BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

[Are you ready?] the biological supercomputer asked.

Crouched behind a bush, Erik watched as a pack of wolf-like thaids prowled through the forest.

Erik had never seen them around these parts, and while he didn't come to Mur a lot of time ago, he was pretty sure they didn't belong to this area but were likely migrating.

It wasn't just because of how they were behaving: sniffing the area, checking their surroundings, marking trees with their scent, and howling to communicate with each other. Some were investigating potential den sites under fallen logs, while others prowled along game trails, clearly searching for signs of prey.

The pack stayed unusually close together, which was a sign of caution. Two of the larger thaids were even testing different paths through the undergrowth, seemingly establishing new routes.

But even if Erik didn't know Thaids' behavior, he still had the Instability brain crystal power. That was telling him everything he needed to know about the situation because he was reading their minds. Granted, these were still thaids, the evolutionary next step of animals, and as such, they were not that smart. Erik wasn't reading coherent thoughts, but a bundle of feelings and primal urges.

Yet that was enough to make the situation clearer.

The problem was that with how many Thaids Erik killed around these parts, these guys likely wanted to set their territory here.

<I knew I should have done something to prevent that.>Erik knew that something like that would happen when he started massacring the local fauna.

By eliminating the local thaid population, he'd created a power vacuum—and nature abhors a vacuum. The problem was that he didn't have the time, nor the resources, to do that.

His main goal at the moment was to kill everything on sight and turn strong enough to kill even the most dangerous beast among on this cursed continent. That and, of course, to clear the road for Amber and the others to find him.

"What a mess," Erik sighed, watching the pack explore what they thought would be their new territory. "At least I can deal with them, but this is getting tedious."

Unlike other creatures on the Mur continent, these wolf-like beings were not so monstrous. They had long legs, slim bodies with silver-gray fur, and sharp amber eyes that watched everything around them like hunters but didn't look like the amalgam of something spawned from hell.

They had bestial features but lacked the demonic appearance of other creatures. It was to the point that most of the thaids on Mannard were scarier than them. Of course, that didn't mean they were weaker or easier to fight.

What was worse was that they weren't the only thaids that decided to set their territory in the area. The wolf-like thaids were just one of the many groups or creatures doing just that.

Luckily, Erik didn't even have to deal with the thaids in this area more than before. His previous hunts had been so thorough that the local threats were minimal.

Instead, he found himself dealing more with newcomers like these - groups of thaids that wandered in from other regions, searching for unclaimed territory to call their own.

Besides, these different thaid groups often fought each other for territory and resources. Erik had seen several brutal clashes between packs, with the winners claiming the disputed areas and the losers either dying or fleeing. These conflicts thinned out the thaid population, making his job easier.

[Remember, even if they look less monstrous than the others, they're still Mur thaids,] the system said.

<Yeah, yeah. Thanks, Mom or Dad?>

[Your sarcasm is noted, but unnecessary,] the system said. [I'm just trying to make sure you keep proper caution.]

<I've killed hundreds of similarly strong thaids already. I think I know what I'm doing.>

[And yet you still complain about the few experience points they provide compared to your previous battles. Curious how you can find them beneath your notice and worth griping about.]

<Are you actually lecturing me right now based on what we know?>

The truth was that Erik was used to fighting much larger groups of thaids, or people, meaning that the lack of experience points provided per single kill was compensated by the huge number of creatures he killed.

Here things were different because fighting large groups was complicated, and even if the thaids here gave Erik a lot of mana per kill, their numbers weren't enough for him to get more mana than what he would have gained on Mannard.

The hunts were easier since dealing with fewer creatures was simpler than facing thousands, but the rewards still felt insufficient.

[I prefer to think of it as providing a valuable perspective. But if you'd rather learn these lessons the hard way, by all means, continue doing what you are.]

Erik rolled his eyes. <Fine, fine. I'll be careful. Happy now?>

[Ecstatic,] the system said. [Now, shall we proceed with killing these guys, or would you prefer to continue this delightful exchange?]

Erik nodded, gathering mana. The wind responded to his call, swirling around him in invisible currents that condensed into lethal blades.

The wolf-like creatures kept moving forward, unaware that death was a few steps from them. They were in hunting mode—walking with their heads down and sniffing the ground.

One of them lifted its head and sniffed the air, as if it could sense the mana building up nearby.

[NOW!]

Erik released his hold on the gathered power. Dozens of wind blades sliced through the air. The first blade caught the lead thaid across its throat, decapitating it before the creature could react.

[Hostile creature killed: Mana absorbing process starting.]

The pack erupted into chaos as more wind blades found their marks. Silver fur turned crimson as the invisible weapons carved through flesh and bone.

The thaids tried to scatter, but Erik's attack left no escape route. Their swift movements, so graceful moments before, became desperate and erratic.

[Hostile creature killed: Mana absorbing process starting.]

[0%...1%....5%...30%...70%...100%]

[Mana successfully absorbed, starting conversion procedure.]

[3...2...1...0] [Mana successfully absorbed into experience. 1,801,323,129.21experience points were awarded to the host.]

Within seconds, the clearing fell silent. Bodies lay scattered across the forest floor, their fur still rippling in the lingering breeze.

<Things are much easier now that I pumped my energy this much,> Erik said, looking at his hands.

[Indeed. Your control over battlefields has improved a lot.]

Erik remained motionless, counting the fallen creatures and ensuring none had escaped.

He counted twenty dead thaids. This was a rather large pack based on Mur's standards—enough to be dangerous if he had let them stay.

Erik left his hiding place and walked over to the dead thaids to gather their brain crystals.

<How many experience points have I gathered in total?> Erik asked while collecting the brain crystals.

[Not much,] the biological supercomputer said. [You just got 360,264,625.8 experience points from the bunch.]

<Damn…>

Erik knew these were not a few experience points. The problem was that they were not enough for him to level up, or at least to do so quickly.

Erik sighed, shaking his head in frustration. He remembered when killing even a single thaid would give him enough experience points to level up multiple times.

Even though each kill added to his total, it felt as small as adding a few drops of water to an ocean.

Frustrated, he kicked the ground.

[It's pretty normal, Erik. Your level is too high now,] the biological supercomputer said. [These thaids are much stronger than those on Mur but are still lower-leveled compared to you. It's pretty normal for you to not get that much mana, especially given there are few of them around.]

<But we are on Mur! This place was supposed to make me level multiple times every day! Instead, I'm only finding these half-assed creatures after I vanquished the Kraevyx packs!>

[Oh, so a pack of creatures as powerful as Hevadrins are 'half-assed' now?] The biological supercomputer's tone dripped with sarcasm. [I wasn't aware your standards had grown so high.]

<You know what I meant,> Erik shot back, continuing to harvest the brain crystals from the fallen thaids.

[You can't expect every monster on Mur to be at the highest tier of power, and you should be grateful for that,] the system said.

[Yes, creatures here are significantly stronger than on Mannard, but there's still a hierarchy. Even these 'weaker' ones are far stronger than their Mannard counterparts. The pack we just eliminated? They're the Mur equivalent of Leylarhads.]

The system paused, letting that sink in. [Think about it this way—imagine General Becker walking into the woods back on Mannard and encountering a pack of Leylarhads. What do you think would happen?]

Erik remained silent, understanding the point.

[Exactly. It would be a complete massacre, just like what we just did here. The same principle applies to you now. You've simply become too powerful for this level of beast, but that doesn't make them weak.] The system's tone grew more serious. [And remember—if Mur has equivalents to Leylarhads, it definitely has equivalents to Hevadrins too. Probably much worse.]

<You're right,> Erik said with a sigh. <I'm just frustrated with the slow progress. A week passed since I made the tree, and I'm still stuck near the beach. We are losing time here. But I know I shouldn't complain about having an easier time.>

[That's a better perspective,] the system said. [Instead of frustration, feel thankful. More importantly, you need to stay careful. We might be having a calm time in this area, but that won't always be the case. The deeper we go into Mur, the more dangerous it becomes.]