R-a - Volume 3 - Chapter 5 (Patreon)

R-a - Chapter 163 (Live in editing -v2)

Micheal passed by the Slum, avoiding any interaction as he continued to soar along the ground. Whenever he saw a party or group in the distance, he made immediate detours and went out of his way to avoid contact. While this corner of the Second Layer wasn’t very populated, bands of humans roaming about were not at all uncommon to see.

This wilderness abounded with wildlife that was much stronger than that of Earth. Deer, mountain lions, wolves, many of the animals Micheal knew from Earth were common here, but in much stronger forms. They weren’t at the level of a Magic Beast, but were powerful enough to make them difficult for regular humans to hunt.

As he moved, Micheal was aware that whatever he did here could potentially leave a trace that others could track. His new identity as ‘Legion’ would need to be completely separate from his identities of ‘Heron’ or ‘Micheal.’ At the bare minimum, there would soon be millions of people after his head.

After all… when word reached the Second Layer that he had killed the Godfather… Well, it wouldn’t be pretty. Even though this was the Second, many people here still appreciated and respected the Godfather Organization of the First. There was a reason no infants or young children had been spotted in the Slums Micheal had seen.

Very few young humans existed on the Second Layer, and most of those were only from being born here on the Second. Most children lived on the First Layer within the Godfather Organization. Very few people would begrudge someone for taking care of lost siblings or family members, especially as they realized how terrible this reality was.

The Vile King couldn’t know exactly what happened thanks to Micheal’s efforts in the battle with Cameron. The longer Micheal could prevent him from knowing that he was actively working to stop Constantine’s plans, the bigger Micheal's advantage would be. Being forced to hide his identity, especially as hundreds of millions of people began to pour through to the Second, was a small price to pay.

The lands around him continued to return to the wild, the grassy, peaceful plains long forgotten. In this abandoned corner of the Divine Might Sect’s territory, only humanity and Magic Beasts could be found.

And as Micheal travelled farther northward, he spotted his first roaming Magic Beast.

Most Magic Beasts lived in mystical looking mountain ranges or blessed forests. Such places were not uncommon on the Second Layer, and were, in fact, almost commonplace. There were tens of thousands of fog-shrouded mountains, faintly glowing forests, or magical lakes, each packed full of magical creatures of varying power.

In these areas, Magic Herbs or very rare Helion Treasures could be found and eaten, a staple of a Magic Beast’s diet. These magical plants or fruits would reappear after being devoured in an inevitable cycle, one of the special aspects of the Second Layer.

Still, some of the weaker Magic Beasts might find themselves unable to compete for enough food in their vast enclaves. Creatures like this would take to roaming the outside world, looking for prey to hunt on. Byrens, Humans, or regular beasts, it mattered not to them.

The first creature of this kind that Micheal spotted was a beast he found roaming only an hour past the Slum.

A large, one and a half meter’s tall wild dog, with spiked black fur that fluttered faintly in the breeze. Bulging muscles could be seen under its sharp-edged fur, giving it a primal appearance. Its eyes glowed with faint, blue light, while its deadly teeth gleamed white.

It was a Black Needle Dog, a Low-Tier Magic Beast.

When Micheal spotted it, he slowed down slightly. He eyed the creature from the air, around 200 meters distant from it. The beast was currently munching on a white deer’s carcass, one of the many normal animals that inhabited the Second Layer.

Low-Tier Magic Beasts would normally require a team of Third Rate Warriors to take down. Even Low-Tier creatures were ferocious monsters that contained a huge amount of strength.

However, taking down Magic Beasts came with ample rewards. Their bodies were magical, containing resources that humans could only buy from the Shop, including some materials that couldn’t be purchased at all.

In addition, every Magic Beast came with a Spirit Crystal embedded within them. The Crystal operated as the ‘battery’ of a Magic Beast, a type of tough organ that stored their energy. Just like humans, Magic Beasts cultivated a type of energy that was roughly equivalent to Ki.

When regular Byrens killed a Magic Beast, they would remove this Spirit Crystal. They could then slowly absorb energy from the Crystal to help further their Ki Cultivation. In this aspect, Byrens had an advantage over humans.

When a human killed a Magic Beast, the energy in that creature’s Spirit Crystal was automatically absorbed and converted into Points. There were few exceptions to this rule, and because of this, it made it very difficult to acquire Spirit Crystals through any means other than trade for humans.

The drained Spirit Crystal dissipated into dust, becoming mostly worthless. The other materials that a Magic Beast contained, however, were still worthwhile. These were the main tools humans used for trade at this time.

As Micheal scanned the Black Needle Dog, he roughly gauged its power.

‘It’s stronger than an Abnormal Morenkai, but not on the level of a Monster Class Morenkai.’ He could tell this with a simple glance. Its physical power wasn’t bound to be too high, nor was its physical defense.

However, when it came to Magic Beasts, raw strength wasn’t everything. Most of them contained weird abilities or powers that set them apart from each other.

To humans, these marauding Magic Beasts were a plague that took countless lives. After all, if it took a full team of Third Rate Warriors to kill one, then groups of humans that weren’t at that level, or individual Third Rate Warriors that weren’t with a team, were easy prey.

Micheal hadn’t encountered one of these before, but could remember reading a vague description of the creature thanks to his Ceaseless Mind’s perfect memory. The fact that it was covered in quills and spikes likely meant it had a defensive or close-range offensive power, something the description he’d read confirmed.

After scanning his surroundings and noting that no one was nearby, Micheal began to approach the Black Needle Dog.

He didn’t hide his presence nor did he set up any special traps. Instead, he rested his hand on the hilt of his sword and simply flew forward.

It took only a couple of seconds for the Black Needle Dog to notice him.

The dog had been in the middle of chomping down on a large deer hind leg when it froze, its nose twitching. Its entire body shivered as it turned to look at the fast-approaching Micheal, a low, rumbling growl echoing out.

Micheal ignored that as he continued to fly forward. He bent his knees slightly as he moved, his gaze calm and steady.

The wild dog’s growl evolved into a roar as the Magic Beast dropped the deer leg and took several steps towards Micheal. Its fur spiked up even further, making it look painful to touch.

By this point, Micheal was just a dozen meters away. He had leapt off of his Life Orbs and was sprinting forward, his every movement measured and precise. The tension built up as the roaring wild dog prepared to launch itself at Micheal, its white teeth gleaming.

Just before the Magic Beast leaped, just before Micheal was about to make contact…

Micheal’s eyes glowed as he stared at the Black Needle Dog and unleashed his full killing intent.

An invisible wave of emotion, conducted by the power of his Soul, washed forward and encompassed the Black Needle Dog. A feeling of overwhelming bloodlust and intimidation, borne from more than a decade of brutal warfare and combat at the highest level.

That invisible wave of emotion slammed into the Low-Tier Magic Beast and froze it in its tracks. Its entire body grew still in terror as it felt this pressure land, neutralizing its attack before it could even get started.

By the time it even tried to recover from that shock, it was already too late.

In the split second that it stood there frozen, Micheal decapitated it in a single slash. His right arm had struck forward lightning-fast, Advanced Tier Sword Energy coating his blade as he cut through the Black Needle Dog’s tufted fur like it was paper.

A wash of red blood spattered out as the Magic Beast collapsed, killed instantly.

.

—-Points Obtained—-

Points: 267

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Micheal flicked the notification to the side as he smoothly spun around, sheathing his sword in a graceful movement. He eyed the Points total, sighing slightly.

It was a travesty that humanity abandoned so many of their own to various Slums, not when Low-Tier Magical Beasts could provide so many Points. This was enough to provide a basic meal for at least a hundred humans. People's appetites grew stronger as their bodies became more powerful, but it wasn't at anything approaching a high level here on the Second.

After a second, he gazed down at the corpse, wrinkling his nose slightly.

“It’s no good.” He frowned as he stepped forward and grabbed ahold of the wild dog’s body. He picked up the pieces and quickly stored them in his Mid-Tier Spatial Ring, saving it for later.

Low-Tier Magic Beasts were ferocious, but Micheal’s skill level vastly outweighed his own body’s strength. That, combined with his abnormally strong Soul, meant that no Low-Tier Magic Beast was bound to be a match for him, no matter how powerful or odd their abilities might be.

Advanced Tier Sword Energy, in his hands, was deadly enough to shear through the skin of any Low-Tier Magic Beast with ease. His physical strength was enough to carry him for now, and he could always use the Bracken Enhancement Fluid if he truly needed to, giving him the versatility he needed to handle most situations.

As well, while he wasn’t at the level where he could use Master Tier Sword Energy without serious injury, his powerful Soul was almost at that point. If he could get just a few more points into his Soul stat, he would be able to freely use the lowest level of Master Tier Sword Energy with minimal injuries.

With the experience he had as well as the fact that his Soul was already partially adapted to Master Tier Sword Energy, once he reached that point... he wouldn't be at full strength, but he would pretty easily be a First Rate Warrior.

These were all huge positives. Unfortunately, one very serious negative existed.

Micheal’s best method of attack was, of course, with raw swordplay. However…

If he wanted to maintain his disguise, he couldn’t show most of that outstanding sword skill. It would be laughably easy to trace him to ‘Heron’ of the First if he showed even an inkling of his Sword Mastery prowess.

Right now, it was very important that he remain undercover. He couldn’t let the Vile King know of his true identity and he especially couldn’t let the man know that Micheal was targeting him. Not yet.

There was also the problem that if he got discovered, no doubt hordes of angry warriors would come after him because of his actions on the First Layer. It would take a while for the truth to sort itself out down there, and that was something he could not wait for.

The 12 Tribes of Deities were doubtlessly growing insanely powerful on their own Layers as time went on. Micheal needed to prepare humanity as quickly as possible. He already knew what would happen if he didn’t interfere.

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, he closed his eyes as he began to ponder what he should do. He needed to find a different weapon to use, and he needed to use a different type of combat style. It had to be something unrecognizable, something no one would see and think of ‘Heron’ or ‘Micheal.’

As he considered this, a memory from his past life popped up into his head.

Micheal slowly opened his eyes and looked down at his hands, an idea beginning to form…

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