Strongest Among the Heavens
Chapter 291: Drinking Night

Chapter 291: Drinking Night

Joy.

’Victory.’

Akihiko and Kenzo delivered as expected. but the bigger surprise was Sarah. She really pulled her weight. Kibiwott appeared to still be struggling with the Booas even in a one-on-one situation. Pauline’s energy levels flickered the least, implying she hesitated a lot.

But she didn’t hesitate completely. She was learning. She was growing. She gained XP and levelled up.

The woodlands were a large ecosystem with thousands of monsters. Even so, tonight, the monsters were successfully fended off. Kazi’s leadership worked.

Dawn was arriving. Kazi opened his eyes for the first time in an hour and was greeted by a special window.

[ Magic Sensitivity upgraded into Super Magic Sensitivity! ]

Smiling, he pulled himself and walked to the village. There, he was greeted by the victory he saw in his mind.

"Wooh! Nice job, people!" Sylvia high-fived Pauline. "You have surprisingly good aim."

"It was only one," Pauline replied with a small smile.

Kazi applauded and that was when the mages noticed his presence. "It was dark. Don’t sell yourself short, Pauline."

Jackson joined in and added, "Right? We’ve been running all over hell’s half acre. Pat yourself on the back."

"Hold up, hold up, wait!" Sylvia walked up to Kazi, then jabbed a thumb at Akihiko and Kenzo. "Did you know those kiddos could use swords?"

"I did."

"Well, you could have told me! They were so badass that I almost started watching."

From the woodlands, another pair arrived: Remmy and Emma, one with a bow and the other limping. Remmy flagged Kazi over for a heal.

"Divine Healing Water." In seconds, the bite mark on Emma’s foot faded. The brunette let out a sigh of relief. "It wasn’t a deep wound," Kazi said.

"Lucky," Remmy said.

"No luck. You two did exceptionally well. Even I didn’t think you would do this well."

"We aim to please, brother."

"Thank you again!" said Couma who grinned up at Kazi. "You were right about their flight patterns and everything!"

"Are you really a foreigner?" another Yumbo asked, laughing.

Kazi sheepishly smiled. The reality was that he scouted the area, memorized it, then deduced flight patterns based upon the thickness of claw marks on the branches and ground. He had worked with a famous ornithologist once and Kazi rightfully recognized that these stone partridges were more or less the same as the ones on Earth, except heavier. Taking that into account, he figured their homes couldn’t be too far from the village.

"Drinks, drinks, drinks!" Sylvia exclaimed.

"How many more nights is she going to go without drinking?" Jackson muttered.

His remark earned some chuckles. That did beg the question...

’The objective still isn’t over. How many more nights are we supposed to stay and fight?’

***

Kazi was patrolling the area while the night still hung. Everybody was resting. He was alone and he could do what he wanted. That was what mattered. He dashed faster than the eyes of the monsters in his path. He killed and killed and didn’t level up. He was at a point where weak monsters were but a small dent toward the next level. He needed big bosses. He needed to complete this objective at all costs.

’This whole area is huge. The archer that was responsible for what happened with the Fating’ho could be anywhere. And if they’re sleeping, their mana levels might be too low to detect.’

Kazi went from running to walking. The trees of Senegal were not intimidating, even at night. Via his five senses, he had no trouble navigating through pitch-black darkness. Navigation did not mean it was the same as walking in day light. Kazi had no details, only what he could hear and taste and smell in conjunction. In mother nature where smell was fresh and clear, identifying through smell was simple. In a train with thick smoke constantly funneling, smell was negated.

Luckily, since then, Kazi had earned something new: Foresight. Having travelled nearly a hundred kilometers out, he looked up at the night sky and let his left eye pulse.

Kazi would run for the next five seconds and...

Squelch!

See his own heart get torn by talons.

The vision ended.

"Huh?"

That was it? He couldn’t react? Couldn’t live on? Couldn’t heal or do anything? But...how?

Foresight granted a tiny glimpse into the future. The recharge time should have taken minutes. An Ascended like Kazi circumvented that. Foresight activated again.

He was completely on guard in this vision. His senses were primed for defence and sensing. There. He saw a shape moving ahead, then heard a sound—like a deep, guttural grunt—punching through the world. Kazi saw himself running to meet it.

Wrong move.

The shape swooped behind him and he saw massive talons gleaming in the moonlight. He caught a glimpse of its head—a monstrous owl with glaring, yellow eyes. Then came the scream. Not his. The thing’s. It started as a guttural croak but twisted into a strangled moan that clawed at his soul.

The vision collapsed.

Kazi snapped back into the present, gasping. Sweat trickled down his brow. He wasn’t sure if it was from exertion or dread. His fingers flexed for Stormedge at his side, and his breaths came in slow, controlled bursts.

"Not good," he muttered. "That sensation...it reminded me of when I went into that well. That owl thing targetted my soul. And damage to the soul can’t be healed like the flesh can."

The grunting sound came again. It was faint, far away, but it was real.

He had to be sure.

Foresight number three.

Like the previous visions, nothing happened until the final second. Until that sudden, fifth second. In the first second of the vision, he had activated Divine Miracle Rain. Kazi was passively healing. He was at his best and then some.

It didn’t matter.

Another pull, another twist.

Kazi saw blood. His own. He was sprawled on the ground, clutching his stomach. The beast loomed over him now, its full form illuminated by some ghastly light. Feathers rippled. The stench of rot burst out—a suffocating presence that made his stomach churn. The thing’s wings stretched wide, their tips ending in jagged spurs, poised to strike. Its beak clicked twice before it plunged downward, and—

The vision shattered.

"Shit."

He stumbled, clutching at his head as nausea rolled through him. The damage to the soul felt more real than anything else he had encountered in his visions. His mana reserves were nearly empty. His left eye throbbed harder now, the strain pushing against his temple.

’I know what that is.’

The Kikiyaon.

He’d heard the stories—legends passed down in whispers. A soul cannibal. A being of both nightmare and forest. And now, it was here. A hundred kilometers away from the village.

He tightened his grip on Stormedge but didn’t fuel it with mana it. Not this time. The visions were clear: fighting wasn’t an option. Not with his mana this low. Not against attacks that targetted the soul. Kazi started backing away slowly, careful not to make any sudden moves. The air around him felt heavier, thicker, as if the forest itself was warning him to leave.

Kazi swooped behind a tree, his back pressed against it. He focused on controlling his breathing, on keeping his presence as small as possible. If the stories were true, the Kikiyaon could sense the soul.

He wasn’t afraid. Kazi Hossain did not experience fear.

So when he heard a horrific moan twisting into a scream—a terrible, strangled cry that echoed through the trees, he did not react. He did not move.

He let it pass.

Once it was quiet, he darted to the next tree. Then the next, then the one after. Ninety-nine kilometers. Ninety-eight kilometers. Ninety-five.

Calm breaths. Calm thoughts.

The screams were growing further and further away. He kept going and going and going. He counted every step. He glanced over his shoulder and tracked the kilometers.

Seventy-seven kilometers till the village.

Seventy-six...

Oh?

The owl was finally gone. No more oppressive power, no more sounds or screams or noises. Kazi waited ten minutes. Nothing. He relaxed, powered his legs up, and ran at full speed. To his relief, nothing chased him. The Kikiyaon was no longer sniffing after him.

’I’m betting players that went the wrong away died to the Kikiyaon. I’ll tell everyone not to go past seventy-five kilometers as a precaution. Hm, should I tell them about the Kikiyaon itself? No, probably not a good idea. Knowing Kibiwott, he’ll probably want to fight it. And everyone else might get scared. We already have enough on our plates.’

Luckily, the chances of anyone going further than fifty kilometers was low since none of them were close to his level of speed.

Kazi slowed to a walk as he arrived to the village. He pretended everything was nice and dandy with a smile, as though he hadn’t experienced death in three visions. Kibiwott was outside the players’ hut, arms crossed. He was waiting to tag in for the patrol.

"You took longer than usual. Something happen?" Kibiwott asked.

"Yep. Cleaned up some monsters is all." Kazi patted him on the shoulder. "Should be all good though. Word of advice: not to go too deep. It gets dark out there."

"I will try," Kibiwott replied.

Forget about the Kikiyaon. Focus on the attacks to the village. Focus on getting XP the safe way.

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