Shades of the New World

Chapter 106: Beast's den

"Congratulations," said the three other children with deadpan faces, only Bardom showing some emotion.

[Is this what oppression feels like?] Evin lamented to Rith.

[Wow, your shadow is so comfortable. No wonder Karan wants to sleep in here all the time,] the Cosmic's voice said, completely unhearing whatever Evin said.

'Oppressed and ignored,' Evin lamented to his heart.

"As you know, the mission forces you five to hunt a mana-beast under my supervision, but since the ox is located deep inside the Beast's den, we will naturally have to take care of some beasts that come onto our way. Just think of them as the grunts you fight before the big boss or something, yeah?" the man talked like he was talking to a bunch of children.

Evin was unamused and glanced at the other children and saw that they seemed unamused as well.

"When will we be leaving?" Koya asked.

"Let's just go now, there's no point waiting until tomorrow," Zakhlo said and lead the group towards the "Beast's den", while Bardom was introducing the place to Evin and Arza.

The Beast's den was something akin to an open space zoo park located in a certain part of the forest, where the residents had the tendency to attack their visitors. Obviously, practically no one died in these grounds, as it was absolutely forbidden for children to go in there without supervision and all the peak Beasts were periodically culled, so that a tier-4 mana beast wouldn't be born.

The difference between a tier-4 and a tier-3 was like heaven and earth, as the Beast becomes much more intelligent, allowing it to utilize its natural talents in a more intelligent way, almost like a mage.

Evin wasn't really that sure on the subject, since all he fought were tier 1 and 2 mana beasts, when he was a beginner mage. They weren't really a threat to society, as they were mostly normal beasts, who became a bit more powerful. Aside from the mana strengthening the body of the beast, the smartest thing they could do was to cover their fangs or horn with mana and considerably increase their lethality. Aside from that, they weren't really anything impressive.

Anyway, this mission wasn't something that he had to worry about. Reaching the Beast's den, the group entered after Zakhlo opened the big metal gate with his special badge meant for teachers.

Evin wasn't really worried about the dangers in the forest and didn't wake Karan from his sleep, since he was confident in being able to deal with most beasts and mages by himself. Obviously, someone who specialized in the Luminous World was a bad match for him, but Evin reckoned that he would be able to put up a good fight against the users of other Worlds.

He also didn't wish to involve Rith in this, as the instructor might use her as an excuse to disqualify Evin.

The group walked silently until they finally found a rabbit-type mana beast roaming through the forest. The beast looked like it had consumed something filled with mana, as the crazed eyes with countless red veins growing on its retina indicated its rabidness. Judging from its size, it was only tier 2.

Mana beasts which absorbed mana into its body over time in a mana rich environment, usually ended up stronger than the one who had consumed a mana lodestone by accident. They also turned out to be much smarter and calm. Their bodies wouldn't change drastically and they would continue their lifestyle, whether it was a herbivore or a carnivore.

The crazed ones, on the other hand, would not show any timidness or wariness that their normal, or sane counterparts showed. If they ever saw something moving, they would simply attack them with the intention to feed. Even herbivores would grow some unnaturally sharp teeth and leave their vegetarian lifestyle behind.

A mana beast's favorite food seemed to be the other members of its kind and also mages, with their mana-cores and the usual stash of mana lodestones.

This rabbit wasn't any different.

The beast dashed towards Rantz, perhaps because she looked to be the smallest of the bunch. Rantz panicked slightly, but took on a white hue and a bright light was created right in front of the rabbit's eyes. Suddenly blinded, the beast stumbled and ran into the ground. Rantz then pulled out a little knife out of her pocket and stabbed the slightly large rabbit square in the chest and promptly backed away, afraid of the beast's retaliation.

Evin glanced at the girl and saw her hands shivering slightly, which she tried her best to suppress.

'Guess they're still kids, unused to fighting and killing, huh,' Evin thought and looked at the rabbit.

The poor thing screeched on the ground, struggling and trying to dash away, but the knife lodged in his body did not allow it the freedom of movement. The blood that was gushing out of the rabbit's blood was also sizzling slightly, indicating that the knife used was coated in some sort of acidic solution. Soon after, the rabbit died and Rantz went to pull out her knife and wiped it with some special cloth.

"Not bad but you should think of what you will do if many enemies attack you," Zakhlo commented lazily.

The group continued walking after burying the animal and putting a few tree seeds on the pile of dirt, as per the school's instructions.

"I'll fly up and scout ahead," Evin proposed.

"Hmm, I'm afraid I won't be able to allow that, as the participants must always be within my sight," Zakhlo refused.

"Then I'll at least float a bit high in the air, without leaving your vision. A bird's eye view won't hurt to have," Evin said and the instructor reluctantly agreed.

Evin flew up after he had pulled his shadow to his body, so he wasn't disconnected from the individuals inside it. Evin did some tests on it before, and the further his shadow fell, the weirder it felt for Karan and the World Sprites inside.

High in the air, Evin could see the general outline of the Tribe grounds and Beast's den. He curiously looked around and saw some kids in the open areas of the Tribe grounds who were also eyeing him with curiosity. He then focused on finding his target.

Sadly, he couldn't see any ox-type creature from where he was, but he could see the fresh body of an antelope nearby. Chances were that the more bloodthirsty Beasts might get attracted to the smell of blood, so it wouldn't hurt to wait near the area.

He was about to get down, but a pretty large bird-type mana beast was approaching Evin silently and swiftly. It seemed to be newly evolved tier-3. Evin glanced downwards for a bit to see that the instructor who was saying that Evin had to always be within his vision was nonchalantly talking to Bardom and Rantz, not even noticing the giant bird that was flying in the air. Arza seemed to see the beast, but ignored it, knowing that the bird wasn't a threat.

'What's the point of me staying in your vision if you can't even help me if I need it,' Evin thought before he turned the bird weightless and started suffocating it of the air around it. The boy realized that this was by far the easiest way to win a fight against mana beasts.

The avian was seemingly screeching, but almost no sound was heard, since an area around it had turned to vacuum. It couldn't even move away, since there were no air particles it could flap its wings on.

Evin floated downwards, with the now dead bird falling down with him. As the shadow of the bird fell on the ground, Zakhlo finally glanced upwards. He tried to say something, but Evin cut him off.

"Since you won't be looking at me either way, I'll be scouting on ahead. Are there any problems?" Evin asked.

Zakhlo seemed offended by the words, and swiftly replied.

"I saw what had happened, and simply wanted to see how you would handle it"

"Oh, then please tell me how I killed the mana beast?" Evin said in a mocking tone.

With the question thrown at him, Zakhlo's mind started spinning full throttle. He glanced at the dead bird and saw that there was not a single wound on the Beast, like it had just died in midair for no apparent reason.

'Did he find a dead bird somewhere?' Zakhlo thought briefly and thought that this was the most plausible option, since he couldn't even hear anything.

"You found a dead bird from somewhere, and brought it here," Zakhlo said, with full confidence in himself.

Evin smirked with condescension and replied sarcastically.

"Sure, why not? Anyway, I also found a dead deer close by, and thought that perhaps the ox might come nearby. How do you say we get close and wait there for a bit?" Evin asked with a fake smile.

Zakhlo was slightly irritated, but didn't pursue the matter, and the group went near the dead deer's body and waited patiently. It was still early in the day, and there was lots of time for the children to wait.

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