A flash of light and shadow flickered.
The Second-Rank Blackstone Pincer Spider before her was instantly severed at the waist.
As green, foul-smelling blood gushed out, the venomous liquid sizzled and corroded the ground where it fell. A pungent stench rushed into her nostrils, but the nauseating sight only made the young woman frown slightly. She raised her sword and continued swinging, and before long, the entire nest of Blackstone Pincer Spiders was completely wiped out.
Messiah Tanner exhaled a breath of turbid air.
Her score was still holding a solid first place by a massive margin.
Moreover, in this half hour or so, she had not rested for a single moment.
Her points had already reached a terrifying 500, over double that of second place. It wasn't just because she was stronger; through long-term training, she had learned to skillfully locate these magical beasts' nests. Compared to Clyde in second place, she was actually only slightly stronger.
Taking only a brief rest.
The young woman picked up her sword to search for her next target.
...
Rugged rocks littered the ground, alongside strange, gnarled tree branches. The dark brown, cracked boughs resembled the remains of some creature. Dense trees blocked the sky, making the surroundings eerie and dim. A strange wind howled like the tragic shrieks of living beings. In short, this place looked ominous just at a glance.
A scene completely at odds with the surrounding environment appeared.
A pavilion, hot tea, delicious food.
Anyone unaware would think someone had come here on vacation. Roland hummed in satisfaction while activating 【Pride · Soul Forge】 and 【Pride · Feast】. The magical beast's carcass turned into ash, disappearing completely as it was devoured and turned into nourishment. Although it was barely better than nothing, it was still better than nothing at all.
Ever since acquiring these two abilities.
Except for that time when the Church of the Fallen Mother Goddess appeared in Lucifiel, he hadn't had another chance to use them. After all, he couldn't just hunt living humans to devour—what difference would there be between him and an evil blood mage? Even though he did know blood magic, this time he could eat to his heart's content in this place.
Roland stood up and left the area.
Fortunately, this rune had no recording function, allowing him to unleash his true strength without any misgivings.
If he accidentally slew a Fifth-Rank magical beast later, there would be no footage anyway, so he could just make up a lie to pass it off.
"I'll be taking first place."
Wherever he passed, not a blade of grass was left standing.
Roland's points began surging at an incomprehensible speed. His mental power spread outward with himself at the center, leaving no magical beast able to escape his sight. As time went on, he grew somewhat tired of slaughtering these First-Rank magical beasts. Not only was it tedious, but both the points and nourishment were pitifully scant.
Thus, he began shifting his targets.
He began searching exclusively for magical beasts of Second-Rank and above.
At the same time, 【Wedge · Chains of Heaven】 continuously swept through the surroundings.
Chains glowing with golden light pierced through all living creatures.
Even magical beasts several kilometers away had no time to react before chains shot forth from golden spatial ripples, directly piercing or strangling them. In the end, both carcasses and souls were completely devoured by Roland along the Chains of Heaven, mixed soul fragments entering his mind.
He browsed through the memories within.
They had lived here for a very long time.
To find where stronger magical beasts were, one had to ask the native inhabitants.
"Oh?"
Browsing the soul fragments, Roland raised an eyebrow.
In one magical beast's soul fragment, a Third-Rank Stone-Armored Bear was right nearby.
His mental power began spreading even further, and Roland quickly located its cave. Golden ripples expanded inside the stone cave, startling the sleeping bear awake. Its tiny eyes stared at the ripples with huge confusion and vigilance. In the next instant, blood sprayed everywhere.
Roland opened his eyes.
Stone-Armored Bear, slain.
As a Fifth-Rank mage and warrior, even across several kilometers, a Third-Rank Stone-Armored Bear stood no chance against Roland and was instantly slain. It wasn't even worth spending extra ink to describe. Only a Fourth-Rank beast would be qualified to stand before Roland—and even then, merely qualified to stand before him and be killed.
...
The Winter zone.
Snowflakes fluttered across the sky.
Dark clouds veiled the sky.
The cold continuously assaulted her body, causing Sylvia to shrink her neck. She had been here for half a day without seeing the shadow of a single magical beast, until she stopped in her tracks and looked at a snowfield wolf growling at her. It was only First-Rank. A fireball began coalescing in her palm.
Boom—
After a wolf's howl.
The snowfield wolf turned into a roasted wolf.
Meanwhile, Sylvia's points shifted from 0 to 10.
A smile appeared on her face. Though the score wasn't high, it was her first kill after all. However, her expression soon froze. In the vast expanse of white snow, countless glowing pairs of eyes were glaring viciously at her. None other than a pack of snowfield wolves.
Among them, the alpha wolf was a Second-Rank snowfield wolf.
"..."
She calmed down and made a rough estimate: there were about twenty First-Rank snowfield wolves and only one Second-Rank snowfield wolf. Facing this situation, whether it was a battle of attrition or a swarm all at once, it was not something Sylvia, an extraordinary practitioner primarily focused on the mage class, could handle.
If she were a Second-Rank warrior, she might still stand a chance fighting it out.
When a mage encountered such a sudden engagement where the opponent also had a Second-Rank creature, hope was slim at best.
Even so, Sylvia didn't have the slightest intention of giving up. Her brain worked rapidly. A direct fight was definitely out of the question. Grasping at the air, a staff appeared in her hand. At the same time, a larger fireball began coalescing until it reached two meters in diameter. This single attack drained a full tenth of her mana.
The heatwave began twisting the surrounding space.
Fortunately, snowfield wolves were naturally cautious.
Giving Sylvia enough time to cast her spell.
After the explosion.
Sylvia had already disappeared from the spot.
A few roasted wolves lay collapsed on the snow.
Flames were still burning on their bodies.
Howls of wolves echoed across the snowland.
Inside the mouth of a massive stone cave, Sylvia's face was pale. Inhaling the cold air caused sharp pangs in her lungs. In such a harsh environment, merely standing still consumed a tremendous amount of physical strength. The biting wind showed no mercy, blowing against her skin until it throbbed with pain as if about to crack.
Looking out from the cave entrance.
A vast expanse of pure white, so desolate it was suffocating.
Among the four zones—Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter—the environment in Winter was the most severe, but it was also the place least likely to encounter other predators. The situation just now could only be attributed to Sylvia being exceptionally unlucky, or perhaps not having done enough homework.
For someone who had lived in the Northern Territory for years.
Snowfield wolves were old acquaintances.
They liked to live in packs. If you saw one, you had to run immediately without looking back, because within less than a thousand meters of that single wolf, a pack was guaranteed to be present. Lone wolves were usually scouts, and humans were generally not within their prey range. As long as one didn't attack first, snowfield wolves would not target humans.
Rate on N.U.
