Between many tall boulders made up of stone, a boy could be seen moving around, performing various moves. He practiced some punches and kicks, and soon his body started oozing a little blue light. He changed his stance and focused the energy around him. He then concentrated the mana on that particular hand.
'Boom!' A hole appeared on the boulder, and his punch landed on it. His hand was stuck. He had to use mana again to take it out. He then started practicing again. He had finished the network of mana veins throughout his body and had mastered its use. His offense, senses, reflexes, agility, physical strength, and defense greatly increased.
He had also gained some more muscle, which made his body bulky and stiff. It was due to the air here. The meat he consumed and the dragon presence transformed his body, so he decided to revisit the shrine. It was time for him to start the war; he was ready to test his newly gained strength.
***
Rishi emerged out of the water. He had stayed here for longer this time. The effects were good; his physique had again returned to its usual self. The excess muscles and fat had been removed, and his body strengthened further. He could feel more balanced, and the surprising part was that it even stabilized and nurtured his mana veins, making them stronger and more flexible.
He met Raven next and asked, 'Are you ready to engage in war?'
The lips of the boy curled up; he stretched his hand and did little squats. "To be honest, my hands are itching for it. I would have liked to break through Epic Stage but decided to fight the battle first."
'It's good to know that, after you win this war, I will gift you something very interesting. The eyes of Raven shone brighter. He looked at Rishi with a severe look. Rishi had been working with him for a while now, but Raven had not gifted him something that could make him stronger. He had reasons for that, as he knew that for someone like Rishi, something like that would become a hurdle for further growth.
Now that he had mastered the Mana Veins Network, he was closer to a breakthrough on the Epic Stage. It was the perfect time for him to receive something good. This would help him fight stronger opponents in the epic stage. The gift he had prepared was also not something that would instantly make him stronger. From looking at Rishi, he found out that his abilities were something that required him to work hard to master them. But once he had done so, they became overpowered. It took him a while to decide on a proper gift for him.
"I will be waiting for it. The back of Rishi could be seen as he was leaving the shrine. He appeared outside and looked at the shadow creatures, who had all waited for too long. In the meantime, their number had increased to fifteen thousand, becoming a formidable force that could crush anyone.
He looked at the fist-sized orb with multiple runes inscribed on it. This was the artifact created by Raven after researching his skill. Its first version was already powerful. This one was only better. He had not used it, but from what Raven had said, it would surprise him. He was waiting to witness its might.
Taking the orb, he looked at the impatient Shadow Creatures ready to go to war and said, "Everyone enter this orb. It's time for you all to fight the stronger opponents. We had been silent for a while. It's time to bring chaos to the world again and announce our arrival."
'Shreek!', Growl!, Hisss! Multiple terrifying sounds were released by the Shadow Soldiers. They turned into a black mist and started entering the orb. They filled the whole world around Rishi with black smoke for a moment. The patterns on the orb shone; it started sucking them like a black hole. It started devouring the smoke. Its hunger looked endless. It shook and spun, hovering in the air. Only stopping after it had sucked every shadow creature around it, Rishi held it in his hand and stored it before starting to move.
***
In the depths of the forest, they were surrounded by towering trees. A place could be seen filled with reptilian creatures. They were all busy doing their work and closing down their stall. The wind started blowing faster, bringing a small storm there. The sky appeared a strange shade of red.
The beautiful pink-colored clouds have also turned scarlet; nothing else could be seen. Confusing everyone about whether it was day or night, some thought it was just a natural phenomenon, while others thought nature was giving them a message. A thin, frail lizardman wearing a white orb looked at it. A bitter expression appeared on his face.
He could sense that something was not right, but his eyes shifted toward the shrine even though he was unsure what it was. He joined his hands with his eyes closed and started praying.
Unknown to them, a figure of a bat could be seen flying over this town. His eyes were scanning everything. Once we were sure, he started to descend. He appeared at the entrance. It took some time for the Lizardmans to notice his presence; they were enraged when they looked at his cocky grin.
Many charged at his readiness to tear apart his body into two and then enjoy his tender meat. The boy appeared unconcerned about this all. He brought his hands in front of him; he then chanted something, creating some strange finger signs.
The next moment, the area below his feet started shining white, and a giant magic circle revealed itself. It shone brightly, and the next moment, multiple streaked black cannons appeared, with strange purple runes carved on them.
The Lizardmans continued to charge at him, not caring about what tricks their opponent was using. They had just appeared in a twenty-meter area when 'Boom!' a sound reverted in the air. A cannonball shining in purple was shot from one of the cannons.
'Boom!' A stronger explosion appeared the next moment. The cannonball had hit the lizardmen at the front. It exploded when it touched him, leaving behind a small crater with a one-meter radius. The pieces of different parts of the Lizardman could be seen raining down one by one.
The others halted their steps once they looked at this scene, but their rage had only increased. More Lizardman joined them, and they started to change again. The boy sat down calmly. A chair appeared below him as he sat down. He looked at the interesting battle with his right leg over left and his hand folded.
'Boom!', 'Boom!', 'Boom! The explosions were never-ending as if someone were lighting firecrackers non-stop. The area around the entrance of the town became surrounded by pieces of copses and a green pool of blood.
When the other Lizardman looked at this horrifying scene, they were taken aback. Their feet shook and went out of their control. No one dared to step forward. The female Lizardman released multiple strong arrows at Rishi. Their approach was excellent, but unfortunately, it had no effect. Their arrows stopped far from him, which surprised everyone, but what happened next was even stranger.
They turned back and started moving towards the archers with faster speed;'swish' they peirced through the bodies of the archers. Their impact nailed the bodies of the archers to the wooden wall behind them.
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