‘Great. My theory is right, but to think the mutated Basilisk was nearby when I activated the array. Talk about bad timing!’ Kyran thought, feeling a little depressed after hitting the last tree.
Thanks to the Regis Defensive Technique, Kyran did not suffer much after hitting all those trees. He also managed to drop on his feet without losing his balance.
Hiss!
The mutated Basilisk loomed above him with its mouth wide open. Its saliva with a tint of green flowed down from its fangs as it hungrily lunged at Kyran as if to eat him.
Kyran dodged to his right, and the Basislisk’s head collided on the nearby trees, crashing them in the process. Without waiting for the Basilisk to recover, Kyran sprinted again.
The Basilisk pulled back after missing Kyran by an inch. Its tongue flickered a few times as it turned to his left and looked in the direction where Kyran fled.
HISS!
Its eyes, a mixture of gold and red, flashed, turning completely gold as it stared intently forward.
Sensing an incoming danger, Kyran did not hesitate to activate his Void Scales.
An almost visible light gold shock wave formed a horizontal arc spread from the Basilisk up to Kyran’s location, withering all it touched.
When this shock wave collided with Kyran’s Void Scales, it shook violently and even showed signs of breaking.
‘What in the!’ Kyran thought, shocked by its power.
While his Void Scales, being a combination of the Regis Defensive Technique and Void magic, was weaker compared to a pure Void Barrier, with its Void property, anything that collided with it usually disintegrates. But this shock wave gave such a reaction to it.
What kind of power could threaten his Void magic?
Kyran suddenly remembered how Sigma also penetrated his Void Scales before. However, there was a significant difference in the momentum of the two attacks—Sigma’s attack accumulated at a specific weak point of his Void Scales, which destroyed it. In contrast, the Basilisk’s attack was gentle but able to shock his Void Scales effortlessly.
Kyran could not help but turn his head to check his Void Scales.
To his astonishment, the purple scales had slightly turned gray.
‘What?’
At the corner of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of the suddenly withered landscape between him and the Basilisk, which covered at least twenty meters.
Kyran’s scalp turned numb. If he did not activate his Void Scales, he would have ended just like that!
HISS!
The mutated Basilisk hissed and moved again, slithering toward the direction where Kyran went.
‘Tsk,’ Kyran gritted his teeth and focused on running while recalling what he read about a normal Basilisk’s abilities.
A normal Basilisk could emit a wave-like attack wherein it could slow down its prey. Aside from this, when its dark red eyes glowed, it could petrify anything it sees. Its fangs were also loaded with poison and its scales were hard as diamonds.
‘The effect of the wave-like attack of this mutated Basilisk is definitely not to slow down its prey.’ Kyran thought remembering the withered scene he saw. ‘Its petrification ability may have evolved as well.’
Kyran clenched his fists and recalled its weaknesses.
Given its big size, a normal Basilisk’s movements were slow. They also had bad eyesight and they used their tongue as a heat sensor to navigate around.
A bitter smile appeared at the corner of Kyran’s lips. The Cloaking formula in the array could cover his presence but not his body heat. He wondered if the mutated Basilisk would be ‘frightened’ and stop its pursuit if he deactivated the array.
‘Probably not,’ he decided.
The forest beasts might have avoided him because they sensed he was dangerous. However, once they saw that he was afraid of them, it would boost their confidence and attack relentlessly.
HISS!
The mutated Basilisk’s golden eyes flashed once more and another shock wave spread the surroundings.
Kyran immediately reinforced his Void Scales, adding two more layers for insurance.
As soon as the shock wave collided with the first layer of scales, it turned gray and shattered in an instant before penetrating the second layer.
‘Tsk,’ Kyran gritted his teeth, immediately creating another layer of scales around him.
He was getting more tempted to fight the mutated Basilisk and explore its new abilities and find ways to counter it.
When he was still in military school, this was a common situation whenever they do practical exams. They would visit one of the surrounding forests around Meliora in groups of three to five and their instructors would provide them minimal information of what they needed to accomplish.
The only difference now was that he was alone, and he could not use his full power or else he would leave an obvious trace of his magic which would also disrupt his plans in extorting money from the army.
Kyran could not help but jeer at himself.
‘Your life is already in danger and yet your still thinking about extorting money?’
HISS!
Another loud hiss came from the mutated Basilisk as it drew nearer Kyran.
Kyran picked up his pace and looked at his surroundings. If he wanted to use the trees around to escape, he had to deactivate his Void Scales, or else, it would destroy the branches. But if the mutated Basislisk used his shock wave attack again, he would be in trouble if he was a tad late in reactivating his Void Scales.
He was guarding against the mutated Basilisk’s stare as well, because he did not know what its new effect would be, so he could not use the Void Armor. His head was not covered by the armor after all. The outcome would definitely not be good, if he only defended his body against the mutated Basilisk’s stare while exposing his head
‘I have to stop its movements,’ Kyran finally decided.
Using his left foot, he came to a sudden stop, burying his feet on the ground in the process. He tightened his grip on the Void Spear as he turned to face the approaching mutated Basilisk. His eyes glowed silver as he activated the Regis Blessing.
The mutated Basilisk’s tongue flickered and its slitted eyes narrowed as if sensing its prey. It slithered closer then pulled back abruptly, lifting itself a few meters high before striking down at Kyran.
Kyran was prepared. The moment the mutated Basilisk striked down, he rolled to his right at the latest time. Once he got on his knees, he proceeded to jump. While he was in midair, he twisted his body to face the mutated Basilisk’s head which was still stuck on the spot where he was just at.
Gathering strength in his left arm, Kyran lifted the spear in his hand while twisting his waist. His silver eyes turned reddish purple as the spear on his hand suddenly grew in size.
Once. Twice. Thrice.
Then Kyran pulled back his hand to gain momentum before throwing it toward the mutated Basilisk aiming above its nose.
SHUAA!
The mutated Basilisk seethed in agony as the Void Spear effortlessly pierced its nose, and struck down to the ground pinning it in place. It wiggled uncontrollably from the pain thrashing its long body in every direction, destroying the boulders and trees nearby.
While still in midair, Kyran undid the Void Scales and activated the Void Armor while lifting both his arms to protect his head from the trees and boulder pieces that came his way.
He soon fell on the ground and rolled for a few times before regaining his stance and started to sprint once more.
All of these happened in less than ten seconds, where Kyran’s sudden attack taking up only a couple of seconds. This was the reason the mutated Basilisk failed to react on time.
Kyran could kill the mutated Basilik, but decided against it. He did not have enough time to collect its material and disposed the rest of its body. If he decided to leave the body, it would definitely cause unwanted attention from hunters or mercenaries who would enter the Valley of Morte the next day.
It was best to only stop its movement for a while and escape.
When Kyran was at least fifty meters away, he deactivated the array on his palm. He could not afford to encounter another forest beast. With all the ruckus the mutated Basilisk did, it would definitely attract other forest beast’s attention.
The moment when the mutated Basilisk’s pitiful cry faded, Kyran finally stopped running and deactivated the Void Armor and the Regis Body Tempering Technique. Then he hid on top of a tree to catch his breath.
He might have good stamina but the sudden appearance of the mutated Basilisk drained him mentally and physically.
Kyran took out a bottled of stamina replenishing potion from his pouch and downed it in one gulp. He returned the empty bottle on his pouch and leaned back on the tree’s trunk trying to control his breathing.
He recalled the size of the mutated Basilisk and wondered if it could still be considered a large-sized forest beast, because the normal one was already considered one and it paled in comparison.
The Valley of Morte was really special to have grown such a giant beast, and there was a good chance that he would encounter more.
‘This place really is dangerous. I better get used to my surroundings first before activating the Cloaking Array again. I can’t afford to delay anymore,’ Kyran decided and jumped down the tree.
Taking a deep breath, he once again activated the Regis Body Tempering Technique and entered deep into the Valley of Morte.