Chapter 62 - First Impressions (Patreon)

Excited for his first look at a completely foreign town, Jiran jumped into the air to get a good look. His camouflage fluctuated as he flew but there were no beasts visible in the clear, beautiful sky so he wasn’t concerned. As he crested the final line of trees between him and Azurelight, he was astounded by what he saw.

For starters: The town had no wall. Things became even more unusual as he tracked his gaze along the small creek that gently wound its way through the streets. On either side of the creek, tall, well-made buildings of bright-white plaster and red-tiled roofs sat far too close together. Even more shocking than the lack of obvious defenses were the second and third-story balconies on each house. Touches of a peaceful, extravagant lifestyle could be seen from the plants and flowers that filled every unused space.

How is this possible? Sure, I’ve only ever seen Feylon and Solrin but I can’t imagine the rest of the empire is much different. It’s all so… advanced. What kind of people could build such a modern-looking town on a small island like this? Not to mention, without tier fives to kill, they can’t even ascend to protect it. Shouldn't beasts have destroyed all of this long ago? She said the alphas come down from the mountain on occasion too! There’s no way they built all of this recently, so how do they protect themselves?

Even discounting the alphas, all of those balconies would make anyone a target for any betas flying nearby. There are way too many of them around to live a peaceful life like this. Something is seriously fishy about this place.

"Ancestors fatty blue-balls, what is all this?" Jiran looked down to see four beastmen poking at his huge pile of dead betas. They wore hunter’s garb that looked exactly like what he would expect of a remote island society—mostly consisting of leaves and brown leather.

More locals. And they look nothing like Mayalyn.

[Homo Tigris (Tier 4) ???]

The one actively poking the pile with his claw-tipped finger had the stripes and tail of a tiger with a long flowing blond mane instead of hair.

[Homo Panthera (Tier 4) ???]

The one behind the tiger was an older man with shining golden eyes. He wore almost no clothing, dark purple fur barely concealing lean, rippling muscles.

[Homo Taurus (Tier 4) ???]

The third looked exactly like what Jiran would expect of a minotaur. Huge, bulging muscles with horns set into his skull. Huge nostrils he could probably fit his fist into blew great puffs of air while he scented their surroundings.

[Homo Chiroptera (Tier 4) ???]

The final hunter wore light leather armor with slits down his sides. He had even larger ears than Mayalyn, each filled with tufts of delicate fur. Beady eyes and a large nose lent him a decidedly alien appearance compared to the others.

Is that a… batman?! Wow, if these guys were a band, they could call themselves the four homos.

"What should we do with all this? Did Master Aahmra leave these here? Is this some kind of challenge?"

"Nope, those are mine," Jiran replied loudly as he fell back to the ground.

"Who said that? Show yourself," All four beastmen dropped into low stances with their backs together in a defensive formation.

"Hi, I’m Jiran. Mayalyn’s friend. You probably don't want me to show myself but this should be enough, right?" Jiran’s head appeared wearing a warm smile.

The bullman inhaled a shaky breath as all the blood drained from his face. His large, gray eyes dilated until the blacks of his pupils completely overtook the irises. A mournful lowing escaped his lips as he took a fearful step back. “Ghost! A-a-and he killed the feral rat!”

Feral rat? Is he talking about Mayalyn? Is this what she meant by the lies people spread about her?

Jiran took a step forward with knitted brows, “Hey, nobody said anything about killing and that’s a pretty rude thing to say, man. Maybe take a breath and rel—” With each word Jiran spoke the bullman became more terrified until he suddenly charged. The ground shook as his heavy hooves crashed into the soil, sending sprays of dirt and grass into the air. His form blurred as his speed went from almost nothing to a blurred streak that shot across the field.

Fast!

Jiran had only a moment to respond. Not wanting to hurt the hunter, he pushed a spike of Coating into the ground and activated Metal Manipulation. A five-meter rectangle before him turned to sand just as the bull arrived. His own weight worked against him as he fell into the sand as easily as he would have a pool of water. Jiran firmed the sand into compacted rock while imagining the absence of space between each molecule. Most of the affected soil vanished as its volume drastically decreased, but enough was left to form a cone that encased the panicked man. He desperately thrashed to free himself, but the only thing that moved was his head.

I hope he’s not claustrophobic. How the heck did he move that fast without breaking the sound barrier? Some kind of movement technique? I should learn that. Woah!

Jiran pushed with his aura and pulled with Forcing to barely dodge a crescent blade of pure energy that sliced through the ground where he was standing. The cut went deep into the soil, disappearing outside the nine-meter range of his aura. He followed the trajectory upwards to find the batman’s outstretched arms flapping to keep him airborne. A transparent membrane spanned between his limbs and sides, forming a semblance of wings. He lashed out with one of his clawed feet and another crescent of energy flew toward Jiran while the backlash pushed the man back to his original elevation.

The blade approached far too quickly for Jiran to try and speak again, especially since the panther who had vanished at some point, reappeared within his aura at a sprint. Thanks to Mayalyn, he knew what to look for or he might not have seen the man coming. The tiger struck at the same time, having moved to flank him. No matter which way Jiran tried to dodge the crescent blade, it would bring him closer to one of their extended claws.

Instead of dodging, Jiran formed a flat panel of aura to intersect the attack. He angled it to deflect rather than block and the crescent of energy slid along his aura with a loud screech as its trajectory changed toward the diving tigerman. His eyes widened and his ears flattened as glowing claws extended. At the last second, they glowed with a yellow sheen before they met the flying blade. When energy and claws collided, a wave of force exploded outward, sending the tigerman flying backward. With his aura keeping track of the tiger, Jiran threw himself toward the panther.

He came in low and the moment the invisible beastman pounced, Jiran pulled himself into the air with Forcing. Mana, wrapped tightly around his arm, spun him in a circle perpendicular to the ground. His other fist, enhanced with Coating, impacted the top of the panther's head hard enough to bury it into the ground. The panther’s obfuscation ended instantly as his unconscious body fell limp.

“I’m not trying to hurt you guys, can we just talk, please?” The bat’s foot started to glow again, signaling another attack would be coming his way soon.

Meanwhile, the tigerman used Jiran’s hesitation to recover and leaped straight up. He jumped several more times, his paws pushing off the air as if it were solid ground. “Die ghostbeast!” He roared with bloodshot eyes.

Guess not.

Jiran raised a finger and shot him with a bolt of lightning strong enough to knock him out without killing him. Instead of hurting the tiger, the electricity sank into his body until his skin glowed bright enough to shine through his orange fur. A fraction of a second later, he blasted forward at triple his previous speed. The sudden increase in acceleration threw off his trajectory and he smashed into the ground far behind Jiran in an explosion of dirt and dust.

First the betas and now this guy. Does everything on this island get stronger when struck by electricity?

Another crescent was easily dodged now that the distractions had been removed. Jiran tapped his foot, Metal Manipulation sinking the panther into the soil and trapping him as well.

Since they refuse to talk, I suppose I’ll just have to win.

A wild grin split his face as he leaped into the air to deal with the annoying bat. The man flapped his membranous patagium to gain distance while charging another attack.

“Kill the ghostface, kill it, please. M-mooommy, save me!” The bull’s lowing had turned frantic as he panted for breath in his constrictive cage. Jiran ignored the terrified whimpers as he formed his aura into small nozzles at the bottom of each of his feet. He folded his arms above his head and then released a small puff of gas into the nozzles. True Origin of Fire greedily consumed the gases, blasting him forward like a rocket hurtling toward space.

Jiran vaguely registered a shockwave breaking the air before he blacked out for an instant as the acceleration drained all the blood and oxygen from his head. His vision came back rapidly and he found himself far higher in the air than he intended to go. A layer of aura stabilized him and he looked down in time to see the unconscious batman impact the ground.

Wow, that was a lot more effective with my aura shaping the propulsion into a cone.

Jiran dropped himself to the ground while observing the hunters. The bull’s head slowly flopped back and forth from lack of oxygen as he mumbled, “Ghostface,” repeatedly. The panther and bat remained unmoving while the tiger was unsteadily rising to his feet while shaking his head.

These guys are pretty dangerous for tier fours. Glad I was able to stop them all without killing anyone. This was almost a terrible first impression. Luckily, they’re fine. Still the best vacation ever!

Jiran approached the tigerman while patting the air reassuringly with arms that neither of them could see.

“I don’t want to fight, can we please calm down and talk?”

"Fight? You want to fight?! You can't beat me, I’m the Dual-Claw! I've never lost to anyone and I won’t lose now!"

How hard did he hit his head? Jiran rolled his eyes.

His charge was sloppy and Jiran easily predicted his movements from the way his muscles flowed. A simple sidestep brought him around behind the dizzy tiger. A palm on his back sent a thread of Coating, paired with Mana Siphon, to pull the mana from his body in an effort to knock him out.

The mana Jiran encountered inside the tigerman was foul and tainted, causing Jiran to gag. He immediately stopped absorbing it, but not before seeing how strange the inside of the man’s body was compared to a human.

He’s got some kind of core in him where his heart should be. It’s mixing mana and blood, then pumping it through his body together. Did I absorb some of his blood? Gross. Even if I could separate the blood and mana, I better not drain anymore. If mana is so closely tied to his circulatory system, it might kill him to lose too much mana.

The tiger turned, his backhanded slash overextending him into a stumbling step when Jiran ducked below it. “Shush now, sweet prince, it’s time for a nap,” Jiran stepped around him again, and a simple chop connected with the back of his neck. He gently laid the tigerman on the ground before looking over the destroyed field.

I wonder what kind of face Mayalyn’s going to make when she comes back and sees this mess. Should be fun.

Jiran released the bull and panther from their prisons before standing around for several minutes wondering what he should do if anyone else showed up. His fears were realized when an ancient mouseman with long, flowing white hair walked steadily out of the nearby trees. He was dressed in fine robes and had a serious and stern air about him that made Jiran subconsciously stand up straighter. His eyes were on the sky as if the hunters and Jiran were of no concern while he leisurely walked toward the pile of dead betas.

[Homo Musculus (Tier 5) ???]

“Hello, Sir.” Jiran’s floating head bowed.

Fathers that had to look ridiculous! Where the heck is Mayalyn with those clothes?

The old man completely ignored him. All four of the unconscious beastmen floated into the air and were thrown to the ground at his feet. Despite not moving, four loud smacks resounded in the air and each of them woke up with groans of pain. The bull was the first to recover. He looked between Jiran’s floating head and the old man before a wide smile spread across his face, revealing large, flat teeth.

"You're dead now, Ghostface!” He gloated before tilting his head as if he were confused. “Hey Char, can Ghostfaces die?”

"Shut up, Bron." The panther whispered out of the side of his mouth while kowtowing to the old man. Soon the others followed his lead and as one they greeted the old man. “Habbe Master Aahmra!” They said with deeply respectful tones while touching their heads to the ground.

So that's Mayalyn’s uncle, the auramaster. Hasn’t said a word, yet the entire situation is already completely under his control. So cool.

Several seconds passed before the Aahmra finally acknowledged Jiran’s existence with a single raised eyebrow.

Am I supposed to kowtow too?

Suddenly, Jiran found his aura pushed inside his body as the weight of a mountain assaulted him from every direction. With his weight no longer spread out across the ground, he rapidly began to sink into the soil.

Shit! Yup, definitely supposed to kowtow.

Spikes of Coating shot from his sinking feet to anchor him. When that wasn’t enough, Metal Manipulation firmed the ground and finally, Jiran stopped sinking. The weight on his shoulders and head was so great that he could barely lift his face with the help of Forcing. Already waist-deep in the ground, he clung to his elevation by burning mana at a rapid pace. He grit his teeth against the strange pain of his aura being compressed and the incredible pressure surrounding him.

Looking up, all four of the hunters were staring at him with gaping mouths while the Aahmra merely gazed at him with a bored expression. If the man sat and began sipping tea, it would have seemed completely natural with how relaxed he appeared.

The pressure mounted on Jiran once more and he redoubled his efforts to stay firmly planted in position. "How unusual," The old man had the smallest vestige of a smile as his raspy, dry voice carried clearly through the air.

Is he the type who actually likes it when people stand up to him? Oh well, probably can’t make any worse of a first impression than I already have.

Jiran took a few seconds to gather his strength before speaking with the help of Forcing as the weight on him was constricting his lungs too much to talk normally. His voice should have come out raspy and strained but was smoothly translated instead. "You must be Mayalyn's Uncle. I brought dinner if anyone's hungry," Jiran raised a shaky arm to point at the betas.

"That’s right! He said he ki—!" The bullman tried to speak but all four of their faces were slammed into the ground by the old man’s impossibly strong aura.

As if summoned by her name, the girl floated out of the nearby trees. She was being carried through the air by the scruff of her neck like a kitten. She hung limply, not offering the slightest resistance. A bundle of clothes was held tightly in her hands. Within seconds, she was hovering before the Aahmra.

"Are you in trouble, Daughter?" He looked at her with a disapproving frown.

Daughter?

"Yes, Master Aahmra," She replied meekly.

They continued to talk but Jiran's focus was dedicated to the bundle in her arms and keeping himself from falling deeper into the soil. Metal Manipulation shaped the ground before him into a slope and he took one delicate wobbly step toward his goal. That step cost Jiran a single percent of his mana and for a moment, he hesitated.

He's only pushing me down, too. He could lift me up and cradle me like a baby and I'd be completely helpless. Which means he's definitely testing me. Which also implies he doesn't mean me any real harm. Hmm, if I impress him enough, maybe I’ll even bag myself an aurawizard! Alright then, let's do this.

Coating, Forcing, Metal Manipulation.

Jiran took another shaky step forward, the pressure on him only mounting. He growled, the sound trapped within his lungs, unable to escape. Another step followed, then another. With each meter he crossed, the pressure grew. His head and back were hunched, no longer supported by mana as he directed everything he had to his legs and the ground. He was far too focused to see the five gobsmacked youths watching him, or the old man who was nodding as if each step Jiran took was his own personal victory.

He was down to the last dregs of his mana when he finally arrived before her. He snatched the clothes from her with a mana-infused arm before dressing in quick, shaky movements. Finally, he dropped his camouflage, appearing before them fully for the first time.

"That's so much better. Thanks, Mayalyn," Jiran gasped before falling to his back and sinking two meters into the ground.