King Of Limbo

The group moved north after departing from their starting point.

As they made their way out of the dispersed forest, they kept a close eye out for any minor changes they noticed, such as new tiny critters or fruits dangling from specific trees.

Everyone, with the exception of Evanora, was extremely wary about the surroundings until more information was obtained about some of the obviously poisonous and some not.

"Do you think the others will survive in such a place?" Jin walked with his arms relaxed behind his back and asked in an unassuming manner.

Since Rose's scouters were looking out for them in advance, they weren't concerned about coming across a beast out of the blue.

Additionally, Aron and Jagu were also on high alert.

"No, that's why I asked them to sacrifice their frail, " he said. "For instance, a typical person without training in mana manipulation would have passed away long ago from sickness, deadly insects, plants, or the area's high mana density."

Even he had problems adjusting to this new weird world, Jin couldn't help but sigh as Aron explained. He had trouble picturing helpless parents acting the same way.

"Many of the weak should have already perished horribly if the others had actually reached a location comparable to this."

Before the discussion could continue, Lady Rose stopped and motioned for the others to do the same.

"I discovered something. Let me recall my scouter first."

As Lady Rose said those words, everyone halted and appeared more alert. Her scouter soon came back, and she looked over the images it had recorded on its crystal surface.

She was surrounded by the others as they looked through the images with her.

A group of humanoid, reptilian-looking creatures could be seen just beyond the forest, circling what appeared to be a bloody depression on the ground. This sight intrigued them all.

When they looked more closely, they saw that the pit was filled with several bloodied and dismembered bodies, some of which were furious, scaly, and hairless.

"I'm not sure exactly what they are, but they resemble a type of Komi. Aron?" Lady Rose made a brief remark before asking Aron's opinion.

"Domain; Eurkarya… Kingdom; Animal… Phylum; Chordate… Class; Reptillia. These four categories are very evident, but in order to move down I would need to look more closely at them. Assume they belong to the carnivore order. The family should be Draco, the genus ought to be Draco Homo, but the species is not what I am familiar with.

After taking one look at the creature, Aron was able to categorize it, but the others were left wondering what the meaning of everything he stated was.

He was speaking to Rose, whom he had long before introduced to Taxonomy and Nomenclature, rather than the other people.

She was still ignorant of the many kinds, but with time she would also be able to identify the species of a beast with a single glance.

She gave Aron a small smile and nodded in agreement for the time being, feeling content with the new information she had just learned.

Being a beast monger, Aron had a wide range of knowledge in this area. In order to deal with them more effectively, he had to be familiar with beings and their physiology.

"Fascinating." Evanora looked at the two even though she couldn't understand a word they were saying and mentally recorded everything they were saying. It was unclear how much of it she would remember.

On the other side, Jin and Jagu could only scratch their heads in confusion. "What even does that mean?"

"Really nothing; that knowledge merely provides us with a fundamental comprehension of those things. Their tier is what we need to know most."

For a brief period, Rose rubbed her chin before having an idea.

"As you can see, my scouter is powerful enough to dismember a tier six beast. It can only be tier seven if one of those creatures can resist being struck by my scouter as it approaches its top speed."

"That's okay; the risk is worthwhile. In any event, if it doesn't work, we can pass by and divert their attention with the scouter, but if it does, be prepared." Jin gave Aron a nod as he turned to face him when he stated those words.

"Okay, let's move in closer." Jagu expressed his eagerness to test his strength with some enthusiasm in his voice.

The team proceeded out from their location and stopped just before the huge trees stopped showing up; beyond that lay an open valley where they would have no protection.

Aron and Jagu were hiding most closely to the group of creatures because they were the two most skilled in physical conflict.

During this period, Jagu couldn't help but be impressed by Aron's expertise; his movements were silent while wearing heavy armor, and he even mimicked the environment's fluctuations far better than he could.

Aron had no presence at that time; if he were a predator, the only way to detect his existence would be to see him standing in front of you.

They each took cover behind two huge trees before signaling to the party behind them that they were prepared.

Lady Rose now had the initiative while Evanora and Jin waited, their reactions varying depending on whether the scheme succeeded or failed.

Woosh!

Her scouter suddenly and silently erupted, the only sound being from the wind it generated while travelling so quickly.

One of the creatures suddenly disappeared as the others continued to pound their massive, muscle-bound arms into the bloody pile of severed bodies.

Splat!

They were unable to respond right away since it happened so quickly.

Blood splashed all over their faces as they suddenly stopped punching into the pit with their fists.

When they went to investigate, the scouter had already left their line of sight, leaving only their comrades' bloodied leg stumps in its place. with everything above torn to pieces and strewn across that same hole.

There were just four more of the creatures after that one fatality.

"Let's move." Aron quickly emerged from hiding and hurried forward after obtaining all the necessary confirmation.

"What?!" One of them sobbed in a language that Aron could understand easily. Dim.

He disregarded their shock and aimed for two individuals who were fairly near to one another.

He stretched his hands forward, reaching for the tops of their heads, then tightened his hold, pushing them with all his might into that crimson pit.

Woosh!

The powerful wind that came after his attack sent pieces of severed flesh flying.

"Stop! There!" When the other two saw Aron, they became enraged.

Their dental structure, tongue, vocal cords, and jaw structure caused them to speak in a fractured way and unusual dialect.

They were suddenly assaulted by a series of intense aches from behind before they could respond. They sensed their consciousness dissolving as their bodies started to slide forward as if out of control, but they had no idea what was happening.

Pa!

They plunged into the gory meat that was lying inside the pit.

"I hope you didn't kill them?" Aron let go of his hold and rose from his squatting position.

After that one attack, as the two creatures' bodies lay there unmoving and stiff, he questioned whether Jagu hadn't gone too far.

"No, I kept my weapon sheathed. Tsk, I thought they'd be stronger." Aron maintained his composure in the face of Jagu's addition, which bore a hint of pride.

"Physically you're about at the same level, they just lack intelligence… a lot of it." Aron sighed and kicked one of the bodies.

Soon Rose and the others showed up, and they surveyed the creatures.

"Damn, this place stinks. What's next?" Jin enquired while partially covering his nose.

Everyone simultaneously glanced to the groggy reptilian creatures as Jin posed this question.

"Let's drag them elsewhere, although I don't smell any territorial scents we could be near the home. There is nothing to imply there aren't more if they can work in groups."

No one objected to what he had said, and soon the throng dispersed completely without pausing to look into the bleeding hole.

….

They eventually decided against turning around and continued north till they came to a rocky clickface.

Using the horned basilisk's aspect, Aron carved out an artificial cave at the foot of the cliffs, sealed the entrance, and left it just as it had been.

One of Lady Rose's scouters lighted the cave with a blueish glow while the other was left outside to monitor the area.

"Did you say they're all approximately as powerful as Jagu? Will having them all here in this cramped space be dangerous?" Jin enquired while examining the meaty, scaly bodies that were lying on the ground with significant anxiety.

However, Aron seemed unperturbed and knelt down near to one. "It's because they are as strong as him that they are no threat."

Jagu's pride was wounded after hearing Aron's words, but he kept quiet. He was fully aware that, while having better physiology than Aron, he couldn't defeat Aron face to face.

Only the fact that he wasn't human made this pleasant.