This survival challenge is just the first of 4 challenges in this competition. So there's more to come. That's apart from his suspicion about the purpose of this competition. It is more productive of his time to fight, especially since killing monsters will empower him and boost the processes he is going through than worrying about the things he can't change. The more he kills, the stronger his brand becomes and the smaller his suppression gets.
He looked up and noticed that the birds are still trailing him. They might have decided not to fight him but that's only because they will lose in the forest. They will hound him if he dares to come to the sky. They will be able to attack him from every direction then.
"So no sky for me then." He muttered as he walked in the direction of the mountain.
The Ravens are still numerous with enough members to cover the sky. They are probably more than 100 thousand in number. It will be a hassle to engage them when their reward is too low to be meaningful. He is better off fighting a stronger monster with a better reward. So he will ignore them as long as they keep stalking him.
Others POV.
eαglesnᴏνel Soverick might be having fun in the competition but it is not so for others. It is a competition and this part of it is called the Survival challenge. There has to be some reason for it. They are to survive for a year in this forest and the world spirit has made it its life's work to make them fail.
Someone was sneaking about carefully in the forest. This person would stop and listen before moving on. They paid attention to everything, including where they stepped and tracked any sign of movement in their surroundings. While this person is being careful, a python is also carefully watching them. Both the person and their python stalker are being very careful.
The python is coiled around a branch up in a tree and is watching this person move about beneath making almost no noise. If it were in the real world, this person will be able to notice a threat so close to them. But they are not in the real world and their divine sense has been suppressed to the level of a vitality core stage refiner. They can't spread their divine sense past 20 meters.
So the python remained hidden from the person. It slithered silently across the branches of the tree above the person. The python stalked this person doggedly until they stopped to check something on the ground. Then the python coiled itself into a spring and leaped for the target. It fell from the sky like a bolt onto the unsuspecting victim. Even then, the victim was still able to react to the attack.
Their strength might be subdued but the super reaction granted by perfect control means you'll always be able to react to an attack in a favorable way instead of panicking. That is as long as you notice the attack. If you combine this with the divine ability of this person then it is very difficult to ambush them.
The python made a lot of noise because of its sudden movement. The tree branch that it jumped from groaned and leaves were dislodged free from the branch. Then the python entered the range of the divine sense of its target. All of that worked to alert the target to the presence of the threat.
This person analyzed the threat immediately after it entered their range of detection and reacted accordingly. They have a lot more time than they were given to do so because the world appears to be slow in their perception. Their eyes darted around rapidly like the wings of a hummingbird while their mind accelerated to analyze the information they acquired. So this person saw the python clearly and was able to determine the proper means of defense amongst the numerous options that their mind came up with.
Some would panic as the mouth of a python that is large enough to swallow them whole falls on them. The sword-like fangs of the python are also very intimidating. One bite and those fangs will sink into supple flesh locking the mouth around the prey. So those that freak out and panic cannot be blamed for doing so.
This person has perfect control of their actions and emotions as a transcendent so they engaged the threat instead of panicking. They used their hands to grab the fangs in the opened jaws of the python. Then they used the leverage to pull the python to the side. The python crashed into the ground instead of on top of its target with its sides hitting the ground heavily.
The person took advantage of the short disorientation to open the mouth of the python and stepped into it with one leg. Their leg locked the lower jaw down, then they used the leverage of their two arms holding the fangs to lift the upper jaw up. They intend to pull the mouth of the python apart.
The python realized too late that it targeted the wrong person. Its head is about to be torn in two but it didn't give up. It can't give up or it will die. It wrapped its tail around the midsection of the person to pull them out of its mouth. The two of them tumbled and grappled in the forest, each fighting for their lives.
They rolled around the forest floor, knocking into trees and stuff. Their fight created a lot of noise which attracted attention. It was then that calamity struck. A large mouth lined with sharp teeth closed on the fighting duo. The mouth belongs to a giant lizard watching and waiting.
You cannot blame a hungry man eating monster for going after an appetizing meal. Not when you draw its attention by making so much ruckus. In this world, it is finders keepers. It is a giant lizard-eat-fighting duo world.
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