Walking away from the tough, yet enjoyable battle, Murai felt satisfaction like any other. Although it was more bittersweet when he realized he got nothing out of it, he grunted but that was about it. There were no attributes or abilities. No message from the Battleworld. Nothing. As the Encounter stated before, there won't be many improvements while ongoing this mess. Something about the rules, or so Lisa said.
The feeling of satisfied battle was all he had, which took him way back in time, but only for a little while.
After the focused battle that went on for a couple of minutes, he figured out something about his body, and strategies, and less about his magic. The right way to go about brawling and using his body was a testament to a good fight. Trusting his body was now something he believed in more than before. He should also trust his own living instincts since the body can make necessary adjustments if he fails.
His beak already exceeded his expectation when hitting Porik's direct defense, while the way he defeated Izik, was passable at best. He gnawed at his neck with his slightly open beak, ending up almost bone deep. Obviously, he hit major arteries, letting the blood loss be too deep for any Vitality to kick in.
That, or he simply did his best, assuming he was much better than these 3 messiahs he didn't know at all. They were the kind of opponents he hoped to meet and fight with, yet it still surprised him how potent their magic was. The feelings of danger and the thrill of going against the dangers lifted some issues from his head, giving him a tough wake-up call. It was a close call, all things considered.
They were a tough team and this accomplishment wouldn't happen, if it wouldn't be for the strategy of making it more 1 on 1, then going head first, and dealing with it later. He still did so, but after he killed the 1st messiah while adjusting his strategy next.
It was satisfactory, albeit lucky in terms of his mistake, which his body thankfully solved. The successful finish would make anyone happy and it was making his mind sharp and soul cleansed. It was making him feel good for sure, which may be inlined to his body, rather than his fighting. After all, this should've been the toughest battle to date, and he won against the force that would kill him any other day.
Outside of his body, his Mana Detection, and Soul Read were his other strong points. They formed calculations and strategies where a majority of his decision ended up going to his actual reality. He did some mistakes - like taking the Scorchign Shots when he shouldn't take them - yet he remained uninjured apart from the strained legs that he used extensively against Izik attacks.
After all of this, the body tensed up but also shivered in its inner structure. Vitality kicked in, giving Murai a slow rise in heat in his heart, regenerating the muscles, and strained body. This felt good as Murai recalled any rise in Vitality, but this time, it was quite direct and noticeable. It was giving him noticeable energy, soothing his strained muscles and easing up any pain. He even thought he would be fine after couple dozen minutes.
Striding away, Murai began his nonstop action of the Mana Detection that he kept in a steady place as far as he could. It was draining him of some mana, but the fear of other messiahs or other forces around was still apparent. A prepared man was a prepared winner, or so he remembered.
This sort of situation was a good way to train his perception, but he had to be careful of the mana usage. After this fight, he felt his core slowly reaching its limits. He was yet to be so sure about how much mana each notion of his abilities consumed, or if his Mana Replenishment was good enough right now. He could only roughly gouge the overall Mana Pool in his body with feelings of his core alone, which was only rough telling, like seeing water in clear glass from 10 meters away.
He was sure there was some point number to them, but it wasn't something he could tell right away. It was there, in the whispers of the Will of the Battleworld, yet it wasn't something he can see on a whim. In fact, he was preferring it this way, since he believed that if he cared too much about more numbers, he would care less about his surroundings. His situation was changing, while his mana was leaving his core. There were probably some issues with this because of his Beast Core, or the lack of a stronger connection to this system that the Will of the Battleworld had.
Murai still remembered every message of the Will of the Battleworld, his improved magic and abilities. Everything was sensible and voiced in that mechanical voice, but that was it. Calling it something crazy and heaven-defying wasn't correct since Murai felt fine even if he didn't have it at all. Nothing much would change, or so he believed, which was wrong.
He would do the same strategy, or at least similar moves. Knowing things in numerical points - like the cost towards the abilities out of his own mana pool - wouldn't work all that well at raging combat moments.
Murai didn't have such intricate details in his system, which may be a good thing. It would create problems where there was no need for them. Like worrying about which ability would be efficient for long time use, and which one he wouldn't use at all. There was also an incentive of using the most efficient method of striking, which may not be the actual best method to solve fast-paced combat. Still, he wasn't caring much about his Mana Pool, even though it was almost empty.
Without this issue of undergoing too stressful hours of his mana-heavy situation, he held a vast mana pool. It was part of his Beast Core, albeit it was yet to undergo the improvements and strengthening that it deserved.
Because of that lacking aspect of his magic, the use of his abilities didn't shatter any limits or common sense, nor did they cost a lot of mana. His highest advantage was the basis of an incredibly large mana pool, allowing him to endure half a day of using magic. It was like having a large battery, yet using less demanding tools. That was why his Shaping became an important factor in his rightful strategies.
Doing simple things posed lesser issues when it came to magic. Smaller things required less care, mana, and mind. Using this belief correctly and understanding it enough was what Murai did, according to his own results and what he considered important. With mana costs hidden away, his mind was thus free from the worries that a lot of regular mages had to consider, and even a lot of Blessed were the same.
The continuous drain of the Mana Detection wasn't large, as this ability was more on the perception side of things, involving nothing but the mind and feelings of mana. In fact, he almost thought it wasn't that bad considering his Mana Replenishment that was constantly working. Mana Detection pressured one's mind and was similar to echolocation, or sonar if one with it would describe it poorly.
Murai wasn't seeing things from afar, like some Clairvoyant's ability, or high-level Eyesight, or Sky Vision. He was only feeling rough consistencies of the mana and that was it. In a sense, he could gouge the colors of the intricate mana particles better from far away, thus the moves and feelings of those moving waves. In this sense, he saw Izik and Porik from the fog as if they were light and colorful figures. Seeing their movement, he also saw the degree of the moving mana under their enchanted care. Their mana flow would and should make changes depending on the movements and desired moves of the users.
“What are you thinking about?” Lisa asked, following Murai who went back to the forest of dull trees and dark soil. “Are you thinking about this battle, Murai Hisagi?” she asked again, floating a little further in front of him to force him to acknowledge her question.
Facing him to seek his attitude, she wanted to understand him a bit better after this battle, It was also to restart their discussion afterward, but she wasn't sure if Murai wanted to continue when he wasn't interested. She wasn't sure he would be able to win that easily, but he did with some power left. After the fight, things didn't move according to Lisa's thoughts. She felt as if Murai held feelings as if this fight didn't really matter when he was over it.
It seemed to her as if the battle itself raged in his heart and body, but afterward, it returned to a splendid calmness - relative one, that was. Murai's mind was still agitated over the Encounter, so finding some other things to push his mind into would come next. That was, to get out of this forest or find another battle. This sort of vision was not what Lisa expected to see from him, since she thought of him as a calculative lunatic, instead of a battle-craving maniac. Though, she wasn't one to find it problematic. It was a sense of a damned lunatic and crazy person, but who was she to question?
“It was a decent battle,” Murai answered, continuing to walk away. “I didn't think at first that my beak's peak would be that overwhelming, but it ended up being pretty good. Or, are you thinking of something else when you ask like that? For example, those Enchantments they had, or do you question my tactics and your own useability?”
“What about the enchantments or your tactics? And no, I am not thinking about myself.” She shook her head. “Tactics are your issue, while the other is my prior expertise. I know a lot of things about this world, as I said before. I was familiar with the enchantments a lot, as a Succubus of more physical-based prowess. Do you want to hear my title or rank? Hm?” Lisa asked, thinking of the past in nostalgia and melancholy as she floated with her front facing Murai while floating without looking behind.
The past may be gone, but with 50 years gone, the majority of demonic forces shouldn't have changed, nor should had her own. Probably. In fact, all sorts of her acquaintances should still be alive and well. Demons and devils alike had longer lifespans than humans, while 50 years wasn't even that long when it came to the road to power.
Even a lot of humans, whether friends, opponents, or whatever else, should still be alive. For the Blessed cases, living past 100 years was more than common, and it depended on factors of their Path, bloodline, and how they would age in this world in terms of luck, talent, and magic. Normally, even with the mana involved, they would age the same way as any other human, unless their Path was extraordinary.
Only elves and other cases of uncommon races had distinct longevity outside of the human race. It was thanks to their extraordinariness and bloodline that followed long-lost and ancient times. Humans had neither of these aspects, as far as it was common. They weren't extraordinary unless a special uniqueness would come to them in other forms. Talent, soul, or blessing would create some change. In the wildest case, the Blessed or not would become long-living but the terms of that were subjective.
Other than that, the Gifted could reach a higher lifespan, thanks to the special Gifts of Gods. But for that, it was one thing to be worthy of such a gift and another was to hold onto it for their whole lives. Gods were peculiar beings, while the Gifted could lose the favor of their precious gods.
After all, time was one thing that even Gods found quite unappealing, let alone mortals, whose purpose was more than questionable in the eyes of higher beings.
Murai wasn't thinking of time as a limiting factor. Out of anyone in this world, he held the most intricate past. Now, thinking of the past wasn't what he did all the time, nor did he was curious about Lisa's question about her past. It wasn't up to his tastes, and it seemed Lisa wanted a simple pat on her head, rather than talk some sense.
Sometimes, Murai cared about the present and the future more, since it was usually what mattered. It was a sensible thing to do, so he wouldn't get headaches over the past. He was of no opinion to tell, so he remained silent amidst Lisa's questionable glances. He knew she wasn't joking and he was indeed curious about what she knew about the Battleworld that she didn't let out. It was obvious since she made one piece of information more than clearer in her unhinged agitation.
In fact, she may have regretted saying and mentioning that. It was something Murai heard and did choose to talk about.
Lisa was close to the Extremes in power when she was alive, and that was very significant information. What did it imply? Her power and standing in this world must have been quite important, and lofty. Her own power, living, and Path must have been ordinary to go along with her Blessed living. Politics and standing in this world went hand to hand with power, so Murai considered Extrems to be quite an important subject of interest. After all, a lot of his present Tasks mentioned them. Be it The Major Task, or the Encounter at some point.
Another thing was that Lisa should be fairly acclimated to the rules of this world, which was another intricate point of her knowledge.
As for how easy was it to reach the status of an Extreme, Murai was curious about it. He may ask her about it in the near future when she will have some incentive, or will to talk. Forcing some information from her will take some time, however. if she will be so vague, or unwilling to talk about them, then he will have to adjust some strategy or consider something else. For now, Murai had more pressing issues in hand, and they were coming his way, thanks for his Mana Detection.
“Phantom Coyotes!” He exclaimed, shooting his head behind and feeling Mana fluctuations 30 meters away. That was his Mana Detection limit in terms of the radius. The diameter was 60 meters long. A stretch of distance that was quite significant and beneficial to incoming dangers. Now, he didn't regret this draining of mana.
Phantom Coyotes were coming straight after him. Those were the beasts and no ghostly things which may mean only one thing alone. Since the Seventh Death Forest had no living things, the living came from the outside ~ a Centralis Kingdom's hunt.
“Huh? Coyotes? It's a hunt, Murai Hisagi, what did you expect?” Lisa looked back but didn't notice a thing. The forest was still quiet and stale, with creepiness around every cranny of a tree. Even the meetings of an undead, or soul beast were rare since they walked away for 15 minutes without any battle.
Lisa figured that Murai wasn't joking, so she recalled some things. “The Centralis Kingdom always has methods and ways to find what they desire. Razmund is like that too, I bet. Using whatever is necessary, for their beliefs and benefits. They may be a bit too harsh, but this is fitting for them too. They hate anything to do with demons, and anything inhuman. Those beasts are pets, slaves, or something in-between. I hope you won't end up being eaten alive like a proper hunting duck that dogs eat in royal hunts. Heheh.” Lisa giggled, explaining the situation a bit better, but Murai was already thinking of a way to destroy these things, rather than hearing her words.
Around the trees, 20 meters away, 4 legged beasts emerged in a low and shadowy stature. Murai watched them from the bushes, unnoticed by them. One would notice them right away in the darkness, but not so much without proper eyesight. Their steps were silent as their breathing. Their eyes were deep red, and their bodies resembled wolves in their frontal appearances apart from their head.
Phantom Coyotes had much more ferocious eyes and wider mouths with a pointy heads. Their statures weren't large, and their legs were angled and made up for a sprinter - unlike dessert coyotes. 10 Phantom Coyotes in total appeared in his line of detection, with only a few emerging behind his physical eyesight. The majority had scarred faces, while their heads had a wide jaw littered with a lot more teeth than a wolf would have.
They had similar snouts to wolves and their fur looked hard with deep blackness and a tinge of azure mana fluctuations. Another thing of interest was within their mouths. There were layers and waves of mana coming from it, indicating some sort of strange affinity, or ability they had. It resembled a fire in their mouth.
“Lisa! What level of a beast is that? Around Level 20 or something? ” Murai guessed.
“Your guess is right, but numbers are numbers and levels are levels. We talked about it a moment ago. Worrying about levels isn't all that important against Class E beasts. They are stronger than Fs, but why is that so? They had more strength than that, while their highest worry is their numbers! Do you think you can kill them faster when one would bite your wings off sooner? I bet their owner is coming right past them since they have slave collars hiding in that fur. Those are lowly beasts that are only good for surveillance but not now. They can hunt you for real.” Lisa said, hoping Murai's decision would be a bit better thanks to her words.
Impulsiveness wasn't a correct choice in any Encounter, and it was more than true in the fight against the 3 messiahs.
Either of the groups could have fled, or not attacked, ending the battle abruptly, yet with an easy path afterward. Murai was the one who started it all, while the 3 messiahs become 2, then 1, and then 0. Izik and Porik could have fled the scene if they wanted to, and they would have done that if their beliefs and decision would be normal. They weren't, so this belief cost them their lives, albeit in the hands of someone who didn't care about their lives either way. After all, expecting to be killed while you want to kill was a normal belief. Murai understood it, and so did the messiahs who accepted their Ends.
Murai hesitated in the decision of questionable importance. He didn't view these beasts as a threat, but more so as an annoyance that could litter him with other problems. Those Coyotes were beasts of good value, with snouts that were best for tracking. He assumed they found him because of that.
They did, so what came next was the important thing. A decision to flee or fight come to his mind, while Lisa was right. The owner of these beasts was coming behind those beasts, forming a threat that was harder to solve than the 3 messiahs. It was his hunch to continue fighting and deal with the rest, but Lisa may be right, or not.
Was he willing to be too forceful at this part of the Encounter? Nah, he had plenty of time to do anything, while his mana was yet to recover to a passable degree. It was best to preserve his strength.
“We flee.” Murai decided and began to run as fast as he could in the opposite direction than those hesitant-looking coyotes, who were sniffing the ground and air alike. He maintained the bare connection to his Mana Detection to see where they were. He could tell those beasts weren't the most intelligent ones, and they didn't spot him yet. They smelled him or felt his mana, but it was rough like a compass. They would know his general direction and that was it.
There also wasn't any human in their proximity, so Murai will wait a bit more to see what will change. 60 meters in diameter was a long distance, but that was only 30 around him so he wasn't close to seeing far, if that made sense.
Alas, there was something that he didn't expect, or consider.
It was the smell, decisiveness of the coyotes, and the one behind them.
Phantom Coyotes had a pretty good sense of smell, but it wasn't their highest selling point. Blood, fur, and the smell of distinct beasts were easy to digest, thanks to their snouts. They can track all sorts of things with their senses and the range wasn't all that bad. It was a physical-based ability and could encompass kilometers if the steps of the prey would be easy to feel.
What Phantom Coyotes would do about it depended on the ability and right attitude of their master. The one who raised these beasts, or made slaves out of the wild ones. That was the Beast Master, that was following the Phantom Coyotes couple of kilometers behind. There were more than those 10 Coyotes, with many more hiding or sniffing behind the range of Murai's Mana Detection.
Murai ran and run, uncaring about his speed or the Seventh Death Forest. By now, he forget about his injuries or tiny legs. He run with many iterations and changed his direction. He wasn't running in the opposite direction all the time, yet the coyotes weren't running, but carefully took their time and considered the moves of their prey.
A few minutes into this, a shrouded man in a deep dark robe emerged in the same spot where Murai battled the messiahs. He had many chains over his dark robe, while 3 much larger coyotes were behind his sides. They growled in displeasure and agitation as if they were feeling something strange.
“Calm down, beasts.” the man, hiding behind the hooded appearance said in a grumpy voice, smacking the snouts of these large beasts. They calmed instantly, fearing more dread would come their way.
“What happened here? This sense of dread... Is this what is the source of this forest? Captain Razmund did talk about something, yet the higher-ups weren't interested in this forest at all... Encounter is the priority, it seems and this place serves as a good catching place, yet it doesn't mean it is good for hunters either.” the man said and sniffled the air in the same manner as the coyotes.
“All indications of anything are gone, yet the smell of blood prevails. It's blood and nothing else... How strange. Someone butchered a group of messiahs, or so I guess. The human blood it is, and the mana is impossible to read or sniff out. It seems to be the case of a brief battle that went on for a few exchanges and the loss of a lot of human blood. It also wasn't that long ago. The place is also cleaned up. As expected of the Death.” he figured, and let the smell of blood follow his senses.
There was nothing in his place, but something he found was indeed there. It was a sense of a demonic beast, and the coyotes widely growled, sensing the prey in the air. “The other lesser tools probably sensed it, thus they act under my education. Good. I sense them. That may be the reason for their careful positioning... which means. The enemy is a demonic beast. Of course... Heheheh!” The man laughed in an evil tone. “The prey! The one! I will be the one to beat this Encounter!”
The Beast Master remained laughing and glancing at the open direction Murai escaped to. With the right mindset coming to his mind, he followed the senses of his beast and hurried toward the direction of the rest of the coyotes.