Mana beast, p.1
Mana Beast, page 1
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Author’s Note
Copyright (c) 2021 Bruce Sentar
Cover by Yanaidraws
All entities in the story are figments of my imagination. Any relation or resemblance to actual events or people is entirely coincidental.
Before you dive into it, this story is fiction geared towards adults. It may contain elements not suitable for people under the age of 18.
There are sexual and harem elements. If that makes you uncomfortable, please turn back now and ask Amazon for a refund.
Chapter 1
A giant mountain loomed before us, taking up the horizon as we cut our way through the forest towards it. It floated in the air, like the clouds were holding it up over the city below.
Wind cut through the trees, making the hair that had grown to my shoulders tickle my neck. I brushed it away, trying to pick apart what I was seeing. I’d waited so long to get to a sect.
“You can see the elevators,” Celina whispered next to me.
I squinted towards where she was looking. “Those things dangling off the side?” They looked like some sort of fruiting plant growth, but at this distance, they had to be meters in diameter.
“Yeah. They use them to pass goods up and down between the mountain and the city. Every sect has a city at the base of their mountain; the city gets protection, and the sect gets resources and labor.”
I heard a muttered curse ahead, followed by a rip and lots of stomping. Celina and I walked up behind Michelle, who had been using a sword like a machete to clear away the dense forest. She appeared to have stopped to rip apart a branch that had snagged her sword. The foliage was paying the price brutally under her boot.
Clearly, she’d had enough. I squeezed her side before stepping in front of her to take the sword and her place clearing the path. She fell back with Celina. I fell into a rhythm as I slashed through the undergrowth.
We’d flown most of the way to the sect on Aurora’s back, but we’d stopped just short of eyesight to prevent too much unwanted attention. The sect would be my new home and hopefully new family, but I had no doubt there were still power dynamics at play. I didn’t want to show my cards too early.
Aurora, my gorgeous mana beast, had nearly collapsed after she had transformed back. She was now resting in the first ring on my chest, the source of my mana. My first ring was adorned with a feather like Aurora’s wings, and a second, plain gold ring was connected to it. Soon it would house my next mana beast.
Most mages had a low-rank mana beast for their first ring, but Aurora had been with me since childhood, watching over me and waiting for when my first ring was completed so that she would be able to join me in the world. There was a lot about her that was still a mystery, but the parts she’d let me see were amazing.
I paused in one of my swings, feeling a low-level mana beast approaching.
Sure enough, a Hungry Wolf jumped out of a bush to my left.
With a flick of my wrist, I caught it by the neck. There had been a point in time when killing it would have been much more challenging, but in the world of cultivation, power meant everything. I was stronger than this rank zero beast now.
It must have been quite hungry to try to take us on, and I felt a pang of guilt at the idea of killing it. Instead, I threw it to the side and sent a pulse of mana out to warn it and others like it away. Maybe one day it would be able to progress into a worthy opponent or be a challenge for another mage to use to grow.
The Hungry Wolf growled, getting in the last say before turning and running. I watched it go, flooded by the memories of our previous battles.
“Remember when we ate one of those, Isaac?” Michelle had come up to my side. She paused, noticing she’d caught me in thought and tilted her head to the side.
Her blonde locks bounced as she tilted her head, and her blue eyes sparkled as she waited for me to speak. The two of us had gone through so much since we’d left Locksprings together.
Wind swept through the area and some of her hair swept into her face, distracting me. Reaching forward, I tucked it back behind her ear, taking in her beauty. She was mine. We were together, essentially married.
The concept of commitment and marriage had become more relaxed since the dungeons had entered our world. Constant threats to survival had made living and enjoying life more essential.
“Wait? Hungry Wolves are edible? What did you eat? The bones?” Narissa called from behind, pretend gagging a bit for added emphasis.
Celina laughed, elbowing her sister in the side. “Careful. Your snob is showing.”
Narissa nudged her back, shrugging her shoulders as Michelle took up the lead position again, hacking away at the forest.
I put on my best orator voice. “We had just escaped an army of rank zero monkeys; they were coming quickly, throwing fireballs as they ran. By luck, there was a river nearby. Jumping in, we avoided the fireballs, only to be swept downstream by a strong current. Cold and hungry, without spatial rings to pull food out of, the Hungry Wolf was our best option. We were, in fact, hungry enough to eat a Hungry Wolf.”
Narissa shook her head and continued her fake gagging while Celina laughed.
Since I had used my soul to complete the corrupt art used on Narissa, my relationship with both of the sisters had become strained.
Celina was concerned for her older sister, who to this point hadn’t really shown much emotion about what had happened to her at the Sun and Moon Hall. Narissa was still bound, but arguably now to someone she had a level of trust with.
However, that just strained my relationship with Celina. We’d gotten close to something, but it had become too complicated. Celina’s body was filled with poisons as part of her cultivation, and even the kisses we’d shared left my mouth numb.
That barrier, and the faint distrust about her sister’s situation, had been a wedge over the travels here. But I was determined to see her off on the right foot.
I could feel the laughter coursing through Narissa between our souls. I was still getting used to the connection, though. My mana pulled a bit, wanting to deepen it, and I did my best to clear my mind so I wouldn’t influence her. Pulling back had become easier since I’d completed my second ring.
Celina shot glances between me and her sister. Her concern was apparent.
“How much further do you think we have, Celina?” I asked.
From seeing them together, it was clear they were sisters, but Celina’s button nose and pouty lip gave her an air of innocence. It made it even better that she was a poison mage. Deceptively deadly.
“Not much farther. We’ll hit the roads before noon, I think, and then the city before dinner.” She eyed the floating mountain before looking off further into the horizon.
We could see a second mountain; it wasn’t more than a foggy, blue silhouette in the far distance. It was home to the Thousand Blossom Valley sect, Celina’s home.
I had avoided asking what she would do once we reached the sect, and she’d avoided saying anything as she clung to her older sister that she’d just managed to save.
I tried to broach the topic carefully. “Narissa, I know we gave you a set of robes, but do you think you’d like to join the Ferrymen?”
Shock, followed by disappointment, went through the piece of my soul that kept her standing. It felt invasive to feel her thoughts, but that piece of my soul was the only thing currently helping her soul connect to her body.
The Sun and Moon Hall had used a corrupt technique on her, which had given them control of her. This was the best solution to get her back on her feet and escape the dungeon. It was a twisted, corrupt practice of dual cultivation. It would have broken a lot of people, but I could feel that she was still strong through the bond.
I looked back up at the mountain, clouds rolling off its edges as it floated in the sky. It felt odd walking up to a sect after just nearly escaping another one not even two days ago.
We had tried to stop the Sun and Moon Hall, but the battle had reached the elders, and our power was nothing compared to theirs. A war had begun, one we would have died from already had Aurora not helped us to get away.
We were at war with the Sun and Moon Hall, and my childhood love was on the other side, hopefully retaining herself. A part of me still held out hope that she’d still be the Kat I remembered.
I cringed, feeling a pang of guilt at leaving her behind.
When I’d last seen her, her mind had already been slightly warped, likely twisted from the corrupt techniques they practiced. I had no doubt the ‘Soul Well’ she’d mentioned was part of it.
We would always have a connection, but I wasn’t sure it could hold up against the on
“Gold for your thoughts?” Michelle looked concerned. I wasn’t sure how long she’d been watching me.
I just sighed, running my hand through my hair.
“Ah, thinking about Kat, Stud?”
I couldn’t help but smile a bit. She was getting to know me a little too well. “Yeah. She was so messed up when I saw her, Michelle. It was almost like she was a different person, but I still feel a connection to her.”
I took in Michelle’s expression. Coming from a family with multiple mothers, she was fairly accepting of other women, but I still worried about making her insecure in our relationship.
But she just nodded and reached over to rub my back as we walked.
Narissa jumped in to fill the silence. “I mean, if you fell out of love that easily, you’d kinda be a shit person.”
Celina let out a sigh at her sister’s bluntness.
Michelle jumped in to get us back on track. “Who knows, maybe she’ll come through for us. She still loved you, Stud.”
I nodded and gave her a smile.
We’d had a lot of time on our walk towards the mountain, and I had shared my conversation with Kat atop the hill in the dungeon.
She wanted to reset the world in order to save it. As the Sun and Moon Hall’s Saintess, she had all of their resources at her disposal and a central position for gathering intel. I just hoped her sanity held.
I paused in my thoughts as I took in the somber faces around me. My funk was bringing down the whole group. It was time to change the subject. “What are you girls excited for most in the city?”
“A bed!” Michelle blurted out, grinning wide as she wiggled her eyebrows.
I winked back at her, returning her smile. I definitely looked forward to the next time I had her in bed. A month ago, I would have been anxious, but we’d come a long way.
“Shops,” Narissa and Celina said together, which caused them to descend into a fit of giggles.
“Sounds like we’ll need to walk the town in that case. Have you been here before, Celina?“ I chuckled to myself as I noticed the girls seemed to have picked up their pace.
“Yeah, it’s called Styx. From old world myths, it was the path to the underworld. I’ve passed through it to visit the Ferrymen before, but I’ve never spent much time in it.“
“Styx...” I played with the name, not sure what to make of it. But it would be my neighbor for the foreseeable future once I joined the Ferrymen on the mountain.
***
Celina had nailed the timing.
Around the time the sun was at its peak, we were walking along the stone-paved roads that wound themselves towards the city and the mountain floating above it.
These roads were a far cry from the cracked and overgrown concrete we had back in Locksprings, where I’d grown up.
We turned around a bend, where some of the landscape cleared, and Styx opened up before us.
Unlike the ramshackle of mixed construction that made up Locksprings’ architecture, Styx looked like it was built from the ground up with freshly quarried stone. The buildings varied in architecture, with larger, more ornate buildings in the middle and unadorned, square structures surrounding them. With the variations in stone, it was beautiful, despite being shadowed by the floating mountain.
As we approached the gates, the guards kept their eyes trained on the surroundings, not even bothering to check people as they entered.
“Are they not worried about who enters?” I asked. My father had been captain of the guard back in Locksprings, and despite not having a lot of visitors most of my life, any who did come were thoroughly checked.
“Nope. You mess around here and you are either damaged in the head or looking to die,” Celina said.
“So is it the Ferrymen that keep the peace?”
“Yes, and no. Their presence is a huge deterrent, but the city is self-governed. The prosperity from being attached to a sect makes the city wealthy enough to afford powerful mages as guards.”
I nodded, curious at just how powerful the guards were, so I reached out with my senses. Both of them were second-ring mages with bronze meridians. My eyebrows rose.
Things were really different here. Back home, the gate guards would be first-ring mages with clear meridians. Usually, only their supervisor would be a second-ring mage.
“Woah,” Michelle breathed out as we stepped into the city proper.
The streets were neatly lined with walled courtyards. The actual houses were set further back, but many had a storefront built into the first floor, facing the street.
“These are just the storefronts; each one also has a house for the shopkeepers. When we get further into the city, you’ll see the mansions with compounds and dozens of courtyards.” Celina kept her focus forward, scanning ahead, not distracted by the shopkeepers hawking their wares.
There was less of an urgency to these shopkeepers than the ones where I’d grown up. They still called out to get attention, but it seemed less critical to their livelihood.
I started scanning the buildings for a place to stay when a scream tore through the crowd.
A hooded man darted out of a large building that had ornate columns along the front that held up a high roof.
I moved quickly, positioning myself in front of him, sword drawn and ready. “Stop.”
He barely paused, immediately drawing a dagger and charging at me.
I was tired from our journey, but my mana sang for another battle.
I blocked his stab and caught him in the leg with a sweep that sent him stumbling to the side.
However, before I could make another move, several powerful mage auras slammed down on me and the thief. It felt like a thousand pounds of weight had been placed on my back; it was all I could do to remain standing.
The thief wasn’t quite as capable. He was caught mid stumble and was pressed down, kneeling.
Several guards appeared just outside the area, and a young woman in a red dress stepped out of the ornate building, followed by an older man. I immediately identified him as the person generating the aura that was pressing me down.
“Young Miss Hua.” The guards nodded in reverence towards the woman.
She looked about my age, but her pink hair was pinned up in an elaborate bun that made her look stately, and she stood there with a posture that demanded respect.
“Thank you.” The woman nodded, and the pressure let up. Neither of us moved.
“Both of you, come with us. Starting a fight in the city is a crime.” One guard stepped forward to detain me.
“Sir, I believe you should take another look at the man you are about to detain. His robes may be dirty, but I think you’ll find they sway your decision.” Miss Hua’s clear voice cut through the noise of the city.
The guard gave me a once over before his eyes nailed themselves to the emblem on my chest.
“I apologize, young master.” He stepped back, bowing his head. The girls hurried to join me once the guards had backed off.
“However, the other man stole from our auction house and must be dealt with appropriately.” Miss Hua’s eyes became hard as she looked over the still kneeling man. She stepped up to him to retrieve her goods.
The guards eased back their weapons and moved away.
My eyes stayed focused on the fallen thief. As I watched, his mana flared, and there was a nauseating edge to it.
I moved quickly, striking his head from his shoulders and cutting off the half-formed spell as it faded into a cloud of purple gas. I paused, satisfied that whatever was about to happen was fixed.
“Move.” Celina pulled me and Miss Hua away from the corpse. Just after we moved, a black centipede launched itself out of the thief’s back.
I got my sword up in time as it latched onto my blade, the mandibles dripping with sticky, green venom. I tried to figure out how to kill it when it was already clutching my sword.
I didn’t have to think long. Celina started stabbing needles into it until the centipede stilled like a statue. She pulled it gingerly off my blade and took a reinforced cage out of her spatial ring, placing it inside.
“Is that still alive?” I asked, wanting nothing more than to squish the bug.
“Yes, and I will keep it alive to return it to the sect.” Celina looked disappointed with the statement.
