The Chronicles of a Scalebound Sage: Wandmaker Vol.2

WM [104] Rising Calamity

The days seemed to burn away faster and faster as Bjorn circled the main skyland. Bjorn had learned to hunt smarter, to use his environment to his advantage. He had mapped out the routes of the lesser creatures, found the paths that kept him just out of reach of the true horrors lurking in the deeper parts of the skyland. He had memorized the shifts in the weather, the changes in ambient mana density, anything that could give him an edge.

The forest was dangerous the further he went into it the more he could feel the presence of ancient monsters. He could also feel something else which is what drew him back to this place. Whatever was at the heart of the forest was protecting something and Bjorn needed to find out what it was. Soon he would wake whatever slept within the mountain forest, and when it did, he had to be ready.

"You should kill Felo," Failsafe said.

"What? Oh he is one of them." Bjorn responded. "Aw man, I actually like this one."

"I think their backstories are getting kind of repetitive at this point." Failsafe said with a yawn. "Though I think this one did have more style."

Felo was a broad shouldered man walking alongside him. Bjorn's memories told him that Felo had been with him since they left the previous island. He helped kill the tarnu blade wing using some type of martial art cultivator technique. He remembers it being quite flashy, a burning jump kick that somehow turned the flames into a roaring ryū. The more he thought about it the more it seemed completely foolish. Why would a human be here with him and the memory seemed hazy at best.

Felo pointed ahead "It shouldn't take too much longer. I marked the tra—"

The "man" was cut off mid sentence as one of Bjorn's jaws closed around the creatures neck. He used Intimidation Roar, and Poison Cloud simultaneously. These things weren't strong as Bjorn had come to know but they were durable. The Sanguine Traveler was the third evolution of a monster after all and each evolution brough more and more power, vitality and lethality.

It took repeated bites and claws to finally bring the creature down. Bjorn wondered what these things actually looked like but they didn't change back after death. The only way to tell what they are is by the utter lack of most organs. They had a stomach but not much else.

He ate the remains. It may have looked human but it definitely wasn't and he was running low on his prepared provisions. Over the course of his extended stay of the Skylands; he found that he could eat most monsters as long as they were at least second evolution. As he chewed, Failsafe offered a lecture he really revealed in the knowledge he gained from the book of monstrosities.

"Unlike the crawling stalkers which were mainly pure corruption," Failsafe said with refined poise. "More highly evolved or powerful monsters actually have mana akin to a normal animal. Calamities like the Jeweled Winged Monarch have mana as refined and controlled as a mage. This is why lower evolved monsters will dissipate into mana once killed but stronger ones will decompose like a normal beast."

"So the lower evolved ones will still be dangerous to eat." Bjorn asked.

"Well, poisonous monsters or ones that have acid for blood we will want to stay away from. We are resistant to poisons but better not to test the limits."

"Well that was the third one of these things. You would think they would stop... eventually. They seem intelligent."

"It's just basic intelligence. If they spent more time around people I think they would get better at mimicking them."

"Yeah, wait." Bjorn said with sudden realization. "Why are they mimicking people around me anyway? I am a hydra."

"I think it's because your mind is human." Failsafe said. "They can't really read minds but they can skim surface level thought. Your mind is human no matter how you look at it."