld itself seems to want my head, more than to see me grow. I will take it, still.
Murai kept walking, glancing around the forest that had dark soil, unmoving bushes that were almost leafless, and trees that seemed to see better days.
“Anyway, willing to speak, or stop pretending to be in slumber, Lisa? We are alone so if you are afraid of those women, let this charade be over it. I feel how your slumber within my Soul Space is less than optimal, and fluctuations of your mana... or whatever it is, are turning serene and actually calm, unlike before. I am not stupid.” Murai's voice turned up within his soul space, revealing the fact that Lisa was awake, albeit not for long.
At that moment, in his soul space, Lisa appeared indistinct to be a succubus and was more like a vortex of mana surrounding her wavy figure. The head was there, and eyes opened, and every inch of the vortex of mana around her moved toward her, forming a humanoid figure.
“T-this... Did you know that so well? How long? I know, what.. but w-what happened to you?” she asked, voicing things in unnerving confusion, unaware of everything that had happened since she disappeared back to his soul space more than 7 days ago. Her mind was absent ever since, making Murai alone and without her Will, or "help".
The Will of the Battleworld was still something she comprehended, albeit to a lesser degree, since she had to wake her souls to care about them. Regardless of her sleep or doing something shady, she had some limits.
“I am still alive. That's what happened, so I am glad you are fine too. I was eyeing your case but mine was more important, so I didn't give you much attention since I was so close to my End. Why chose to get up now when the destruction of my imminent End was quite a tough thing... and imminent. I found it quite ironic and strange that you keep sleeping in my soul space while it almost cracked apart, killing your or me the same.”
Her flickering body formed indistinct light, and Murai focused on his Soul Space before her, watching her in his Robust Spirit.
“I... needed some rest. That's all, and I trusted you to follow up against those humans. It went better. More than I wished, but it's not important.” Lisa said. Her appearance was different than before. She appeared more ghostly, and not like a succubus any longer.
She was a soul form in her base structure, so appearance didn't matter all that much. In fact, she can choose her appearance. Foggy matter of mana made up her body, while the essence of herself was included in that too. The hazed upper body had thinly distinct arms, while the head itself was almost faceless, flickering in small waves, while her soul seemed.... stronger?
Whatever she did for the past days made her former appearance disappear, and her soul form went through some changes.
Neither wasn't something Murai knew much about, as he was busy with his own issues. But he could tell and mention the strangeness of her acts. Not doing anything at the moment of his imminent End was unlike her. It was suspicious.
Lisa continued cycling her mana, while her body kept overlapping over its structure. “I heard... a lot of things, and I will talk. Talk... more than ever. An Encounter happened, in fact, and you... No. Not you. The world turned upside down against you. Of course, I had to do something, but then... Things went south, and doing something for you became impossible. I am glad you are alone, so how did you end up almost regretting my life's choices is beyond me. Care to tell, or show me your memories? I have trouble... adjusting myself.”
“I will pass.” Murai refused, unwilling to add the context of the last days. “It's not like I had many choices, so I did things in my way, while fate worked around itself. I suppose being alive is such a case and I am not complaining about myself. But you?” Murai mumbled unhappily, which made Lisa's appearance stoic, and emotional. Only her emotional voice spread to the soul space, while her body was dull and almost lifeless.
Though, Murai could feel her soul a bit better, which was a bit conflicted, shocked, surprised, and fearful over something. It was dull, and barely something that he could call... consistent emotions. Her nervousness was apparent to him, but not like he could change her views or feelings. But hear her, and talk to her he could.
“Fine. Keep your memories, as I know your current problem more than you, it seems. So, let me out. Right now!” Lisa said, annunciating her words with quite some importance.
“I will pass again. There are already some issues that make me unhappy, and floating around with little purpose is like you -- useless. Mind if I work alone for now and stop chirping around my head? What use do you even have when you were out? It makes no sense and you... Lisa. You are suspicious.” Murai said, unwilling to let Lisa out of his soul space. She was more of a bother in reality since he can't force her back to his soul space when it was needed.
“Ugh...” Lisa grunted, making her foggy body flicker in shock. “You haven't changed at all. More than 7 days passed, with many improvements, but this level of punishing Encounter is way out of your league! Let me help you with this, and I can't be contained within you. You don't want it yourself, so stop lying. Me, out of this place. It's a lesser evil, so deal with it, or I will annoy you so much more here, as I have no other distractions. So?”
She offered a highly sophisticated argument, which Murai viewed with some truth.
“Lesser evil. Do you think so? Heh! That sounds like nothing that I can't deal with, so that makes your excuse sounds even greater. Heheheh.” Murai laughed.
It was at this point, that his laughter stopped, as another Will of the Battleworld hit his soul.
[Oppening part of the Encounter successfully accomplished]
[Grade - passable, with the help of a Helper]
[Because of the range of possibilities, the available ability to strengthen oneself won't happen until the official 1st Part]
[Body Attributes +4]
[1st Part of the Encounter starting]
[You've ended up in Seventh Death Forest under the pretext and Will of the other side]
[The presence of the Seventh Death Forest is filled with countless dying, dead, and chaotic soul forms and beasts. It is a special and unique place that is outside of the norm and normal coil of the Battleworld. It reveals no purpose but being grim, and filled with death]
[It is a place of the Dark, Chaos, and Death attribute. It is part of the Centralis Kingdom and Razmund leads the charge against you. Either he or his forces will soon arrive, as their unique task is firmly their own. That is to catch you, kill you, and spread your measly living against the heavens, or so it was told. What will you do against the foes of this place is your next cause while the degree of possibilities is unlike the opening act, as it should]
[The Centralis Kingdom is yet to be aware of your precise location, but that may change. This forest is half as big as their primary land, making any finding difficult, and hard]
[1st part of the Encounter]
[Location: Seventh Death Forest]
[Task: Survive and battle your way out of the forest. The sooner it is done, the bigger the rewards. That may vary in context, and power depending on your acomplishments]
[Dificulty: a wide range of possibilities. Enemies may be countless, filled with regret, pain, and fury to the living, yet you must thrive, clutch their Ends with your grasp as they hate the living]
[Level of difficulty: Grade S - The variable Level difficulty is calculated, and depends on your actions, but the terms are set]
[Soul Beasts and wasps of death are awaiting to clutch your soul]
[Enemies of no lesser than level 25 are in this place, with some clutching the power of the Extremes hiding in the depths]
[Helpers available: 5]
[Timer:12 days]
“Hm? What is this forest, Lisa? Does it even have Laws? How peculiar.” Murai asked, thinking of this message as a not-that-bad one, for once. It didn't include something nasty things like going against the messiahs that were way over his level. This one seemed more grounded, and well to his tastes.
“Seventh Death Forest? It should be dangerous, but the problem lies in the context of the Encounter as a whole, Murai Hisagi.” Lisa argued.
“I know. Leave it be, and focus on this 1st Part.” Murai said, disinterested in thinking about the greater context that wouldn't change anything anyway.
“You are messed up, truly. The Centralis Kingdom wants your life, and you care about the present issue? Ugh. Fine. You are the same as always. Current part? Escaping this forest. You may be hundreds of kilometers from the borders or more. You teleported randomly, I believe. I have no idea where are you, so...”
“Thank you, miss obvious.”
“Hey! I am trying to help and reply to your question!”
“And you haven't changed your ways as well!” Murai barked at her. “I hoped you would answer what matters. This situation... It is less of an issue for me than you would think. Dealing with messed-up situations is my expertise. Hmph!” he said, smugly forcing his Will back to reality to restart his walking.
He felt his core, and mind become more unrestrained since he was finally out of the clutches of others. His body was also workable, and largely uninjured. He held power to be better once again, albeit he didn't know the enemies, but the enemies didn't know him either, so what did it matter?
It was an advantage for him to be alone, free, and ready to do another adventure. He liked it and preferred it over being with Ceila. She would pose more dreadful consequences, while his own... Well, he was prone to disasters one way or another. At least in his opinion, his own guesses over the Encounter were lacking.
Murai didn't know how crazy and messed up the possible Encounters were, but Lisa knew all about them. It was something similar to The Major Task that she also realized he had, and now? The Encounter started with even The Major Task at play and went head-to-head without Murai doing a thing.
This was a nasty ploy. Insensible, even. This should happen. Lisa knew the harshness of this issue, and how ruleless and ruthless this whole situation seemed.
There was no opportunity here, nor a challenge. It all seemed like an excuse to get rid of Murai with one of the toughest tasks a Battleworld can offer and that was it. She understood it, bitterly imagining every issue that resolved around a few things that weren't even worthy of these issues.
Encounter? The Major Task?
She didn't get any of these until hitting level 60 but took part in them because of others.
Murai, on the other hand, felt his chances were better than ever. He no longer had a Helper, so the difficulty or the issues should be different, or straight up better. Shouldn't they?
He at least assumed that much, which amounted to nothing but a pat to his ego. Willing his Mana Detection forward, it traveled dozens of meters around him, providing him with a special feeling of detailed surveillance and feeling of the surrounding mana. It worked well, mapping and discovering the matters of interest around him, which was akin to some weird mental map.
Mana Detection worked with the mana alone, but it did other things as well. Detecting Mana-based beings, materials, specific spells, or flowing matters of mana properties. The laws that painted the mana itself weren't included, as they were vast and sophisticated.
Thus, Murai felt the most rudimentary form of mana in the appearance of glowing waves and spreading connecting dots in his mind's vision. It was impossible to tell what the ending path of Mana Detection was, but Murai had all intentions to discover it in the future.
His current reach was about 30 meters around him, which was an astonishing number for his level.
Even Lisa was surprised to feel it, and even the facts of his upgrades spoke for his aptitude for power. Regarding that, she realized pretty much everything that Murai possessed - including the numerical or even his rough prowess.
All she needed was a bit of connection to him to see his improvements in magic, Shaping, attributes, abilities, or even improvements of his own level a couple of times.
4 Spectral Wasps. Around level 25? Piece of cake. Murai deducted, feeling 4 flying souls forms of glistering color not so far away. He decided to start his adventure by hunting and seeing where he was with his present power. Sprinting through the forest, his Mana Detection worked wonders, but it was also detected by the Spectral Wasps.
They were floating soul forms, resembling a dragonfly, but their body was almost incorporeal and ghostly. Their only source of physicality was their head, which wasn't big, and the needle at the end of their foggy and long torso. Their mouth was a hole, with a vortex of teeth that can bite.
Murai jumped at the tree's trunk, and by using his small talons on his fingers, he got far, reaching a branch to get the higher ground. The Wasps were already flying and charging up their attack even without any mentions of battles starting.
Once again, the terms of the enemies didn't matter. They wanted to attack Murai and that was it.
Their attack was an Underworld Breath. A basic ability that let a piercing source of their being forward. Slightly azure, but a white flaming shot flew from their mouth, shooting a beam of light surrounded by foggy waves.
Spectral Wasp was considered a soul form, but also partly an undead, as it had Death affinity towards it. Undead Soul Form was their official mention.
Some considered them to be soul forms of death monsters who mutated into their current ghostly images, but not many knew how they were born, or created. None was wrong, or right.
They were simple beasts, filled with the deadly aura of the Seventh Death Forest, making them a unique existence that arose only in this place.
Murai looked at the approaching beam of light. Taking a branch that overlooked their position, he assumed a higher ground. He thought of his move, rather than about theirs.
How much? My Mana Pool is full, so it will be 40 or 50? No... Numbers are a useless wonder. He thought, thinking of a spell he wanted to use. “It is so strange figuring out the mana by the numerical value, and it's not my cup of tea. I never liked it since the Mana Pool is like an Inner Sea. It's basically the same thing as Immortal Qi but with special rules and a systematic approach. It makes me a bit upset since it is unnecessary. Mana Pool should've been done differently. This is terrible. I would change it if I would be given a chance.” Murai mumbled, Conjuring thin layers of glowing and flaming mana that flickered from his body. He Shaped two Flame Shots above his line of vision.
It appeared as if Murai was aiming with his beak, leading to quite a powerful and vigorous sight of flames rising on top of his beak.
2 Spectral Wasps beside each other didn't move as they kept channeling their ability, making Murai's aiming much better since this spell was a channeling one as well. He needed at least 1 and half-second to channel the Flame Shot. He could be quicker, leaving the Flame Shot to be weaker and with smaller effectiveness and strength.
It was the same as always in terms of magic, and he was quite familiar with the use of such spells. It was his favorite aspect of the mana-based power system in a couple of his past lives, which involved a world around the River of Manaflow.
Spectral Wasp's own channeling ability was tougher, so that allowed him to be more aggressive. He was the first to strike forward as his Flame Shots traveled faster, slamming into 2 Wasps and thanks to their area of effects, it disturbed the form of their Underworld Breaths. One of them still shot forward, but it missed, traveling a bit off from Murai's body.
The moment Flame Shots collided, one of the Spectral Wasps shook when a small explosion followed, letting its Breath explode into oblivion. It also disturbed the other, but not killed it.
It was also at that moment, that the other two Spectral Wasps appeared around 10 meters away, flying at him also. One above the tree, the other down below.
Murai used this timing, leaping from the branch while Shaping another Flame Shot to deal with the 2nd one. The last duo will be his personal hits.
He jumped from quite some height and didn't even watch where he was landing. The Flame Shot hit the second target's inner mouth, flying to its core and obliterating it from the inside out with his Flame. Then, he pulled his beak above, and a distinct light came from his beak.
It wasn't moonlight or sunlight, but it was as mesmerizing as light. This forest wasn't too dense in fauna, but dark it was. Clouds littered the sky above, making the sunlight dull as if it was the middle of the night. There was still light around the leaves and fauna as if their own souls or mana lit the surface. One's eyesight should be quite good in this environment, and Murai had an excellent one since his Night Vision was already level 8.
He figured the continuous use of the passive abilities worked wonders in terms of progression. It was like training, and it worked the same with many spells and abilities and their leveling.
The faster leveling meant a faster Boost which corresponded to a larger power. It wasn't his, but he already learned it was. World itself was making it a blessing, so he didn't question it, since Battleworld worked because of it.
Such training meant a lot of draining of the mana, but it was something Murai didn't find the worst. Thankfully, Iris used some of her own stock of potions for his training, even though it was a loss of money for her.
It was one of the reasons for his impressive growth these past 7 days, even though he was unable to move for the majority of that time. God's Trial was still a long distance away, making its threat not as apparent but disturbing.
As for the light coming off of his beak? It was an ability Murai found quite interesting by now, as it involved mana and his body. It was Beak's Peak. An ability that was similar to his Beak's Fury, but with less flexibility and vast differences in terms of power. It was something he didn't use a lot after getting it from the end of the Acaman Tower.
He used it a couple of times at some training opportunities yesterday, getting a first impression of it, and thanks to some time, he even figured out how to channel it longer. The more he did, the stronger it will become. 2 seconds of channeling meant a rough hit that would destroy hundreds of kilograms of heavy rock.
Murai leveled it thrice in the past already and got familiar with it when his legs got better enough to train with his beak. Its flexibility and usage improved when he got better at it, so he was curious how good it can be against "living" targets.
He could only tell so much from his clumsy attacks at the rocks, and trees in the Dried Woodlands where Iris took him every day to loosen up.
His quick and decisive manner of defense worked. The 3rd Wasp attacked him with its sharp sting, but it was blown to ghostly fog by his beak, its stinger bent as it tried to attack him. Its stinger was no longer physical and disappeared into the light as if it bent the laws themselves.
Then, Murai flickered his neck, hitting the Wasp to its torso with his beak, destroying it with a residual power of his Beak's Peak.
As for the 4th, directly below his falling body, Murai flexed his neck, and pushed his beak down, defending and obliterating the Underworld Breath that pushed against his body. The Beak's Peak residual force was enough to push against this force, but it seemed the attack glid from his feathers instead.
He fell down head first, hitting the wasp in its open mouth, killing it. A smooth entrance inside turned its body apart, obliterating its limited physicality in one strike.
It was gone, with no speck of its body or physicality left.
With that, Murai still kept falling down, until his beak hit the ground.
Thud!
Dark soil cracked apart a dozen or so meters around, leaving no crater, but a beak-sized hole in the ground. Murai's beak was a perfect fit for that, but thankfully he wasn't stuck as he feared.
Quite good. 4 gone in an instant. I am glad to loosen up with the actual fight. Murai sighed inside, feeling his insecurities were no longer present.
With those women gone, I feel much better. It's no wonder. Having the watchful eyes of some god freaks isn't for me. What do they even see in me other than the value of my status? My past? Right... No. Maybe a little, since Vermillion seemed to be interested in pestering me along with my present that she was aware of? How? Isn't she afraid of... me? Nah... Probably not, but she must have heard and used something she knows about me. Murai guessed, pulling his beak out and seeking the next course of action.
His Mana Detection didn't detect anything new, so he assumed he was alone for the time being.
“What did you think, Lisa?” he quacked out loud to inform her in his Soul Space.
“You got somewhat stronger,” she replied. “Not like Spectral Wasps are even comparable to difficult enemies as their Class is at grade F and you are a freaking Anatidae. It would be disappointing if you had some trouble. Acaman Tower's difficulty was worse and because your basics are way too good at the moment, you solved those level 25 wasps that didn't even have any evolution as their life form is unique. You should have focused on your core abilities, and not spent this entire week on the basics of magic. Levels are also important, similar to attributes, and what they can do around the body, soul, and magic.” Lisa argued from his soul space, talking directly to his mind.
“And how am I supposed to level up myself? I don't even know how it works, and you didn't explain shit as you promised! It's all Battleword this, rewards that. How to convincingly and smoothly get stronger in a steady manner isn't something I know in terms of this bullshit system. Not even those Sun girls explained to me a thing, nor did anyone else to a large degree. Well, Iris did... That girl was talkative beyond common means, but she is young.... and weak.” Murai willed his mind, speaking to her without quacking like a mad duck. He didn't like how IRis got stuck with the short choice of a stick.
“I know the lack of it. Sorry for your meaningful lack of sense... Hmph!” Lisa sneered. “You wish I would mean it, but I don't. You almost died because of the reasons that went behind the senses, ruining you without much sense, or underlying fate. So I am excusing myself and you... It's complicated. You underwent a grim time even without me knowing or seeing it myself, yet you are fine now, so how about a proper discussion between a Life Companion and its master?”
“You think of THIS as a master?” Murai asked, confusingly mentioning himself as a master. He didn't feel like one, while Lisa wasn't thinking of herself as a servant either so what did she mean by this?
“Maybe a little? You are you.” Lisa changed her mind. “I don't care either way, honestly. It's not like I am useless, it's just that the beginning stuff is bad and... not up to me. I don't remember much about the beginning of a Blessed life, nor do I have much experience with teaching, or figuring out specifics for your unique circumstances. I had, and have my own system now, you know? Before, I was a succubus. An unrelated being to you with its unique takes out of your case. I was no demonic beast. That means I have little if no context for your path. or what you should do. What I know can mean useless things for you so I was always hesitant to explain things since they may be wrong for you.”
“Bullshit.” Murai barked at her, knowing full well that she was just excusing herself from responsibilities. The system should be fundamentally similar in terms of progression. She could've given him plenty of explanations and exposition throughout the way of progression since they shouldn't differ. From Levels, attributes, and so on, he didn't need much for a start. Just knowledge of that, plus the world and magic that Will of the battleworld had would suffice.
That was his guess from the context he discovered, so he continued. “There are so many things that you are forgetting, I bet. The part of this all is me, which is undeniable, as yourself. You are forgetting to think of the bigger picture. Context is also important, so that makes you useless since you think too highly of yourself. Thinking in common sense and helping with little things is better than thinking too much over too little. It's all about Ego!”
“I don't deny that either,” Lisa argued. not shouting in anger but with interest and calmness. “Now, I am a Life Companion. An important tool, even if it sounds... lame to myself or you. I know. Every Life Companion of a Blessed is a special figure that is respected by the Battleworld, as we are former Blessed. We have our own set of rules, knowledge, and things to offer or tell. I follow that to a lesser degree, but since the Oath I've got, I have to do this. That is the reason we got a chance to live again, helping someone who is Blessed while living the life of our past failures through them. It is savage.” she explained, sounding less lofty than before.