PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

Now that the battle was over, Desmond, though reluctant, used the hunter’s book to analyze the beast, searching for any precious resources it had. To Desmond’s surprise, the beast was of little value while powerful and imposing. The beast had nothing to offer besides meat full of nutrients and skin resistant to aquatic mana.

Desmond thought it was strange since the beast’s fins and tail were filled with mana crystals, but upon a closer look, he understood why. Apparently, as soon as the creature died, its mana crystals degenerated rapidly, becoming useless almost instantly. According to the hunter’s book record, that was part of why this beast is considered lousy prey. Even the innate impermeability in the beast’s skin was strongly tied to its vitality and didn’t seem to hold up properly when trying to process its skin.

To tell the truth, Desmond was somewhat disappointed; he really hadn’t expected that the towering flying creature would be pretty much all fanfare and worth no more than a couple of cents. Desmond’s only consolation was that, according to the description in the hunter’s book, the meat of the beast, in addition to being nutritious, was incredibly delicious, especially its fins.

Motivated by a little whimsical desire, Desmond wiped the saliva from his lips. He proceeded to store at least one of the fins. Given the ridiculous wingspan of the fins, even gluttonous Desmond found it overkill to want to keep more meat... Still, Desmond cut off the other three fins and the tail.

A little embarrassed by his lack of willpower to resist the gluttony, Desmond prepared to leave the place and pretend his previous battle had never happened. At least that was the plan, but a new sense of being targeted washed over Desmond. Following that feeling, Desmond found a beast approaching at full speed.

Desmond felt a bit strange when he saw the new creature since, even to him, the beast looked somewhat eccentric. Desmond felt the need to rub his eyes to ensure he didn’t see wrong, but even then, that weird, cartoonish kangaroo was still jumping in his direction.

If not for the speed and bloodlust, Desmond would have wanted to laugh a little and ignore the adorable creature. However, Desmond was also not naive enough to believe that a weak beast would be stupid enough to approach him under the circumstances.

Although it was weak, Desmond could feel something different in the beast; he recognized that strange presence that felt somewhat alien but not necessarily unknown. Desmond was sure that this beast was brimming with Aura. As a Mana user, Desmond wasn’t very familiar with the Aura, but he could still feel its presence. The only problem was that unless he experienced another creature’s Aura very closely, it would be complicated, if not impossible, for him to understand its properties or nature.

.....

The same applied to the strange but adorable kangaroo that kept jumping at Desmond. Desmond could feel that beast overflowing with physical power and vitality; its Aura was vast, to say the least. Still, Desmond couldn’t know anything beyond that.

In any case, it wasn’t a good idea to take the new guest lightly. Desmond didn’t want to die because of his recklessness. Desmond had to be thankful for his high alertness, as it was only because of this that Desmond managed to respond to what happened next.

It was only an instant, a brief, faint fluctuation that was barely perceptible. Still, Desmond recognized that it wasn’t from the Mana or the Aura. The sudden use of the Arcana by the strange kangaroo triggered all the alerts in Desmond’s mind. A second later, the kangaroo crossed the fabric of space, appearing directly behind Desmond.

Desmond’s bestial instincts kicked in, his body arching almost unnaturally, only to see what seemed like a cannonball of pure destructive power pass an inch from his face. The kangaroo’s Explosive Aura-covered fist reflected Desmond’s blue eyes, who barely managed to react, thus preventing his skull from exploding in a bloody mess.

As a bead of cold sweat fell from his forehead, Desmond didn’t correct his unstable posture. Desmond maintained an unlikely balance; his body arched further before a kick found its way to the head of the kangaroo. In full swing, Desmond showed off his ridiculous reaction speed by activating in that fraction of a second, further increasing the speed of his counterattack.

As expected of a beast whose body Aura flows through, the strange kangaroo reacted with terrifying speed, dodging Desmond’s attack and unleashing another devastating punch in an attempt to split Desmond’s torso in two.

Desmond was unprepared to face a strong and skilled beast in close combat. He was being suppressed entirely due to the difference in physical attributes; however, Desmond still had a card up his sleeve for this situation.

Desmond’s body’s nerve endings, muscle fibers, and bony structures underwent tremendous strain and torture. Desmond pushed his body past his limits, barely managing to get out of the way of his attacker.

Desmond began to sense the danger; the stupid adorable-looking kangaroo was a damn tricky predator with terrifying power. As if that weren’t enough, this damned beast excelled at ultra-close combat, completely suppressing Desmond by forcing him to fight where his strength was least outstanding.

Even if Desmond was above average Mana users when it came to close combat, facing an Aura user who exceeded him in strength at this distance was bloody suicide. To add oil to the flames, Desmond knew that this beast had the uncanny ability to teleport short distances, so there was little hope of getting out of the beast’s combat range.

Suppressed in every way, Desmond gritted his teeth and decided to use his only advantage; intelligence and martial skill. Subjecting his body to an inhuman strain, Desmond managed to hang on to his miserable life for a few more seconds as he looked for an opportunity under the relentless barrage of punches.

Desmond’s body was about to give way when the kangaroo showed an opening. A breach had arisen as the beast tried to catch its breath and stabilize its Aura, preparing to unleash another killing blow.

A sinister, bloody smile spread across Desmond’s lips, giving the beast an ominous feeling, but it was too late. The kangaroo might be suppressing Desmond, but that didn’t mean he was a vegetarian. Desmond was highly deadly in close combat; all he needed was a brief moment to channel mana and counterattack, which was precisely what he had now.

What was the real reason behind Desmond’s ridiculous lethality? Was it his high attack power? His ability to find the gaps in his enemies’ defenses? Or was it his martial prowess? Truth be told, all of the above factors played a role, but, at least in this scenario, it was the speed that sealed the beast’s fate against Desmond.

Among all the attacks that Desmond mastered, the fastest came not from his fists but from his sword. Desmond’s drawing technique was exquisite and fast to the point of being unreal. At least the kangaroo that was fighting Desmond needed the last few moments of its fading life to understand that that flash it saw a moment ago was its opponent’s weapon decapitating it.

With a dull thud, the kangaroo’s head hit the ground, followed quickly by the rest of the body. Immediately, Desmond began gasping for air, his body covered in sweat, suffering immense pain from overusing .

Desmond was still staring with lingering fears at the dead boxer kangaroo on the ground. One had to know that, in theory, this kangaroo was more or less on the same level as the giant flying dolphin. Still, the difference in specialty and the unpredictability cornered Desmond, almost snatching any chance to resist.

In a way, Desmond fell victim to ignorance and circumstance. In a different scenario, Desmond could have used his exquisite mastery of aquatic mana to crush the stupid kangaroo before it even got close. After all, unlike Desmond, the kangaroo had only its physical body to fight with as powerful as it was. The latter could use all sorts of constructs and ranged attacks to suppress the kangaroo to death.

Put another way, the previous battle was a textbook example of why it’s a bad idea for a Mana user to let an Aura user get too close. Desmond had a small arsenal of attacks and abilities, which he didn’t get to use because he just didn’t have the time to channel mana steadily.

Whatever the case, Desmond now had a deep impression of the vast and dangerous world he had come to. One could not forget that he had barely spent a couple of hours in this world and had already met two high-level beasts.

Remembering that last point, Desmond used the hunter’s book to analyze the bloody kangaroo that nearly killed him. One could imagine how angry Desmond was when he saw the information. The kangaroo was even more useless than the dolphin, with a glorious total of zero valuable materials. For Desmond, knowing that he had nearly died for nothing was like a second slap to his pride. He wanted nothing more than to take it out on the kangaroo’s carcass, but he quickly pushed that thought away.

Desmond reconsidered his attitude towards this world, trying not to fall into old habits, and become reckless because he was alone. Since there were such dangerous beasts, Desmond had to take his training and mission very seriously. Remembering how easy his mission was supposed to be, Desmond began to have an ominous feeling. He could almost be sure that things would not go as he expected.