Arkan – Intuition VS System VS A.I

The hooded man

In the sea of dark clouds, as it rained the raindrops passed through the layer of dark clouds and then onto the land beneath and making the ground muddy. As the raindrops passed through the clouds, their quality changed.

They went from being transparent to having a dark tinge that fell on a dark forest where its trees, land, and water were dark and sickly. The land was eerie and forbidding. If one took a glance at it, one would think that nothing lived there.

That was until you took a closer look and listened to the surroundings while letting the goosebumps travel throughout your body as you realized that the land was full of life. Well, of life that did not belong anywhere else in the world.

The place was dark but the strange part was that the same clouds that covered the vast land had a tint of a dark purple glow when it was night, allowing little light for those who could not see in the dark.

In day time some of the sun's light would pass through, showing that the sea of dark clouds could not taint everything, thus day and night could still be observed on the forbidden land.

A man walked alone in this land as the darkened raindrops hit his hooded figure on that faithful night. He was walking alongside the cliff that formed a boundary between the forbidden land and the capital city of his kingdom.

He was hunting something that liked to live along this boundary, always staying near the cliff as it licked the mana that concentrated on the rocky stones of the cliff which formed blue dust after some time while fighting off any monster that wanted its riches.

It was an inferior version of a mana lake and an even more inferior version of a mana stone, but in this land, you took what you could get.

The air was heavy even for those who were considered powerful in the kingdom, but this man was breathing it like it was normal for him.

His long dark hood and dark armor and boots made it easier for him to stay hidden even though he walked recklessly trying not to hide. These clothes and the darkness made it hard to see his features.

A roar was heard up ahead as what he was hunting had heard his heavy footsteps and it came out of the shadows to meet this new challenger that wanted its treasure.

It slithered to meet the man and as they got close such that they could see each other, they sized each other up.

What was in front of the man was a 15-meter snake-like monster that had the head of a lion, two claws on its sides, and the body of a huge snake. Its upper body was grey and clean, a contrast to the dark land it was born in, and the rest of its body was dark brown in color.

The man looked at the sharp claws of the monster and knew right then what element this beast was its affinity.

Looking at the meal in front of it, it was clear to the monster that this creature was way more appetizing than the treasure it was guarding as it saw the mana that was in this creature's body.

It was sure that if it ate him, it would evolve.

It roared again, clearly having fought enough times and getting the experience as it tried to catch its opponent off guard. The man vanished from where he was and reappeared somewhere else, but the beast was already swapping its claws in the direction he had appeared in.

Where he had been, the land and trees had been uprooted and cut to pieces like a strong wind had come through the area and then vanished. Such was the power of its roar.

The man disappeared again to another place, his speed too fast for any normal human being to see.

Where he had been, claw marks appeared on the ground, cutting deep into it and creating pits that went deep into it for hundreds of meters.

He was not just dodging these attacks for nothing. As he avoided each attack, he was getting closer and closer to the monster while it slithered backward to keep him at a distance.

This went on for only a couple of seconds until he closed the gap by not dodging an attack as he had done till then, but blocked the air slices produced by the monster's claws by using the arm guards that he was wearing.

Sparks flaw as the attack and armor met, with the armor winning out and showing its high quality.

The monster was surprised, allowing him to finally launch his attack. The beast turned and swapped at him using its powerful tail but the man avoided the attack again.

The tail hit the cliff's side wall, creating a thunderous sound like lighting had hit the area. Only a small dent was left on the cliff's face, showing how incredibly hard the rocks were.

As the tail missed him, his hand started to glow an intense blue light as with just a glance any sane person would see what incredible power that blue glow contained.

As the creature swung its head back around, it was met with an incoming fist and did not have time to evade it.

It put its two claws up, trying to cover its head and block but there was nothing it could have done.

Its two claws and head were obliterated in that one attack.

The man's hand stopped glowing and the area went dark again. He looked back to see his work and the devastation that the monster had done in just the 25 seconds they had fought.

Even through his dark hood, you could feel his disappointment.

At that time he finally felt the rain hit his hood and face. The sensation of the fight finally leaving him, he looked up at the sea of clouds and at that moment something happened.

He thought that he saw a red ray of light for a split second. It took him aback as the only light that could pass through these clouds was sunlight and not much of it could make it through.

As he continued to look up and be fascinated by what might have produced such a light, something fell through the thick black clouds that made him curious.

Wanting to take a good look at it as it was rare for something to fall into the forbidden land, his eyes started to glow blue as his hand had done but way less in intensity and power.

"A baby?"

He was so shocked such that he said something for the first time in a while.

His body moved on its own and he jumped, leaving a dent in the ground where he was standing.

The way he leaped off the ground and soared through the air you would think that he was flying.

He caught the baby and landed not that far from where the monster was.

"Huh?"

That was the second thing he said in a long time that night. The reason was that he could see that the baby was breathing and that he had just been born, but the crazy part was that he felt no mana whatsoever in him.

Not only that, but the baby was breathing like it was normal in a place where even the king would have a tough time in breathing the air there, though it would only be uncomfortable for him and not dangerous. It even made it through the accursed clouds alive.

The more he looked at the baby, the more he was intrigued.

He looked at the dark circles that were all around the baby's body and the weird symbols on them. He had never seen them before and they did not make sense whatsoever.

He then took a good look at the baby's face and after a few seconds, it dawned on him. The baby looked similar to someone he hated with all his being.

Anger and hate filled his heart as he remembered the past, a past that he had not thought about for years.

He looked at the baby sleeping peacefully and some of that anger disappeared as he asked himself if this was fate.

If the Guardian of fate had heard his question, she would have slapped him silly for even suggesting such a thing.

He made a decision right then and turned and looked at the cliff. He took some of the blue dust that had formed on some of the rocks there and then took his kill.

He was going back to his place of leaving.