Mutated Wildlife

"I feel a massive amount of energy here. There may be another channeler here with us." Zeri said, as he glanced at the dark forest in suspicion. "Let's be careful."

"Got it." Alister nodded, and they walked into the forest, careful to keep their eyes and ears open for any indication of movements or sounds. The thick leaves and the tall trees prevented any light other than the silvery strands of moonlight from seeping in, and the place was bathed in a strange, cold silence other than the occassional far growls, chirps, or rustles of leaves shaken by the wind or their steps. Zeri led them in, while Alister followed not too far behind, occassionally glancing behind to make sure nothing followed them.

The distinct scent of leaves that was wetted from rain entered their noses, an earthy scent that is comfortable while also being a reminder for Alister that he was far away from the city he knew his whole life.

They walked for several hours, before they found a clearing that led to a wide grassland. No longer obscured by the tall trees, the full moon showed its brilliance here, beautiful light casting a soft glow at everything beneath. Not far away from where they stood, a sparkling, clear river could be seen, accompanied by the distinct, soothing noise of flowing water.

The river was so clear and beautiful, the colorful fishes swimming beneath creating a beautiful sight.

Along the sides of the river, stalks of beautiful purple flowers could be seen, at a glance similar to the Moonlit Lavere, yet not truly the same.

"That's an ordinary lavender plant, you know." Zeri interrupted Alister's staring. "The Moonlit Lavere will glow and shift colors, remember?"

"You don't have to tell me twice." Alister shrugged, exasperated. "I was looking for the glowing one."

"Alright, putting that aside, let's search for traces of wild animals. If we see any mutated ones, we would be on the right track." Zeri snapped his fingers, and a long sword appeared, its tip stabbed onto the ground. "You haven't practiced the forms yet, but with your current strength, you should be able to defend against most things here. Take it."

Alister reached out to grab the long sword. Just like the greatsword he saw at school that day, the sword's blade looked like it was a piece of the night sky, the stars within gleaming in tune to the skies above. The handle was made of expertly carved ivory, swirling patterns made for ease of gripping, and in the middle, rested a beautiful, eye-like ruby.

Right as he touched the handle, three lines of short notification appeared in front of his eyes.

[False Nyx Longsword - Red (Mid-High) Tier:]

[A well-made replica of Nyx Longsword. Contains less demonic energy, and thus it is less powerful, but safer to handle.]

[Remaining duration: 5 hours, 40 minutes]

As they walked along the side of the river to find the plant, Zeri explained about the blade. From his explanation, Alister could conclude that the blade was made like it was printed, but with magic instead of conventional human tools, so although the shape and part of its strength was similar to the real thing, thus giving it the mid-high tier, as a consequence its use was limited, and after the time was up, it would disintegrate.

They looked on both sides of the river, a bit closer to the bushes, and even under the trees, but so far, their search yielded no results. From his expression,it was clear that Alister was starting to feel frustrated at the wasted time.

"It's not going to be easy, especially in a world with a smaller than average rate of ambient magic in the air." Zeri said, as if hearing his thoughts. "Anyway, we have until sunrise, or we have to wait until the next full moon."

"I'd rather find it now, even if I have to fight a bear barehanded to do so." Alister shrugged.

"We'd be here for the entire night, then. Do you have any excuses ready for later, or do I get to see another spectacle like yesterday?" Zeri asked and flashed a mocking grin.

"That was not enough?" Alister said, as he walked a bit closer to the forest following the river's flow.

"If you call that enough, that is an insult to the King of Cruelty- wait, someone is here. Alister, get back!"

With his newfound speed, Alister jumped back from the dark forest, just in time to witness a massive brown leg cracking the ground where he stood. As the creature stepped out of the total darkness, the two of them could see that it was a massive brown and black bear with a spectacle pattern made of white fur on its face, however, it was four times as big as a normal bear, and each step it took made the ground shake slightly.

"The hell?! How can that thing hide in the forest?"

"Take a good look." Zeri instructed calmly while he took a fighting stance. Right as he pointed at the bear, Alister watched as the creature's body seemed to shimmer before it disapppeared from his sight.

Within moments, Alister felt the hair on the back of his head stand up as something moved with almost lightning speed right above him. On instinct, he dodged to the side, right as a massive paw swiped down onto his head. He could feel the air shift before the bear ended up hitting the ground. Its paw slammed onto the earth, creating a small crater and throwing rocks and dust everywhere. Although it was clear that the bear was still there, it seemed to have turned transparent, the only hint of its presence was the rumbling ground beneath while it moves around and the occassional roars it let out.

Alister watched as the bear tried to attack Zeri this time, and the demon merely dodged before he tried to grab the creature's head with his claw. However, the creature was too fast, leaving Zeri with no option but to jump up. While he was in the air, Zeri conjured a three-meter long greatsword made of black and blue metal on his right hand, before using the help of gravity to slam his blade down. The attack opened a deep gash on the creature's back, and it roared in pain while it tried to swat Zeri down.

"Alister, focus on dodging and attacking! This thing may be fast, but it's dumb as a rock!"