CHAPTER 280: CHAPTER 280: RECOUNTING PAST EVENTS...

Muku who had resigned to his fate told Mrs C every significant thing which happened to him.

From how he travelled through the Middle Zone to the outskirts. Then how he made his way up the food chain of the outskirts.

He didn’t immediately let go of himself since there were R4s and R5s everywhere, even on the outskirts. So, with the help of Raya who was familiar with the outskirts. They looked for an area which was unlikely to have beasts beyond LR3.

After all, even on the outskirts, there were places with mana so thin that most beasts avoided them. Then there were areas like the desert in between the forest and the ocean on one side.

That place was also off limits. This was because it was full of large sandworms. The beasts ranged from Unranked to R6.

They had great senses and would know the moment any creature with a death wish steps onto their sand.

Muku and Raya weren’t aware of that at first since Raya resided in another part of the forest before. The outskirts were so large it was impossible for weaklings like Raya to even travel one percent of them. So, it was understandable that she didn’t know about the desert and sandworms.

And so, the foolish duo stepped onto the sand. But since they knew that anything and everything is dangerous in the beast world they were cautious in their actions.

This was also after Muku had the shark incident. So, he was cautious in new environments. As for why he even tried it despite being the cautious type... Well, Raya called him a wimp and he couldn’t stand for it.

Anyway, soon after they stepped on the sand. Five sandworms appeared. And they were all PR3. It was both a blessing and a curse. This was because they managed to run away from beasts at least. However, their endeavour was pointless as they got nothing out of it since they couldn’t kill the stronger monsters.

However, it was actually a lucky encounter. This was because a R5 sand worm appeared soon after they left the territory. It was so large that Muku seemed like an ant in front of it. The creature was probably more than one hundred and fifty metres long with a girth around a fifth of that. So year, it was a monster.

However, that’s not what surprised him. What surprised him was how it hadn’t taken a humanoid form like all the R5s he had encountered so far... Of course, the encounters were from a safe distance away under his snug armour which hid his presence.

Mrs C paused his storytelling and explained to him why that was. The reason for that was that not all R5s took a humanoid form when they reached that stage.

The reason for this was that not all beasts had gained intelligence by that point. Some were still as driven by their instincts as ever. The sandworms fell into that category. And only a few which manage to reach R7 gain intelligence. But that wasn’t easy to do without sufficient intelligence even if their instincts were better than most as allowed them to survive in such a harsh environment.

Anyway, Muku and Raya instantly gave up on stepping onto the sand any further after that. They focused on hunting in the forest. They would increase their hunting grounds little by little until they reached PR3. After that point, they completely retreated from the world.

After all, unlike all the rank-ups from before, advancing on the Pseudo-R4 path didn’t make them stronger. Especially when they start the mana conversion stage. They would get weaker and weaker the more they converted.

So yeah, hunting in that condition was practically seeking death. Anyway, it took a while. The whole process actually took five months to finish. Meaning, it was easier to get to PR3 than it was to get from Pseudo R4 to LR4.

The process wasn’t just painful it was also scary since one pretty strips themselves of their strength to do so. And the constant drain of their mana meant that they were almost always in a weakened state.

Anyway, they both successfully advanced two months before they made their way to the restricted zone which they had spotted at some point in their travels... They suspected that Mrs C placed them close to one on purpose...

After the advancement, they spent two months getting used to their new strength. This was obviously through battle.

They first went to bully some weak R3s. That’s something they only did once after realising how sad it was for the R3s. Just enveloping a PR3 with their aura was enough to kill it. It would literally explode into a bloody mess without even being attacked.

It made them feel glad that no R4s had taken interest in them when they were weaker otherwise death would have been certain.

After that, they went to find trouble with LR4s. This was both to test their strength as well as see how R4s fought. Not to mention that fighting R3s was just too sad. No wonder R4s mostly ignored R3s and weaker beasts. They were just too weak!. Or maybe Advantage Mana was just too OP?...

The first R4 they came across was a huge fifty-meter-tall Komodo dragon-like creature with horns, long fangs, and spikes on its back. Its whole body was crimson red and the air around it was distorted from the heat coming off its body. It was easy to guess what element the creature had.

Looking at it made Muku think of one name which fitted it. That name was Earth Dragon. No creature fit that name more than the creature he was looking at.

He didn’t let himself be awed by its majestic appearance though. He took advantage of the fact that it couldn’t sense him and attacked.

He held out his hand and then...

BOOOM!

A large pillar appeared below the Earth Dragon and stabbed it in the gut. Just because he wanted to know how R4s fought didn’t mean he would be merciful to his opponent.

Speaking of which, the attack he created was actually impossible for R3s. Not creating a pillar. No, that was nothing. The twist was how he didn’t shoot it from where he was, create it close to him or create a line of spikes which originated from where he was and went on until they hit the Earth Dragon.

That’s right, unlike R3s, R4s can create attacks a long distance away from them. In fact, Muku was actually thirty kilometres away from Earth Dragon. His advanced sense made the distance bit seem that long as he could see everything clearly.

Anyway, R3s can only create attacks in the distance if they are inside their domains. And their domains can only cover fifteen kilometres at most. Not to mention that the domain is pretty much still an extension of themselves, so there were no real long-range-made attacks in that scenario.

It was a real game-changer since it gives the enemy little chance to react. Only those who were really sensitive to mana might be able to sense the attacks. However, the rest would easily fall prey to the attacks...

"Tsk, I should have known that there would be a counter for it. But to think that this is the real use of a concentrated domain" Muku spoke to himself while looking at the completely unharmed Earth dragon which was now glaring at him from a distance as it fell to the ground calmly.

While it couldn’t sense him based on mana. It managed to sense his intense gaze after he attacked it. Which led to it locating him instantly.

It was pissed that the ant interrupted its peaceful nap after a successful hunt.

As for what Muku was talking about. It was the red aura that covered the Earth Dragon. He had thought that it was the beast’s natural aura before when it was barely visible. But it seemed it was actually the creature’s semi-actived concentrated domain or domain armour (DA)...

It seems R4s could partially release their DA as a protection measure against sneak attacks like Muku just tossed its way.

Muku was happy to find out. He hasn’t thought of it since his DA was too costly when he was R3. So he thought it would still be the same even after ranking up. But it seemed things had changed...

He was also worried about being abused after he realised he could attack from a distance without a trail. After all, if he could do it, or R4s should be able to do it too, right?

But now, he had gotten a suitable solution to his worry. In fact, Raya had been spending more time in his mindscape for that reason. Unlike Muku, her aura was as clear as day to all the beasts in the forest. And now as an R4. Other R4s would be interested in her. Which meant that her life was in real danger now...

Muku didn’t make fun of her for it since he would have done the same if he were in her situation. After all, even he, who was pretty much invisible, was worried he might get ambushed.

Anyway, the large beast soon reached the ground. The impact pretty much created a sandstorm as dust rose and went in every direction after it landed on the ground.

BOOOOM!

The beast released a little of its aura and all the dust was blown away.

Muku’s face twisted a little bit after sensing its aura. It seemed he had been mistaken before. The beast in front of him wasn’t a LR4 at all. It was actually a PR4!

It seemed to have some kind of aura suppression ability or something.

Well, whatever it was. He was screwed! He was just a newbie R4 and he went to pick a fight with a veteran!

Was there worse luck than that?!

With that realisation, he did what any sensible person would do in the matter. He made a run for it!

He first deployed his Telekinesis domain and made himself invisible. Of course that wasn’t enough. The PR4 might not be able to sense him. But it could vaguely sense his domain since it had been locked on him from the start.

Fortunately, Muku was super cautious. So, he didn’t immediately think he was safe. He found a spot to hide and then dispelled the domain.

That way he was completely invisible!

"ROOOOOOOOOOAR!" The Earth dragon roared angrily after losing sight of him.

Its roar came with a fire breath which cleared at least a hundred kilometres in front of it...

The devastation was horrifying!