"Do you have any questions? to ask away as this will be the last time we speak for a while." His teacher asked.
"I wanted to know if I could keep this piece of the antler because I currently don't have a weapon and I assume I will be fighting mana beasts as they are the only thing around. My body is not strong enough to do much damage let alone kill them." Havok looked on hopefully as he really wanted a weapon.
He heard a chuckle and knew the answer. "Nope, the only thing I will give you is that elk beasts pet to cover yourself up. I trimmed it into a top and bottom for you, your welcome. Anything else you want you will have to earn it by putting your life on the line. During this time do not expect me to assist you in any way, even if it looks like you are going to die. The world of rankers is a cruel and merciless one and no one will give a shit about you. If you die during this period, then that just means you failed to meet my expectations and you will only have yourself to blame as I have given you all the knowledge you need for now. That's enough talking, let's go." Havok nodded in agreement that it would be on him if he did die. Right after his teacher stopped speaking, he put his hand on Havok's shoulder and they were engulfed in darkness and seemed to teleport into the middle of the forest.
Havok was shaken when they landed, as he had never moved that fast before and he vomited up that delicious elk meat he ate earlier. He finished after a few minutes and wiped his mouth then let out a sigh. "What the hell was that?" Havok asked with the look of someone who is being mistreated.
"Haha! That was just a movement technique that I have mastered, like the one you just got if you get stronger you could do something like this. Alright, the last bit of necessary information is to tell how much mana you have left in your core. If you inspect your mana core closely you can see that there is liquid in it, that is your mana. The lower the level gets the lower the amount of mana you have. You will know if you overdraw your mana core because its color will begin to fade, the paler it becomes, the closer your mana core is to rupturing, ending your time as a ranker."
"If you continue to use mana even though your core is empty, you will begin to draw out any mana that has been infused into your body, which will rapidly deplete your lifespan. Do that until your lifespan runs out and the result should be obvious. You are at the red core rank, which has increased your life expectancy to 150 years. If you try drawing mana from your current body, it will kill you damn near instantly because you have just formed your core and your body does not have the benefit of absorbing mana for years from eating beasts and consuming natural treasures. Remember to avoid your mana level getting too low because you never know what could happen, always stay alert. That is all I have for you for now." Right after he finished, he disappeared using the same technique that he used to bring Havok to the middle of the forest.
Havok took a few seconds and looked around. The last time he was in this forest he didn't have time to, but it seems that the plant life had also been enhanced by mana. The forest was vibrant, and the trees were bigger than any other trees he had ever read about. The trees were at least several hundred feet tall and created a canopy above the forest. Their leaves blocked most of the sunlight where Havok was currently standing.
There were also several smaller trees below them that made up the majority of the trees. These trees seemed to be around the same size as the trees he read about before mana came to this world, ranging from 20 feet to and the bigger ones standing 70 feet tall.
Havok quickly realized a problem, "That asshole of a teacher probably did this on purpose. The sun is setting, which leaves me little time to find somewhere to sleep. Also, most animals are nocturnal, and I am guessing that most of the predators in this forest have turned into mana beasts. Avoiding them in the daytime is hard enough, doing it at night is a whole other thing. Damn him! Well, the good thing is that my affinity is stronger at night, and it will help me train my two new techniques more effectively and increase my control of darkness. I need to get moving."
He quickly searched for some good firewood and kindling. Once he found it, he wrapped it up with some twigs and large leaves that seemed to have fallen from the trees that made up the canopy. The leaves looked normal from where he was, but now that he is able to see them up close, he realized that they are enormous. The leaves were almost the same size as him.
He got what he needed and headed towards an area that seemed like it would have cover from the elements and the beasts that roamed the forest at night. He needed a place for him to light a fire to keep warm without drawing the attention of mana beasts. Although he wanted to sprint, he knew that it was not a good idea as he could end up running into a mana beast's territory like last time and he preferred not to fight right now, so he just jogged. He wasn't scared, it was just that a lot had happened to him in one day and he was mentally drained. A good night's sleep would help him recharge and he would figure the rest out tomorrow, but right now sleep was his main priority.
His eyes were continuously scanning the area he was running toward to find a suitable spot.
Havok preferred a cave or anywhere that he could focus on one point of entry, instead of having to watch all around him. He spotted a space where there was a grouping of large moss-covered boulders.
"There should be a spot to sleep somewhere in here," Havok said as he got closer. He navigated his way through these boulders and continued to search for a spot suitable for him to sleep, but the places where there was natural cover were too small for him to fit. If he wanted to even enter those spots, he would have to crawl in them and sleep there having no ability to respond if he got attacked, which was clearly not an option.
"Aww, come on. If I waste all my time before the sun is completely gone and still have nowhere to sleep, my night is going to be extremely shitty. There has to be a space that fits what I need."
Havok stopped talking and his eyes lit up as he finally found a suitable spot. He proceeded to walk in this oddly shaped cave. The cave entrance was wide and in the shape of a mouth with its lips stretched out sideways and its height was about 7 feet, which was plenty of space for Havok who has yet to reach 5ft tall. The further he went in the darker the gave got, but that doesn't matter as much to someone whose affinity is darkness. Being in an environment like this was like his natural habitat, like a pig in mud or a shark in the ocean.
Havok continued to walk slowly, prepared for anything to strike him from his blind spot. Nothing happened for a few minutes and he slightly relaxed as he made it to the biggest opening in the cave. It was now 50 feet wide and 50 feet tall. Just before Havok could get excited, he heard a branch snap and his eyes shot over where the sound came from.
"Oh, you have got to be shitting me!" Havok shouted in exasperation. He finally found a place and now there is a problem.
He saw a fox slowly walking towards him. Apparently, he had managed to enter this fox's den and the fox was obviously pissed that someone intruded on its territory. The fox was obviously a mana beast given its size. He knew that normal foxes were around the size of a full-grown cat. This fox however stood 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide. The tip of its tail, its chest, throat and belly were covered in white fur. Its eyes were glowing red, indicating that both him and the fox had the same rank.
It was snarling at Havok showing its pristine and sharp white teeth. Its tail and ears were sticking straight up, seemingly pissed that he didn't seem to be leaving its home. It dashed towards Havok, swiping its paw towards his neck. It managed to scratch his neck drawing blood. It was not because of Havok not reacting in time or him being neglectful, it was just that the fox was too damn fast.
Havok touched his neck, making sure that it wasn't a deep wound. "Holy shit, it was like a damn blur. Its size combined with its speed is going to be a major problem." Said a shocked Havok as he prepared for another attack. He knew that he was going to take a bunch of damage because he knew he couldn't evade all of the strikes if they came that fast and continuously.
Shuu. Shuu. Shuu. Shuu. Shuu.
The fox seemed to flow like the wind and have endless stamina, it just kept striking as it ran past him. After about a minute Havok's body was covered in claw marks. He was bleeding profusely, and the fox seemed to be infuriated that Havok was not dead yet.
He realized that the fox was getting tired, if it wasn't then there would be no reason to be mad. It could just keep attacking until he died of blood loss. The foxes' swipes were not strong enough to kill him in one strike like tearing off his head or ripping big chunks of flesh off. That is why it had not managed to kill him yet, because it has had several chances to.
Havok then knew he could kill the fox if he strikes decisively and quickly before he gets bit. He knew that while it couldn't rip him apart with its paws, if it chomped down on him with its full power that could do major damage. He was nervous because he was going to use 'darkness dash' to kill the fox as fast as possible. He began to use his darkness and wrapped it around himself, since it was his first time he struggled and had to stop because the fox caught its breath and resumed its attacks.
A frustrated Havok had to continue dodging the attacks that had slowed down significantly compared to earlier. He kept trying to wrap himself in darkness and failing, his mana core was about halfway used up and he was beginning to slightly panic. He regained his composure as he knew that panicking was the quickest way to lose his life. He took a couple of deep breaths and refocused. It had been a few minutes since the second round of attacks started and both he and the fox were panting. They separated from each other in order to catch their breath. Havok was the first to catch their breath and he started to use his darkness again and just when he had finished, the fox was just about to pounce.
Havok took a deep breath and said, "Darkness Dash", the instant it was activated Havok looked like a black blur as he dashed across the cave meeting the fox in the middle of the cave and punched it in the face with as much force as possible.
Bang! Krck! Whoosh Boom!
He managed to draw blood. The fox was sent flying and it smashed into the floor with blood spilling out of its mouth. Havok was not injury free. The sound of his wrist breaking was fairly loud, and he felt it. He just formed his core today and his body was not strong enough to strike with enough power to injure a mana beast and not cause any damage to himself. The pain was only enough to make him pause for a second before he focused on the fox again.
Havok knew he needed to make use of his advantage while the fox was down. He couldn't use his technique anymore, as he remembered his teacher told him to never use all your mana in a fight. He sprinted over breathing heavily and just as the fox was about to get up Havok stomped on its head.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Havok didn't want to use so much power that he could injure himself, so it was taking him a while to smash the foxes head apart. "Just die already you piece of shit!" Havok screamed, pissed off that it was taking too long to kill the fox. He did this for a full minute which may not seem like a long time, but it is when you are exhausted and running low on mana.
Splurt!
The foxes head exploded, and its brain matter splattered all over the floor. Havok took a deep breath in relief, and he fell to the ground as exhaustion washed over him. "Hah…Hah…I was without a weapon and depended solely on my technique, it felt good. Now I just need to rest, then I search its body for its beast core. That should be able to replenish my mana and help speed up the process of healing my wounds. Then I'll break it down and make a pelt with its fur, that should help keep me warm and provide an extra layer of protection. For now, I just need to rest." Havok said as he laid down and closed his eyes.