Chapter 90 - Just Out Of Reach! Zu Zu Zu Zu The roiling waves of mana crashed inside his body as they churned and circulated everywhere. They were turbulent and unsteady. As Liam tried his very best and followed this trail of thought, he suddenly caught the feeling of an unfamiliar presence. It was as if a black stream was intermingling with a vast blue river. The two did not mix with each other but there were splashes which made them both more turbulent. Liam gritted his teeth and tried to focus more and grab this insight but before he could everything shattered and scattered like a glass vase on the floor. "Damn it!" He stretched his limbs in frustration. He almost had it but it slipped out of his hand.? He took a few deep breaths and calmed down. "It's fine. Everything is just beginning. Calm down. I should not be hasty." After settling his thoughts, Liam looked at the five undead scorpions in front of him, all waiting for his command. The other two had also finished fighting with the demon larvae so he whistled and started walking, signaling everyone to follow closely. The group wandered around the red barren desert for a while. Everything was cracked and devoid of moisture and there wasn't any vegetation as far as the eyes could see. Every now and then the group ran into some lower level beasts which either Liam took care of by himself or if they were weak enough, he let the other two pets handle the situation. He didn't particularly use the undead as he was still training his spell casting, so they simply wandered near them like unused bodyguards. He only continued to use the fireballs one after the other. After a few minutes, Liam paused and realized something that he hadn't observed before. The mana in the nether realm was thinner! Mana was still there and an adequate amount at that but there definitely was a lower concentration of it in the air around. He wondered if he was only able to notice this because he had cleansed his body once. Other than removing impurities from his body, it had also made him more sensitive to mana. Even for a low grade potion, he was seeing this much effect! Just how effective was a high-grade or a rare elixir going to be?! Just the mere thought of it made Liam lick his lips in delight or perhaps because he was parched after walking around in the desert for so long. "Ok. This is not going to work. I need to find a viewing spot and get a grasp of things." He looked around and saw a small range of pointy hills in the distance. He walked over to it and then started climbing it. Thankfully, it wasn't too steep so all his summons and his pets were able to follow him without any difficulty. They hiked for a while and then they finally arrived at the top of the tallest hill in the cluster. Liam looked around and sighed. The air here was much cooler. He also came prepared. So he took out a bottle of water from his inventory. The cool water felt refreshing and he drank several mouthfuls. As he did that, the small creature next to him jumped up in delight and ran towards something. Kyuuuu! Liam's gaze shifted to see the fox running to a small thorny bush that had some berries on it.? "Stop. Don't eat that." He immediately warned the furry ball of energy. He knew that nothing here was edible and even the beasts were poisonous beasts. So most probably those berries were poisonous too. The small fox stopped in its tracks and did not disobey him. It, however, drooped its head in sadness. Liam looked at the fox and then at the bird. One barely even showed its presence while the other behaved cutely every chance it got. He was amazed at this difference. He chuckled and took out some berries and meat from his inventory. "My bad. I should have fed you guys a while back." Both the pets instantly jumped onto the food while the undead continued to stand as if everything happening around them had nothing to do with them. After settling the matter of food, Liam walked back and forth, going to the various edges of the cliff and peering down and ahead to get an idea of the place he was in. Unfortunately, this height was still not enough and he could only see the red sand desert spreading across the horizon, interspersed with some hills and rocky terrain here and there. "What the heck?" He scratched his head, deciding to try his luck by climbing onto another cluster of hills nearby. As he was about to give up and climb down, suddenly a slight whizzing noise sounded in the distance and Liam turned to catch a glimpse of a red flare going up into the sky. "Oh! That should definitely be a demon settlement." Liam's eyes brightened and he noted the direction before climbing down from the cliff. The fox and the bird looked reluctant to come down as the air above was nicer but seeing Liam walk away, they could only follow him. The group continued their journey once again and before long they ran into a group of rabid dogs that had longer tails and horns protruding from their heads. There were totally 10 of them, all seeming to belong to the same pack and they were baring their teeth at the big juicy prey in front of them. [Rabid Hound] Level 21 Health: 20000 "Get back. Don't engage." Liam immediately warned both of his pets and he stepped forward, retrieving his sword. Rabid hounds were demon beasts that excelled in strength as well as agility. Besides, some of them were also capable of using demonic magic. So he didn't dare to simply use fireballs in this situation and use these guys as sparring partners, especially considering that it was 1 vs 10. He had to go all out!