Hunters: The Prequel - Chapter 249

Mane was given seven books by Dan. Although the author was unknown, Mane thought that it was likely that this person was a friend of Dan’s. A friend, or a subordinate.

The books gave very detailed explanations of the current testing ground. Although this world didn’t have a name, all other information that pertained to its current affairs and the affairs of the few years before this one were mentioned in the book.

This unknown world didn’t have any grand territories. There weren’t any magnificent kingdoms or empires, neither were there any associations of power that kept things in check. But there were common professions – jobs that people of this world have grown accustomed to in order to survive. However, before the professions could be properly introduced, it was necessary to understand more about the ones who shared the planet with the humans – the Magical Beasts.

Magical Beasts were creatures that were far stronger than normal creatures of the world. Not only were they several times more powerful than the average creature, they also possessed some level of intellect that allowed them to survive in this brutal world. Although it wasn’t the same for each creature, most of the Magical Beasts possessed intelligence similar to a 5 year old. Of course there were some Magical Beasts that were more intelligent and made it so that this general statement was inaccurate, and there were some like the Banshee, which were so silly and unintelligent that even a baby was smarter. Of course for Magical Beasts, intelligence wasn’t equivalent to strength. There were Magical Beasts that were highly intelligent, but of no threat at all. Such beasts usually chose to hide to avoid predators. There were also Magical Beasts that had very low intelligence, but were very powerful. Such beasts relied on their primitive instincts to hunt and kill.

Magical Beasts were classified into five: low class; middle class; high class; mythic class; and legendary class. Low Class Magical Beasts had tough skin and powerful physical attributes, but that was all they could boast of. Middle Class Magical Beast were also very powerful physically, but they were about two times stronger than the average Low Class Magical Beast. Now after the middle class, the other classes were truly different. Starting from the high class, Magical Beasts developed particular attributes that made them difficult to contend with. Every High Class Magical Beast a special ability. For instance, the Banshee that Dan had taken care of in the Enchanted Forest was a High Class Magical Beast. Because it was a High Class Magical Beast, it had the ability to affect a person’s mind with its scream. Not only could its shrill screams incapacitate a person, they could also kill any weaker opponent instantly by causing the brain to rupture! However, not all High Class Magical Beasts had tough bodies. A Magical Beast like the Banshee was extremely weak in close combat, due to its normal physique. So in some cases, as long as one was well prepared, taking care of a physically weak High Class Magical Beast like the Banshee wasn’t difficult. In fact, for a hunter well prepared to face a Banshee, meeting a High Class Magical Beast that also had powerful physical attributes, or even a Middle Class Magical beast, was a far worse outcome.

Mythic Class Magical Beasts were also extremely powerful. Just like High Class Magical Beasts, Mythic Class Magical Beasts also had special abilities. But unlike High Class Magical Beasts, this special ability wasn’t limited to one. An example of such a beast was the Banshee Queen. Mane read about them in one of the books Dan had delivered to him. That book was focused on explaining the different kinds of Magical Beasts that one should be weary of. It had several magical beasts described in it, and there were even pictures to go with it. Anyway, in this particular book, the Banshee Queen was described. Banshees were extremely dangerous because they never moved alone. They moved together. The fact that one could handle one banshee on his/her own, didn’t mean that he/she could recklessly hunt for one. It was a dangerous move that would never pay off. And the main reason for that was the existence of the Banshee Queen. This Mythic Class Magical Beast was stronger than the normal banshees. Not only did it have a far more potent scream, it also had physical attributes that could rival that of a Middle Class Magical Beast. For the banshee species that had bodies so weak that even Low Class Magical Beasts were physically stronger, the physical attributes of the queen was very impressive. But that wasn’t what made her stand out. The other skill that the Banshee Queen possessed was the ‘Strengthening’ skill. This skill seemed useless on the surface, and it was indeed useless if the Queen was all by her lonesome. But things were different when she was surrounded by several banshees. The ‘Strengthening’ skill could increase the power of the normal banshees, making them tougher and stronger than they were; and essentially more difficult to deal with. So normally, very strong people who hunted the banshees, came up with intelligent ways to draw out the queen so she could be killed first.

Then there was the last class – the Legendary Class. There was a massive gulf between Legendary Class Magical Beasts and Mythic Class Magical Beasts. Once again, let us use the Banshee Queen as an example. Although the Banshee Queen possessed two skills, ‘Scream’ and ‘Strengthening’, they weren’t used without cost. Because her scream was stronger than the average banshee, it had a cooldown period. The stronger her scream, the longer the cooldown period. As for the ‘Strengthening’ skill, it couldn’t be used more than once a day. And whenever it was used, the Banshee Queen would become weaker, and her physical attributes that rivaled Middle Class Magical Beasts would drop to the level of the Low Class Magical Beasts. All Mythic Class Creatures basically followed this rule. Although they were powerful, their power didn’t come without any cost. This was were Legendary Class Magical Beasts distinguished themselves.

Unlike the Mythic Class, the Legendary Class possessed more than two skills. Usually, a Legendary Class possessed at least five skills, and one ultimate skill! All the skills – with the exception of the ultimate skill – didn’t require any cooldown! It was a massive cheat that only the Legendary Class possessed.

However, Legendary Class Beasts were very rare. At least from what Mane had read, in the entire history of this world – although it was short – there had only been a single sighting of a Legendary Class Magical Beast. That beast was a Winged Serpent. Although the inhabitants of this world eventually managed to kill it, they paid a hefty price. The information on the Legendary Class was based on this one creature, so it wasn’t to be relied upon. After all, it was likely that the serpent was weaker or stronger than the normal Legendary Class. In other words, the information wasn’t enough to accurately judge the strength of a Legendary Class. It was better to reserve judgement on how strong they were until there were a multitude of Legendary Class Magical Beasts to study. Of course, the entire world would prefer that the information on them was scarce, rather than see a large army of Legendary Class Magical Beasts appear.

Although Magical Beasts were powerful, humans were still able to thrive. In fact, humans had done so well in this world that they even ignored the Magical Beasts, and fought against each other. It could be understood if humans were able to go against Low Class Magical Beasts, or even the Middle Classes. After all, although they were strong, as long as several strong humans worked together with a couple of sharp tools, they could kill them. However, what about the High Classes and the Mythic Classes? How had humans been able to not only fend them off, but trap several of them in what came to be known as Enchanted Forests? The answer was simple, and it was something Mane had seen when he read Dan’s ‘Status’ window – the Mystic Path.

The Mystic Path was developed by a group of desperate humans who believed that it was possible that, just like Magical Beasts, humans had a potential towards strange abilities that were hidden within them. These mad men, who found nothing wrong in experimenting on young children, theorized that it was possible to break the cage that sealed the potential of human beings, and developed a drug after countless errors that had a 10 % chance of doing just that. They called this drug ‘Savior’, since it was meant to save the human race from the threat of extinction by Magical Beasts. Although Savior didn’t awaken the hidden potential in everyone, it still worked on some people. These people became known as ‘Mystic Path Warriors’, and fought to protect humanity from Magical Beasts.

They possessed several strange abilities. Some were able to fly and shoot fire. Others could navigate the underground like dwarves and easily escape from any threat. They were a powerful force that kept humanity together. However, during the subjugation of the Winged Serpent, several Mystic Path Warriors lost their lives, and the few that survived acquired injuries that left them incapable of fighting anymore. The human race separated after the Mystic Path Warriors fell. Several savages arose from within the human race. They attacked the men who developed ‘Savior’ in hopes of getting the recipe for themselves. Unfortunately, they ended up killing the creators of the drug without achieving their goals, losing ‘Savior’ in the process. They did get a different recipe, a failed version of ‘Savior’ that had a higher rate of success, but pulled out relatively weaker abilities. This drug developed warriors that were called ‘New Types’.

After the human race became divided, people went their own ways. Some became Adventurers, seeking to live life in the thrill of hunting Magical Beasts. Others became Bandits and grew accustomed to taking what wasn’t theirs. Pillaging and **** became their daily bread. Some still became assassins, and some lived simple lives as merchants or common people. In this world where there wasn’t any powerful force to keep the people in check, humans were highly divided. There were only villages, towns and cities; but no kingdoms or empires. Unlike the better protected cities, the towns and villages were subject to the raiding of Bandits, and were very vulnerable. Mane was currently in a village.

However, although the number of Mystic Path Warriors had grown thin, there were still some left in the world. Dan was such a person. Mane couldn’t help but wonder if he was actually part of the generation that went against the serpent. If he was, it would explain how the man was able to easily rescue him from a banshee. And if the books were to be believed, he was currently injured.

“If this is his injured state, then how strong was he in his prime,” Mane wondered? He felt that Dan gave off an air of authority. Did it have to do with his past? Or was it his present?