THE LUSTING WORLD - Season 4 Episode 39

Ryu found himself stuck in the canopy of a large tree. He had managed to locate a group of strange beasts that looked like a combination of a hippo and an echidna. ;

Four meters in length and possessing an equally long tail, it probably weighed more than a young elephant. Standing on a sturdy branch, Ryu mulled over his options.

If he got impatient, the group of some fifteen armored Kilurs will definitely maul him to death without a slither of doubt. He got to make sure to corner one of them and then fight it out. ;

Though this world gave him cultivation that was akin to having superpowers, the boy was not stupid enough to believe he could stop the charge of 3-ton beasts on his own. ;

“Come on.. I don’t have all day.” The memory of his friends being mangled by the shadowy figure in their last venture to this place was still fresh in his mind. ;

undefinedEmily might have orchestrated the attack, but the fact remained that this place housed magical beings like that. ; And considering how it managed to move through the shadows still creeped him out to this day. ;

If something like that can exist, who can be sure there can’t be any other strange creatures put here? “Idiot old man.. he even refused to tell me what kind of magic powers these Kilurs can exhibit.” ;

The second reason why Ryu had been patiently hiding in the trees was in order to discern if these animals showed any kind of magic affinity. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Instead of being caught off-guard, he will be better off having some knowledge of his would-be prey. Unfortunately for him, the herd under him had not shown any interest other than munching on the barks of the trees. ;

To make matters worse, the herd below seems to be lacking any infants. This meant Ryu will have to claim the head of a grown-up Kilur to complete today’s mission. ;

“Fuck it.. If you won’t disperse, I will make you.” Tired of wasting any more time, Ryu shut his eyes and concentrated his mana. His hands were held out in an open lotus position, ; pointed at one of the Kilurs below. ;

After quite some time, a small light conjured between his palms, developing into a small seed. “Mana Devouring Seed..!!” The spell was cast and the gree seed was blasted at the unsuspecting prey. ;

Sure his move can be completely wasted his it turned out that these large herbivores could not even utilize mana. Ryu saw the seed hit the back of a Kilur like a bullet, leaving the beast agitated. ;

*GRRRRWW* The beast howled and took off, spooked. Like dominoes, the entire herd fell in disarray. Ryu was quick to jump down to the ground and run after his designated target. ;

On unknown grounds, he had to make sure not to stray off too far from their camping site and risk losing his way. In the ensuing chaos, Ryu moved unnoticed. Quick on his feet, he tracked the Kilur for a long distance. ;

Eventually, after more than a mile, the animal came to a sudden halt. “Heh.. looks like you can sense me.” Ryu can tell there was no use hiding in the thickets now. ;

*GRRRRWW* Its massive flat tails swayed in aggressively as the beast turned around, facing its pursuer. “No need to be mad about it.. we can take this easy.” ;

Ryu wasted no time at all, conjuring his mana and manipulating the vegetation around him. He no longer required any seeds to trigger his Pincer vine magic, especially in a forest like this where he had tons of plants to manipulate at will. ;

In the blink of an eye, thick vines broke the surface of the ground. *Eerrrrr* The Kilur was caught by surprise as the soil under its feet lost its rigidity. At the same time, the vines emerging from underneath its belly reached out to wrap around its four limbs. ;

“Looks like I totally wasted that Mana Devouring Seed on you.” Ryu made the judgment. His reason for coming to this conclusion was not because the animal lacked any mana, rather, on the contrary, he can tell that his seed simply failed to penetrate the thick hide of the animal.

“True that.. Experience does matter.” Prior to today, Ryu never faced such an issue. Now encountering this problem, he must make necessary changes to his battle plans. The seed magic was one of the most demanding techniques for him, he must be careful not to waste it.

In the split second that he analyzed the situation, the Kilur gave a drawn-out and lunged up. Its two massive forelimbs uprooted the foot-thick vines like they were weeds. ;

“Well, I never assumed it will be easy.” Having wasted a chunk of his mana in that last seed attack, Ryu was careful enough to maintain his distance when the hulking beast charged in his direction.

Leveraging his agility, Ryu effortlessly dodges the beast. In reaction, it growled and with another lunge stood up on its two hind legs. Before the boy can awe at the impressive scene, the Kilur’s front claws revealed themselves. ;

*Shang* *Shang* A sound similar to a sharp scimitar slicing through air rang out and Ryu discovered two mana blades carrying the swiping momentum of the claws to him. ;

There was no time to move. His mind willed and his hands moved. *Bang* *Bang* In what can be said to be the nick of time, Ryu saved himself behind a shield of roots that had been raised from the ground and then weaved into a cocoon. ;

“That was dangerous..” *Shang* *Shang* The giant echidna was not in the mood to give him any respite. The sound of mana blades slicing through the air repeated themselves and the boy leaped to his right. ;

*Boom* The shield of roots was torn apart by the last attack, the shockwaves from it throwing the boy further off. *Thud* *Thud* Ryu rolled to the ground and the Kilur took this opportunity to close the distance between them. ;

*BOOM* Kilur’s paws crashed against Ryu’s tiny fist, creating an ear-buzzing blast. To the utter shock of the beast, the boy actually managed to soak up the entire momentum of its paw attack. ;

*GRRRRR* Enraged, it swept down with its left paw. Its heavy forearms carried a lot more power behind it. Ryu promptly blocked it, but the strike sent the boy flying. ;

“Shit..” Ryu felt his left shoulder dislocate as his back hit the timber. Without any break, he pushed himself off right before two mana blades traveled to him and slashed the tree in half. ;

“Hope this works.” Having never tried out this new technique in, Ryu held his arms out. Wood from the surrounding reached out over to his fingers. The thin branches rolled around his pinky and then eventually all around his hands. ;

*GGRRR* Obviously, the Kilur was smart enough to take account of this strange phenomenon. The giant furry creature dragged its hind legs over the dirt and pounced. ;

*Rumble* The hulking mass of muscles dropping on the ground shook the earth itself and the ensuing mayhem forced Ryu back. But the shockwaves emerging from the landing were not the end, rather it was just the beginning.

*Shing* *Shing* *Shing* Like bolts of lightning, a cluster of sharp blades chopped in all directions. “Fuckkk..” Ryu was grossly unprepared to deal with this disaster. ;

Bundling the branches wrapped around his arms, he saved his head from knives shaped mana blades. *Shang* *Shang* Despite covering himself under a thick coat of vegetation, Ryu had a dozen wounds open up all over his body.

Starting from his chest to his thighs blood seeped out from the cuts. Agony prevailed all over him, gnawing on his strength. “Now you have done it..” Ryu feigned anger, thumping his chest as more thicket coiled around him. ;

“Time to test the progress I made.” Ryu was positive he could probably put an end to this battle with the help of his wood clones. Nevertheless, master Lyod had specifically instructed him not to use that ability. ;

In the old man’s words, that ability of his was kind of broken and Ryu agreed with his verdict. He can not resort to cloning until pushed into a corner. ;

“Let’s train then..” *BANG* Now covered in an armor of shrubs and branches, the boy squarely faced off against an opponent multiple times his own size. ;

Yes, the armor looked hideous. But who cared? It did its job perfectly. On one hand, it levied a strong arm strength to the boy, at the same time sealing his wounds. ;

; ; ;

***

In the skies above the lands in between the capital of the Cylon Empire and one of its major city, Gustump, a wyvern glided over the air currents. With a wingspan of over 20 meters, it easily carried two people on its back. ;

“Mind telling me how this issue affects you?” The masked lady in the front raised her doubts after a long while of no interaction between herself and her travel buddy. ;

“What issue?” Shalam feigned ignorance making his inquisitor huff in open contempt. “Cat’s out of the bag, my man. I can tell that the news of the governor’s spawn had affected you.” ;

“So what? I did have some interaction with the governor. Having visited the place frequently, I have known the boy since he was a snotty brat. Obviously, I will be sad at the news of his sudden demise.” ;

While Felica can tell the man was speaking the truth, she had a hunch he was not telling her the whole truth. Nevertheless, she didn’t want to put him in a spot. ;

“Hm.. so you did have interactions with someone other than women? That’s a welcome change of pace.” Shalam sniffled in mockery at her attempts to take a pot shot on him. ;

“If you have so much time to butt heads with me, why not better guide your mount and put its back into flying? He can very easily go faster. This lousy bastard is simply not trying.” *Wrrrreeer* Shalam’s words triggered a reaction from the wyvern who raised its head to glare at the man.

“You know he can understand you, don’t you?” Felicia cautioned but the man remained unimpressed. “Why else will I say it out loud?” ;

*Whirl* Both the man and woman had to lower their head when their mount decided to do a barrel roll mid-air to register its protest. It took Felicia plenty of effort to calm it down.

“He is no servant of mine, so don’t be harsh on him. Also, you are in no position to tell me how I should conduct myself, peasant. So just shut up and enjoy the ride.. haha..” ;

The wyvern made sure to perform another barrel roll albeit a safer one this time, showing its support for Felicia’s words.

***

Half an hour had passed since Ryu had begun battling the Kilur. He had not expected a simple beast to give him such a hard time. *Bang* Standing atop the defeated giant echidna-like magical beast, the boy put it out of its misery.

“It was a good fight.” After landing in this world, Ryu found himself changing in a lot of ways. Before this, he never really cared for any life other than a human’s. ;

Yet, after fighting to the death with this single Kilur, Ryu can’t help but feel respect for it. No creature likes to die. This Kilur was a living example of that, doing its best to survive. ;

Bringing his hands together, the green-haired boy bent over and bowed his head towards the departed soul. He didn’t believe in god, but if there was one, he will pray for his opponent to find peace in death. ;