Yi Tan adjusted the bag on his back and then looked at his wrist, which had a compass strapped to it. "I need to head south, so I will need to go this way..."
He was going on a solo mission which meant he would probably be the only one heading in this direction. With his direction set, he took off running. Those who went on missions never traveled by anything but foot. Any kind of noise from a machine was basically asking yourself to be attacked by a monster.
According to the map, he was given the time it would take to get to his destination was to be a long journey. It would at least take two weeks to arrive at the location as long as he was able to continue forward without needing to stop. And the chances of not needing to stop were very slim.
"Tan, it's best to slow your pace, or you will end up tiring yourself out too quickly. You can use lightning step to make up for some of the time lost by slowing down. That way, if you run into anything, you will have the energy to fight without issue. Plus, we need souls, so take this time to farm." Sei suggested as her voice filled his head.
"You're right. I didn't think about that. Plus, I want to take a look at some of the old ruins on the way there. I mean, it is my first time outside. I should at least take advantage of this fact and see as much as I can along the way. I mean, how did the humans of the past live? Living without any kind of magic to power things just seems strange to me." Yi Tan grew up with magic powering everything from the lights in his house to the cars in the sky. So to think of another power source was a little crazy for him.
"Then take your time. Just think that the longer you are out, the more monsters you can take souls from. And I think your first chance is about to come now… Tan up ahead to your three o'clock!" Sei warned. Yi Tan quickly looked to his three o'clock and saw a dark shadow running through the trees.
"Sei, what do you think? Is it strong?" Yi Tan had no way of telling how strong a monster would be. He could only hope that this one was not some super powerful monster that could smack him dead like a fly.
"This I am not sure of, but I suggest you get ready to fight. It's changing its course towards you."
"Got it!" Yi Tan stopped running forward and waited. From the shadow of the trees in front of him, a black figure with distorted limbs and huge muscular legs appeared in front of him. The head only had one eyeball that took up half its face and was bent down in front of its body. "Now that is pretty ugly..."
"Creeaah!" The monster seemed to not like Yi Tan's remark and let out an ear piercing screech as it took a step forward and shot towards Yi Tan with blazing speed.
Yi Tan immediately used lightning step to dodge out of the way, turned, and shot chained lightning at the monster. The lightning missed and hit the ground sending out streaks of lightning in all directions. One bolt even hit the ankle of the monster, causing it to cry out in pain.
"Not bad, Tan! You are actually faster than it, so try to get up close and use a lightning smash to finish it off!" Sei cheered happily.
"Are you sure? What if this thing has some strange ability?" Yi Tan was a little wary of getting too close. He didn't want to end up getting skewered by some kind of third limb hidden under its head or something.
"Step to its side, then punch out. This way, you have a better chance to dodge if it attacks. Just remember that you will need to wait for the cool down on lighting step. So give yourself at least two seconds of room to work with." Sei understood where Yi Tan was coming from, but with the current speed of this monster, it would be easy for it to dodge Yi Tan's ranged attacks until he got better at using his abilities. And learning when and when not to use them.
Yi Tan took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled it. He stepped forward, activating lightning step, and appeared on the side of the monster while already punching out. The monster seemed to be surprised at Yi Tan's sudden attack and quickly went to dodge, but when it tried to use the foot that was hit by chained lightning before it stumbled its steps and was hit dead on by Yi Tan's attack knocking it to the ground.
Not wanting to waste such an opportunity. Yi Tan dug his foot into the ground and turned to finish the job. He activated his lightning step again and appeared above the monster that was struggling to get back up, and as he was landing struck out with another lightning smash.
This time he aimed straight for the head on the chest of the monster, causing a sickening pop sound to be heard as black blood splattered in all directions. Yi Tan only heard an excited cheer enter his ear. "Tan, quickly summon the soul lantern and absorb the soul! You can refine it later when you make camp. "
Yi Tan wasted no time following Sei's directions. He willed the soul lantern out of his body. The small lantern that was no bigger than his own palm extended out of his body in a ghostly form. It floated over to the monster and began shaking until a light shot out of it and into the monster's head, sucking a white object that tried to struggle and flee. But because the suction force was so strong, it was sucked right into the lantern. The lantern then retracted back into Tan's body. His body shown with a ghostly glow before quickly dimming.
[System Notification: Soul Captured]