Marcus strolled through the forest in search of berries and fruits. It had been a month since he arrived in this place. His lifestyle here was much better compared to that of the labyrinth. This made him regret a bit not leaving that place earlier.
Passing through the rows of trees, he could feel the cold breeze passing by, making him sluggishly comfortable.
Unbeknownst to him, a striped hyena was following him. When it realized Marcus's guard was down, it took a hunting posture and then released all the tension in its body, launching at the human in front of it.
But rather than feeling the sensation of pouncing on prey and overwhelming it, it got stuck in mid-air. When its mind regained clarity, it could no longer sense its lower body. After all, it was impaled by a rock spike jutting out from the ground.
Marcus casually picked up a pebble and, as if to test his aim, threw it at the hyena's head. He hit the bullseye, but the damage done was much bloodier than he expected. It directly blasted off its skull, spilling out its bones, brains, and eyes.
Out of disgust, Marcus quickly backed off. He had developed some serious OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) after leaving the labyrinth; he could not stand anything filthy at any cost. Looking at the carcass with a scrunched-up face, he began to think about what to do with the body.
He didn't want to throw away his game, but carrying it all the way to his cabin would be uncomfortable too.
"There was only one way left then," Marcus said, as an earth hand manifested from the ground. Mirroring Marcus's own hand movements, it grasped onto the carcass and, as if doing a 3-pointer, tossed it high into the air. After the body fell down, Marcus let out a satisfied smile.
"Only one thing left to do now," Marcus stretched as if he had done a great deal of work. After climbing up a tree and getting into a comfortable position, Marcus looked at the vast expanse of forest in front of him.
This filled him with nostalgia for the first time he came to this place. He had witnessed this very scene when he had killed a greater basilisk for the first time. He had to say, compared to now, the forest looked far more enchanting at night. That time, after escaping, he sat on a tree and slept, like now.
He had first thought that the basilisks would come looking for him, but, betraying his expectations, they didn't show up. Marcus did not know the reason for this; all he knew was that he fell asleep while keeping guard, and by the time he woke up, the concrete was not damaged.
Marcus would try to relieve his injuries by using the frost crystals like ice bags. He made a cabin out of concrete; first, he thought of making it out of wood, but the memories of those horned wolves passed through his mind, so he gave up building a wooden cabin.
It took him about a week to recover completely from his injuries. He survived mainly on fruits which showed signs of being eaten by other animals, so as to not eat something poisonous. And some meat on some occasions when encountering some wild goats and boars.
He did have a problem in preparing the meat because of his OCD, but it was still manageable. At this comparatively peaceful time, the basilisks did not come to cause trouble for him. However, it did not mean that he would not go to them.
Yes, gathering food in this place was much easier, and the environment was also good, except for a few occasions. However, there was an urge that was calling him there after he defeated a greater basilisk; he was able to acquire a lot of insights into his powers to the point where he could hunt by shooting lasers using his mana alone. A far more effective method compared to the one he used to use.
Lasers were not the only thing that he had learned. He had also developed the instinct of vibrating the dust in the ground to get an understanding of everything which was in a twenty-meter radius distance. Not only that, he also received the ability to absorb mana and change it into energy and vice versa.
The shock was evident on his face when he was able to absorb mana and other crystals which he had brought back with him and turn them into clear crystals.
Marcus really wanted to go back to the labyrinth, as if he had left something too valuable there and was not able to remember what it was. The two powers he received that day, combined with the fact that he could comprehend the greater basilisk's powers to increase his own power, did not help in reducing the restlessness in his heart.
Giving into his intuition, he again ventured into the labyrinth, this time he did not wander around the labyrinth and directly went for the nests using his extraordinary sensing powers. The first few nests were a total disappointment to him. None of them had any greater basilisks giving elemental or other special powers.
With his abilities right now, they were mercilessly defeated and as Marcus expected, they did not drop any special crystals. These wins felt refreshing to Marcus but did not give him any substantial benefits. The mana crystals were the only saving grace. Marcus, with his energy mana conversion, absorbed the crystals hungrily. Absorbing them gave Marcus a sense of fulfillment. This method was way better than the ingestion method he used to employ.
One thing that happened every time was that when a greater basilisk was killed, other basilisks would stampede the nest but would not chase Marcus outside. Marcus's mana reserves were steadily increasing at this time. It was as if the more he absorbed, the larger his reserves would grow. He could even absorb the mana from fallen basilisks. This surprised Marcus since most of their mana reserves were stored in the crystals on their backs. It seemed like they were storing mana rather than using it, which was odd since there was no need for storing mana in a mana-rich environment.
Marcus first hypothesized that the mana used up could not be replenished, but then he found out that was not true since he could replenish his used-up mana over time. Marcus did not think too much about it; after all, it was none of his concern. Due to his unrestricted mana absorption, parts of the once enchanting glow of the labyrinth had completely disappeared. This only made it easier for him to navigate the labyrinth by ignoring the dark regions.
Marcus did find luck as he found two hybrid basilisks. One of them controlled water but the way it applied its powers greatly disappointed Marcus. Rather than fancy moves like throwing water blades or giant waves of water, it simply created a thick mist through which nothing could be seen.
Marcus was able to kill it easily with his lasers. However, when he saw the structure of its body, he understood the reason. It had a thin, streamlined, and stealthy build, and its actions made sense; normally basilisks don't fight among each other so they did not develop any counter for their own techniques. Afterall Marcus too, like the basilisk, could sense objects and living beings through vibrations.
The second one had strong acid saliva which melted all the rock constructs that Marcus created, but since its scales were soft, it was easily defeated by Marcus. This greatly boosted Marcus's confidence; after all, he was on a winning streak and even got two very handy abilities. This did not last for long though.
The greater basilisks he met after were all in a different league, especially a duo of ice and fire; Marcus could not even understand how these polar opposites could work together. Once he focused on one, the other would ambush him. Marcus understood that brute force would not help him win, but he had already prepared a solution for this.
Coming out from the recollections of the past, Marcus started to prepare for his next move from the top of the tree. Taking out some water from his pouch, he controlled it to give it a shape of a magnifying lens. Using it, he scanned the surroundings, and after a bit, he found his prey: a moose was absent-mindedly standing. Marcus knew this was his chance as he aimed nine laser beams at the moose. He knew his aim would be terrible from this distance so he hoped for at least one of them to hit its mark. The impact from the laser made a small explosion. Two rays hit their target.
With his exploits, he returned to his base only to encounter a young man with a dark shadow cast on his face. His eyes stared at Marcus's soul as if he would tear it to shreds.