Chapter 37: Into the Inner Rim

CH37 Into the Inner Rim

***

When Alex blinded one of the Stag’s eyes, he slipped into the created blind spot. Using a still-standing tree, he launched himself into the air, plunging the wrist blade deep down.

Though Alex was cosplaying as a member of the Brotherhood, that didn’t mean he carried a useless weapon.

The wrist blade was a bona fide Tier II artefact weapon, forged by a Tier III Expert Forgesmith at great expense.

Between his falling weight and the blade’s razor sharpness, Alex finally pierced through the stag’s thick hide.

Its elemental resistance was no match for the wrist blade’s precision.

Striking through the weak spot ended the beast’s life almost instantly.

Alex leaned heavily on the stag’s lifeless body, catching his breath and recovering.

He’d be the first to admit he’d let his guard down—and that a combination of inexperience and poor decision-making made the fight far harder than it should have been.

For one, his habit of casting spells one after another to conserve mana had cost him multiple chances to finish off the stag before it became a genuine threat.

Low mana was dangerous—but recoverable.

Death was not.

A bitter irony settled in his mouth.

Being slammed into trees left bruises and aches, despite the protection from Body Strengthening Magic.

’I need to gather materials from these stags and find a secluded spot to recover,’ Alex thought.

He forced himself up and got to work.

Fortunately, the berserk aura the stag had emitted before dying had scared off other beasts.

Alex carefully skinned the stag’s hide without damage—a basic skill from Merlin’s curriculum that paid off now.

’I have enough hide from both stags to make a dozen Rune Tattoo scrolls, easy,’ he smiled at the haul.

From the stags, he harvested their Beast Cores—a Class 1 core from the first stag and an incomplete Class 2 core from the second.

He also collected pounds of flesh for food, along with crystal horns and internal organs used as potion and magic reagents.

He’d have liked to take their bones too, but the limited space in his Nullcore orb constrained him.

He cursed again the lack of suitable personal interspatial storage devices in this world.

Finished, Alex made himself scarce.

Scavengers were already arriving, likely drawn by the smell of blood.

He found a section of forest with thick, ancient trees and discovered one with a hole large enough to fit himself.

Inside, Alex used the Light element mana from his unknown maternal bloodline to quietly heal his injuries.

-

A few days later...

Alex trekked through the rugged forest terrain.

Several days spent hunting on the forest’s outer rim had sharpened his magic combat skills. He felt ready to push deeper into the inner areas.

More cautious now, he approached the boundary separating the outer from the inner rim.

He focused his Truth-Seeker eyes and, before venturing further, scanned the area around him using both Enhanced Vision and Spirit Sight.

Dozens of mana signatures belonging to beasts flashed across his perception—several of them seemed threatening, but only one of these was close.

Earth Spike!

Alex conjured the familiar spell. The OmniRune Core subtly altered it, thickening the spike and adding a rapid spin.

Bang!

Pusshi!

The spike shot forward, pinning a Sunscaled Viper to a tree.

Si!

Almost instantly, a flame bolt followed, setting the pinned wood-element snake ablaze.

The snake died instantly.

Alex exhaled with relief.

[The Sunscaled Viper: Class 2 super-poisonous snake. Its skin secretions are used in crafting potent poisons effective even against Class 2 enemies], the OmniRune Core reported, displaying the beast’s entry in the Enclave’s bestiary.

This was why Alex had carefully cooked the snake after killing it with Earth Spike—to burn away the deadly poisonous secretions on its body.

The snake was a dangerous opponent; even an Intermediate warrior would struggle in close combat with its lethal venom and deceptive speed.

Alex let the snake roast for about five minutes while approaching cautiously.

At the carcass, he retrieved the mature Class 2 Beast Core, confirming his cautious approach had been wise.

Suddenly, a sharp bird call pierced the air.

Alex looked up to see an Ironbeaked Hawk.

He swiftly abandoned the snake and slipped under cover.

Through his Spirit Sight, he spotted the Hawk locked in battle with a wolf-shaped beast.

Though the exact species was unclear, the wolf was clearly losing.

Alex watched silently as the hawk finished the fight, pecking violently into the wolf’s skull with its metallic beak.

[Ironbeaked Hawks: They are extremely agile birds of prey. Their beaks can pierce armour made of fine iron, hence their name. Their feathers provide strong defence against most attacks. They are highly feral and dangerous beasts—engage with caution.]

Alex ignored the bestiary entry flashing from the OmniRune Core.

Earth Spike! Wind Bolt!

Fusion Spell: Gale Fang!

He quickly cast the fusion spell.

A fast-moving bolt tore through the air, embedding itself in the Ironbeaked Hawk’s body before exploding into sharp fragments.

The bird plummeted to the ground, dead.

Alex’s breathing was rough as the fusion spell cost him a lot of Mana in an instant, but he forced himself forward to the crash site.

The Hawk lay beside the carcass of a wolf.

Alex’s eyes narrowed.

The wolf was an Ironspine Ravager Wolf, a natural enemy of the Ironbeaked Hawk. It made sense the two had fought to the death, even though both preferred herbivore meat.

There was one problem.

Ironspine Ravager Wolves hunted in packs.

If one was here, the rest wouldn’t be far behind.

Thanks to his Spirit Eyes, Alex confirmed the wolf had a full Class 2 Beast Core, while the Hawk’s was incomplete.

He weighed his options briefly but decided it wasn’t worth the risk.

He quickly left, putting distance between himself and the scent of the wolf.

These beasts were relentless once they picked up a scent.

About fifteen minutes later, a pack of Ironspine Ravager Wolves arrived to find their fallen comrade.

Howl!

The dozen or so wolves howled in grief.

They confirmed their packmate had been killed by the Ironbeaked Hawk, but the Hawk was also dead—killed by an unknown creature.

They caught a faint, unfamiliar scent but wisely decided not to pursue it.

The creature was strong enough to kill the Hawk in mid-air.

Instead, the wolves turned and headed in the opposite direction.

Alex didn’t know his prudence had spared him from a vicious attack by the pack.

These creatures were not only dangerous but persistent and vindictive—a terrible combination in a group.

Had he taken the wolf’s Beast Core, the pack would have hunted him mercilessly.

Instead, Alex carefully charted a path through the forest, targeting only lone beasts with mana signatures within his power to handle.

Slowly but surely, Alex forged himself into a feared hunter in the forest’s inner regions—a place where Class 2 Beasts ran rampant.

***