24 Predator II (2/2)
'Time: 7 PM, Dinner Time. The user is advised to consume at least Rank 2 Beasts to continue improving his body Composition, there is only a very minor part of the User's body that has gone under a qualitative change since advancing into the slayer Rank.' Nova chimed in with her usual analytical monotonous voice.
”Alrighty, let's go monster hunting.” Nero cheerfully said out loud, completely ignoring the fact that his surroundings were covered in mashed up brain & guts and bloodied organs, some still occasionally spurting out more blood.
'Nova, the sky surfing was too slow, let's just make some wings and fly! Send a 3d model to my Hippocampus real quick.'
'Acknowledged, modelling based on a Peregrin Falcon beginning... Scaling the model suitably for the User's body... Rendering model... Sent to the User.'
”Okay! Let's fly!” Nero first propelled himself high into the air, then made large wings around his hands and a transparent beak made of Peak-tier Basic Mana on the outside, then using small amounts of basic Adept Mana to form the internal structure.
FLAP FLAP
With a swoop, Nero escalated farther into the sky, air resistance keeping him from rising further. He scoured around, and on his left, he could see a large Crater with a mountain in the middle. It was his home, Pinnacle.
From the altitude he was at, he couldn't hope to find a Rank 2 Beast in the thicket of the Acroyl Forest. In the distance, right to Pinnacle, there was a lack of trees and larger open plain fields. It was his new Hunting Ground.
After raising his altitude even more up to the clouds, Nero's wings transformed.
They collapsed inwards as Nero started to Freefall.
”HOOOLY SHIIII-” was the last thing that came out of his mouth before air collided with his face and made his cheeks ripple backwards.
Right after 5 seconds, his hands moved outwards, revealing webs of Adept Mana connecting to his body in the space between his arms and legs.
WOOOOSH
His body slowly curved towards its destination, finally zooming through the air at over 100 Miles per hour!
He wanted to get deeper into the open lands, so travelling like this was much more time-efficient than Sky Surfing.
ZOOP
He had been gliding through the air for only a few minutes yet he'd flown right over the whole of Pinnacle in only a few seconds!
And in another dozen minutes, he'd entered the Plain lands.
He already knew general information about this place, it had more feral Rank 2 Beasts than any nearby Beast infested lands. There was also a rumour of there being a Rank 3 commanding more than horde of these otherwise Crazy Magical Beasts.
He had started to close in right after spotting an average Lion being sabotaged by another one of his brethren who'd gone Rage Mode.
From the looks of it, the Golden Lion had just achieved Rank 1, so Nero ignored them and scoured around longer for any intelligent Predators hiding in plain sight.
With such a vantage point, it didn't take long for him to find variants out of the ordinary.
In a duke between a variety of Rank 1 Beasts, there seemed to be a Deer, lying in wait, hidden by the camouflaging golden grasslands.
The moment the duke ended, the Deer pushed off the ground with great strength, covering his limbs and horns with tinted red.
The sudden acceleration caught the tired Leopard, the winner of the duke out, in surprise, mana feedback helping him detect the level of threat this fellow mammal in front of him posed.
Even after realising that the Deer was far superior to him and getting ready to fend himself from the headbutt, it was more than a little too late.
Plop.
The horns of the Rank 2 Deer skewered right through the circulatory organs, stabbing right into the heart of the Leopard.
'I see why Rank 1 Beasts are told to stand no chance, even in groups against their superior Rank 2 Beasts. The use of mana there to boost his momentum truly shows the level of intelligence the beast has.' Nero realised how big a gap there really was between ranks and Manipulation levels.
No way could he possibly even get a hit on the current him if he was still a Peak-tier Hunter, just like how there was no way for the Rank 1 to fight back against such a ferocious Rank 2 Beast.
'Alright, let's swan dive this bitch, shall we?' Nero grinned mid-air while immediately sky diving the Rank 2 Deer with his unsheathed Abyssal Scythe.