After recuperating that day, Zeke went on to find the big lion but it seemed to disappear as even the cheetah couldn't find any traces of it. This left Zeke with no choice but to go deeper into the forest to look for stronger monsters. However, before he went deeper, Zeke first learned advanced magic fit for Tier 2 and 3s. Zeke spent two months in the outskirts killing beasts and 'battling' the bear to hone his newly learned magic skills. On the last day of the month, the bear seemed to have had enough as when it saw Zeke, it immediately started to flee. Of course, Zeke didn't let it go as it might be a future nuisance so he swiftly killed it and took its Monster Core.
Before he could venture deeper into the forest, Zeke found out to his surprise that the cheetah sensed the lion's presence near him. When he saw the lion however, he couldn't help but furrow his brows as he noticed the aura of the lion is very different from the aura Zeke sensed before. The aura emitted now was very malevolent and evil that it was on par to the berserk bear and serpent combined. It could also faintly suppress Zeke, causing his senses to be oppressed as well as a small budding of fear in a sea of excitement and fighting spirit inside him. His combat capabilities also dropped lower due to the lion's sheer aura.
What weirded Zeke the most was the lion's appearance. Before, the lion looked very majestic but now, all Zeke could think of when looking at it is evil. It had the figure of a lion but its skin was red and its whole body was full of cuts. Its body also emitted a faint red mist, to which Zeke felt eerie about. The body also grew thin while the bones inside its limbs were practically visible. Based on appearance alone, Zeke thought of it as a sick and malnourished lion. However, its aura and vitality are the opposite; it was actually very powerful and vigorous, much stronger than the previously seen lion in its prime. If it weren't for the injury in one of its eyes, Zeke would definitely assume this was a different lion than the one he saw.
Zeke knew there was something odd about the lion but he didn't pay too much attention to it. He drew his sword and cast protection spells while also approaching closer. A faint white barrier enveloped Zeke's figure as well as the bones inside of him, while wind circled around Zeke's feet. Zeke's sword was also enveloped with a faint red and green glow.
When the lion saw Zeke, it suddenly howled and madly charged at Zeke. Puzzled as to why the lion was so angry, Zeke deflected it and slashed the lion's side. To his surprise, the lion was actually hit without any signs of defending! Zeke didn't know why the lion was like that but he instantly attributed it to the weird transformation. Zeke immediately leapt back as he distanced himself a bit and pondered. With the newfound discovery, Zeke needed to reform his battle strategy.
After a second, Zeke looked up and saw the lion furiously charging at him at a fast pace. He then shook his arm and lashed out with his sword at an unfathomable speed, his objective being the lion's neck. When the lion tried to maul Zeke, he took the opportunity to quickly stab the sword in its neck, utilizing both Cloud Soaring Sword Style's technique combined with wind magic. One could only imagine the speed of a fast sword technique accompanied by the innate speed boost of wind magic. The lion didn't have time to react as Zeke's sword plunged deeply through its throat. Blood gushed from the wound as the lion's heavy body quickly dropped down, plunging the sword even deeper through its neck. Eventually, the point of the sword had already pierced through the lion's neck. Seeing this, Zeke heaved a sigh of relief as he knew it was a good utilization of Cloud Soaring Sword Style against an enemy who does not defend, just like the lion. If a person who doesn't care about defense tries to attack Zeke, it would only be a matter of time before the person is sliced into pieces with Zeke's Cloud Soaring Sword paired with Dance of Death.
Zeke plopped down and removed his sword. After a few seconds, he stood up and went away from the body as the pool of blood underneath it is expanding.
However, before he could even step, He instantly felt danger behind his back as he randomly swung the sword back. Due to the sloppy swing, the sword's power wasn't enough as a huge paw hit Zeke in the back, leaving a deep claw mark in Zeke's back. Zeke grimaced in pain as he immediately executed [Spatial King's Domain] to teleport away.
Zeke turned to look at his previous location only to harden his expression. The 'dead' lion suddenly went up and actually swiped Zeke! He didn't know how the hell the lion didn't die from that seeing as it even plopped dead for quite a few seconds. He then endured the searing pain of the wound in his back as he immediately charged again towards the enemy. He then thrust his sword directly into the lion's head. As expected, the lion didn't dodge nor counterattack as it directly took the lethal attack, killing it yet again. Zeke didn't dare to rest though, as he looked at the lion while a surge of mana appeared in his left hand.
Sure enough, the lion stood up yet again, but right now, its head was disfigured and there was a gaping hole on its neck. Zeke felt chills seeing the beast reanimate yet again while retaining the wounds from earlier. Right when the lion charged at Zeke, a spear made of fire made its way yet and hit the lion's disfigured head, 'killing' it. Zeke then had a sudden idea. He then swapped his weapon into a spear as he then again fought with the undying lion. After a few minutes of fighting it, Zeke landed a killing blow and sat down to rest for a bit. He processed a few insights regarding the technique he had then he swapped into his daggers. He 'killed' it again and like earlier, he sat down while processing the gains he got.
This process repeated several times before Zeke used all the skills he had including the new ones. He wouldn't have any more benefit in killing the lion so his mind spun around to look for ways to deal with this abomination. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he thought of another crazy idea, one that doesn't only benefit him, but also others.
When the lion stood again, it didn't look like a lion at all. Its face was totally deformed while its emaciated body is full of scars and holes. The lion also didn't have any more blood to spill whenever Zeke killed it, so it had effectively become a living dead at this point. The dead lion then again charged at Zeke but this time, as it neared its target, the earth beneath him crumbled while it further divided into two. When the lion fell through the hole, Zeke immediately closed it with Earth Magic while fortifying it by thickening the earth above the lion. After a few minutes, the earth beneath Zeke looked as normal as any other. It practically didn't have any signs of battle at all! If people were to see the place Zeke is in, they would definitely be puzzled as there is a patch of red but no footprints of any human or beast. Zeke perfectly covered up and flattened the earth where they fought as he placed a symbol through mana. This symbol was very thin and faint but it was enough for Zeke to sense meters away.
Zeke planned on trapping the lion and use it as a live training dummy for his friends back in the Palace. Since it was practically useless to him, it was a waste to just kill it knowing that it can reanimate even when receiving countless lethal damage. It would work best when used as live enemy for others and also for his friends' awakening. He knew that sooner or later his friends would need to awaken their own bloodlines so having this as an enemy would be good to stimulate them.
As Zeke was thinking this, Zeke didn't bother about it anymore seeing as there was no reaction from the lion at all. Although Zeke was curious, he didn't dare ruin his hard work anymore so he left and went to the clearing where the cheetah is waiting.
When he went back, he noticed to his surprise that the cheetah wasn't actually there. Zeke thought that the cheetah just went for a nearby prey so he paid it no mind. He sat down while absorbing all the newly learned insights. Since there were practically no more monsters challenging enough for Zeke in the outskirts, he decided to head on a bit deeper after recuperating and preparations.
After another week, Zeke could be said to have killed all the strong predators in the area, causing the whole outskirts to be silent and peaceful than any other day.
...
At a clearing on the outskirts of the forest, a youth was sitting cross-legged on a stump. The figure looked quite slender with long white hair that went down to his waist. If it weren't for the fact that he's currently very rugged in his clothing with very dirty hair, one could clearly see that the youth was very handsome. The dirt all over his face along with a brown conical hat and slick black jacket and pants made him look like a rugged and dirty youth. The jacket exposed part of Zeke's upper body as it showcased his sturdy and robust upper body underneath. His long hair draped in his face, making it hard to recognize. The most contrasting part was the youth's eyes and gaze that looked as deep as an abyss. He was also emanating a very ferocious and suffocating aura around him. He then stood up and walked towards the deeper part of the forest, leaving behind a serene and peaceful aura that made the surrounding small beasts feel at ease,
The youth was exactly Zeke who was currently venturing deeper into the forest. It was already his fourth month inside the outskirts of the forest, and practically every single beast that could pose a threat to him was already six feet under, while his strength also increased dramatically as well as his battle experience and mana core. To his disappointment, however, the cheetah didn't come back, which worried Zeke. Right now, Zeke was at peak Low Tier 2 after meditating for every single night. Zeke didn't sleep much in the last few months, and he was always on guard and wary of his surroundings. Right now, even if there were no beasts that could potentially injure him, he couldn't trust this feeling completely. Ever since he met the undying lion back then, Zeke couldn't help but feel curious. Why would the lion become like that? Also, is there a connection between the Malevolent Treant he killed previously to the lion? Thinking about it, Zeke felt his hunch to be true. He didn't dare let his guard down knowing that there might be a bigger foe lingering near his location.