With dozens of opponents surrounding him, Cain could truly try out his fighting skills. Already, the combat exertion had helped him feel more natural in his advanced body, and he was likely to cause a level up soon, with all the summons from the Echoes out, and many of the Lesser Watchers joining Raid groups to help the Guild Members that they were assigned to watch over keep their regions safe.
Normally, the lower level areas wouldn't be worth much to Cain, as the difference was too much for him to gain anything, but with the Epic Quality bosses on the loose in the Central Continent and already advanced to level 300, there were plenty of targets that would still give him experience if the Lesser Watchers helped hunt them.
The Lesser Watchers on 'Pet Sitting Duty' as they called it, had noticed something strange the last few days though. With their help, the locals thoroughly cleared the area during the day, but the next morning there were monsters in the area again. Not the same as the ones that were cleared from the dungeon, but magical beasts and less intelligent fae.
The operating theory was that it was the world's attempt to stabilize itself. Too much Mana had poured into the system lately, and it couldn't be fully assimilated, so the planet was creating magical creatures to help with the excess.
The Ley Lines have always been at their peak at midnight, so that would be the logical time for the new monsters to be created, at least according to the consensus of the Lesser Watchers and the few researchers in the Guild that they had asked.
It would also explain why, like these Golden Apes that Cain had picked to fight today, there were so many more Magical Beasts in the Awakened area, when there used to be an abundance of Crazed and relatively few beasts.
Cain ducked a set of Lightning Claws that were aimed at his head and skewered the Ape on his spear before throwing it back at its pack mates. They greatly outnumbered him, but for the moment they were cautious about their attacks, realizing that this enemy was not a normal one that they could easily beat to death.
Silencing his wayward thoughts, Cain turned to face the Apes with a smile on his face, excited to see how far he could get before he had to start using his class skills.
While it had started as an exercise to tone his body, Cain realized that he could use it for an entirely different purpose. Puppet Skill optimization. The more he practiced, the more he learned about what a Puppet would need to be combat effective, and what was mostly unnecessary.
Cain still had a large number of Puppet Spots left available if he wanted to create bodies for them, and even a few Puppets with the type of skills that Cain was exercising here today would be enough to turn a battle around.
Or even if he didn't use the Puppets. If he trained an elite group of low-level fighters with Epic or higher body qualities in this sort of combat they would quickly become deadly on the battlefield. With Mythic skills, offensive power is more about your own stats than your level, since the skill itself doesn't lose anything against the higher level opponents.
Sure, the magical beasts might do ten times as much damage as they do at first, thanks to their own stats, but that's largely irrelevant as the trainees grow in power. Perhaps he could have a talk to both the Echoes and Cyrene, suggesting that each of them takes a small group to train, as a proper double-blind study?
He would just need a Mythic Combat Style to work with since the Dark Elven Blade Forms he is using needed to be upgraded to reach this level. That shouldn't be a problem. Some of the adventurers he has come across had very high-quality fighting skills, there was bound to be a Mythic Combat art among them somewhere.
The Golden Apes finally got sick of the distracted warrior in front of them and charged Cain in a group, attempting to swarm him and bury him in a pile of lightning-covered bodies. Cain's spear flashed out above his head, then spun in a small circle, knocking apes away to clear a path for Cain to jump straight up and out of the pile.
Getting above them wasn't going to put Cain in the clear though, and with a flap of his leathery bronze wings, he shifted his motion to a hover, blocking the claws of two Apes with his weapons and kicking a third in the face before the Lightning could paralyze his legs.
While the beasts couldn't fly, they could use their Lightning skills to jump an incredible distance, while the ones on the ground worked together to create a lightning net around Cain's stationary body.
Before, he was always on the move and there was no good chance for them to trap him with a spell that took more than a half second to cast, but with him hovering, the Golden Apes were certain that they could trap this annoying demon and put an end to him.
They had waited too long though, and the others had cleared the guards along the riverside. That left the core of the tribe with their backs to the five new threats and completely focused on taking down Cain. Prana didn't hesitate, seeing what the beasts were attempting, and grabbed a few of the casters in her vines, throwing them backward for the others to fight. The distraction immediately broke the group's spell and the Lightning Net began to dissipate.
Neither even hit the ground. Moana had called a pair of fully grown Mythic Leviathan, in a form that resembled a floating blue whale with a single row of thick armored scales above its spine. At over a hundred meters long, such a thing should not be able to fly and was entirely reliant on magic to remain in the air. But floating above the group put them in the perfect position to use their signature move. [Consume] was activated by both rulers of the sea, and a black vortex formed in their mouths, sucking the involuntarily flying Apes in, where they were crushed to death by immense conflicting gravitational forces, and the remaining corpses were swallowed with a happy gurgling noise.
The shock effect was too much for the Apes, and the survivors began to flee as fast as they could, showing no concern for the territory of other beasts as they ran.
"You found us an amazing spot, Mister Cain. I don't suppose I could keep hunting with your group could I?" Prana asked politely, retracting the vines that she had extended to grab the Apes.
"It looks like you got the approval of the others easily enough, and your vines were excellent crowd control, so I don't see a reason not to let you keep coming with us." Cain agreed when he saw how enthusiastic the Companions were about her presence.
"Thank you. Laura won today's competition, nothing that we got could top that insane bag of snacks that dropped right at the start, but that doesn't mean that she will get so lucky tomorrow." The demonized Dryad declared with a smile, and Cain looked through Laura's combat log to see what she had gotten.
The [Pouch of Eternal Satisfaction] really was an amazing item. Not only for Laura but in general.
Neverending water bottles were relatively common, and could even be found dispensing common beverages like ale and mead. But a pouch with unlimited food was much better. Even the Breakfast Box that Cain got could only make a meal a day, but this bag could dispense a snack every 30 seconds.
The others had all received some decent items, but nothing on that level, so Laura was the undisputed winner of their group for the day, at least until Cain checked his own inventory.
[Homing Ring] Mythic Quality. Return the user to a specified location within 500 kilometers. The specified location must be set when the wearer is at the desired destination unless the wearer is completely familiar with the destination. 1-hour cooldown.
Cain linked the item in party chat and Prana sighed in envy. "I always thought that [I just want to go home] should be a spell I could learn, but it turns out it was an item all along."
"If you want it, you can have it. I already have a spell that can return me home in an instant. I have it set to the Central Continent where my more vulnerable Guild Members are, but I can fly back here in only a few hours, so it's not a big deal." Cain informed her, offering to trade the ring.
"I don't like owing favors, so I will trade you my drop for yours. Here, take the necklace." Prana insisted, completing the trade.
[True Love's Worth] Obsession Demon Only. Increases all spell effects damage and success rate by 50 percent when used to further the wearer's Obsession.
Now that was a good item. If he could transfer it back to Cyrene, she could make great use of it. Well, at least he hoped she could. Cain didn't actually know what the details of the Lamia's obsession were, but presumably, she was using her abilities to work towards it.
"Pleasure doing business with you. Now, how about we get back to the farm so we don't miss dinner?" Cain asks, sensing that the Echoes are overseeing a large group of people making a buffet-style meal for the gathered refugees and adventurers.
It's more of a potluck than anything else Cain could compare it to. Everyone who had ingredients put something forward, and then those who could cook best each prepared something from what ingredients they were given. Realistically it's a recipe for disaster since it almost guarantees you'll be short of an essential ingredient for any meal you want to make, but the Echoes have a good stockpile of items that were traded or donated in bulk to make up the difference.
Cain chose to sit at a table with Prana and Vala, while the others wandered off to join other groups who seemed interesting. So much has changed lately that every day's news and gossip can be completely different, a fact Cain learned firsthand when his table was joined by a pair of demons that had a proposition for him.
"You see, they're looking for protectors, like a city champion to lead the defense efforts. Lots of cities are doing the same now. So what we were thinking was that as powerful as you are, you could become the local warlord and take over the city.
It would be a win for everyone. You would get power, the scientists get volunteers, the refugees get a ready-made home to move into." The man elaborates, while Cain shakes his head.
"That sounds like a lot of work, and I've got people on two other continents to look after. I might support someone for the job if they prove worthy, but I don't have time to do it myself." Cain shrugs.
The only ones who might actually be worthy in his eyes were those strong enough to take the position but smart enough not to want it. Nobody who desires to be in politics should be allowed to be in charge. At least, that's Cain's opinion.
Other than the news of the city's search for champions, most of the news is about magical beasts that the others have seen, including a small herd of unicorns.
Many of the hunters have prepared a variety of treats for them, hoping to lure one of the benevolent beasts back with them. Their presence is said to keep away disease and bad luck, but if you attack them they will teleport away, so they can't be forcibly captured.
"I'll have the Echoes give you a few fruits from the orchard. Maybe they will like them." Cain answers Prana's pleading eyes, adding all the supposed locations for the herd to his map.
Tomorrow should be an interesting day.
