Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Devastation

Covering the ground in a large shadow and dwarfing every other creature in the forest, a majestic yet terrifying beast flew in the sky as it left strong bursts of winds in its wake.

Spanning more than 7 meters in length and with a wingspan more than 13 meters, it could easily carry an elephant if it wanted to. Its body covered in jet-black plumage and eyes deeper than sapphire, it was like a ruler parading on the sky which was its domain.

 It was a very rare sight that one normally wouldn't be able to experience in a lifetime. A sight which will truly leave anyone in awe.

⟨⟨Appraisal⟩⟩ ［Grey］

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[Beast]

[Species] Thunderbird

[Status] Healthy

[Sex] Male

[Age] 29 (Adult)

[Mana Capacity] 1,783 [Mana Quality] C

[Combat Power] 887 [Threat Level] C

[Attribute] Lightning

[Intelligence] 58

[Description]

A large bird-type beast armed with a deadly set of talon and razor-sharp beak, often reaching a wingspan of more than 12 meters upon adulthood. It can be easily distinguished with its pitch-black plumage and a set of silver-tipped crown. Its meat is considered a very exquisite delicacy all over the world.

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C-rank! It was the most powerful creature Grey had encountered so far, be it outside or inside the dungeon.

Just the size of the Thunderbird alone was bigger than a fighter jet's. If one considers its combat power which can easily destroy large buildings in a single strike, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they can fight a fleet of fighter jets alone.

But neither of those matter in the eyes of Grey. To Grey, only one thing from its status screen had caught his attention, and that was...

"A very exquisite delicacy..." ［Grey］

As soon as Grey saw those words, he quickly salivated as he imagined the different dishes he can cook with its meat. Not to mention just how much meat he would get from hunting one.

In Grey's eyes, rather than a majestic and terrifying creature, it was just a large and juicy chicken flying in the sky, just waiting for him to cook it.

With a quick calculation, the creature was about 60% stronger than Grey. Of course, that was only if the calculations were based on combat power alone. With the equipment Grey is wearing, he could easily go toe to toe with it. If it was in the ground, he might even overpower it.

As he is totally safe in the dungeon, a fight with it will serve as a real training which can actually endanger him. Of course, when worse comes to worst, he can always use the "Divine Potions" which are gathering dust in his "Inventory".

Of course, he could also just let it be and go home safely, but it was an encounter which might never happen once again. He could totally miss out on fighting a thunderbird if he ever loses this chance.

"Looks like it's decided! Alright, I'm going to make fried chicken out of you!" ［Grey］

Motivated by the taste of the Thunderbird's meat, Grey hastily stored the wild pig he just caught into his "Inventory" and came chasing after the Thunderbird with great enthusiasm.

After reaching E-rank, Grey had unlocked the second effects in all his abilities, and the the second effect of his "Divine Eye" was "Perfect Vision" which allows him to see every single detail at a much farther range. It can even let him see things in slow motion.

For his "Divine Mind", he was able to get the effect "Perfect Record" that allows him to record any sensation, be it sight or hearing, perfectly and store it in his "Memory Bank".

With his "Perfect Vision" and "Perfect Record", Grey can easily track any target and chase them as long as they are close to his range. In other words, unless he loses interest, the Thunderbird will never escape.

"Hahahahahaha! Just wait for me, you large chunk of meat!" ［Grey］

As he tracked the Thunderbird, Grey dashed his way into the deep forest, running faster than he ever had in all his life. With his speed much faster than a cheetah and mastery over the terrain, Grey was able to tail the Thunderbird. But...

"Haah... Haaah.... Haaahhh.... That damned chicken.... Haahhh..." ［Grey］

It has already been almost 2 hours since Grey had started chasing the Thunderbird, and the Thunderbird still showed no sign of perching or even slowing down.

During the chase, Grey had already exchanged his mana into stamina to continue running at top speed, but even mana cannot stop fatigue from accumulating, so Grey eventually had to stop and rest.

Grey had already tried to fire spells from below but the Thunderbird's altitude was too high for the spells to reach. If it had flown half the altitude, Grey might have been able to reach it.

Having no other choice, Grey had decided to give up chase and rest under the shade of a large tree. He then grabbed an enchanted water jug to quench his thirst and rehydrate.

"Puhaa～ This water really is the best!" ［Grey］

Grey shouted as he finished drinking a large amount of water which can equal a few cups in a single time.

Every time Grey goes out, he always makes sure to refill all his water jugs. And since it came from "God", it had an effect to store 10x its physical volume. For some reason, the water stored in it also becomes a little sweeter and much refreshing.

But even if he had quenched his thirst, his leg muscles were aching like hell from all the running he did. If he was any normal person, he would, no doubt, have died from exhaustion.

Grabbing the opportunity, Grey took his time to cool off and breathe in the fresh air whilst enjoying the scenery the forest had to offer.

Birds of different colors flying in all directions and singing a harmonious melody as they perch. Large trees that bear all sorts of fruits and berries. Cascades of water streams gushing down the mountains. Small critters hopping on the ground and climbing trees. It was such peaceful scenery.

With the serenity of the forest and the melody of the things coexisting inside of it, Grey couldn't but be at peace. Soon, the world faded to black as he fell asleep from such a beautiful lullaby.

"Howahhhh～" ［Grey］

While rubbing his eyes gently, Grey let out a large yawn. It was a yawn of someone one wouldn't imagine to have slept under a tree.

"Huh...?" ［Grey］

As he opened his eyes, Grey was immediately woken up by the scenery he had witnessed. The once picture perfect forest was now ruined with a large column of smoke rising a few kilometers where he was.

Even though it was quite a distance away, the column of pitch black smoke was in no way small. One could only imagine how large the fire that gave rise to the large column of smoke was.

"Wait... The forest!" ［Grey］

Thinking about the welfare of the forest, Grey immediately rushed towards the origin of the smoke in order to prevent it from spreading any longer. After all, he is also a residence of the very forest that is currently burning.

The only thing bothering Grey was the origin of the fire. From Grey's knowledge, there shouldn't be any fire-attribute beasts living in the Haltea Great Forest. There also aren't any magical or natural structures which could cause such fire.

There was only one conclusion one could reach from these key points, and that was someone or something deliberately caused it.

Without wasting any time, Grey ran as fast as he could and swiftly maneuvered over any obstacles along the way. Any animals and beasts that saw him immediately fled and hid in panic.

The closer Grey came to the source, the larger the column of smoke became, it was large enough to cover a large portion of the sky if you were a few hundred meters away from it.

It took him a couple of minutes before arriving at the source, and when he did, a scene worse than his imagination greeted him openly.

Dozens of houses were being burned to the ground, the trees in the surrounding already became charcoal as they were swallowed in flames, and a putrid smell wafted the vicinity as corpses of people were burnt to ashes. It was a scene of a village in the midst of its cruel destruction.

If it was the previous Grey, he would have probably thrown up by now from how cruel and grotesque the scene before him was. It seemed that his training against monsters has helped him in ways become stronger in ways more than one.

Unfortunately, unlike monsters, people don't turn into mana after they die. As they slowly turn into ashes, Grey couldn't help but feel devastated from how cruel the fate those people suffered.

⟨⟨Rain⟩⟩ ［Grey］

As Grey downheartedly murmured those words, large clouds slowly formed in the sky and in just a few moments, rain started to fall upon the ground below, slowly putting the once aggressive flames into slumber.

The once dominant column of black smoke was replaced with smaller columns of white smoke as the flames were extinguished and vapor rose up to the clouds.

"Rain" is an intermediate-level spell which pours down rain into a small area as long as the user can maintain it. Normally, a C-ranker wouldn't be able to use such spells for a long time because of the spell's high mana consumption. Normally, that is.

Along with the other abilities, "Subspace" also unlocked its second effect which was "Mana Bank". This effect allows Grey to infinitely store excess mana into a separate space and use it any time in the future.

While the effect allows Grey to have more mana, his mana capacity limits him into how much mana he can use simultaneously. So even if Grey has a lot of spare mana, his combat power wouldn't increase.

After the spell was dispelled, what is left are the remnants of the recently burnt down houses and the burnt corpses covered in mud. It was them that Grey realized how much damage there really was.

But whilst Grey was contemplating, behind the curtain of steam, a large silhouette was revealed before him. Although smaller than the thunderbird before, the silhouette was still fairly large.

Gurruukkk Arukkkkkk Rrrrrrrukkkkk

"So you're the one responsible for this." ［Grey］

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As the smoke cleared out, what was revealed was a large salamander-like creature with a red and black skin pallette which resembles a stream of lava. Other than its size, the only difference it has with a salamander was that it only had 2 front limbs.

⟨⟨Appraisal⟩⟩ ［Grey］

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[Beast]

[Species] Magma Crawler

[Status] Healthy, Agitated

[Sex] Female

[Age] 32 (Adult)

[Mana Capacity] 2,275 [Mana Quality] C

[Combat Power] 1,094 [Threat Level] B

[Attribute] Fire

[Intelligence] 43

[Description]

A large salamander-type beast native to Polakras Volcanic Plateau. It is known for being aggressive and often uses its fire breath to scorch any intruder. Although it is fully blind, it has a sharp sense of thermoception.

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Seeing the cause of the fire and deaths of the villagers, Grey clenched his fist as hard as he could and gritted his teeth as tried to control his anger. Just the menacing looks of his eyes alone, one could easily tell the magnitude of his rage.

Grey wanted to immediately eliminate his opponent, but there was a problem that it was about 3x stronger than him. Even with his cheats, he isn't confident that he could beat the Magma Crawler.

Another concern of Grey was the information in the beast's status screen. It was supposed to be native to the Polakras Volcanic Plateau, yet it is in the Haltea Great Forest which is more than a thousand kilometers away.

There was also the fact that it was "Agitated", meaning someone is deliberately trying to bring harm to the village or the forest itself.

Guraaaaakkkkkk

As soon as the Magma Crawler noticed Grey, it immediately charged straight into him like a bull to a matador, as if it is holding a deep grudge to people.

In response, Grey used his wind magic to quickly propel himself out of the way, and jumped upwards where the Magma Crawler's head and back were exposed.

⟨⟨Magnum Caliber⟩⟩ ［Grey］

The moment Grey was in range with the Magma Crawler's head, he immediately thrusted his fist into it and delivered a strong blow which could shatter large boulders with ease.

Guakkk

Receiving the impact of Grey's punch which was boosted by the gauntlets, the Magma Crawler let out a low cry and became more agitated.

The Magma Crawler tried to swing its massive tail to hit Grey, but Grey once again used his wind magic to maneuver himself in the air, barely avoiding the attack.

⟨⟨Gale Waltz!⟩⟩ ［Grey］

The moment Grey landed on the ground, he immediately fired off a spell which shot a barrage of high-speed blades of wind to the Magma Crawler.

Unable to comprehend the situation, the Magma Crawler received the brunt of Grey's attack head on. Receiving little wounds from each blade of wind that connects to its body.

'Damn it! Its skin is too tough!' ［Grey］

While the Magma Crawler did receive little wounds from Grey's attack. They were not so significant that they could affect the tide of the battle. The power gap between the two was simply too large.

Sensing Grey's location, the Magma Crawler blasted a breath of fire towards Grey in an attempt to kill him in a single strike.

Unfortunately for the Magma Crawler, the moment it opened its mouth, Grey hastily made a run for it and avoided the Magma Crawler's breath of fire which is able to melt iron upon contact.

⟨⟨Gale Waltz!⟩⟩ ⟨⟨Gale Waltz!⟩⟩ ⟨⟨Gale Waltz!⟩⟩ ⟨⟨Gale Waltz!⟩⟩ ［Grey］

Changing his position every so often, Grey launched a barrage of attacks before the Magma Crawler could keep up. With the beast's turning speed, it made it easy for Grey to avoid meeting its fire-breathing mouth up front.

The moment the Magma Crawler tries to charge towards him, Grey would immediately jump away from it and deliver a "Magnum Caliber" on the same spot of the Magma Crawler's head.

Guraaaaaakkkkkkkkkkkk

As though its patience ran out, the Magma Crawler looked up towards the sky and shot out a large beam of molten rock towards upwards. The moment the molten rocks reached its maximum height, it then came raining down like a rain of fire.

Grey skillfully evaded each debris of molten rock by predicting where they might fall. But as he was focused dodging the rain of fire, the Magma Crawler quickly charged up a breath of fire and fired it towards Grey.

"Crap! ⟨⟨Barrier!⟩⟩" ［Grey］

From reflex alone, Grey immediately erected the strongest barrier he could muster in order to block. Unfortunately, the barrier wasn't enough to receive the full might of the Magma Crawler's attack.

Suffering from the attack, Grey came rolling down a few steps before coming to a stop. Thankfully, with the "Divine Amulet's" help, he was able to survive with only a few scratches and light burns from the attack.

"Haha... You're one cunning lizard, aren't you?" ［Grey］

Grey laughed off his pain as he quickly stood up from the attack he just received, and as he realized it was his first time near-death experience since coming to Merusia.

'I really need to be more careful.' ［Grey］

Having trained Inside the special dungeon, Grey never really had a sense of danger as he always knew that he'll survive no matter what. But having experienced it, he hit a realization about how dangerous the world beyond the dungeon really is.

If Grey had known beforehand how difficult it was to fight a Magma Crawler, he would have chosen to continue chasing the Thunderbird at any time. Unfortunately, he couldn't turn back time and rethink his choices.

Regaining his footing, Grey took the initiative and charged towards the Magma Crawler, causing the latter to whip its tail in panic.

Grey once again evaded the tail attack with a high jump and skillfully landed on top of the Magma Crawler's head. In less than a second after he landed, Grey thrusted his fist towards the center of the creature's head.

⟨⟨Megaton Shotgun!⟩⟩ ［Grey］

Guwwaaaaaakkkkkkk

What Grey unleashed was an evolved version of the "Magnum Caliber" which works best at the closest distance. The moment the attack connected to the Magma Crawler, a slight crack could be heard if one listened closely.

The Magma Crawler who was hit by the attack wriggled in agony from how painful the attack was. It tried to shake off Grey, but Grey held on with all his might and delivered another punch.

⟨⟨Phantom Caliber!⟩⟩ ［Grey］

Unlike the other punches which delivered a strong physical force, "Phantom Caliber" was specialized in damaging the insides of the target as it sent strong shockwaves throughout its body.

While it may be a powerful art, it wouldn't work if there is no gap for the shockwaves to travel through, but Grey's previous attacks created that gap in the center of the Magma Crawler's skull. Coupled with the gauntlet's ability to spread impact, it became an unstoppable force which crushed and damaged every organ inside the Magma Crawler.

Gurarakkkk

Suffering internal damage all throughout its body, the Magma Crawler struggled to remain upright and fell towards the ground with a loud thud.

With little life left in it and hatred burning deep in its heart, the Magma decided to do a final struggle and used up all its mana and focused it into a single point, preparing to release its most powerful attack, desperate to do anything to take down its attacker.

In a single very powerful breath of fire, the Magma Crawler fired an attack towards Grey in hopes to take it down with it.

Just from a single glance, Grey could already tell that he wouldn't be able to survive that attack. Of course, he could just resurrect after death, but he'd rather stay alive and not waste any of those chances to resurrect if he ever needs it in the future.

"I'm not going to let things go your way!" ［Grey］

Deciding to bet everything on a simple strategy, Grey drained all his mana stored in his "Mana Bank" which he had been saving for months, and unleashed dozens of barriers in succession, each created with mana equal to his mana capacity.

One... Two... Three... Four... Five... Six...

The fire breath quickly ruptured its way through the first few spells, but as it broke more than a dozen, its momentum slowed down until it vanished into thin air. As for the Magma Crawler which unleashed the attack, it has already passed away after unleashing it.

Relieved from the result of his effort, Grey lost the strength in his legs and helplessly fell kneeling to the ground from exhaustion.

"Haah... I'm never doing this again..!" ［Grey］

CHAPTER 4 END

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