Sword God in a World of Magic

Shang's eyes narrowed.

'Is that thing following me? Why is it continually circling me? Am I near its nest?'

After a bit of deliberation, Shang continued walking towards the northeast.

Sure enough, the thing kept circling above him.

'Shit! That thing's actually following me! Why is it following me when it doesn't attack me!?' Shang thought with frustration.

Shang moved around in senseless patterns to test if that thing was truly following him, and, sure enough, it kept following Shang, no matter where he went.

Shang's frown intensified. He definitely didn't feel comfortable with something like that circling above him.

'If it decides to attack, I have to be ready. If I don't notice the very moment it charges down, I won't be able to react.'

'The thing is very fast, but it doesn't displace enough Mana to be a General Stage beast. It feels a bit stronger than the beasts I saw before, but it doesn't give me the feeling of overwhelming dread that a General Stage beast does.'

Shang remembered that spider he had hidden from on his way to Warrior's Paradise. That thing had been in the General Stage, and Shang had felt absolutely helpless.

In comparison, the thing circling above him felt more like an extremely powerful Soldier Stage beast.

Shang guessed that the thing was probably just like Astor, someone a level below him that could threaten him.

However, in comparison to Astor, this thing was a beast, not a human.

While Shang knew that he couldn't win against Astor, everything was different when his opponent was a beast.

Shang specialized in killing beasts.

If Astor were a beast, Shang was confident in winning, but he would have to be very careful and not make any mistakes.

So, even though the thing was very fast, Shang knew that he had a chance. If it was a flying creature with a lot of speed, its defense and pure power probably weren't that powerful. That meant that Shang could end the fight with one strike. He only had to hit it when it charged at him.

And what if the beast was on the blacklist?

Fuck that!

Shang could run from all manners of beasts, but that thing was far faster than him. Running would most likely end in his death since one wrong dodge would kill him.

So what if he had to pay a huge fine?

He had to stay alive!

Suddenly, Shang stopped.

Another Vanishing Snake had appeared.

Shang continued standing on the spot and concentrated on his Darkness Vision.

His instincts were shouting at him, and Shang saw the Darkness Mana being displaced.

WHOOOSH!

Shang frowned.

Just like last time, the thing above Shang swooped down and killed the Vanishing Snake.

had been prepared this time, he had seen the thing move. He had barely looked in the direction of the Vanishing Snake before he saw

been able to see much detail, but he had seen green

'A green bird, huh?'

Shang thought of the mission he had

'Capture a Spear Stork.'

guessed that

seen any beak due to the speed of

bird had a long beak, Shang would have seen it. He had only been able to see prominent features, and a long beak would have been a prominent feature, but since he saw nothing, it meant

inkling as to why the green bird

can feel the Vanishing Snake too, which

it follows me. The Vanishing Snakes see me as their prey,

took a deep

really is terrifying. Vanishing Snakes are at the Late Soldier Stage in general, and the green bird should be on the same level. Yet, the

to hunt Vanishing Snakes, but if this thing

forest if the most valuable prey

Shang weighed his options.

would waste a ton of time. I might as well hope that the green bird gets its fill

thought with widened eyes. 'Aren't Vanishing Snakes multiplying by being eaten? Does that mean that

thought with furrowed brows. 'Why

it isn't eating the

on his Darkness

he searched through the surroundings for

of seconds later, Shang found

corpse

eggs should be in the

that it can't eat

Then, Shang sighed.

corpse. It has obviously been killed by a beast, and the academy won't accept such

this death bird flying above my head the entire time, but

a smart

Probably not.

humans would have turned around. After all, the green bird was a huge unknown factor that could potentially end their lives.

reason, Shang enjoyed this feeling

a cliff

He felt alive.

of terror, uncertainty, and excitement brought Shang a unique feeling

What was this feeling?

sure, but it was

to be related to control

destiny was in his own

would be due to his own

no external factors like on Earth. On Earth, other, higher-ranked people often decided one's fate. If Shang were the most competent person for a job, he still wouldn't get it as long as the manager didn't like

skills and abilities would have been easily enough to succeed, but other people had decided to

known that he had had the abilities to enter the MNFA. However, it had still taken him another year

had it

how he had

in this wilderness, everything

were the only things that would decide his

was confident in his

knew that

wanted to

to prove that he was

the more powerful he

this. He only knew