The Sound Of Despair

{So this is what the sun looked like. Isn't it sad that you named me 'light' in your language, but I have not seen natural light for years?}

Licht jumped out of the cave and let the sun shine on his face. The tiger reveled in the warmth, and the electricity coursing through him was a sign of excitement. Ever since the two beasts advanced to the third bronze tier, they recovered some of their most rudimentary control over lightning. 

"You have been fighting for years, even before I came, so don't act like it is my fault. Schatten, your shadow lightning is less effective during the day, isn't it? Let us first hunt some of the stronger beasts before fighting the local overlord you guys scared away. If everything goes well, the white ape will regret not having fled the island. Out of all our enemies, he is the only one not in the protection of the town."

Their final target was the noble mage if he was still on the island. In theory, the maclawco lord should be on a similar power level, which meant defeating him would be both a test and practice. Before even that though, they still had to work on their teamwork. 

{Yes. At night, my dark lightning is almost invisible. During the day, though, it is no different than yours,} the brumawolf answered and grinned at his rival afterward. {That you are scared of the dark does not surprise me, little pussycat.}

The once solemn atmosphere was instantly ruined as the tiger pounced on the wolf. Their fight was no longer cute, as their size had tripled since the first time Sturm summoned them. Sturm stepped between them before they could seriously injure each other with their sharp claws, fangs, and newly acquired techniques.

"I have been tolerant of your little rivalry during the past two years. If you want to show who is superior, then do it during the hunt. Any delay you cause will be made up by you, and trust me, you do not want that to happen." Sturm's voice was ice cold, and the quarreling beasts shivered in response.

Any pride they had before meeting Sturm had been ground to dust over the last two years, and left was nothing but respect and fear. The young human's obsession with improvement and training bordered insanity, reflected in his and also their numbers, as they tried to keep up with him. Even Sturm was surprised by the changes when he used [Electroanalysis] the last time. 

[Electroanalysis]

-Average Body Strength: 13.86312 (+7)

-Average Agility: 18.27361 (+6.8)

-Constitution: 11.18279 (+4.2)

-Intelligence: 19.919594 (+6.2)

-Perception: 68.84231 

Each of his stats, except intelligence, had increased by around 4, which according to Licht, was unbelievable for a human. In comparison to the beasts, though, they were baby steps at most. Even though there were limits to it, advancing in tiers increased the overall strength a lot more than simple training. On top of that, magic beasts advanced naturally, without the need for a priest like humans do for celestial steps.

It was not like Sturm would complain, as the combined stats they were giving him were slowly catching up with his own, almost doubling his power. As they grew a lot faster than him, he decided to keep their decimals to a single number. It was not like it was as satisfying to see their statistics growth as it was with his.

According to Licht, an average human's attributes were around 10 for a first-step teenager before taking their second step. However, Sturm already surpassed that by himself and was nearing the 25, which marked the standard for second-step commoners before taking their third. 

<<Mages are nobles, and as they are supposedly the elite, I can not imagine Arcanus Attalus being below the 10th step. A noble that took the tenth step towards heaven is supposed to average around 200, which means he is still 8 times stronger than me. Good that strength is not everything, as Schatten and Licht have been proving over the last two years. Still… even if we manage to defeat the relatively dumber beasts, can we outsmart the imperial mage?>>

The gap between them had considerably shortened, but the difference in power was still massive. There were many options to overcome that, but all of them required underhanded methods. An ambush or poison would do the trick, for example, but dealing with a mage was especially tricky. 

Not only did most of them retain noble guards sent by their families to protect them, but they also knew how to set up magic traps, magic alarms, and even heal. They were not like Sturm, who would only ever be able to use the lightning element, but could control all magic types. Even if their efficiency was lower, a simple magic alarm was easy to cast. Licht and Schatten were still teaching him different kinds of spells they may encounter in their eventual clash against the imperial mage. Still, even their knowledge about human spellcasters was limited.

<<One step at a time. The white ape and his two kindreds will be first, then Sebastian will be next, and finally Arcanus Attalus.>>

As expected of a warrior, Schatten quickly recovered his mental state and was ready to catch some prey. Sturm was right, as this was the perfect moment to demonstrate he was superior to the cat. Unlike the lazy raitigers, brumawolves learned to hunt for themselves from an early age.

Their first target would be a native of the deeper woods, the forest sasquatch. As the former henchmen of one of the local magic beast overlords, they fell into internal struggle upon their leader's death. Consequently, the once united humanoid beasts split up into multiple factions. Sasquatches relied on their brute strength and wooden weapons, mostly clubs and spears, made out of ironwood. 

While their strength lacked in comparison to ironmaw bears, and their agility could not hold a candle to a maclawco's, they made up for that by employing primitive weapons. Schatten commented that the sasquatch overlord had been in possession of a giant metal axe, but it had been destroyed in the conflict when he and Licht laid claim to the lone mountain.

It was questionable if they could maintain their territory with their current infight, but other beasts were already eyeing their camps with greedy eyes. With their forces split and in chaos, it was the perfect time for them to hunt them. As beings who walked on two legs and used weapons, they were the magic beasts closest to the human physiology and thereby ideal targets to practice their teamwork.

The sasquatch territory was east of the lonely mountain, in the opposite direction of the town. Mercenaries rarely got into conflict with them, as they would have to cross the forbidden area to encounter them. Now and then, a banished sasquatch happened to wander off into the west, but their wooden weapons proved to be inferior to steel. Their raw strength allowed them to threaten even experienced mercenaries nonetheless, but sasquatches were used to fighting and hunting in groups.

Alone and banished, they would often be disposed of before managing to kill a single human. Sturm imagined them similar to neanderthals, just a lot stronger, hairier and bloodthirsty.

<<Still, I wonder what connection they have to humans. May we be killing the ancestors of this world's humanity? Why am I even thinking about this… I have already killed humans, and even magic beasts are somewhat sentient. This is not Earth anymore. Reinhardt would have surely smacked my head if he heard my doubts.>>

"Schatten, Licht, go back into the lightning space. For now, my senses are still sharper than yours, so I do not need you to scout ahead. You have my permission to jump out at any time. There is no way those dumb beasts are prepared for you two appearing out of nowhere," Sturm ordered.

{Hey! What do you mean 'dumb beasts'? Have you forgotten that we are magic beasts as well?} Licht complained.

Sturm grinned at him in response. "Exactly."

Stunned by his response, the tiger fell silent and touched Sturm's tattoo on his right arm, dissolving into lighting sparks shortly after. If Schatten had dared to call it dumb, then it would have humiliated the dog for its transgression, but Licht was finally back on the surface and would never risk having to go back for extra training.

Schatten, on the other hand, had been called dumb not only by Licht for years now but also other brumawolves back in his tribe. Of course, he had beaten them all up, but that was more a matter of principle than being genuinely annoyed by it. Calling someone stupid was a way for weaklings to feel better about themselves, but Schatten had no intention to mention that towards Sturm. It was finally time to fight and kill again; there was no reason for further delays, and he too entered Sturm's internal space.

<<It has nothing to do about me dreading extra training. I am a fighter, and I want to fight. That is it,>> Schatten convinced himself.

It was a four-hour march to the border of the sasquatch territory, and there had been no incidences on their way. All the beasts closest to the lonely mountain either ended up as food during the last two years or had been avoided by Sturm. Most of them were not necessarily strong but simply annoying to deal with. They were either venomous, would immediately run away at the sight of the lightning human, or had the ability to fly and hide high up in the trees.

There were no skulls at the sasquatch territory border. Instead, there was a primitive wooden fence with a pair of scouts standing behind it.. Sturm had discovered them long before he could physically see them, and the two beasts were already on their way to cut off their retreat.