26. Instincts

The next day.

Osiris was back in the forest, after his usual morning romp with his wives, flying further into the forest until he made it to where he estimated was the border between the third and fourth ring.

After getting stronger, the mana requirements for going through each order increased significantly, even more so for himself, possessing a seemingly divine physique.

And seeing as he hasn't managed to even find one peak third order beasts in the third layer of the forest, Osiris could only assume they all migrated to the fourth layer.

And it was not surprising why, since as soon as he stepped foot into the fourth layer, the mana density in the air multiplied massively.

He could even see some fog here and there floating over a small pond of water that seemed to shimmer with a bit of multicolored light.

And though he could tell the pond wasn't made of pure mana, the fog was, however, and it seemed to be concentrating above a white lotus that was growing in the middle.

With Osiris's inheritance in his mind, he could easily tell that this white lotus was a magical plant of the third order.

The ranking of plants was based on the amount of mana contained within it, which in the lotus's case was around the amount of mana that an early third order beast's had.

Different plants came with different effects as well, a good example being those herbs that Eris was picking when he saved their lives from a bear attack, they were barely of the first order and had the effect of healing minor wounds.

Had it been a second order it could have heald a grievous wound, if it were of the third order it probably could've even regrown a missing finger or debating disease.

The lotus in front of his was recognized as the heart calming lotus, its ability was when consumed, it gave the user a calm mind free of chaotic thoughts, even giving the user a chance of an epiphany or increased learning rate of a technique if you were studying one.

Overall it was a supplementary item used for cultivation, though not truly useful for someone monstrous like Osiris, who had a godly comprehension.

At most the lotus's use for him being to help him fall asleep faster or something mundane like that.

What truly interested him though was the instinctive sense of danger that he felt when he got near the pond, as though his mind was warning him that if he got near the pond he would die an untimely death.

Which for him was a very surprising intuition with the amount of power he currently possessed.

And so curiosity getting the better of himself, Osiris decided to retreat to a distance where he stopped feeling the sense of danger and found a tall nearby tree.

Transforming into his human form, he climbed the tree and perched up into the canopy in a way that he was hidden but still had a completely open view of the pond, which was in the middle of a clearing.

Waiting for around an hour or so, Osiris didn't get impatient at all, in fact he became even more curious at what could have possibly made him feel that way with no one around.

Silently in his mind, Osiris even decided to give up today's hunting if need be and stay until night.

But it was as though someone was listening to his thoughts, as Osiris saw a peak third order beats walk out from the edge of the clearing towards the lotus.

This confused Osiris however, since he knew that his strength at the peak of the second order easily gave him the power to easily slay any being in the third order.

Scratching off the third order beast, no matter how tempted to eat it he was, knew his research came first as the peak third order beast, which was a giant green gecko, wearily waltzing over towards the lotus.

Its size was around 30 ft long and only about 10 ft tall as it walked on all four legs.

As it made its way to around 10 feet within the lotus. Osiris's instincts immediately began to scream at him to conceal himself.

Which he immediately did, reigning in his already faint aura presence to absolutely nothing as well as stopping to breathe altogether.

Laying as close to the tree as possible while still keeping a clear view as possible of the clearing, no being alive would be able to know he was there.

The only possible way was if something saw him, which in his 'small' human form against the massive 300 foot tree, was nearly impossible.

Osiris did all these actions in the time it took to blink as the danger level he was sensing was getting worse and worse.

Suddenly as the lizard was within a foot of the lotus, reaching its head out to eat it, it was frozen in place as its own instincts seemed to kick in and sensed something.

However it was already too late, as a burning 3 foot in diameter fireball zipped through the air at breakneck speeds, landing on the center of the lizard's back and immediately bisecting it in an explosion.

Its crispy remains launching in two different directions, followed by a shadow of something entering within the clearing.

Osiris, intently watching the scene, immediately noticed the shadow as he slowly tilted his head to an angle to where he could see the sky.

And it was there, which he found the source of danger, as he saw an eagle looking creature flying at an unknown altitude in the sky, slowly flying towards the clearing.

As it got closer, what looked like a small bird in the sky quickly became a humongous beast of an eagle with about a 100 ft in length, from tail feather to beak, and about a 200 ft wingspan.

It landed in the clearing with a tremor as it hit the ground, and immediately began pecking at the pieces of charred lizard.

All while Osiris watched in contemplation, thinking about what he had just witnessed.

Observing the eagle, which was mainly brown with the tips of its feather transitioning into a fiery red, Osiris could tell that this beast wasnt of the prestigious Phoenix lineage but had just gained its attributes from its fire affinity.

Affinities being the parts of existence one is innately more attuned to, be it due to lineage or nature, and what you can shape your mana into.

And combined with the fireball it just shot, Osiris could confirm without a doubt, he is in the presence of a deadly fourth order beast.