Maximilian dodged a pair of sword-like horns while a bolt of electricity arced into another deer beast. The pack was the most powerful group of monsters he found after he left the settled areas. They were deer or elk, but much stronger, and their horns were white. He wasn't sure why, but they felt like the sun. Not that they were hot, but he assumed it was related to the dao. Either their affinities or they had a skill. One they hadn't used yet. Maximilian formed a mine field of electrical bombs as he danced away from his four enemies. His old tactic had gone through a rebirth with his most recent improvement. He could now create genuine mines. The smaller of the four must've gotten tired of him because it chose to charge. A quick flick of his wrist and the creature stepped on his trap. Bluish-white electricity arced into its body. Only it didn't hurt. No, Maximilian had diversified his defenses. Instead, the creature found itself paralyzed. The effect wouldn't last very long. A few seconds at most, but that was more than enough. As soon as the creature was caught, a blade of wind and rain removed its head. A surge of spiritual energy filled his dantian as he turned his attention back to the rest of his targets.

  He had expected their ally's death to make them angry, and from what he could tell, he was right. Only the beasts didn't charge like he wanted. Instead, their horns began to glow. His danger sense provided enough of a warning for him to activate Prismatic Barrier. The rainbow shield formed seconds before six beams of golden light slammed into it. It took him another moment to realize they had shot sunlight at him. He wasn't sure if there was a significant difference between that and normal light, but it wasn't enough. Their skill caused an impact, sure, but they would have to be at it all day before they could break it. He considered using the trio as training for his wind-based dao, but decided against it. He didn't like this grassland region. He felt exposed. Even more so than in the desert. He activated Severing Disc and imbued it with the Dao of Squall. Two buzz saw like blades whistled to the sky as they shot for their targets. Thanks to his dao, the skill's speed was far too fast for either deer to avoid. They had enough time to make a choked sound before the blades severed their heads from their shoulders. Red blood drained from them as they collapsed.

  Their deaths marked the end of the battle. The third deer ran for its life. Maximilian was about to kill it when he thought better of it. The beast would likely head to safety. Which would be with more of its kind. If he played his cards right, he should be able to follow it. With any luck, it would have a stronger beast variant back there. With his mind made up, he turned his attention to the bodies. He doubted the meat would be all that important, but the horns? They might be able to make some weapons with them. They had to be harder than the stuff in their current weapons. Since he had eight of them, he decided to do a test while he ran. He tried to cut a piece off one with his wind and found it hard. Hard but not impossible. It was hard to tell for sure, but he would put the durability of things above most of old Earth's materials. With diamonds and the strongest of metals, the only things even able to compare. That didn't take into account how flexible it was. He was no artist or weapons engineer, but he figured a sharp, pointy stick didn't need those things. He condensed his wind into a blade and then let it carve into the horn. After five minutes, he had something that fit the "sharp pointy stick" description. Though he doubted it would make a good weapon.

  Regardless, he considered it a win. He placed it with the others into his bag and turned his attention to his target. The deer was more than half a mile away now. Tracking it was only possible thanks to the even terrain, which was also how he knew he had succeeded. The creature had run to a greater pack. A group of ten normal deer and one massive one. The massive one was ten feet tall before you took into account its horns. Around fifteen or so if you countered the horns. The creature was intimidating. Even at this distance, it felt dangerous. Which meant he had gone close enough. He sat down and started his preparations. He spread out a mine field of electrical bombs. Half of which were the paralytic kind, while the other was pure offense. He wasn't sure how smart the creatures were, but if they could talk, then the variety could be nice. Next, he formed half a dozen wind blades and spheres of water each. The twelve pushed at the limits of what he could control if he wanted to maintain a connection to his mine field. This would represent the longest distance shot he had made so far, so it was bound to be interesting. I took another moment to steady myself. I then raised my hand, took aim at the closest of the deer, and fired.

  My attacks crossed the distance in seconds before the end times began. Three deer were cut or crushed by the initial barrage, while two more were injured. Testament to the intelligence of the monsters, they turned and charged as soon as the barrage ended. Not that it would matter. Maximilian had already unleashed his follow-up. Two buzz saws tore through the air as the first beasts came for him. One attempted to dodge, but at this distance, Maximilian could alter the path of the blade. It wasn't much, but it was enough to turn a miss into a graze. A graze that severed the creature's back left leg. Maximilian was about to continue his assault when the larger creature acted. Its horn glowed with power, and it unleashed a howl. One that was joined by the others. His danger sense warned seconds before six lasers shot at him. His eyes widened seconds before he blasted the ground beneath him with wind. He narrowly avoided the first ray and was forced to dodge three more before he activated his defensive skill. Prismatic Barrier met, the final and largest of the rays, and buckled. The skill broke, but instead of shattering like what was usual, it melted.

  Maximilian released his three dao fields at full power to bleed off what remained of the attack. He followed it up with his killing intent in case the deer caught up to him. His danger sense warned him first. He threw himself to the side as deer charged through the smoke. Maximilian unleashed a burst of wind and blew himself backwards with the force of a cannon. His mine field had been destroyed, but it had accomplished its goal. One more deer lay on the ground. Half its body was missing while the other half twitched with electricity. He unleashed blasts of all three elements as the larger deer lorded over its pack like a general. He launched a few probing attacks at the boss, but one of the lesser deer would always interrupt. Not that he minded. There were only two left, and since they couldn't heal, they would die. Sure enough, the battle continued for a few more seconds before he unleashed Severing Disc. One blade killed one deer while the second went after the boss. When the final deer jumped in, it was torn apart.

  Maximilian braced himself for the pack leader to charge him, but it didn't. They stood there as if someone had pressed pause on the world. A moment later, the peace was shattered. The massive beast charged him, and he formed half a dozen lances of electricity. Blue-white power arced around him, yet the deer was undeterred. It slammed into each lance with its horns as if they were made of hardened rubber. He didn't need his danger sense to tell him that being attacked by that would be bad news. He leaped to the side and unleashed a blade of wind. Intending to separate the creature's head from its neck. Either the beast knew he'd do that, or it was that fast he couldn't tell. The creature whipped its head at him like a wrecking ball. Before Maximilian realized what happened, he had been launched almost fifty feet away. Even with his robes, the impact broke all the ribs on the right side of his body. His right arm had been crushed. A fresh hell of agony surged into him as he formed a cocoon of water and wind around the injury. He grimaced as the healing began. He placed his hand down to pivot and exhaust the last of the attack's force.

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  Maximilian spun and formed a wall of all three dao as his danger sense screamed seconds before the deer attacked. He dove to the side as the deer charged into where he had stood. The beast's horns speared almost two feet into the ground. His first instinct was to attack, but something told him not to. That if he had the beast would react and he would die. Not wanting to trust his instincts without thought, he formed a wall of water and lightning alongside two wind blades. The wind blades shot forward like bullets, only for the deer to swing around. It unleashed a beam of solar light that made his hair stand on end. His wall held on long enough for him to leap away. As soon as he hit the ground, he activated Prismatic Barrier. As soon as the radiant bubble appeared, he reached into his bag for healing pills. He swallowed three of them screamed as the energy got to work repairing the damage. He let out a pain growl as the pack leader slammed into his barrier. The shield stood, which brought him a moment. The creature was stronger and more durable than him. Yet it was also slower than him. Not by much, but enough. He had to keep the fight at range. Which meant he needed to get away.

  He fought the panic that threatened to take his reason. He couldn't tell how long it would be, but the beast shouldn't be able to use it light attack. He withdrew both his dao fields and his killing intent to use later. The creature slammed its horns into the barrier. The lattice work of cracks told him he was out of time. Instead of letting the skill remain, he activated Severing Disc and imbued it with the Dao of static. The dual blades shot forward, poised to trisect the beast, only for its skin and fur to take on a golden glow. The deer slammed its horns into one. The second tore a gash in its side. The glow somehow softens the attack. Maximilian's eyes widened as the beast charged. Spiritual energy surged into his feet as he launched himself backwards. As soon as he touched down, he formed three mines, wanting to buy himself some time, only for the creature to leap into the air. He cursed as his mind raced to come up with a solution. He narrowly avoided another charge when he had an idea.

  He leaped backwards as energy gathered in the palm of his hand. A storm comprised of all three dao. Forming the pseudo skill while trying to avoid being impaled added a new level of difficulty. He knew that his previous attempts weren't going to be enough. He would need to push himself to this limit. He formed a ball of water the size of his torso and then compressed his remaining dao into rings. Pain blossomed in his head as he worked to keep the skill together. The deer's assault intensified, and he nearly lost control when one of the creature's horns caught him in the side. The pain caused his vision to darken. He bit down on his tongue to focus his mind. As soon as he finished the rings, he released. The skill. The sphere doubled in size as soon as it was away from his body. A moment later, the deer lowered its head and unleashed its solar laser. The two attacks met with bone-shattering force. The two attacks were even for a moment that lasted an eternity. The deer's head was forced into the ground as the world held its breath. In the next moment, the laser was overcome. Maximilian's eyes widened as his attack crossed the rest of the distance and exploded. Wind, water, and electricity consumed his vision as the world was turned upside down.

  When the world returned, Maximilian smiled. Energy flooded into his dantian to confirm the kill. Yet that wasn't the most notable part. The pack leader had been destroyed utterly. There wasn't a body left, and where it had been a massive crater surrounded by two concentric circles. The crater was ten feet deep, while the circles were around two or three feet. It wasn't hard to figure out what had happened. He was once again impressed by his creation. It still wasn't ready, and if his assumption was correct, it would be stronger when all his daos were at the same level. Not that he could do anything about that now. It was disappointing that the pack leader didn't leave horns. Those should've made some very nice weapons, but he did have the rest of the pack. He took a moment to swallow a healing pill and handle his new change. The battle had been enough to push him up a level. All three points were placed into Intelligence. He took a moment to reflect on the changes before he got up. He figured weaker enemies would avoid the area, which meant he shouldn't stay here. The healing pills had helped, but he needed more time before he would be ready for a fight. That didn't mean he wasn't going to collect his benefits.

  It took him twenty minutes to remove the remaining horns and store them away. After that, he formed stairs of electricity and took off. He had been worried about moving through the sky, but it was just so much faster. He could even restore his mental energy with his soul stones. Despite the phantom pains, he felt amazing. He had faced off against a strong enemy and won. Now he hoped that the rest of the creatures here were as strong. The battle had helped him make progress with his dao, though he was still far from a breakthrough. Not that he had decided on the concept, he wanted to fuse with it. He ran through the air for an hour before he found a dip in the ground. An area that reminded him of a cave or a foxhole. He considered ignoring it, but he needed a place to rest and a place to operate out of. He landed on the ground twenty feet away and blasted his killing intent. When nothing came out after ten minutes, he figured it was safe. Or at least somewhat safe. He expanded his Dao fields in case and strode forth.

  The inside was more or less what he expected. A hole with dirt and bones. There were signs of something else having lived there, but he couldn't tell how long ago. He decided to take a seat and pass his inner eye over the rest of his body. His healing pills had dealt with most of the problem, but he would need one or two more before he was back at peak condition. Which was fine. He summoned another soul stone to top up his mental energy, and then he consolidated his experiences. The deer pack had been the most dangerous thing he fought. Even more so than the bird, yet it didn't help him as much. It used sunlight in its attacks. He was pretty sure they hadn't used a dao. Which made them even more impressive. Based on his assumptions, humanity would have had to drown an enemy like that in bodies. The thought made him shudder. Of course, he had no idea how strong the other elites were. If they led the other armies, that could make things different.

  Regardless, there was little point in worrying about what could've been. He was here now. He would do everything he could to tip the scales in favor of Earth. He took a calming breath and shifted focus. He wanted to make more progress on his Dao of Rain to try to keep up with Squall. He wanted to keep the original growth pattern in case it had some impact on his class choice. When he next opened his eyes, the light from outside had dimmed. He got to his feet and rolled his shoulders. He was progressing at a measured pace. Now he needed to figure out what to do next. He pulled out his notebook to verify that he was still heading in the right direction. He was no expert on maps, but he was confident. He considered staying here to sleep but decided against it. He wasn't tired, and he wanted to see what kind of creatures came out at night. He sealed his aura and killing intent inside himself and headed outside. He took a moment to appreciate the sky, and he headed out.