Chapter 296: Discovered

This conversion was slow, and while it was happening the light green mist seemingly moved away from the gray smoke. Creating an area where no mist was present next to the gray smoke. Looking around Eldrian found that this was happening in a lot of places. 

However, it was not to such an extent that his vision was covered. Instead, it was more that there was this gray smoke every ten or so meters.

It was also inconsistent in its appearance, size, and location. Sometimes there would be none for over a hundred meters, other times an area would be nearly full of gray smoke. 

However, the smoke never formed a miasma. It was always disconnected, limited in size. Clearly, it was not actually the corruption, but rather individual cases where something had happened. Something which left behind mana which fed upon the mana of the nature element. 

What is this?  Eldrian wondered, looking at the other areas that were normal. Trying to figure out why this was not spread throughout like the other colors. Light green and white-green dominating, with a blue mist behind it and red almost absent. 

These mists were everywhere. They would become vaguer as their density decreased, but they would not separate into packets like the gray smoke. There would always be some of each mist, everywhere. Different from the smoke which was only found within its packets. 

Eldrian felt quite frustrated as he looked on, realizing he had no idea what this all meant. Especially the fact that he didn't know how to interact with the mists irritated him. When he attempted, sending out mageia in the hope to gather the mana that appeared like a mist, he would always fail. 

His thoughts couldn't easily latch onto the mana, and when he tried to focus more on it, he would lose focus on Mana Examination. Leading to him losing sight of the mana as his spell failed. Trying without Mana Examination allowing him to see the mists felt even more useless. 

After close to half an hour of aimlessly wandering and trying to connect to every different color, Eldrian gave up. However, this was only in regard to him trying to connect to the mana. He kept using Mana Examination, in hopes that the gray smoke would lead him to where the undead were. 

It was the only thing he could think of. They must be the cause of the smoke, though Eldrian didn't quite know how or why. He tried to move from the densest area with this smoke present to another, while also trying to go to nearby cabins. 

Suddenly a loud screech born from hell broke the peacefulness of the forest. A sound, so terrible that it threw all Eldrian's thoughts into disarray. There was no way it could come from a living creature, and looking towards the source this notion was confirmed. 

An undead bird, little less than bones and decaying feathers stared at Eldrian. It no longer had any eyes, yet its skull made it clear that it was staring. The black gaze sending chills down Eldrian's spine.

Its entire body was kept together by a black miasma that had pieces of rotten flesh still stuck inside it. It looked horrifying, yet Eldrian was more curious than anything.

Having fought a bunch of undead up close certainly helping him in not being disturbed by its appearance. Different from other undead this bird seemed to not be a zombie, nor a skeleton.  Those either had rotting flesh or were just bones.

Using Magic Inspection and Mana Examination respectively. Eldrian found the results interesting, making him want to observe it longer. 

The bird was covered in a dark mist, one he recognized as that of the darkness element. This seemed to be the miasma, though it covered a slightly larger area. However, this mist was then covered in the gray smoke, and in fact, the mana flow of the bird seemed to be more like the smoke than darkness. 

Naturally, Eldrian had no idea what this meant, and his thoughts were all sent into chaos as the bird screeched again. Eldrian's ears ringing with pain, as if an explosion had ruptured them. 

What the hell, where is the pain reduction?  Eldrian questioned, as he tried to recall what he had read. Joren had kept his word and shared with Eldrian a compendium of all the monsters with any mind or soul abilities/spells.

Shouting to both clear his thoughts and overcome its screech, Eldrian cast Frost Needle and sent it at the bird. Who simply jumped into the air and flew; somehow. Its rotting feathers falling as it flew, yet it stayed in the air. Landing on a new branch it looked at Eldrian mockingly and screeched again. 

Plugging his ears, Eldrian was shocked to find them wet. Luckily this increased the effectiveness of plugging them, blocking nearly all sounds.

What is it again? Eldrian asked himself, trying to recall what he had read. There were simply too many creatures and monsters for him to remotely remember. 

Right, its screech is one literally born from undeath. While it is extremely weak, and even slower than normal birds, it can weaken any living being simply by screeching. Eldrian recalled, however, he failed to recall its name. 

That mattered little, and so did what he recalled. Pulling out a random sword from his dimensional storage, Eldrian threw it with all his might at the undead bird. As it jumped into the air Eldrian cast Frost Needle, the lack of screeching allowing him to think clearer. 

While the bird was surprisingly nimble in the air, Frost Needle was far more so. Finally, Eldrian managed to get the right angle and cut the head from the body. This was surprisingly hard due to the limited size of Frost Needle.

[450 XP gained]

He had managed to kill the undead bird, the system XP message informing him that it was indeed dead. As it fell to the ground, its bones all split apart without the black miasma keeping them together.

With its death peace and quiet returned to the forest, allowing Eldrina to think clearly and especially at how dumb his reaction had been.

Instead of using Observe to see its name and description, he had tried to recall what he had read. Even his first use of Frost Needle had been basically useless. He had cast it without controlling the spell's mana, something he hadn't done since he first managed to control its mana. 

"Mind attacks are far more dangerous than I thought..." Eldrian mumbled, wondering why the bird had come to bother him. The answer soon coming as he felt the ground shaking. This feeling and sound naturally from that of a massive horde charging towards him.

Looking around in a panic, Eldrian cast Mana Examination, shocked speechless as he saw the entire area where the sounds were coming from covered in a thick gray miasma. Unlike before, for once the smoke was one. Forming a miasma that would eat at all the other mists. 

Stumbling, Eldrian rushed away from the smoke. Not daring to wait and see what kinds of undead there were. The thundering charge informed him that there were too many for him to even dream of handling. 

As Eldrian started running he wondered where he should go. He quickly realized that going back to where the others were would be a terrible idea. They were all busy scouting. Separate and unaware of such a danger. 

His leading this horde there would not only cause massive damage, but also lead to their stealthy approach being discovered on the first day. He did not want that to be his fault, at the very least. 

Eldrian didn't think he would be able to get away from the horde otherwise though. He realized that he was being followed by more undead birds. Using Observe he finally got their names, however that helped little. 

[Drekavac]

[Tier 2 (Lower undead); Level 5] 

[HP: 174/174]

[Attack: 2.2]

[Agility: 135]

[A normal bird, whose life has become a living hell. Corrupted with undeath, it is now forced to do its master's bidding. Its Tier and level both increased through magic, however, this comes at a cost. Its body will constantly degrade until its bones finally turn into dust. That is when it will know peace again.]

[Ability: Undeath's Screech]

[At the cost of its already lacking life, it can form sounds through manipulating the miasma sustaining it. Decreasing its time in undeath and assaulting all living beings who hear it.]

[Damage: 5 Pure Damage to all who can hear it.]

[Status Affect: Will scramble the thoughts of those who hear it, making their thoughts and reactions slow.]

"No wonder," Eldrian mumbled, plugging his ears before they could screech. While it didn't completely stop them from making it harder for him to think, it did lessen the amount it destroyed his focus. 

Naturally, it also made running harder, however, Eldrian felt it was worth it for the clarity of mind. For the first time, he wished he had earplugs. Having never before wished for such a thing. 

As he ran and tried to think of a plan he also questioned what pure damage was, the system giving him that answer. 

[Pure Damage is damage only mitigated by resistance, not armor.]

What? That's new...  Eldrian nearly stumbled from the reply. It had come similar to when he used Observe, the information just popping into his mind. Where he would then read it. 

As he ran Eldrian also kept looking at his map, hoping he could find a place to hide out in. However, he knew he had to first take care of the birds following him.