Having a proper sight on a Path was an important factor for a steady future. It would cater to the person, and create opportunities for the present or future.
They were often finite choices that one had to follow no matter what. Those were the Paths that defined those who had chosen to follow so Pathway.
Having nothing ant having fewer choices, and more often than not, it ant having certain limits or having no specialties. For most humans, villagers, and farrs alike, they had nothing, to begin with, so expecting sothing wasn't fitting.
Paths were for the powerful to consider, and not just anyone could take them to their peak. Murai was limiting himself in this way quite a lot, but this life was limiting him anyway, so he was still delaying that inevitable decision. It will happen sooner, or later. It was nearing, and the Paths in his mind were countless.
Encounter shackled him with unfamiliar reasons and his living was starting to have a negative impact on his choices. There was a Pathway of Magic to be desired, but there were countless other Pathways that involved mana too. They would have different sets of Paths, with Laws underneath them. Paths under the Magic were fine to consider in his opinion, but sothing truly fitting to his current living was always better than having sothing generic and bland.
It was always sensible to be careful because any New Beginning was perfect for smart and unique possibilities. It was fine to start and figure sothing new. He had his knowledge and mories to consider, so he wasn't afraid. He wouldn't like it at so tis. Too many choices were often redundant.
His reasoning made sense from the Anatidae standpoint, while this world was having a drastic ans to view the Paths. Those weren't that finite, but he was no man to consider them. He had the evolutions that were akin to a Path, but not really. They may gave him sothing decent and unlikely to his standards, but for now, he had the vision of Anatidae Panacea. That ant a certain and strong physicality, and magic to accompany his mind and flesh.
What will happen next to his Evolution or progression, in general, was questionable and sothing that Murai wasn't sure about. He lacked context and information.
But he had no qualms about their importance. Evolutions were extrely powerful since he beca much stronger from that asly little duck in that cave to one with a mana and a much stronger body. Without that behind him, he doubted he would've lived for long.
Because of them, beasts may not have to consider the notion of the normal Paths, because they had evolution to cater to. He didn't see the difference or clarity about both of those decisions. Path may be part of Evolutions after all.
Paths were always steady in their vision and approach. They mostly spoke of histories, since they were concepts of technical and precise powers. They catered to their respective Pathways, and any being could walk on them as long as they could. In a rough sense, they were foundations, and each addition to that foundation added a certain benefit to them. Evolution was that, and they could also change the foundation at its core. Could... There were variables in anything, and a potent source of power in this world can transform it all.
Mura bet he could think of evolution as a helping hand to steady so Path under his head, but he was clueless to decide on his Path, while Evolution was far away. After all, the Path was a finite and single choice. Evolutions weren't, and he could choose them when he reached a threshold for one or Breach so requirents. He already had that choice of Anatiade Aquantis, and he got it after he suffered through the pain of drowning. That was a weird requirent for an evolution, but it was the only one he managed to get. He still needed more, even though he was no ordinary beast.
This was also no ordinary world. Will of the Battleworld steadied the purpose of all Paths, supported it all by Boosts, and Evolutions and for what, or set by whom?
Paths were for those who followed the road to power and had the potential and willingness to reach a higher stage of their living. It followed a unique premise, unlike those of common origin that had no major stakes in any word. Children, farrs, musicians in taverns, or simple hunters and gatherers. They weren't interested in so Paths, as the world and their fate weren't up to that task. Though they were living in this world, the world didn't love them back. The universe gifted those who earned so talent and fate. It was a matter of talent, fate, and luck.
Murai had this view that considered fate or luck as excuses. One had to make his own choices to make a decent living. That was his rule, but in this world, a lot of rules seed to be in shambles, causing his mind to turn to an unfamiliar corner.
Evolution and beastly living followed the premise of the Paths for sure, but it depended on what a beast's intellect and body could take. Magic can Shape a lot of Paths, and it wasn't common for a Path to be sothing better than a species' uniqueness or drastic evolutions. Both could be interconnected, or one of them can be much stronger than the other. Hence changing major aspects of many species, or Paths alike.
When considering the premise of bloodlines, and countless various species this world and universe had, there were more of them than humanoid races. But only a handful were worthy contenders against the talents of humanity, let alone the heavens or beyond.
Beasts had it tougher than humans, as the universe wasn't accommodating them that well. That much, Murai understood, so he was curious about his potential. It was about his soul and less about the other things. After all, his mories were one of his strongest powers, and he always used them to his advantage. The body was usually the largest variable in any of his New Beginning.
He held magic in his core, which combined with his soul, made up so interesting results. It should be fitting to think of so Beast Paths with tinges of magic in them. He wouldn't dislike it, but choice mattered, his body affected the magic far too much. Then, there was his soul which had trouble adjusting to this mixture and didn't take up the magic and the body that well. Beast Core was savage in his Shaping and Conjuring. That much Murai knew, so he handled it with significant savagery like his Core too.
And if anything made sense, if things moved far worse, he could adjust it and force those problems away with more force. That was what he was doing with his Shaping, and so far, it worked for about.... 10% of his expectations.
He didn't know why it was this unsteady to his senses. It wasn't as if mana was sufficient with uniqueness in its essence that haunted him like a crazy dog that was hard to keep leashed. It shouldn't be THAT different from his mory, yet here he was, struggling with his mana for many days.
So would laugh at him for thinking and being annoyed at this issue. Most beginner Shapers struggled with feeling their Mana Core for weeks, and Shaping was a matter of months of training. Many weeks and months could pass before any Spell will start to show results.
However, that was the difference between the talents of humans, and beasts.
Humans visualized and worked with the core differently, similarly to their growth. Beasts grew faster, thus many things were different, including the core, and blood. That's where evolution beca important.
Murai was outside of that picture because his familiarity with mana through his soul made up for many shortcomings, but it was hardly enough to solve the differences between the body and the soul. That was a fact he couldn't fault since the body was always a different story.
What always made his potential different from the norm was the body he found himself in and its talent. In his current case, it was the Beast Core and Anatidae body ~ unsurprisingly.
Both of them were sothing that he had yet to figure out since he had never even considered being a damned demonic beast of this caliber. Even his research regarding the mana didn't co up with coherent information, or thoughts of precise differences between human mages and this sort of demonic magical beasts. There must be more to that, he believed, but it was like trying to read an ocean. One had to beco an ocean to understand its full mysteries, and right now, Murai was that. A being he had never been before.
Sothing to give him at least so edge was important. Like life as a pebble and the Laws of Rocks that he managed in that unique life. But that wasn't a beast or so demonic blood. He was a straightforward rock... A strange being that worked like a Handler, but not really. It was a different world with different stakes.
He could gather a few things from his mories and work for himself.
But a duck?!
Murai wasn't feeling confident around this prospect, even though the magic and body didn't seem to be the worst he ever had. He at least shook his Shaping in power and forced it to work, while crashing his Beast Core to submissions. Hence, he made many improvents in the past week, which weren't surprising to his mind. Mana flowed out of his core in larger strides than normal, but it was harder to follow it afterward. It wasn't impossible, otherwise, his Conjured mana was like tossing water out of the bucket to a vast ocean.
His Shaping helped with that, and that was how Conjured mana had to be handled. Conjuring by itself did very little, but his Beast Core was a large issue in that. The Shaping didn't beco as large of an issue when he focused his attention on the individual Spells and forced mind. At least the unique Shaping he was using worked wonders, but creating sothing advanced wasn't up to his current possibilities.
In this case, Will of the Battleworld was the variable that created those possibilities.
Only because of it, Murai was able to have his Proper Mana Blade as his official Spell, while the notions of affinities that went to his Core were Boosts he took out of his accomplishnts. It wasn't because of his own training, Mana Tos, or other things, much to his lackluster thoughts. The sa was the Fla that he got out of nothing but one motion of sparkling the mana afla.
Will of the Battleworld acknowledged those situations and gifted him the affinities that flew to his Core.
Any Boost to them gave him so success, improving the effectiveness of the spells. Sharpness was for his Proper Mana Blade, and Fla to his Fla Shots.
Any new spell that he will need next will either happen on its own, or by his own training or other matters. He needed Mana Tos, or ti for everything, or a place that would force his developnt by fighting and accomplishnts. Temple of Levandis was that, much to Lisa's clever plot.
Will of the Battleworld was a shortcut, yet Murai hadn't got ti to exploit it that well. Not now at least, even though he already got a lot of unordinary gifts.
Mana in the beast's bodies was often described with distinct wilderness since their blood, heart, and souls were inhuman. That was common knowledge in his research from many worlds. Instincts moved them more than human intelligence. It was sothing about the primal ancient tis, or so he believed when beasts began comprehending the concept of the mana. These were wild tis, and he was living through them too, but not as a beast, but as a man or different other beings.
He held that sort of unique living at the mont, which was up to his soul to take care of, and not the rest. Body and magic can all just adapt already, and fuck off with the unreasonable demands. That would be what he desired and he didn't care about so limits. He lacked the beast's spirit, and instincts.
The wilderness was why the mana was savage, and hard to control, unlike humans whose large power was their ability to think in complex and detailed ways. It was about how souls were portrayed, and distinct to many individuals. Race and species issues made it this way. Bodies as well.
Murai had a prominent advantage in his soul, as he was Anatidae with an extraordinary soul. In terms of mana, nobody else but the humanoid races could wield the mana in the most pleasing and comforting ways. But sotis, monstrosities from ancient tis were no worse and could be nothing but a disaster in disguise.
It didn't an that all beasts were stupid, or unable to reach certain talents. There were definitely many cases of intelligent creatures in all sources of living conditions and forms. The universe was full of them. So were prone to more care than others, creating various aspects, Paths, evolutions, and powers that no human could ever manage.
The ability to think made the most changes, unsurprisingly.
Murai knew it more so than anyone and experiencing his own mories was always a rather laughable matter. Especially when he thought about the past in consideration of his current problems.
He was overlooking the dumb undead beast before his eyes, who growled in Gate 1. He was thinking of them by holding himself back.
My last week was rather short in terms of progression, all things considered. I had my fair share of Will of the Battleworld's ssages, and a couple of mild Boosts. They were good and interesting, but I shouldn't be dependent on them too much. It isn't accommodating in its rules right now, and who knows how long will Encounter last. In fact... what will I even gain after getting out of the Seventh Death Forest? I am already out... for fuck's sake, but no! Rules! Reasons! He complained to himself.
I know I didn't need so Boost or this voice in my head in many of my lives to beco strong. I need to co up with sothing better to make up for the current shackles, but what? He asked himself in his head, wondering in many ways about his current magic.
Caring about so asly problems isn't my style. Mana is a part of who I am and was. Right now, I am a demonic beast of the Anatidae species, and they have abilities that others don't have, nor have I ever seen or heard. This beak is one example, and I need to improve not only my mana but everything about my body. Handling the weight, movent, and flexibility. It was obvious that it could work from the way I fought in the Welcoming Party. That jaguar was.... tough, yet I cracked it. Will of the Battleworld can fuck off with its forgettable attributes. My mana will have to do and who knows what this temple will give too. Rules changed because of Lisa and her plot, so let's go deeper. Murai decided and changed his mind to be a bit tough and brutal to himself.
There was no ti to waste, so before he decided on what he should do, one of the wolves stepped forward.
It was the one he previously attacked to its eye socket, which ended up flaring its Soul Flas and slightly cracking the skull. It didn't get damaged much apart from giving it more anger. Wounding its pride was also a possibility since no predator liked to beco hunted by a duck. It wasn't fitting to many and Murai could feel that, and understand its anger from his passive Soul Read.
The red Soul Flas in its sockets remained in its wavy pattern and appeared sowhat bigger because of the emotional rage that this beast contained. It was giving the wolf a sinister look. It growled as it walked forward, stomping the ground, and its eyes flared and glowed in the fog.
Fog and an aura of death littered its face and every step was one step closer to him. It was coming right towards him, but not pouncing like a tiger. The atmosphere of blue flas at the sides of the corridor and fog around made it more threatening.
“Huh...A zombie dog? Let's call you that. Blood and a tingling ss of flesh go around your bones. You appear like that anyway.” Murai joked around and the wolf pounced forward. Its jaw had so muscles around, and bloody teeth filled the two halves of its bony jaws. It was a smaller beast in terms of mass than a Wildling Jaguar's jaw, but even then, its open jaw would be enough for at least 2 ducks, maybe even more.
“You want to eat ? ? I wish I could do the sa to you, but it seems my hunger won't be quenched in this Gate that easily. But, you seem juicy, but not like I expect much from a rotting corpse. Eating here isn't probably fine...” Murai sneered and put forth one ability he hadn't used in a while.
Beak's Fury.
It was a little amalgamation of the power of his beak, neck, and montum. It was akin to holding a bat, but the bat was his nose, and the hand was nothing but his neck.
It was a strange analogy and one he didn't like to think about. The beak was his closest and strongest kind of weapon, right after magic that required more care and attention. In truth, both needed a lot more care, and neither was as comfortable to him as a proper Path.
One had to be careful against the larger type of opponents, so Murai lowered his stance and looked at the approaching jaw. He hit the teeth that wanted his life. Powerful force kept him sliding on the relatively smooth floor, but it wasn't overpowering him. It was no sand like the one in Death Valley which was kind of soft, even though it was a unique kind of sand.
It was hard to find a proper footing on this surface nonetheless, and the wolf's montum wasn't that weak.
Glowing eyes flashed in a growling wolf's skull. It was right before his vision, and its attack failed to reach his feathers. His beak pushed against its jaw, acting in a defense and long stick so it didn't snap at his neck.
“See? You are not that strong now.” Murai laughed and did the one thing he could. That was to use his Beak's Peak and push forth as much as he could since the power of this wolf's attack wasn't as weak as he feared. Jaguar was indeed much stronger, so 2 seconds was all it took to get ready to clutch yet another victory.
Murai put forth so stability through his core, clutching his neck and flexing his muscles. He needed to relax his neck for a split second and then unleash firm montum through the Peak. It went from the leg, spine, neck, and towards the beak. His Core was sowhere in between those lines, giving the Beak's Peak even more strength.
Everything needed proper care, stability, and montum, creating his most powerful ability at the mont, right after the in his Robust Spirit.
There was also so sort of crescendo about it, and it was at that mont, that the Beak's Peak would beco unstoppable. Undead High Wolf still kept its montum going, and since this corridor was far and wide, there was enough room for any kind of battle. Murai held his own ground, pressing with his beak against its jaw, and jolted his body. His little claws on his feet found so footing, and his body tensed up.
He stopped the montum in a single mont when he unleashed his Beak's Peak.
Cracks and crushing sounds echoed in this space, shaking the fog when the wolf's entire body was lifted up, flying over Murai's unmoving body. He used the basic knowledge of montum, yet seeing a duck do this sort of thing to a wolf as big as a horse wasn't common.
Wolf didn't die, but Murai did enough damage to the lower jaw that must've caused so serious damage. I was better than what he managed with the Beak's Fury. He knew it but wasn't upset that so ability was stronger than others. It made sense. So things were overdue for so upgrades, and Beak's Fury was one of them.
The wolf crushed to the ground, growling, howling, and angrily stomped up to the ground. A crack and a large wound were on top of its upper jaw, while part of the teeth was destroyed and seeped blood and flesh to the ground. This infuriated it, while the other wolf howled as well, thinking how humiliating this was.
Still, only one of them went against Murai, as if it were a rule that couldn't work against the Challenger. It wasn't sensible, but Murai wasn't complaining. A bleeding wolf was on its paws, and its claws screeded against the hard surface of the ground.
“A claw this ti? They seem sharp, but you underestimate this duck!” Murai quaked, Conjured mana, and Shaped a blade once again. His mana was once more usable since quite so ti passed since he was out of his mana. The Proper Mana Blade he created was rougher and cruder than the many before. It was his try in a Rapid Shaping. Expertise in Shaping he was fond of, but it was like shooting just a wooded stick out of the bow. It had limited sharpness and results.
Still, the attack that the wolf unleashed with its quick pounce with its front-facing claws, ended up as a failure. Murai's blade was at least shaped in stability and acted like a simple stoppage thanks to his Shaping. Not because of the Sharpness of the Mana Blade, which didn't cut a thing.
The furious wolf reminded him of a pouncing tiger. Its jaw cluttered, letting more blood splutter around, and flesh creased down. Its two front paws were mid-air, halted within his Blades. Murai was right there below it, a glow was once more on his beak.
He jumped and slapped its neck from the side. A gushing wound, as well as a cracking sound, echoed. He obliterated the spine and crushed the flesh and smaller bones.
Spine Bones were the strong part of its body, and flesh was soft and hardly useful. Murai clutched the part of the neck, and let a roaring quack, tearing the wolf's head apart from the rest. He was unable to finish the whole move, however.
Ah... Not enough strength... Well, Peak's purpose isn't to tear things to shreds, but it could do that. Not now. At least not sothing this heavy and tough, I suppose. More attributes would help. More al? I suppose the boosts of the attributes contribute to my strength indeed. I suppose rethinking my opinion about the Will of the Battleworld isn't out of the picture. Murai thought as he retrieved his beak from the bloodied hole on the wolf's collapsed corpse.
It was death, stumbled to the ground and its Soul Flas turned somber in their End, but they didn't disappear. Murai ended up all bloody but felt great in such a wild kill. He also tasted the blood regardless of his unwillingness.
“Hm? It is kind of foul, but... Not bad? Should its at be as good as this?” He glanced at its body, eyeing the rotten at. Blood seed better and fresh—probably because of the unique and more powerful bloodline this Undead High Wolf had. “Maybe not everything is rotten from the outside perspective. Hell, I doubt I will get sick if I eat it anyway. It just goes against my standards. Yes. Yes. I can be flexible.” Murai said in a self-important manner and turned to the remaining wolf who was eyeing him with fury.
It was ti for the second fight.
“Unintelligent undead beast. I wonder what is its level. Around 20s is my guess, or should I care about the levels? It is a system of this world, so I will take what I can.” he shook his feathers, letting blood splatter everywhere. He was clean in a couple of swipes. “What sort of crap is this? Enemies are weak, or have I beco strong? Well, there have been those hunts in the Seventh Death Forest, and that Welcoming party had its fair share of troubles. I am ant to get stronger. ssiahs were whatever, but haven't I fought with powerful beings in their 30s already? No way things are around the level of that Acaman Golem I fought for dozens of minutes.”
As Murai tasted the blood, he knew the answer. Strategy moved against the rules or levels alike. It was a skill issue, but it wasn't an issue.
It was a matter of perspective, and his soul and cleverness shined through his own limiting level and young age.
After a dozen seconds of silence, sothing strange happened. He heard a shimring whisper. Eater Status spoke out so information after a long ti without any. They were insignificant, yet sothing he didn't mind. Any information was another context to his living. Blood permitted out a lot of core information, or so he figured.
A Bloodhound Bloodline, Undead High Wolf of Level 26, Class E? It is undead from so nasty origin. Tools, I suppose, or slaves of more powerful species of those above this low-grade bloodline? Hmmm... Nothing about the attributes, nor the current situation changes a thing, but knowing sothing is better than nothing. Maybe I should eat more, so I will get to know who am I against. What if... Nah... Not that. Murai thought and was much more comfortable with who he went against.
Knowing one enemy was one thing, and the enemy shouldn't know what was before him, right? That wasn't wrong, but not truly.
The last wolf hesitated for a mont, as if a speck of fla within its eyes flickered with fear. It didn't want to be eaten, but the rules were rules.
It jumped at its foe that was under the Challenger Rules of this temple—its ho and hope. Murai was yet to return the previous poor iteration of Proper Mana Blade to the world, or back to his core. He put it against the wolf's head once more, stamping and stopping its jaw aside just before it hit him. It didn't hurt or destroy a bone, so the wolf jumped to the wall, where it changed direction.
“A fast one? This one isn't as stupid, or did it learn not to be so direct? Good. Good.” Murai laughed and reshaped the Blade.
Mana flickered and wavered in a couple of sharp lines akin to a saw blade. He slashed against the foe that wasn't as fast as it thought it was, and his control and reach of his changed Blade weren't small, reaching at least 10 ters around him.
After getting his mana out of the 10-ter radius around him, Shaping will beco unstable, and highly ineffective. Mana Blade would snap and dissolve, but it didn't work for things such as arrows. Their Shaping was ant to go for longer, dissolving only after hitting the target or hitting a tougher foe.
Undead High Wolf howled, as the wild sew-like mana blade hit its neck. The wound spread around the beast's body, letting out a lot of blood, and cracked the bones. The blade also severed one of the front limbs as well, but mostly, it was done by Wofl's struggle and montum. It traveled further to the chest cavity, and it seed the sew patterns worked better than a sharp and lean edge.
“Drop dead, once again.”
Mana Blade slashed forth again.
Wolf's head dropped to the ground while it didn't even have a chance to get back to the ground. It died mid-air after suffering 2 slashes in total.
Murai was once again, bathed in blood, but he didn't flinch or find it disturbing. He only found it surprising that it had that much blood in those muscles, and rotting flesh. Though, he knew why. The heart was still alive, and a few other organs as well. They were what fueled the bloodline, but the heart was probably the sole reason for that alone.
This blood bath was sothing he could get used to.
Like that, the group of 12 undead was once again, dead. Murai flipped his wings, wriggling his feathers to clean his body out of the blood.
“Phew... That was good. Not bad.” Murai sighed, yet noticed no treasure for his taking after realizing his victory. So, he glanced forth, using his Mana Detection to go deeper into the fog, and scanned the bones lying around. There was nothing, so he intended to return to his journey into Gate 1, hoping to find sothing that would pique his interest.
But soone spoke, jolting his head and steps to a halt.
“Wait. Wait. This was a well-fought battle. Why doesn't Murai check the opponents more carefully?” Lorry said, floating behind him, and appearing before his face.
“There is nothing of... importance?” Murai stated, rembering the fact that nothing much could be carried by him, nor did he want to eat those wolves. He didn't care about skeleton bones either. One hope he had was to get so sort of spatial object from so undead. That would be splendid so he would be able to take anything with him next.
From the many wordy endeavors he had with Iris, he got the general gist of how this world acted. It wasn't anything difficult to comprehend. In fact, it was only fitting and familiar across many worlds.
He held a better understanding of the Battleworld from the commoner's side, rather than from those of power. Iris was a beginner priestess in her journey, but because of the Vermillion Church, she wasn't so clueless brat as many villagers grew into. She had plenty of experience with all sorts of things. So, he turned a few pages of questions into a plethora of knowledge, and for what? So stories, questions, and answers from Iris answers, or stories alike.
For once, the source of adventure led him to that decision and one of his main and primary rules. Knowledge was also a power. Not a Path, but it moved forward any keen desire.
Spatial equipnt held a very important and valuable premise. The majority of adventures had so form of ring, bracelet, or pouch for easier travel. No one wanted to wear a large bag on their back and battle with it. It wasn't fitting.
So spatial equipnt ca forth, becoming an important aspect of any good adventure. They shouldn't be too expensive, but their insides were. A single cubic ter worth of spatial equipnt was worth 500 gold. It was sothing that even the weakest of adventurers could afford after a couple of weeks of work. It would then beco their important possession, and it won't deteriorate in a couple of years, depending on the maker.
The larger the cubic ters were, the harder the spatial equipnt was to craft, and the more expensive they beca. As for how they were made, Murai knew it from his experience, but Iris still went and talked about it, since she was chatty, and considered Murai's status as a Blessed. And their ti wasn't as limiting, so she spent a lot of ti talking about useless, or her own interesting topics.
Spatial equipnt was a craft of mages of Space or Void origins. Runesmiths proficient with spatial materials could also crate them, without any Void or Space under their care. Blacksmiths who wielded the hamr with unique skills or mana were no different either.
Although Murai was only two of these three examples in the past, he held plenty of knowledge about crafting aspects of magic. It wasn't anything impressive, yet, he won't be able to forge any sort of spatial object for a long ti. It required talent and ti, and also plenty of resources. Proper arms helped with that too... but who was he kidding? Using wings for forging sounded laughable and Space or Void wasn't sothing easy to comprehend.
Any sort of New Beginning in the River of Manaflow was a restart to his magic learning process, and this life was amongst the worst in this regard.
His knowledge was one thing, but mana wasn't sothing that went along with the soul or Afterlife. It was the birth of a person that decided that. So, the question of a duck, being a maker of treasures was rather a laughable idea and Murai doubted he would ever make a na for himself in this way.
He preferred getting his life together and getting it done would be the start of a better future. That was the first and foremost first step. After that, he will think of whatever he wanted, or what this world will gift him.
For now, he had things to do, improvents to Breach, and Gates to finish.
He wondered what Lorry had to tell about that.
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