However, his practically useless Soul Ability wasn't the end of all hope for him. There were many people in the Beast Domain who had grown exceptionally strong thanks to strengthening their bodies using Beast Cores dropped by the beasts they kill.
…It's just that they would never be as strong as someone who had done this, as well as had a strong Soul Ability to back it up.
Someone with a Soul Ability ranked as Radiant, the highest there could be, had a much higher ceiling than someone with a Mundane ability. That was just a fact. It would take some supreme genius to bridge the gap between ranks of Soul Abilities — or a heavenly opportunity.
Sighing, Nick packed up his belongings and prepared himself to disembark his makeshift campsite and make it back to his Sanctuary, War beast Sanctuary.
Like the name suggested, Sanctuaries were the only place in the entire Beast Domain where humans were safe from beast attacks. They weren't built by Humans, in fact they were there when the human race first entered the Beast Domain. It was unknown whether they were made by the Beast Domain, or some mysterious beings had built them long before they had stepped foot in there.
The Majority of people had long given up on trying to understand the reason behind this, but there were still a few dedicated scientists doing their best to research it, as well as the Beast Domain as a whole.
That White Ox Nick had killed earlier was the fourth beast he had killed ever since entering the Beast Domain — which coincidentally, would be the last time he planned on hunting any more White Ox. Well, Mundane White Ox, at least.
The more one consumed the same type of Beast Core, the less of an effect it had each time. Four was the maximum that people had been able to do before trying it a fifth time, only to receive no new Soul Seeds from consuming the Beast Core.
Still, his luck was absolutely rotten when it came to consuming Beast Cores and gaining Soul Seeds.
The whispers of the Beast Domain itself said that each consumption of a beast core could give anywhere between 1 and 50 Soul Seeds from each kill, but somehow Nick always found himself gaining them on the lower end of the spectrum…
'Shitty gambling system!'
Nick grumbled inwardly, unable to take his frustrations out any other way.
Well, except for taking his violence out on the surrounding fauna.
Twack!
He kicked a nearby tree with all his might, causing the thing to shake all over, spreading the effect throughout the canopies in a shock wave, but he caused no visible damage after all was said and done.
Just like the beasts in this place, even the plants were stronger than normal.
However, to Nick's dismay, the rustling of the trees didn't stop even after the effect from his kick had died down.
In fact… it seemed like the sounds of rustling were getting closer and closer to him.
'Oh crap!'
Nick cursed inwardly as he recognised that this couldn't be anything good.
Perhaps it was fate, or just his rotten luck once again playing a dirty trick on him, as it seemed his act of kicking the tree had attracted some unwanted attention from nearby. Still, it did start thanks to his own stupidity of kicking the tree, so he couldn't push all the blame away from himself.
However, Nick didn't care about any of that and instead decided to focus on escaping whatever it was that was chasing after him, as he would rather not stick around to find out.
When he was just a few more feet away from the edge of the forest, he could see the visage of War Beast Sanctuary off in the distance. But it seemed he wasn't fast enough, as the beast that had been chasing him caught up before he could make it out into the plains.
Pale faced and feeling quite scared, Nick turned around to catch a glance at his pursuer and block any incoming attack with his dagger.
To his surprise, as well as dismay, it was a White Ox.
In fact, it made sense for it to be a White Ox really, as the forest he had just been in was their domain and the hunting grounds many Altered frequented to kill them.
However, unlike the previous four White Ox Nick had killed, this was was different.
The Aura it gave off was…
It wasn't Mundane… it was an Awakened Beast!
This realisation pushed Nick even further into despair. There was no way he would be able to kill something like an Awakened Beast with his measly amount of strength — but at the same time, escape was no longer a possibility.
His only hope of survival was making it out to the plains and praying to god that someone spotted him and the plight he was in, and sent help.
But now that he was caught before he could make it that far, that hope was lost.
'Fuck it, I have no choice but to face it then!'
Faced with great adversity, Nick took a step back and clutched his dagger with both hands.
If anyone were to look closely at him, they'd notice that he was visibly shaking, with sweat accumulating on his back and hands by the seconds.
He was terrified, but still had enough courage to not give up in the face of almost certain death.
'Man up Nick, Dammit! You've been training and preparing for this moment your whole life!'
This was true, as every child had to go through mandatory education regarding the Beast Domain after its importance was discovered all those decades ago.
Looking at the Ox, Nick couldn't help but look at its domineering body and felt its overwhelming aura.
Unlike regular White Ox, this one was darker in colour, more of a light grey tone than white, and it was at least twice the size of its Mundane counterparts. Its shoulders stood over a head taller than Nick, and he wasn't anything to scoff at himself with his 6ft tall frame.
'If that thing hits me, I'll be toast!'
The Ox probably held the power of a truck in that sturdy body, and even each breath it took was reminiscent of an old combustion engine.
As if it could read his thoughts, the Ox suddenly charged in, pushing off the ground with those terrifyingly powerful legs.
'Crap…'