Starting on the right foot, Kirian awoke at 5am and began cultivating. Kirian planned to head South East towards the heart of the inner forest. Along the way, he stopped and picked a few cooking herbs and a level C root. He planned on selling a few of the things he gathered in White City.
After a few hours he finally found a good area to try and reach a breakthrough. Kirian entered a thick, green brush. There were fallen trees and a moist, damp floor. It was the perfect environment for forest serpents. Kirian killed a few level 1 beasts arriving at the coolest place in this area. He noticed a few level 2 serpents around, but they were headed in the opposite direction. Holding his sword, he walked forward. Cutting the brush aside hoping to startle hibernating or resting serpents. After walking another 10 minutes, he finally saw a large level 2 serpent.
The green, and brown spotted serpent was neatly coiled under a large rock covering. It appeared to be guarding the entrance to the rock. Kirian scanned the serpent and noticed a few gashes along its body. The cuts must have been from previous fights. Based on the number, this serpent was battle tested. As he scanned the serpent and started to think of a game plan, the serpent started scanning the area too. Its eyes stopped in the direction of Kirian. Kirian readied his sword.
Just as Kirian expected the serpent to attack it slowly slithered to the side while letting out a hiss. Kirian’s hearing picked up on a new noise. He shifted his head just as a level 3 serpent dropped from the trees above him. “Shit” Kirian shouted as he quickly used quick draw and air walk to block the incoming strike and retreated. *Clank. * The incoming serpent’s sharp fangs hit the edge of the blade. Due to their durability, the serpent was pushed away. Now Kirian was a few meters away from a level 2 and level 3 serpent. They hissed together. Kirian realized they might be a couple. Kirian quickly did the math. His odds against both serpents without any other unforeseen variables gave him a 90% chance of escaping. He only had 40% confidence that he could kill both if they attacked together.
Kirian quickly tossed his sword into his left hand and pulled out a few throwing daggers. Kirian decided to run in a circle around the two to test their limits. Serpents are known to have poor vision and use their tongues to pick up on scent trails. To keep the serpents guessing, he ran right for a few seconds, would stop, continue, stop, and head back, stop, and continue to the right. After 2-3 trips, the level 2 serpents retreated towards the rocks. The level 3 serpent was mirroring Kirian. As the leader, Kirian noticed an opportunity to separate the two. He wanted to quickly kill off the level 2 serpents to focus on the level 3.
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The two serpents started spraying a grey mist. It was a poison cloud. With the combined poison of a level 2 and level 3 it was more potent. Kirian quickly activated air walk and ran in a circle. He was using his speed to centralize the poison cloud. The cloud condensed and was being pushed into a tornado shape. Most of the poison was released high above Kirian’s head, so it was now manageable. Kirian launched his daggers. The level 3 serpents dogged the daggers and started to counter. The daggers were never aimed at the level 2 serpent. His goal was to create distance between the two. If he injured the level 2 beast, then its partner would most likely stay close to protect it. At the same time, with the strength of a level 3 serpent it could most likely defend the level 2 serpent from Kirian’s aerial attacks.
The level 3 serpent kept lunging forward attempting to bite Kirian as he moved back. He had to use his act 1 sword arts to block all the incoming strikes. After a few rounds of defending, Kirian was slowly guiding the snake further from the rock. Suddenly, Kirian started running towards the right. He adjusted his speed a few times and then abruptly stopped going right. He took a large stride to the left and channeled his energy into his legs. He created separation from the level 3 snake for a moment. Instantly, he threw 3 daggers towards the level 2 snake. Just like the rabbit, the level 2 serpents could not escape all 3 daggers. It avoided one, but Kirian spaced out the two others. Kirian needed to land 2 if he wanted to ensure a kill.
The level 2 serpent let out a long hiss that gradually started to get softer. The level 3 serpent looked enraged as it saw its’ life partner dying before it. In a fit of rage, the serpent caught up to Kirian. It shot out raindrop sized acid bullets. Kirian was caught off guard and a few skinned his left arm and thigh. Kirian grinned while circling his energy force to help heal his wounds.
Kirian and the serpent spent the next 15 minutes chasing each other around the area. Sometimes Kirian would use his quick draw and other times the snake would bite out while shooting acid. Both parties were wearing down their stamina and each had landed a handful of hits. Kirian started to feel fatigued and decided to use one of his C ranked Energy Saviors. He instantly recovered about 450 EUs. The snake still looked peeved as it continued to clash with Kirian head on.