Chapter 133: Flying
It was already morning, and Bahamut had left the residence very early. He had a new mission to accomplish, and that was;
[Mission:
Learn How to Use Your Beast Traits:
- You are a Chimera, and as such, you have the traits of various beasts and animals. A chimera grows stronger by the more beast traits it has and by how best it can use them. Learn how to use your beast traits.
Duration: 1 Week
Penalty: None
Reward: A Mythic Chimera Core (Tier 2)]
...
The southern edge of the outer sect was quieter than most places. Fewer disciples came here, so there was less noise and fewer disturbances. A narrow stream cut through the land like a silver ribbon, its waters flowing gently over smooth stones, producing a constant, soothing murmur. The surface reflected the early morning light, shimmering gold where the sun touched it and deep blue where shadows lingered beneath overhanging rocks and trees.
Tall grass swayed lazily along the banks, dotted with small white and yellow flowers. A few thin trees leaned toward the water, their leaves whispering softly with every passing breeze.
It was peaceful and perfect for him. Bahamut sat atop a large, flat rock near the stream, one leg bent, the other hanging loosely over the edge. His blindfold rested beside him.
His eyes, those strange, multi-layered pupils, were exposed and focused.
"Alright..." he muttered.
"Let’s see what I’m working with."
The system responded instantly. A faint glow formed before him. Then it released an array of images, each one pulsing with a different presence.
The first on the array was a fox, a three-tailed crimson fox with glowing purplish eyes, sleek, cunning, with eyes full of calculation.
Following the fox was a beautiful, green antelope with wood-like antlers and pupilless green eyes. It was one of the few beasts he’d killed easily.
Next was a huge and ferocious-looking wolf with a mix of golden-brown and dark blue fur, and a pair of piercing blue eyes. It looked savage, coordinated; a predator that hunted with purpose.
Next was a lion beast with pure white fur, a golden mane, and deep golden eyes. What followed was a creature built for destruction and survival, the Metal Tailedsaurus, a dinosaur-like beast with a very long, metallic tail.
A bunny followed next, small, lithe, and cute, making him wonder where he’d gotten that trait from, before he remembered that the bunny body Ren was using now belonged to a bunny he’d killed. It was deceptively harmless, but thinking back to Ren, he doubted.
Next was a beast who proved to be his very first real challenge, and that was in one of the trials, the Golden Sun Eagle, a ruler of the skies. This beast nearly killed him with its last attack. He was literally fried.
An unseen terror appeared next, a creature that lives beneath the earth... a Land Wyrm. This beast was also very strong, with insane defense that made it hard to kill, and incredibly fast in its natural habitat.
The Treant Bear was next, tall, ferocious, and massive. A beast that took Exildra and him to defeat. It had overwhelming strength, endurance, and relentless brutality, which he lacked, and that broken treant ability. It was a nightmare of a beast to face.
The next was a beast he had died before killing. It literally made the statement "Die trying" true. It was silent, fast, lethal... a killer. A real killer. It was the Eliminator, the scorpion. It had even pushed him to use Death Intent and Brutality. It was a true monster.
Horned-Ridge Beast, a beast he’d killed on their way to Farronhall. Its presence alone radiated stubborn resilience and raw physicality, but it was much easier to kill than the ones above.
And the last was a symbiotic creature in a dark green color. The ghoul parasite, dark, unsettling, and alive in a way that felt... wrong. It had pushed him to even use his life force. A true devil, and this was just a small part of a much larger ghoul.
Bahamut stared at them long and hard.
"Damn."
He lifted his hand slowly. His fingers twitched, then shifted. Fur sprouted instantly, red and soft... fox-like. He flexed his hand. The movement felt... light and precise.
"Fast," he muttered, finally realizing some capabilities of the crimson fox trait despite using it a lot of times. The fur receded while his arm thickened, muscles bulged unnaturally as coarse fur replaced skin.
Wolf.
He clenched his fist and his veins pulsed.
"Stronger."
Then, another shift, and white fur appeared denser and heavier. They belonged to the lion. His breathing deepened instinctively while his posture straightened. There was something... commanding about it.
"I feel like punching something."
The transformation faded again, and this time, his arm expanded, became scaled, massive, and clawed. The Metalosaurus. He slammed it lightly against the rock.
CRACK!
The stone fractured instantly.
"Yeah. That’s not light."
He exhaled and released it.
Next, his legs shifted, becoming slim and compact, with muscles coiling tight beneath the surface. The bunny.
He pushed lightly, and he vanished. A blur shot across the stream, touching the opposite bank before returning just as quickly.
"What the hell?!" He looked down at his legs, surprised. "That’s insane..."
He had never used the bunny trait before, so it came as a shock to him. This was truly insane! He exhaled lightly, and they reverted.
His back suddenly tensed, as his bones shifted. Muscles rearranged and wings, massive, golden, and metallic, shot out of his back, spilling a bit of blood. The Golden Sun Eagle. They unfurled behind him with a powerful WHOOOSH, sending dust and leaves scattering in all directions.
Bahamut froze.
"Whoa-!"
He stood slowly, and the wings adjusted instinctively, balancing his weight.
"This feels... right." He flexed them slightly.
His vision sharpened drastically, and the world changed into details he couldn’t see before, well, not as well with his mix-layered eyes. He could see details, but they were more of details and information, something that affected him negatively at the moment. It was as if he was seeing with his mind. He saw now the ripple of the stream, the movement of insects in the grass. The distant figure of a disciple hundreds of meters away. Everything became... clear.
"This is crazy..."
He crouched slightly and jumped.
BOOM!
The ground cracked beneath him as he shot upward. The wings flapped once, twice, and he soared. The wind rushed past him violently. His hair whipped wildly, while his eyes widened in surprise and awe.
"HAHAHAHA!"
He laughed loud and free. The sky opened before him. For the first time, he wasn’t bound to the ground. He tilted mid-air, adjusted, wobbled, and stabilized.
"Okay... okay..."
His wings flapped another time, smoother this time, and more controlled. It was so natural that he couldn’t understand it.
"I get it..."
He circled above the stream, gaining height. The sect below looked smaller and distant.
"This... is insane..."
He exhaled slowly, but his expression shifted, becoming focused.
"Not enough."
His wings flared wider, and his gaze sharpened.
"I need to switch faster. Combine them."
The mission wasn’t just about using them... it was about mastering them, and Bahamut... was just getting started.
The wind howled past his ears as Bahamut hovered mid-air, wings spread wide against the morning sky. His breathing steadied and his mind... sharpened.
"Switching is one thing," he muttered. "But mixing..."
His eyes glinted.
"That’s where it gets interesting."
He hovered in place, the Golden Sun Eagle wings beating rhythmically. He focused inward.
Fox. Eagle.
His vision sharpened even further. It was no longer just clarity... it was calculation: distances, angles, and movement predictions.
"Whoa..."
The world slowed. A bird darted through the sky far off, and Bahamut’s eyes tracked it instantly. Every flap, every shift in direction.
"So this is fox plus eagle."
A grin spread across his face.
"Let’s push it."
He angled his body downward and shot forward.
BOOM!
The air split as he accelerated, wings driving him like a living missile. Mid-flight, he switched again.
Wolf.
His arms thickened mid-air, muscles bulging as his claws extended, but the shift disrupted his balance...
"Shit-!"
He tilted sharply, almost spiraling out of control, but the wings corrected.
"Okay, that’s harder than I thought."
He stabilized again, breathing slightly heavier.
"Again."
This time, he prepared.
Eagle. Fox. Wolf.
He layered them slowly and carefully, and his body reacted. His muscles twitched and his veins pulsed.
"Come on!"
It clicked, and his wings beat stronger. His arms, clawed and powerful, stabilized his movements mid-air, and his mind was sharp, cold, and calculating.
"This... this works." His eyes widened slightly.
He darted forward again, faster than before, and more controlled. He twisted mid-air with a sharp turn with no wobble.
"HAHA!"
His confidence surged.
"Let’s go further."
He pulled back and dove again. He added another.
Bear.
His body expanded slightly mid-flight, becoming heavier and denser.
The result?
He DROPPED.
"FUCK!"
BOOM!
He crashed straight into the stream, sending water exploding everywhere. Bubbles rose, and Bahamut shot out of the water, coughing.
"Okay!"
He wiped his face.
"NOT that one!"
He hovered again, shaking water off like a drenched animal.
"So weight matters."
He exhaled slowly.
"Mixing everything blindly won’t work."
He hovered quietly for a moment, thinking.
Then his eyes lit up again.
"What about this?"
Eagle.
Bunny.
His legs compressed and coiled, then he kicked mid-air.
BOOM!
The burst of speed was INSANE, as he vanished and reappeared dozens of meters ahead instantly.
"WHAT?!"
Even he was shocked.
"That’s broken..."
He laughed again, this time louder and more excited.
"Again!"
He kicked mid-air repeatedly, each burst sending him flying in unpredictable, explosive movements across the sky.
ZIG!
ZAG!
FLASH!
He became impossible to track, even for himself.
"OKAY... TOO FAST-!"
He barely stabilized, wings flaring hard to slow himself down. He hovered again, breathing heavier now. Sweat mixed with water dripped down his body.
"Last one"
His gaze darkened slightly. Eagle. Scorpion.
His back tensed, and a tail began to form, dark and segmented. It lashed once behind him.
"Huh"
He hovered in silence, testing it, then he flicked it forward.
SHIK!
A sharp, invisible strike cut through the air. A distant tree branch, split cleanly in half. Bahamut blinked in surprise.
"Okay"
A slow grin spread across his face.
"That’s dangerous."
He hovered there for a while longer. He was a monster.