Ikaris nodded with difficulty, then with a groan he managed to pull himself up. His golden eyes faintly reflected the light of the newly risen sun. His eyesight was at its best. His sharp gaze had no trouble peering into the darkness of the dense forest to the west of his position and surprisingly he picked up some movement.
"Over there." He whispered more to himself than to the old Vampire.
He wanted to equip his bow, but he winced as he remembered that he had lost it days ago in the Barren Bush.
"Well, the sword it is then." The boy sighed as he drew his blade.
"As long as you don't run into a Rank 3 Demonic Beast or an anomaly, a simple Heart-Puncturing will do." Magnus reminded him calmly.
Ikaris nodded silently and then set off, striding toward the lush forest west of his cottage.
During the night, the Vampire had also told him how the Forsaken Lands rated the level of a creature or plant. Again, their Divine Spark's development was the main criterion, and here too the rule of 3 was followed. Each rank corresponded to a Sorcerer's realm, while every three ranks the designation of these creatures changed.
Thus, Demonic Beasts were rated from Rank 1 to 3, which corresponded to a Divine Spark ranging from a Novice Sorcerer to a full-fledged Sorcerer. The term Demonic was chosen as a reminder that no matter how talented the creature was, most of them were not much smarter than their lesser counterparts.
Their Secondary Sparks were also very ordinary, driven more by instinct than by conscious, enlightened choice. For this reason, the extreme majority of Demonic Beasts were just bigger, stronger, faster, more intimidating, but their abilities never went beyond the realm of common sense.
To take the case of Horny, a Rank 2 Demonic Bison, although he was smarter than most Demonic Beasts of his level, he was basically nothing more than a slightly tougher bison than the rest. Even his only active skill lay in hastening his charge over a short distance, which was the favorite attack method of any bovid anyway.
From Rank 4 to 6, creatures were called Magical Beasts, which corresponded to a level between Lord and Grandmaster Sorcerer. Magnus, had made it clear to him that at this level of evolution, most of these creatures had an intelligence close to that of humans.
The term Magical emphasized that with sentience came the ability to make conscious choices beyond instinct. A Magical Bison that was once like Horny could very well breathe fire or alter gravity.
For this reason, they should be treated as powerful Sorcerers of the same level. However, because of their often very large size, their stamina was considerably greater than that of most humans, making them formidable opponents.
From Rank 7 to 9, they were called Spirit Beasts, in reference to their brainpower being equal to or greater than that of humans. They were the equivalent of the Confederation's Magi, Archmagi and Sacred Magi.
Interestingly, many of these creatures had become Saints when they passed away, but none had been able to achieve the rank of Major Saint. There were rumors that in some far-flung areas, remote from civilization, cults dedicated to these Saint Beasts thrived in the shadows.
The last warning Magnus had given him about Demonic Beasts, but it applied to humans as well, was that they reproduce. A Spirit Beast's offspring might be born Rank 1 or Rank 0 if its Divine Spark was insufficiently developed, but it would be a terrible mistake to underestimate it.
Horny, with his intelligence and physical attributes unusually high for a Rank 2 Demonic Bison, probably had a good pedigree.
The closer Ikaris got to the forest, the more he realized how tall the trees were. They were mainly conifers like firs or spruces, but there were also some deciduous trees like maples, oaks or chestnuts.
From this clue, he could already conclude that the valley where he and his companions had appeared was at an altitude somewhere between 900 and 1700 meters. This was, of course, only a guess. With magic as an unpredictable factor, he wouldn't be surprised at all if an algae managed to sprout on top of a snowy mountain.
When the teenager entered the forest, the droning of insects and the chirping of birds were utterly muffled. The giant trees' foliage was so thick that the sun's rays could barely filter through. The sun had just risen, and it was nearly as dark as night.
Ikaris suddenly felt a lot less confident about exploring this forest alone, which had been barren of humans for millennia.
"Ahem... Magnus, what do I do if I run into a Magical Beast?" He asked in a dry voice.
"Hmm..." The Vampire hummed pensively. "If you really do run into one on the outskirts of this forest, then may you rest in peace. It's that your time has come."
"You sure know how to cheer people up." The boy quipped sarcastically.
"Thank you."
"That wasn't a compliment!"
Anyway, Ikaris noticed that he felt a little more relaxed and his curiosity overcame his apprehension again. His attention first turned to the maple trees, but it was not the right season to collect their sap. Then he focused on the chestnut tree closest to him.
The trunk of the tree was over eight meters in diameter and the teenager felt tiny at its base. Its long branches were buried in its foliage, but he managed to spot a few thorny burrs containing the precious fruit.
Never afraid of heights, he pulled out his claws and nimbly climbed the huge tree. Reaching the first large branch, he did a balancing act to its end and then carefully cut the stems of all the chestnut-filled burrs within reach of his sword. Most of the burrs crashed to the ground dozens of feet below, spilling their brown fruit everywhere.
Ikaris took the opportunity to use his Appraisal Spell on them.
[Rank 1 Chestnut: A very nutritious nut produced by a 1300-year-old Rank 1 Chestnut tree. Just one of these fruits can support the daily consumption of an ordinary sedentary adult male.]
" Great! With this, my village won't starve for a while." He rejoiced as he cut off from the tree all the half-open burrs he could find, which was a sure sign that the fruit was ripe.
"You won't run out of wood either." Magnus commented in a dull voice.
Chestnut wood of this quality would satisfy their need for a long time. They could even export it to neighboring Lords or sell some to Tartarus Shade at a premium.
"One thing at a time." Ikaris retorted as he stared at the huge tree with tight lips.
Felling and cutting down such a tree would not be an easy task.
Oink! Oink! Grroiink!
Just as the boy was about to climb down the tree to pick up the chestnuts scattered below, his eyes widened in shock and rage as he saw a huge boar the size of a hippopotamus charging at the chestnuts he had so painstakingly harvested.
Oink! Oink!
Then he noticed that the hog was not alone. Behind him, nine piglets as big as a full-grown boar from his past life followed their mother fearlessly.
Grooink!
As if their general had blown the horn of battle, the baby boars voraciously pounced on the chestnuts, making short work of them. Ten seconds later, and more efficiently than a Dyson vacuum cleaner, the area at the base of the tree was completely emptied.
Completely unaware of his existence, the mother boar and her kids left happily as quickly as they had come. Ikaris' facial muscles twitched with anger, but after a few seconds a toothy grin crept across his face.
Now he knew what he was going to eat for breakfast.
