The Regressed NoBody

After observing them, I saw that their mana reserves weren’t even half of what I possessed. They only had a quarter of mana of what I had. But still, their ability to properly utilise their mana in such a battle efficient manner was remarkable. And to back up the power they lacked in their attacks with their speed and nimble movements.

Were they truly just some random mana beasts? I thought with a sharp breath.

He growled and hissed looking me in the eyes. My indifferent eyes bore into his and made him flinch as he took a step back, but taking that moment, I furiously struck him in his knee which made him lose his balance, due to his bone cracking.

With a sharp scream, he lurched forward, biting his lips to force his body forward and fight the pain, but my fist struck him a little bit above his sternum. His body froze as he vomited blue blood, tightly gripping my forearm, trying to pinch and pull with his nails, to do whatever he could, as he helplessly fell over his feet and lost consciousness.

The other two who were left still holding their weapons—one a bow, and the other a sword—jerked back as a single foot fall from me rang in their ears like a fierce clap of thunder. Their eyes fearful and bodies shuddering with horror as they held their breaths biting their lips in helplessness.

Finally after striking three of the six down, the petit mer-creature decided to join in on the fight. He cracked his knuckles and neck, as I saw him crack a grin, as if he was taunting me: –‘That isn’t all you have?’

A taunting grin arching my face, which caused him to frown deeply. I sheathed my sword back into the scabbard and stored it inside the system inventory, as I brought both hands forward and dismissively taunting him with a gesture to approach and strike first.

“Graa...Graa.” His companions said something to him with panic laced in their voices. But they quieted as a stifling glare looked their way.

The petit mer-creature tried to recompose himself but his face turned ferocious with anger, as the veins over his forehead bulged.

“Are you gonna make me wait all day long?” I scoffed, as he sneered with deep contempt palpable in his eyes. I think they were able to understand my speech to some extend, like Imeru, so agitating him a little should do the trick.

In the next moment, his body blurred from in front of me and I found him standing a few meters away from me having covered the short distance between us in the short time it took me to blink twice, as the ambient mana in the air went into a frenzy.

My eyes went wide as I gasped in surprise and brought my arms up defensively. I felt a massive force slam into my forearms, as I staggered several steps back, but retook hold over my footing and corrected my stance.

I frowned as my forearms turned reddish from the blow as I felt the muscles in my arms go numb. They were swollen from the power contained in that single blow.

He didn’t lack in the aspect of strength, unlike his other companions. Again he was over me, but this time I wasn’t caught off guard, I buckled my arm and took a stance, mana flowing and distributing into my arms as I jabbed forward. The air fluttered as a shockwave ran through the air and the mer-creature’s hair pushed backward.

My fist closed upon him, but there was not one shred of panic over his face, as if he had anticipated this outcome. Then something unexpected happened as my fist was about to collide against his face. He twisted his body at an impossible angle whilst slamming his bare foot into the thick surface of the wooden branch, with a loud bang, he leaned his body back then to his left and evaded my jab. But the next moment, he twisted his entire body again, having released his foot from the branch, then his heel connected to my side as I groaned in pain.

But I firmly took a hold of his right leg and elbowed him in his thigh as his face twisted and darkened with pain. His other free leg struck me in my chest, as I felt a heavy object had just crashed into me, chocking the hair out of my lungs, but without wasting another second, I countered with a right hook as my fist collided with his chin and he went crashing several meters away. He weakly shot to his trembling feet, as he limped for a few steps as a scowl replaced his frowning face.

It had been a very long time, that I had fought someone seriously one-on-one without using my sword and solely using my body and fists—exercising physical force alone. My proficiency at using martial arts wasn’t as good as Han, and I was always a better swordsman, but I could still give him a good run for his money if we fought in close quarters solely using martial arts even if we had the same rank of strength.

My face cracked into a wide and condescending grin as I looked at the mer-creature limping a few steps. His face darkened and twisted as he saw me and sneered as his mana boiled and erupted forth inside his body and whatever reserves he had left he was going to make use of now.

I snorted as I gestured for him to approach with my hand once again.

His petit figure moved like a shadow and he was over me in a second. His arms hissed and blurred from in front of me as my brows furrowed.

His reaction speed and attacks had gotten faster—with the faster influx and circulation of his mana—since we started fighting. I thought parrying his attack and taking a sharp swing near his abdomen.

He grunted as he growled in pain. I didn’t let this moment waste and struck him in his chest, sequentially as he vomited blue blood and crashed back into a tree trunk.

‘It’s over.’

The outcome was already determined since the beginning of our battle. They weren’t even close to being my opponents. My gaze swept across the surrounding and I saw the other mer-creatures lying unconscious as the two from before pulled back with each step I took forward toward the petit mer-creature.

I came to a stop right in front of him and coldly gazed down at him. His eyes still shining brilliantly as if he was not one bit afraid of this development.

I wanted to scoff at his facade of bravado even in the face of defeat, but held back. These weren’t simply any mana beasts I could find anywhere I went.

But still, they had piqued my interest.

And my original goal was never to kill them. If I had wanted them dead, I would have already done so as I had received many chances and openings during our battle, and exercising enough force to kill them would have been easy enough for me as swatting mere bugs.

“Graaa...Gill...Kill...Already...”

The petit mer-creature spat through greeted teeth as he glared up at me.

I planted my hand over his head and grabbed his rough dark blue hair. I slightly lifted him up as he groaned looking at me with a sharp sneer across his face.

“Killing the lot of you would have been as easy for me as swatting insignificant bugs under my feet,” my voice rolled out like thunder as I saw the scowl over his face deepen. I took a deep breath and slightly lifted my head and looked above my shoulder. My vision went to his fallen companions. Even I could tell from the faces they were making, the indifferent and detached expression I was making. “So,” a breath as my eyes drifted between him and his companions, “take this as me showing you all mercy by not ending your miserable lives now.”

His eyes shot wide open as his body turned limp for a moment, his breathing uneven as his eyes dilated. The mana inside my body surged and I mercilessly struck him against the tree truck behind him, as he growled in pain and lost consciousness.

His body dropped over the branch we stood on, as I slowly twirled and faced the two remaining mer-creatures.

I pointed at their companions—who lay unconscious—and spoken in a loud yet demeaning voice, albeit calloused. I was getting tired of all of this unwanted fighting. I just quickly wanted to go ahead with the trial and be on with it.

“Take them and get lost—"

But just as I was about to finish my sentence, I bit back on my words, as I snapped my head all around me, feeling a massive influx in the mana and presences around me and instinctively moving a few steps away creating a short distance.

I withdrew my sword out and firmly held it as I took a stance as the hair at the back of my neck stood in alert. With mind’s eye still active, I saw the mana in the air moving rapidly and being pulled in all directions around me.

My eyes went up on to the gargantuan branches, and I saw shinning predatorily eerie pairs of eyes, looking down at me. They were in fact the mer-creatures’ companions from the mana they released.

The air around me shook, as I took a half-step back bringing my sword forward, correcting my posture and circulating my mana to lurch forth any moment. One of the mer-creatures dropped down and lurched in my direction with unimaginable speed like a shadow, her movements so subtle that I swore I had barely heard her feet touch the rough surface of the branch when she dropped, but ignoring me entirely—as if I didn’t even exist—she passed me as she reached for the petit mer-creature laying behind me unconscious.

I turned my head backward—whilst keeping an eye out for the others present—and saw as she checked his pulse. Confirming that he was fine and merely knocked out cold, she sighed in relief as something that could barely pass for a concerned expression creased past her face, before her expression turned completely solemn and devoid of any expression.

She twirled and met my gaze. Her unflinching gaze met mine, as an oppressive wind pushed me back, but I fought against it as my mana surged forth. Her facial expression remained impassive the entire time, but her eyes shook slightly as my mana rolled out of me and began to surge forth in the surrounding area.

Her body slightly twitched in response as my sword began to shimmer subtly and cry out loudly.

Slowly her other companions surrounded me, glaring at me with their faces twisted into sneers, while some of them tending to the fallen mer-creatures. But my eyes stayed fixed on the female mer-creature.

Our battle of gazes went on for a full minute, as the atmosphere around me turned dark and stern, until a brisk voice broke between us.

“That is enough for...now, Runda.” An old, almost nonchalant, but powerful and commanding voice echoed around us.

The voice sounded blithe, but at the same time felt oppressive and sharp.

She pulled back her mana and so did I in response, but kept my body in a sharp stance. My eyes tore away from the female mer-creature and across the dark forest around me as I searched from where that voice had emerged from. But I hastily twirled and saw an individual standing a few feet behind me, with his face pulled into a playful but unreadable smile, which made me alert.

Surprise bled out from me for a second but I recomposed my expression quickly and gazed at the mer-creature standing behind me.

Why wasn’t I able to sense his presence barely until the last moment? I thought with furrowing brows. There wasn’t even a slight shift in the ambient mana or some fluctuation in the air that would alert me of the moment of his arrival, neither was their any sound produced by him or any movements throughout which I could have know of his arrival until the final moment.

Just who was he?

I defensively held my sword backward, as my mana surged forth and taking a moment I took in the appearance of the mer-creature. He was tall, about the same height as me, and his stature was lean, not as buff or muscular as his other male companions, but the thing which perked my curiosity the most were the amount of runes like tattoos which were visible over his body, covering his blue skin in a vibrant and darker shade—but along with several scars. His long dark blue hair were tied into a long braid as his arms were clasped behind his back as he stood without a single care for his surroundings.

The grin over his face broke for a fleeting moment as he peeked open an eye and looked at me with surprise over his face. His eyes shined brilliantly, and looked sharp and held some kind of subtle maturity and wisdom which the others of his kind didn’t.

I whipped my head all around and counted how many of the mer-creatures had surrounded me. There were in fact a total of twelve. And out of them all, the female mer-creature from before and this guy—whose presence I failed to sense—were the ones I was most wary of.

I was at a disadvantage here in the terms of numbers. I might be able to win against all of them if I were to overexert myself here, but that wouldn’t be the best coursr of actions.

And I had seen just how well they fought to the peculiar and subtle way they manipulated their mana, despite not having much of it.

I calculated every possible option carefully which came to mind for a better outcome in this situation, but the only option I arrived to was my inevitable escape while being engaged in a battle.

The last option I had left now would be to escape from here, even if I had to force my way through. But the thing which I was most wary and curious about was how did he appear so swiftly and quietly behind me. Their wasn’t even a slight shift in the ambient mana around me, despite me keeping mind’s eye active all the time since arriving here.

Meaning he had used some kind of ability which allowed him to sneak up behind me without me noticing. But that was almost impossible, without the help of a skill or if he was stronger than me. And I was sure that it was neither the former or the latter in this case.

Then does he have a natural ability to hide his mana? I brainstormed, but nothing came to mind, so I did what I could do now.

I took a deep breath as I met the eyes of the mer-creature in front of me, as I reached for the shackled power within me which began to burn and react as my mana gave it life and it responded to the command of my mana and my intentions. I felt a draw from my mana—the feeling was similar to a subtle pang in the stomach—as the paths appeared bare to my sight.

The bright interconnecting web which held the countless wormholes together lit up my surroundings as a subtle and beautiful glow began to overlay the gargantuan forest and thick branches which expelled the light, barely illuminating the surrounding.

But...

My mind blanked for a moment as my brows furrowed with a sharp intensity from what I was witnessing right now observing the paths.

It can’t be...No!

I warily said inwardly as I looked at the paths with a look of apprehension and bewilderment.

I wasn’t able to properly access them. No they were ready to be used but were unstable for some reason, and flickering as the web of energy which was woven together like a tapestry was shaking and pulsating like it could scatter right this moment.

I allowed my mind to dwell deeper as I felt a slight headache grow near my temples—as if something sharp had impaled them—as I heard and sensed the paths, their glistering light burning with so much essence, power, information, their voice, which I had learned to do so back in my world, but they were just not properly responding. As if the paths were responsive, accessible—ready to transmit me to a specific location through the wormholes—, but their form and shape was unstable and their range shortened to a mere hundred and fifty meters, which made me flabbergasted for a moment. My brows furrowed in sharp intensity. As if their connection itself had become unstable.

First it was that accursed dungeon and now here.

Damn it! I gritted my teeth as I released my hold over the skill as the paths slolwy flickered and disappeared from my eyes and I looked in front of me with a sharp glare at the mer-creature.

This had to happen at a crucial time like this, when I was surrounded by enemies.

‘Damn it.’ I cursed as I clenched my teeth.

My body instinctively took a defensive step backwards as the mer-creature approached me dismissively with his lips tucked into a friendly smile. He didn’t feel like a threat—or perhaps was he just trying to display himself as one. I extended my sword as my mana rippled and my sword brimmed with strength, as he defensively held both of his hands up with a conceded, laid back and carefree expression over his face.

“I come in peace.” He said as his eyes stayed fixed on the edge of the blade which kept glistering.

I was taken aback by the clarity and depth of his vocabulary, but didn’t dwell to much over it.

I scoffed as I looked around me and then brought my gaze back to him. “Does attacking me out of nowhere, and reason, and surrounding me with a group a gesture of peace to you creatures?” I grumbled as I kept my sword even.

A complicated expression creased the mer-creature’s face now as he looked around, glaring at his companions to stand down. They looked apprehensive but complied. “Well...I uhh, wouldn’t deny your accusations—not that I have any ground to do so. But uhh...” He said with an apologetic face bringing his gaze back to me. “Our children seems to have caused you some trouble, I say, misunderstanding you as one of the ‘cephtalurians’, and attacking thinking you were the one attack Imeru.”

The cephtalurians?!! I thought with a raised brow. Was he talking about that tentacle creature which I had seen through Imeru's projection of her memories?

He bowed his head the next moment, causing me to withdraw my sword back and easing from my stance, but I kept my guard up regardless of his actions.

“I apologise on behalf of us ‘thalassalithions’ for trouble you.” His apology did feel sincere, maybe. I wasn’t sure.

But these guys were called, the thalassalithions, huh! I keenly looked at the mer-creature. And this guy was able to communicate with better and less broken wording than his kin and Imeru. His words weren’t broken as much as his other kin when speaking, and he seemed fluent in speaking the tongue. But how? I was still very much curious to learn the fact as to how could they speak in a tongue similar to humans. Were they taught by someone perhaps?

“Imeru—that child, showed me that you had helped her before you were attack by her companions.” He continued as he unbent and walked closer to me.

I cautiously looked at the approaching thalassalithion as he gave me a friendly and gentle smile.

“Well, to apologise properly I would like to invite you to our village, if that good with?” He asked taking my hand—I allowed—and gently but cautiously gripping it, giving off a harmless presence. “If that is fine with you. I won’t force guest to come. But it would be honour.”

It was an intriguing offer, to better learn about their habitat and the enemies or mana beasts which resided in this territory, they could turn out to be a greater help then I could have thought.

But it didn’t mean that I would trust his words blindly, just because he showed me a little bit of sincerity. Even a dull and chipped knife in an expert’s hand can become a deadly weapon if wielded correctly. And the most sweetest of words and people always had some bitterness to them which they didn’t showed outright.

Honestly, I wasn’t any different from the selfish kind out there. Greed was an emotion, which demons, humans or any other race, shared despite our physical, biological or any fundamental differences and heritage and origins. We were all similar in the aspects of greed. Perhaps this primal emotion made us similar and closer to each other than any other emotion or sense?

But what he said made the most sense right now. I was in some foreign land, unaware of how far away I was from my home. So using whomever and whatever I could to ascend the ladder of strength was my top priority. It didn’t matter what I needed to do, or what actions I needed to take in this place.

Because in clear ultimatum, the right to decided what was right and what was not, always fell on the lap of the people who held the proponent of absolute strength and power.

But...

‘Right choice?’ I sighed inwardly as Laurena's words nudged at my mind like a woodpecker constantly striking wood. Ever since talking to that seer I have been apprehensive about many things.

What if I took a decision which changed and brought forth something unknown? Something terrible upon the world, a scenario, a choice which was different and far terrible than anything thus far?

I was terrified, to be honest, of my decisions, my choices. What if I made the same mistakes like I did in the past? What if I couldn’t change anything? What if I...

No...I now had a clear goal, a motive. I needed power! Enough of it that every enemy I confronted trembled before my very sight and presence. An iron fist was much better than any altruism and kind heartiness.

But I caught sight of a shadow lurking near the branches to my left. It revealed itself and I saw Imeru carefully cradled over a bulky mer-creature's back.

Her feet lightly touched the floor as she slowly walked closer. Her expression still wary, but her brows eased. Her eyes fell over me and she smiled, barely, with a weary expression creasing her face.

The wounds over Imeru’s body had healed entirely, as I saw a round shaped flask firmly held in the palm of her hand. It was empty, and the contents within it were gone.

Imeru looked at the mer-creature in front of me and lowered her gaze in respect. He kept his gaze over her for a second, then nodded back at her and took a moment, turning his gaze at me, awaiting my reply.

I nodded wryly. “Sure! I am very much curios myself to learn about what you beings actually are, and I would also like to learn a few things about you personally, as much as you want about me,” I said with a detached cold smile not quite reaching my eyes. “But a name?”

I said, as the mer-creature understood me and spoke taking a slight bow with the out most mannerism it could. His mannerism were also well down for a mana beast. Seeing him a wry smile pulled up my lips.

Now I was very curious to learn as to what they actually were.

“Uito.” He said.

“Jiwoo.” I replied, as I saw the mer-creature moving closer to me. He was wary with each step he covered, but slowly crossed the distance between us, and allowed his forehead to touch mine.

Just as he did, a blazing light threw froth from his forehead as his closed eyes lit up charmingly, and I felt a familiar cold sensation growing all over my body like the first cold yet comfortable breeze of winter, but following right after a warm sensation resembling that of the warm sun, which overcame my body like it did when I had touched foreheads with Imeru.