Chapter 734 Murkel’s Hatred (Part 2)
Life in the dimension the second time turned out to be completely different compared to the first. There were incredibly large differences now compared to before.
For one, none of the beasts saw him as a threat; it was either that or they saw him as too much of a threat to even try to attack him.
Still, what this meant was he was living in the dimension without having to fight against beasts every day or fear for his life being taken.
At times, there was the odd scuffle here or there, but it seemed to be over small reasons, and Murkel would only have to give a small hit or two before the beast would stop and be on its way.
During his time in the dimension, he had also become quite close with the beast that lived in the cave, the giant orange bear whom he had decided to name Ginger.
The cave had become a shared living space between the two of them. Ginger would often go out hunting on his own, bringing back smaller animals that didn’t have crystals inside their body.
These were the beasts’ source of food, and it was Murkel’s as well. At times Murkel would also return the favor, and the two of them had gotten close.
Very close to the point where Murkel would even ride on top of the bear, and the two of them would go out hunting together. In the strange world of beasts, it truly felt like the beasts around had become their family.
At times, Murkel thought he had gone mad, and who wouldn’t if they were surrounded by only beasts and no one to talk to. There was one thing that he kept an eye on, and that was a voice in his mind.
He was waiting for something, for someone to try and take over eventually. He was sure several years had passed and there was still no voice.
Yet, everything he could now do with his body was beyond that of just a Pagna warrior. His body, the reaction of the beasts themselves, it had to be all because the Hybrid was still with him, and he continued to live in this fear.
In the end, fifty years had passed in the dimension of Murkel living this life. He didn’t look like he had aged that much due to his high status as a middle-stage warrior.
There was still no sign and no way for him to get out of the world, and he soon felt like he would have to come up with other things.
As he was in the cave one day, he noticed Ginger in a lot of pain, and a few hours later, and a baby Ginger around the size of Murkel himself had popped out of him.
Or now she, he had to correct himself.
“I thought you were male, but I guess Ginger is a name that can be used for both, right?” Murkel said as he stroked Ginger’s fur to calm her down.
The cave felt a bit smaller with Ginger and Baby Ginger. Murkel looked after the child while Ginger would go out hunting for food. This repeated until Ginger had grown slightly larger and had grown fur.
This time Ginger had nudged her child, and the two of them stood up.
“I see, you need to teach him how to hunt, right? So you don’t want me to come along. He needs to learn how to hunt on his own so he doesn’t have to rely on us. I get it, don’t worry, just go on ahead.”
Murkel wasn’t sure, but he felt like they could understand him, and at times he could understand them. It certainly seemed that way.
As the two left the cave, Murkel had gotten into a meditative state and started to cultivate.
“The beast was able to open a portal. All things stem from energy, and we as warriors are even able to transcend to other realms due to the great power within. Which means there has to be a way for us to create portals ourselves, right?”
“But is Qi the answer, or is it something else?” Murkel was truly stuck on this point.
He only had Qi and the beast crystals to work with. While he was thinking of ways on how to use this, he soon heard heavy footsteps through the thick jungle up ahead.
Breaking through the jungle, he could see a six-legged elephant come crashing through and falling right on the ground in front of the cave.
Immediately, Murkel jumped to check on the beast’s condition. It had wounds all over, strikes, and large cuts on its body. It didn’t take long until the elephant’s heart had stopped beating.
“These wounds… they weren’t done by claws, and the attack at the side, the impact looks more like a fist. This was done by humans. Humans are here!” Murkel said.
He quickly jumped to his feet and rushed in the direction the beast came from. He moved fast, kicking off the trees and navigating through the jungle faster than any beast could.
Then he started to kick his way up high so he could get a better view. Finally, he could hear the sound of talking up ahead.
“That thing was incredibly strong.”
“Right, that at least has to be a Level Five power stone though. It looks like we managed to hit the jackpot in this dimension.”
The voices heard continued, and Murkel eventually stepped out on a large branch and looked below. Several trees had broken down in the area, collapsing on top of itself.
He was right; he could see a group of warriors, around ten of them. They were in Pagna clothing, holding weapons, and some seemed quite skilled and strong judging by their Qi.
However, Murkel’s eyes soon focused on the ground to what they had surrounded, lying on its side.
A large orange-furred beast, covered in blood, while its child lay on the ground relatively close to it, using its large bear-like claws it had held onto its child, bringing it close.
It was clear it had done everything it could in order to protect its child.
Both of the beasts were recognizable to Murkel.
“For the entire time I have been here, all you did was bring me comfort and joy. You were the one that helped me when I was close to death… you were the only family I had in this place.” Murkel’s entire body was shaking.
“And… they killed you for what, for crystals!” Murkel shouted as his Qi had broken the branch he was standing on, and he had fallen right onto the ground.
Chapter 735 Humans are Beasts
The warriors on the outside thought they had hit the jackpot when a portal had appeared near their clan base. Their clan was located in the Dark Faction and wasn’t very large. It was known as the Purple Berry Clan.
While the clan had history, it wasn’t significant enough to be written down in books. However, they believed their luck had changed.
The world of Pagna had learned about dimensions and portals opening up. Now was a time when clans would grow stronger and larger and could benefit from having a dimension open near them.
Before informing anyone about this new discovery, the initial clan had sent ten of their strongest warriors to scout the dimension. They had no idea what level of beasts lay inside.
Upon entering, the warriors, including a couple of high initial stage warriors, thought they were in luck. They fought against the beasts and managed to defeat them as a group, acquiring powerful crystals that could be sold for a small fortune or boost their cultivation to the middle stage.
Since nearly all of the warriors who entered were high-ranking initial stage warriors working together, they could defeat beasts they would never have been able to handle alone.
After defeating a few beasts, a real challenge appeared. They came across a large orange bear—and not just one, but two.
“Looks like we hit the jackpot with this one. Let’s go; this could be the difference for our clan. Maybe we’ll even be the ones to save the Dark Faction!” one of the leaders cheered, and they all charged forward.
However, the bear was far stronger than they had imagined. Its claws could match several of the warriors at once in strength, throwing them away and crashing their bodies into the large trees behind them.
It was no simple beast like the others they had encountered in the dimension so far. As they were cautious in attacking, they realized that the beast wasn’t charging forward or attacking them.
This gave them time to think.
“What do we do? The beast is too strong for us, but it’s also not charging at us. Should we give up and hunt somewhere else?” one of the warriors asked.
They all looked to the leader in charge of the expedition. It wasn’t the Clan Head but the most promising member of the clan, a rising star named Roku.
“Wait, don’t leave just yet,” Roku said, holding up his hand. “There’s a reason it’s not attacking. Can’t you see? Every step it takes, every movement, it moves to protect the younger one.”
“It’s quite clear; it’s a mother protecting her child.”
“But what difference does that make?” another warrior asked.
“A lot of difference. There are ten of us, and we are coordinated in our attacks,” Roku answered. “If we know it’s protecting its child, then we know how the beast is going to act. As long as we attack the right target…”
The other warriors started to understand what Roku was saying, and they put the plan into motion.
The warriors coordinated their attacks against the child bear. While the child bear was strong for a beast, it was no match against these well-coordinated warriors.
The mother bear, Ginger, realized this and would move to cover the child with most of her body while delivering a swipe. This was the perfect time for Roku and the others to strike.
They managed to come from behind and deliver powerful attacks, damaging and ripping through the bear’s skin, causing it to bleed. Yet Ginger still stood strong, determined to protect her child.
The battle went on for a while, with Roku using the same technique repeatedly. The marks on Ginger’s body grew larger, and eventually, Ginger collapsed, her claws wrapped around her child’s body, trying to shield it.
“We did it. We finally did it. That has to be at least a level five power crystal!” one of the warriors claimed.
The group quickly began harvesting the crystal. As they got close, they realized something. The child bear roared and tried to snap at one of them.
“What do we do with that?” one of the warriors asked.
“What do you mean? It’s a beast, right? There’s a crystal in its body, so take it out,” Roku ordered.
In the quickest fashion, five of the warriors went in from different directions, piercing through its body with their swords. It didn’t last long and fell into the arms of its mother.
From above, it would appear as a perfect picture, with the mother holding on, trying to protect her child.
There was clearly no sympathy from any of the warriors, as to them, it was just another beast. The creatures they could harvest energy from to better their own lives, much like animals grown for food but harvested for their power.
The crystal had already been harvested from Ginger’s body, and now they were making their way to the child. That’s when they heard a branch snap and leaves rustling on the floor.
Turning to see who was there, they saw a man wearing next to no clothes. The clothes he had on when he arrived had long since deteriorated, leaving only a small patch covering his groin area and partly on his legs like a pair of shorts. The one item he had on him was a medallion hanging around his neck.
“Get away from that body,” Murkel stated.
“There was someone here before us? How is that possible!” Roku exclaimed.
The others quickly continued with their work, ignoring the man who had just entered, planning to leave it to Roku to deal with.
“State who you are and what clan you’re from,” Roku said, pointing at the intruder, who had suddenly vanished from his sight.
Before he knew it, Roku saw the tip of his finger falling to the floor. His hand had been sliced cleanly off, but by whom he didn’t understand until he heard screams behind him.
Turning around, he saw an entire fist thrust through the stomach of his allies from the strange man in question.
“I said, get away from the body!” Murkel exclaimed.
Chapter 736 No longer Human
The next few moments for Roku felt like he was in a living nightmare. He watched his men get taken out one by one, each with ease. The warriors struck back, but he saw a fist break through swords, smash through the faces of his colleagues, and kill them on the spot.
No one was able to put up a fight even for a moment. a warrior of this level was someone that should have been known in the outside of Pagna.
Yet the description of such a man didn’t match anything in Roku’s head.
The swipe of this mysterious man was sharper than any sword, slicing through limbs and dismembering heads.
All Roku could do was murmur to himself, his bottom lip quivering. His legs shaking.
“Stop it… stop it… why, why are you attacking us!” Roku eventually shouted.
That was when he witnessed the last of his squad perish, leaving only him alive. The attacker turned his head to look at him, blood splattered across his face, his hands covered in it, and some on his upper body.
This man looked nothing like a human and was even more frightening than any beast Roku had ever seen before.
The Qi that was coming off his body was making him feel sick to his stomach.
“Please, I’m sorry,” Roku said, falling to his knees. “I had no idea a master from another clan had already entered this dimension. If we had known, we would have never entered such a place.”
Hearing those words somewhat snapped Murkel out of his rage. He was filled with anger as he saw the dead beasts on the floor—beasts that had cared for him, that had practically become family.
“You entered through a dimension. Is the portal you speak of still open?” Murkel asked.
Roku was paralyzed with fear, unable to think straight. After all, how could a warrior who had entered through a portal not know where they were right now?
Regardless, he pointed with a shaking hand behind him. “Around 5 kilometers in that direction. Two trees cross each other like an X. That’s where we entered from.”
Murkel was ready to run off and head to where the exit was. Finally, after all this time, he could leave, and this time it would be with a sound mind. He took one step forward, and a strong force struck Roku’s face.
When Roku turned around, he could no longer see the strange warrior. Somehow, he had managed to survive it all.
“I’m alive… I’m alive, the master didn’t kill me. I have no idea why, but he didn’t kill me!” Roku was ecstatic, jumping for joy.
That was until he heard a deep growl. When he looked around through the jungle, he saw several eyes staring at him. Looking up at the treetops, a number of beasts were starting to gather.
Unlike before, Roku had no one to help him, and the beasts were attracted by the smell of blood.
“Damn it, damn it, that master left me here to die!” Roku screamed at the top of his lungs.
He charged forward, swinging his sword wildly, but it wasn’t long before he was pecked, pulled, and torn apart by several of the monsters. There wasn’t even a part of him left that could be used to be buried.
—
Murkel ran through the jungle like a madman, and just ahead he could see the large X-shaped trees. He finally leaped onto both feet, skidding across the leaves and floor, and saw the portal lingering ahead of him.
As he approached it, he couldn’t quite believe it and hesitated for a moment before reaching out to touch it. He saw his hand covered in blood.
‘What did I just do? I completely killed those warriors,’ Murkel said to himself. ‘I haven’t made any contact with humans in so long, and the first time I do, I end up killing them.’
The images of what he had done replayed in his mind. Despite being a Pagna warrior, Murkel had never killed anyone. However, his body had. The images of how the beasts had dealt with the clan members were similar to what he had just done.
‘I felt pity for the beasts that helped me and felt nothing for those warriors. I thought there were no changes in me, that I hadn’t changed at all. But what if I have changed? Just because I can’t hear the voice doesn’t mean the beast inside me isn’t influencing my choices.’
Another thought ran through Murkel’s head. At any point in time, the beast could take over his body like before. It was most likely just lying dormant in him, and then the world of Pagna, including his clan, would no longer be safe.
‘Yet I’m worried about a clan that never sent anyone to come after me, a clan that had abandoned me?’
Thinking this way, Murkel wanted to be a little selfish. He had originally entered the portal with hopes of protecting the people from the village. Yet they did nothing. The people who had protected him were the beasts, and warriors had come to kill them.
So why should he care about the people of Pagna when they didn’t care about him? With this thought in mind, he stepped through the portal and ended up back in the world of Pagna.
As he emerged, he recognized his surroundings—the hilltops, the large grass, and the flowing river.
“This isn’t where the Erupting Fist Clan is based, but it’s close—maybe around thirty miles or so. I guess it would make sense for the portal to open up here… and this time, I feel fine. There’s no voice in my head; the body is still mine.
“My first stop will be back to the Erupting Fist Clan to get answers as to why no one had come after me,” Murkel thought as he kicked off the ground with his new, powerful body.
Soon, he would become the legend of the one closest to reaching the Divine Realm—the strongest in Pagna.
Chapter 737 The Noctis Clan’s Fall
Murkel’s first destination was the Erupting Fist Clan, the place where he had grown up for 25 years—the place that taught him morals and raised him after he was taken in as an orphan.
Originally, he felt extremely indebted to the clan, even being given the position of the next Clan Head despite not being part of the original bloodline that started the clan.
This is why he thought they were great people. This is why he believed they would have come and helped him stop the beasts from the portals. So, he wanted answers to his questions.
‘Before, when I was seeing through the eyes of the hybrid, or really my own eyes, I could see that the world of Pagna had changed. They even talked about a Dark Faction that didn’t exist during my time, and the people in charge were unfamiliar to me.’
‘That means a lot of time must have passed while I was in the dimension, and now having entered it a second time, even more time must have passed as well. There’s a chance that no one from back then is still alive.’
‘Maybe if the clan was prosperous and the students I taught became middle-stage students, they would still be at the Erupting Fist Clan.’
In the back of Murkel’s mind, there was another thought. Although some clans lasted hundreds of years, many would fall and no longer exist. With the clan gone, where would he go next, and what would his plan be?
There was no need to worry about that for now; he just needed to get there first. As he traveled the short path, he noticed many changes along the way.
There was a string of villages along the river that had been created, which were never there before. These villages were more populated than before and had a large amount of crops.
He could even see clan symbols on the clothing of those outside and on clan buildings as well.
Out of curiosity, Murkel decided to stop in. It was quite a shock at first, especially since he had no clothes on himself, but pulling out a beast crystal and handing it over quickly resolved that as they got him well-dressed.
‘It would have been inappropriate to go without clothes to meet my old clan anyway.’ Exiting from the tailor, he continued his journey through the town, and that’s when he noticed a statue in the center.
“What does this plaque say at the bottom? ‘To the founder of the Dark Faction, Bofan Kilikola.’” Murkel read out.
It was a name he didn’t recognize, and when he looked up at the statue, he saw it was a man in strange robe-like clothing, with a hood covering his head.
The statue didn’t reveal what his eyes looked like, only his mouth, but there were notable items crafted around his belt.
‘The shape, the figure, isn’t this the wanderer that I fought all those years ago!’ Murkel thought.
It was hard to tell since the statue was just that—a representation of a man without much detail in the face. However, if there was one person who could form the Dark Faction in his mind, this would be the person.
‘I need to do some more research; there should be a library of sorts somewhere,’ Murkel thought as he continued to look around, trying to find out answers to everything that had happened while he was away.’
Information was obtainable, but more than anything, Murkel was able to find out what had occurred through speaking to others. He first talked to the general public, getting somewhat of an idea.
He couldn’t quite get the full answers he was looking for, so he decided to head to the clan that was based in the current village.
The clan base was a small dojo, with short walls on the outside and a single entrance leading to an open courtyard that led to the room itself.
The warriors quickly approached him, asking who he was.
“Do you have an appointment set up with the clan?” one of the guards asked.
“I do not, but I wish to speak. I am from the Erupting Fist Clan,” Murkel said, placing his fist into the palm of his hand and giving a respectful bow. Courtesy and other manners were coming back to him—things he hadn’t used for a long time.
One of the guards went inside, and a few moments later, he returned with one of the elders from his clan.
‘They didn’t question me about the Erupting Fist Clan, so it seems that they at least still exist in some way,’ Murkel thought.
When the elder set eyes on Murkel, a bead of sweat ran down the side of his face. He quickly quickened his steps to meet Murkel sooner and gave a slight bow.
“I never expected a sudden visit. Is there some type of issue going on?” the elder asked.
Murkel was a little confused by the elder’s reaction. “There is no issue. I just wish to ask a few questions. You can relax.”
“Ah.” The elder seemed to calm down and was no longer worried. “Then we can head inside. Please escort the master inside.”
One of the guards went ahead to escort Murkel toward the building while the other guard stood next to the elder.
“Was he someone important, sir? Should we have been more cautious? Who is he?” the guard asked.
“I have no idea,” the elder replied.
The response caused the guard to scratch the top of his head, wondering if it was time for the old man to retire from his days as a Pagna warrior.
“Can’t you feel it, though?” the elder said. “That man is incredibly strong, and you know in the world of Pagna, we have to be careful when masters like that come to visit us.”
Upon entering, the elder was happy to answer the questions Murkel had, however odd they may be. Since Murkel was asking about various things, he eventually got the answers he sought.
Bofan was the man who had formed the Dark Faction, and he did so with the creation of the Noctis Clan. Learning of the skills and names, Murkel was sure that they were the same person.
However, he learned that the Dark Faction leader Bofan had gone missing, and no one knew the real reason why. At the same time, the three factions had decided to communicate more with each other, ushering in an era of peace, and the yearly martial arts tournament was established around fifty years ago.
From what Murkel knew, the three clans didn’t seem close back then. According to the elder, the Dark Faction wasn’t in a good situation. With Bofan gone for so long and Noctis Clan members essentially nonexistent, the Dark Faction was weakening, and the three factions were skirmishing more and more each day.
“And what about the hybrid that appeared fifty years ago?”
The elder raised an eyebrow. “Did that happen fifty years ago as well? I suppose it was around that time, yes.”
Now Murkel had a good idea of how long he had been away. “Thank you. I think it’s about time I return to the clan. Thank you for your answers. And, I wouldn’t worry about the Dark Faction for much longer; big changes will be coming.”
Murkel said as he headed for the Erupting Fist Clan.
