Chapter 4: Ether Domain
Ether Domain.
The moment Mikhail had left the Great Helios Pass and stepped foot into the outskirts of the Western Ether Domain, he felt as though he had crossed into a different dimension.
It was as if he had just left the world of the living and stepped foot into the world of the dead.
Walking through the forest in the outskirt of the Ether Domain, he only saw death. All the trees and the plants were withered. All the mountains were bare and the rivers were empty.
Not only an ominous and deathly energy permeated the air, but it was also ravaged by terrible heat. The dried atmosphere would make anyone parched.
"Damn! This entire place is like a cursed land. Even the soil has turned black."Said Mikhail annoyingly as he was traveling on this wretched ground and making his way deeper into the forest where the low-rank Ether beasts were located.
According to the memories of Vandal, this part of the Antheia World used to be a beautiful scenery of mountains and rivers, just like the land of the Elves.
However, after being invaded and conquered by the Ether beasts, it had turned into a cursed land. Furthermore, from these dead trees, one could see that this place used to be filled with ancient tall trees and beautiful grasses.
It was a shame that today, this place was now dead ground. Nonetheless, despite all of that, this place was still considered a land treasures in the eyes of many.
This place had an abundance of Ether Stones which was extremely valuable. It also had a plethora of rare ores and metals etc. As such, though the Ether Domain was a dangerous area, it was a paradise for treasure seekers.
As Mikhail continued to make his way deeper into the deathly forest in the outskirts of the Ether Domain, he suddenly stopped his footsteps.
Ever since he had left the Great Helios Pass and entered the Ether Domain, he had this inkling feeling that he was being followed. However, every time, he looked and searched around, he could not find anyone.
He even used Sensor Field which was a unique magic spell that allowed the caster to detect any enemies within a certain distance.
As he was only a 3rd Circle Mage, his detection range was about 300 meters and he still couldn't find anything.
"It seems like that little bastard Handal is at it again. Unfortunately for him, I'm not as merciful as the previous owner of this body. I'll make sure to cut him down when I have the chance."Mikhail coldly said.
Both Handal and Vandal shared the mother. Their mother came from the Ducal House of Alexi, a family famous for raising famous commanders throughout the history of the Great Helios Empire. The House of Alexi always had powerful and skilled Knights.
It's said that they had the strongest military in the Great Helios Empire. Even the Supreme commander of the Great Helios Pass was a member of the Alexi Family, more precisely Vandal's uncle.
As a military family, the Alexi House valued strength and military power over politics which was why most of them preferred Vandal over Handal who was constantly scheming and fighting for the throne instead of honing his strength like Vandal.
Furthermore, Vandal was extremely talented and hardworking which made them liked him even more, even the cold and emotionless Emperor didn't hide his likeness for him. As such, not only Handal, but all the other princes wanted him dead.
"Rawrrrr—"
The moment Mikhail left the safe zone and entered the dangerous part of the outskirts of the Ether Domain, his path was suddenly blocked by five Ether beasts.
[Dark Gnolls: Rank 1 Ether beast] [Unique ability: Poisonous Fangs and Claws]
[Dark Gnolls: Rank 1 Ether beast] [Unique ability: Poisonous Fangs and Claws]
[Dark Gnolls: Rank 1 Ether beast] [Unique ability: Poisonous Fangs and Claws]
[Dark Gnolls: Rank 1 Ether beast] [Unique ability: Poisonous Fangs and Claws]
[Dark Gnolls: Rank 1 Ether beast] [Unique ability: Poisonous Fangs and Claws]
At the same time, the information of the five Ether beasts appeared above their heads like in those virtual games.
"That's neat," Mikhail said with a slight smile on his face after seeing this. He kinda liked this function of the system.
Furthermore, even though it was his first time encountering Ether beasts since coming to this world, he didn't look afraid at all. He was instead very curious.
The dark gnolls resembled humanoid hyenas and looked extremely scary with their tongues hanging out their mouth as they were salivating. Their red eyes were filled with bloodlust and had sinister looks on their faces.
"Rawrrrr—" While Mikhail was taking his time sizing up those ugly-looking Ether beasts, they immediately rushed and pounced towards him, with a bite, aiming for his neck.
"You guys should be honored as you all will be my first kills in this world." Mikhail coldly said as he raised his right hand and aimed his finger like a gun towards the incoming dark gnolls.
Bang!
In the next, a blue light emitted from Mikhail's fingers and flew towards the dark gnolls with incredible speed. It was like a bullet.
Bang! Bang!
Every time Mikhail's fingertip flashed, one dark gnoll after another fell onto the ground with a gaping hole drilled into their heads. Each magic bullet equated to one dead dark gnolls.
In less than five seconds, all the five dark gnolls were lying on the ground with dark reddish blood gushing out their heads.
With their brains destroyed, it was impossible for them to survive no matter how good their regenerative abilities were.
"No wonder Magician have higher status than Aura Knight."Said Mikhail as he was looking at his finger. Even back on Earth, those bastards had high status compared to warriors like him.
He only used a simple 1st circle magic spell known as a Magic Bullet and he was able to kill five ranks 1 dark gnolls without breaking a sweat in less than five seconds. Even a 3 Stars Aura Knight wouldn't be able to accomplish such a feat in such a little short time.
"It seems like this system isn't like the ones in the game. I didn't get any experience points or notifications even after killing those five dark gnolls," Mikhail said with a disappointing look on his face.
If the system was like that, it wouldn't have taken him long before he became the strongest person in this world.
Nonetheless, Mikhail didn't look discouraged. He had the feeling that the system had many cool functions waiting for him to discover.
Furthermore, he was also looking forward to unsealing the 7 Demon Gods' Unique Skills, he had the feeling that each one of them was heaven-defying.
After killing the five dark gnolls, Mikhail opened their bodies and took the Ether Stones out of them.
To an Aura Knight or a Mage, even though Ether Beasts were frightening, they were also rare and precious.
[Discover the Lowest-Grade Mana Stones. Would you like to absorb them?]
The moment Mikhail took the tiny Ether Stones out of the dark gnolls and held them in his hand, the cold and mechanical voice suddenly rang out within his mind again.
"Yes." Answered Mikhail without hesitation. He has already gotten used to this function.
[Mana Stat Has Permanently Increased By 0.5]
[Mana Stat Has Permanently Increased By 0.5]
[Mana Stat Has Permanently Increased By 0.5]
[Mana Stat Has Permanently Increased By 0.5]
[Mana Stat Has Permanently Increased By 0.5]
"It seems like those damn Ether Beast had just broken through the Rank 1," Said Mikhail after seeing the tiny mana extracted from their Ether Stone.
"The good thing is that I don't need to purify the Ether Stones as others do before absorbing them. The system does for it me." He said with a slight happy smile on his face. This was indeed a great advantage.
"Alright, it's still too early to be happy. Let's keep on moving." He added before continued making his way deeper into the Ether Domain.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone