Chapter 15: Chapter 15. Nobody’s Land

A loud stomp echoed through the whole forest. Each step made the ground shake, kicking the dust high up.

- If it weren't for that stupid guild idiot... I would never have set foot in Nobody's Land... At least with G rank," Arthur whispered, hiding in a ravine under one of the trees. 

- [Path of Fear].

Arthur was able to find another use for his seal in half a day of training. Killing intent not only showed the direction of the enemy, but it could also relatively show his level. The more energy released from the seal, the redder it became around the enemy, and the higher his rank was.

- Damn. A mana beast of C or even B rank... How I hate Nobody's Land...

After Arthur confirmed that he was denied access to all official hunting areas, he had no choice but to go hunting in the wilderness.

In the world of Eridanus, each hunting zone was a limited area where only monsters of about the same level could be found.

So the former Arno Guild was an iron class and belonged to an area with mana beasts of rank G and F. And no monsters above the level could appear in it, which made the hunt quite feasible. 

But now Arthur was hiding in a ravine of absolutely unique territory - Nobody's Land.  As the name implies, this vast space belonged to no guild or state.  Though it was at the junction between three of them at once: The Kingdom of Lafraine, the Vermilion Trade Federation, and the Helios Empire.

This triangle between the states could not be controlled by anyone for one simple reason - Mana beasts appeared here entirely at random. There was no way of knowing whether the next section of the forest would be a G-rank or an A-rank monster.

That's why there were rarely any hunters in this place.  Weak levels couldn't survive here for long, and coming here was tantamount to suicide.  And the high levels got more profit from the official hunting zones, which were well-studied, where you could use pre-prepared equipment.

No man's land ended up being a haven for either criminal smugglers hiding from the Temple and for whom it was the only reasonable place to work or unfortunate hunters like Arthur.

- There seems to be a suitable monster about 45 meters to the east...  I think it's a G+ rank...  - Arthur said, turning to Selina Two sitting on his shoulder. Her red mechanical eyes stared intently through the thicket of trees.

Arthur had also established through experience that [Path of Fear] was capable of detecting murderous intent from up to 50 meters away, and the direction from which it emanated to about 25 meters away.

Arthur reached a tall tree that had a good view of the surroundings. Using special gloves capable of clinging to any surface, he slowly crawled to the top.

When he climbed up a large branch, he had a view of a small green clearing.

- Oh, mana beasts can eat each other... well, that makes sense...  but they don't come from breeding, they're clots of hunting zone energy... what do they need food for?

The humanoid monster's teeth dug into the dead creature's flesh. You could see it greedily tearing into the meat, blood pouring down its body.

This monster was not very tall. Its body was covered with disgusting pus sores. And one of its legs was three times the size of the other, which probably made it unsteady to walk on.

- Here comes our first target...  I'm getting tired of running and hiding," Arthur said irritably.

He took the [Blade of the Void] from his shoulder and aimed it at the mana beast.

Before he could pull the trigger, however, another one of the same kind came out into the clearing toward the humanoid.

- Damn, there's two of them...  - he gritted through gritted teeth.

- Selene, the other one's on you.  He's got a weak right leg... when I shoot the first one, attack him with [Energy Blow].

After these words, Selina Two stabbed Arthur in the shoulder painfully and jumped down onto the trunk of a tree. Her four mechanical legs, thanks to the use of mana, could safely walk on the vertical surface as on the ground.

- I'll turn you in for scrap, you stupid spider...

Arthur raised his rifle again and aimed at the head of the humanoid, which was actively eating meat.

- One...

Arthur exhaled.

- Two...

The shot wasn't very loud, but it made the monster flinch and turn around. 

Mana's bullet flew straight into the ugly creature's face... But it was missed.

- Fucking hell... - yelled Arthur and pointed the gun again.

Screech!

The two humanoids looked in his direction and squealed as if trying to strike him sonically. 

They both ran toward him, opening their mouths and showing their sharp fangs.

But suddenly a mana arc flew into the leg of one of them and immediately cut it down.  Blood splattered in all directions, and the creature lost coordination and fell to the ground.

- Well done, Selina... I'm happy I didn't throw you out. 

The second humanoid continued running, not noticing the fall behind his ally.

Another bullet, fired from [Blade of the Void], flew, but the monster, noticing the approach of the attack was able to dodge.

- Are you fucking kidding me?

The humanoid didn't climb the tree and try to reach his human enemy.  He simply slammed his entire body into the tree.  And it worked!

Arthur heard a crack, and the next second he was shaken violently backward.

The tree collapsed and he flew after it. 

There was a deafening ringing in his ears.  The boy opened his eyes and found himself lying on the ground. He tried to get up, but immediately felt severe pain in the back of his head. Arthur touched it and his whole hand got covered with a sticky red liquid. 

A squeal!

Another squeal brought Arthur back from his lost state.  Right in front of him two meters away stood a dark green monster.  Slime dripped disgustingly from its belly onto the grass.

Arthur looked around and noticed that [Blade of the Void] had fallen a few feet away from him.

Both the monster and the man knew what to do.  The boy jumped up and rushed to the gun. But the Mana humanoid, noticing this action, tapped his large and heavy left foot, sending a shockwave across the ground. Arthur was thrown backward and hit his back against one of the trees.

- Aaaghhh...  - the guy groaned.

The monster was already a couple of steps away from Arthur.  Its mouth, still covered in the blood of the recently devoured monster, opened wide.

The boy managed to react and grabbed a nearby thick branch, shoving it into the humanoid's mouth.

The two struggled for a few seconds.  One tried to get closer to the tasty human flesh, while the other held him back with the last of his strength.  They were so close that the horrible stench of the ugly creature wafted up Arthur's nose.

- Shit, I can't die here... - he screamed, giving himself strength.  But his weak body was not capable of a long battle. The strength was gradually leaving him.

Suddenly the monster staggered.  A powerful blow left a large cut on his back. Selina Two arrived on time and delivered an [Energy Blow].

Arthur took his chance, and unleashing his stick, was able to strike the humanoid's head with it.

He struck for an unknown amount of time until the monster's head was reduced to mincemeat. And a beep sounded in his ears.

[ Rank G Graxos killed! 100 experience points gained! ]

- Selina, I've always told you how much I love you... If you were human, I'd marry you...

Arthur sighed happily.  His body was overflowing with adrenaline, and a survivor's smile played on his face.

Raising [Blade of the Void], he headed toward the second humanoid. He was still lying on the ground, slowly trying to crawl up to Arthur.  His eyes burned with hatred, and a screech of indignation erupted from his throat.

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- Die already, you stinking creature... - said the lad and fired his gun.  At last, the bullet hit the creature's skull.

[Rank G Graxos Killed, 100 experience points gained.]

- Status.

[Status.]

Name: Arno Mann.

Overall Rank: G-

Experience: 650/870

Mana Core: -

Bloodline Grade: -

Strength: 2.2

Agility: 1.1

Stamina: 1.8

Perception: 1.7

Luck: 0.5

Charisma: 0.1

Skills:

[Manipulation of Mana]: Advanced. (passive)

[Path of Fear]: Max. (active)

- Damn.  Three more monsters to kill. - Arthur said and dropped to the ground to rest a bit.  He opened the small shopping bag and took out the supplies he had made beforehand.

- It's not bad. I thought it would taste awful... don't look at me with those eyes, Selina.  You can't eat food, unfortunately.

Selina Two crawled toward Arthur, about to attack him again.  But the boy was perfectly prepared for it. He grabbed a stick and began to push it away.

Rrrrrr! 

A loud growling sound caught the guy off guard.

- Not a second of peace...  [Path of Fear].

Invisible energy moved to the right of where Arthur sat. Its amount was medium level, which meant...

- It's a monster of approximately F or E rank. Better back off for now and wait it out.

The guy grabbed his bag with one hand, Selina Two with the other, and ran as fast as he could.

But that was a mistake.  He kept the seal activated and soon felt two more creatures approaching from the other side.

- I won't have time to escape...

Arthur, all wet with sweat, noticed a hollow tree lying on the ground.  Without sacking, he quickly slipped inside the hollow tree and held his breath.

The first thing he saw was blood-red eyes peeking out from behind the bushes. The monster crawled out and exposed itself completely to the sunlight, giving itself a good look.

"A shaved dog? " thought Arthur. But it certainly wasn't her.

Mana the beast was three times the size of an ordinary dog, and it had a long tail that stretched trailing along the ground.  And under its mouth was a sack-like a normal frog's, which inflated and deflated every second.

Rrrrr!

The monster roared again. Arthur was beginning to worry that he had been spotted, as the blood-red eyes looked in his direction. 

But it turned out that two other mana beasts had appeared behind the hollow.

The new "guests" looked like gremlins, except they weren't green, and each had only one big yellow eye.

"These two must be of rank G... And that dog is ranked F minimum.  Will they fight? " Arthur mentally asked himself.

And the answer was yes.  What Arthur thought was a dog attacked first, a long tongue flying out of its round mouth and coiling around the gremlin. The crunch of bones could be heard even where Arthur was hiding.

The second gremlin responded by striking the tongue with its razor-sharp hand. But he could not cut it completely.

- Selina, while they're fighting... this is our chance to take all the experience for ourselves.  You've got those two humanoids on you.  Aim for their eyes... - he whispered to her.

The battle was hot.  Just two minutes had passed, but all three were already covered in many different wounds. Two G-ranks could compete with one F-rank.

Arthur slowly performed out of the woodwork.  He got down on one knee and aimed the muzzle of the [Void Blade] at the large and massive body of the dog.

"The main thing is not to miss this time. Otherwise, I won',t escape for sure," he thought as Selina Two took up a position in the bushes not far from the unfolding battle.

"Wait... We must wait for the perfect moment."

And soon that moment came.  The dog, tired of receiving one wound after another from the gremlin's sharp claws, struck one of the humanoids with the side of his massive body.  He flew a few meters away and collapsed in a small field of flowers.

- Now, - he shouted to Selina and then fired.

The mana charge hit the exact spot this time.  A large hole formed on the dog's body.  And at the same instant, the gremlin, already delighted by his unexpected luck, received a [Energy Blow] right in his only eye.

The gremlin fell to the ground, holding his hands to his head.  And the big dog shook his head, trying to recover. When he returned to his senses, instead of attacking Arthur, he lunged at the poor gremlin again.  She received another blow to the side from both Selin Two and [Blade of the Void] at the same time.

But he was still alive, though barely on his feet.  Arthur was afraid of missing his head from a long distance, so he moved in close. The dog could not concentrate on Arthur's attack, as he constantly received mana arc cut after cut from the spider. 

Arthur, just a few paces away, aimed his rifle and ended the mana beast's torment.

[Rank F Miyanog killed, 300 experience points gained.]

Then it was very easy for the guy to finish off the remaining two wounded monsters and gain even more experience. 

[Rank G Giggle killed! 100 experience points gained!]

[Rank G Giggle Killed! 100 Experience Points Gained!]

- Finally, I'm done.  - A relieved groan escaped Arthur's mouth.

[Ding! Congratulations!  The required amount of experience points to advance to the next level of the system is gained! ]

[The system has reached level 1! ]

[Starting the process of activating the Original Powers!]

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