-Nightfall. Forest - Nefiru's POV-

The last vestiges of light are disappearing in this World without Moon as the blackened rain clouds hide the stars along with the setting sun on the west, and the volcano blocks the bright sky to the East beyond the storm while we make our way through the darkening forest. I pace north carrying the mana bottle in my mouth when Sister caught up midway running on my right side until we reach the section of the forest where Brother is looking up a tree from 20 meters to the west of his position without moving a muscle. We slowed down our pace to stealthy approach another tree with over a meter wide trunk and big leaves that provide excellent shelter from the rain, then Raiga stops next to him whereas I stay further south before we proceed to follow his gaze.

Oh, my... it looks like a bigger version of a snake longer than a meter inside a Christmas tree the size of a person where we are like Chihuahuas, but this is a venomous snake that could also whip a dog through the air and has high intelligence. So, it's no wonder Brother is paralyzed like a dragon statue... he can tell by the scent alone how dangerous this beast is, but... the snake seems to have been dormant for a while now. I concluded after a quick look through the foliage at the inactive animal more than half a meter thick coiling on the branches of the tree.

Let's see... I recall the method used to determine age and ranks of beasts intently observing the serpent for any signs of waking up.

The magical Beasts of this world don't seem to have a size limit, but the balance between Age, Rank, and Size is different for every species depending on the advantages of racial traits. Although there are exceptions, most common creatures can't survive too long without increasing in rank and thus won't reach old age or large size corresponding to their species. There are also variations in bloodlines and affinity talents which determine their advancement in rank that allows them to survive longer

Although calculating age in other beasts is easy since their size usually have a corresponding level, dragons are a nightmare considering growth spurts, and how ranking slows down aging. I compare the accuracy to differentiate beasts noticing sister is switching her gaze between me and the tree as if waiting for me to finish analyzing.

Hmm... The snake appears to have bigger volume with stronger smell than the Rank 5 that bit me on the neck, so it should be from mid-Rank 5 to early-Rank 6, but probing with my magic to confirm might alert it, and either case would still put us within its Magic range. I assumed the effective range of the snake being greater than our observing position. Brother is used to my Magic range being only 16 meters at mid rank 4, but an early Rank 6 can extend their magic safely for 22 meters radius, and probe the area if they are confident in their control to keep Spirit from leaking. However, Spirit can still carry Mana beyond that point while the Magic becomes increasingly unstable which makes collection futile, but Magic Beasts seem sloppy in control, so there are high chances it could detect us even further away. I conjecture the magic ability of our target based on discoveries.

The Range limit for Magic stability is determined by the Soul's influence permitted by the world which is capable of extending at least three times that of magic range, but the maximum distance is not well defined as it gradually decreases in intensity. However, the strength of Spirit is not always equivalent to rank density due to the influence of certain factors such as self-awareness, intelligence, and awakening a soul stage earlier which improves refining density speeds as well as Mana collection.

As I was lost in my pondering, Sister had enough of the silence and interrupted.

"Little brother, that beast feels more dangerous than the one that almost killed us before... We should run!" Raiga determined after a minute of inspection on the creature bigger than the mid rank 5 that bit my neck.

"Or... we could just walk away since it's sleeping." I retorted rolling my eyes after observing the dormant snake for a few minutes.

It might be sleeping, but if snakey here wakes up and tries to gather magic, or sniff out the three stalker lizards watching it sleep... then I will have to keep it busy while they flee before running away myself. I determined before turning to look at the two dragons keeping their vigilance, and ready to sprint at any moment.

"Besides... we have been inside its magic range for some time now, but it hasn't detected us, and doesn't look like it will wake up anytime soon," I revealed to the agitated dragoness causing her to panic even more.

"Then we really need to run before it wakes up!" Raiga affirmed stepping back.

"Don't be a coward! And have some faith in my abilities." I rebuked, rooting her in place with my glare.

Sighs... why can't you be a little more brave like Brother? I can smell the fear on him, but he's still holding his ground without taking the eyes off the snake as I taught him. I affirm looking over at the dragon that found us a real prey.

Although we won't find a sleeping snake every day even on their grounds, it's a good thing it wasn't awake when Reylus found it, or he could have been killed before we reached him because he misjudged the safe distance. Well, the weather is hindering our senses, and it's getting quite dark in the forest which is not a problem for snakes that have infrared vision like the ones on Earth but fighting a fast wind user in the dim light, it wouldn't be fun. I hesitate to disturb the creature given our disadvantage, then spoke to Reylus in low growl masked by the sound of thin rain.

"Good prey, brother." I praised the biggest lizard who nodded in understanding.

"Uh... But my instincts are telling me to run!" She protests staring at me with pleading eyes.

What if we start running and the noise alerts it? Or if it tracks our scent to our lair and finds us sleeping? I remember how these creatures are susceptible to vibrations on the ground.

"Instincts can keep you out of trouble, but sometimes trouble finds you, and if you always avoid danger, then your chances of surviving a disadvantageous encounter will be quite small. Therefore, it's a must to analyze the situation rationally to determine the likelihood of winning or make a better decision for running unless you have this scenario planned beforehand. I think it's not a good idea to leave this sleeping creature alive when we have the advantage and will be more dangerous to find it awake later." I encourage the unawakened dragon to be a little brave.

This reminds me that giant snake when I was little that was probably over Rank 7, and haven't smelled it around again, but I have yet to explore more than half of snake territory... I recall my encounter with the giant snake that is comparable to the scared dragoness next to me.

"But... shouldn't we stay out its Magic range at least while we talk? That beast is High Rank, correct? Even better, let's talk as we run, okay?" Raiga inquired as fear shows in her eyes.

"Calm down sister. I get what you are feeling since I almost pissed myself after encountering an even more powerful snake in my younger days. However, this one is only a few times stronger than me, but my magic arts are more diverse, and I have two fat dragons that make excellent bait." I said before snickering to myself, and ignoring the dangerous situation that awaits us.

"Argh! You are terrible!" Raiga complained showing a look of despair.

"I'm joking haha." I trolled the dragoness with a smirk. "That magical beast is too powerful for either of you to confront, but it should still fear Magic probe which will make it aim for the smallest of us, and guess who that is?" I pose the question for the taller dragoness.

Well, that's only low-rank magic beasts who fear probe or are confident in winning with just visual observation, but that game changes when fighting High Ranks since their Spirit clash is not so intense anymore. I affirmed the difficulty of fights awaiting beyond Rank 7.

"Oh, it's little brother..." She affirmed looking down at me.

Yeah, I let you rub it in! Ugh, it sucks being the smallest, but I can't catch up to their size despite being a glutton because the effects of higher Ranks slowing down age more, and the only two choices are either stop ranking to get a big body for next mating season or rank up as a Midget Dragon. I can see why Shaila complained about looking like a child for hundreds of years until one of us becomes a Divine, but it seems spiritually impossible reaching that rank within 5 years. Well, Rank is the priority since a clumsy big body won't help me survive other predators, but I'll figure something out later, like maybe seeking help from someone, though I wonder if those with the right Parents can just grow big first then rank up. I confirm my priorities, then continued explaining to the dragoness.

"Anyway, I'll be the one attacking up close, to cause as much damage as possible first, then it will wake up in a bad mood and should focus on me or I'll make it so it cannot ignore me. The two of you keep a distance not to get caught in the magic fight and remember the snakes have more advantage in the dark since they can see the warmth of our bodies even when it's hazy for us, so rely on your nose too. Always make sure to avoid blows to your neck or head, but it is fine to take damage in team fights if it can allow your allies to gain an advantage as long as you are not killed in one strike since it's possible to recover after the opponent dies." I elaborate their role in the strategy to deal with the big predator.

"Fine! But... I don't want to get bitten." Raiga consented as she grimaces recalling what giant snakes can do.

"Yeah... me neither, but keep in mind that cowardice and hesitation can kill you." I nodded affirming while feeling the now invisible wound on my neck. "In any case, you can surround it watching its movements to anticipate how it will attack, but make sure the two of you rush at the same time, so it can't react to each individually, and can't shake you off easily," I conclude the plan to fight higher ranks.

"Okay. We'll wait for the opportunity to hold it, or call out to us." The dragoness approved to be the support.

"Sounds good. Oh, beware of the blinding light of my magic, and go pee now if you have to..." I advised before walking towards the tree, snickering.

"GRR!" Raiga's growl came from behind when she understood my tease then spoke to brother. "Surround far." She instructed to move in opposite directions making a triangle with me.

Ahh~ It would be nice to attack from 16 meters, but just because magic can extend that long, and produce magic arts doesn't mean I can electrocute a higher Ranked snake with improved resistance to external forces since ability potency decreases with distance. All because of magic stretching thin is unable to feed more Elementals at a greater distance, and the depth of awareness also decreases the capability to command the process properly. Therefore, an attack that could kill a normal human with magic will probably just wake up this beast with a headache. I review the effect of stronger magic phenomena close to the body.

Hmm... I forgot to bring some metal to use as a projectile, and some steel wires would be ideal to bind the sleeping target, then electrocute to my heart's content...FUCK! I do a mental facepalm at my lack of preparations. Thinking about it... copper or steel wires are more efficient to conduct electricity than making elemental bridges ionizing air and even throwing them on the ground to electrocute the enemy could be effective. I make a mental note to ask the Ragefire wallet while slowly approaching the base of the tree as brother went north and sister is positioned south.

However, I have a serious storage problem when I'm carrying a fragile bottle in my mouth while going into battle because dragons don't have pockets! Ugh, I'm going to have to settle for a utility belt like Batman since I won't get lucky to find a magical spatial ring, and this is not a skill-world where I can just buy an inventory ability. Well, I do have the Fragment pocket space which is my Soul's repository, but I'm not sure if storing physical items there is possible, and the size inside shouldn't be big considering it's just for the soul. Still, accessing my Soul Space might require a magic density close to Divine considering that's the only way to see it with my awareness since just bigger than an atom which probably is what Guardian meant by earning the rights to use it. Maybe at Rank 10, I could even access the network, but... what about Mana consumption, and how space manipulation is done to store anything inside? I stop my pondering realizing this is the wrong place while reaching the trunk of the tree with light steps.

...That is one impressive size for a snake, and definitely, would make my feet cold as a human, but assuming it's not over mid rank 6, then I could at least outrun it even if my muscles rip to shreds. I affirmed looking up at the unmoving snake with scales of two shades.

Mmm...? Could it be? I knew that venturing deep into snake territory would allow me to see different color snakes, and I have yet to see a different one, but a dual affinity beast is rather unexpected. I mobilized my magic and most elementals ready for combat.

I briefly shone a dim white light up the tree to inspect the coiled snake which turned out to have Black and green scales.

Ohh! It has Wind and Darkness affinities!! Ugh... our disadvantage just doubled if it trained in darkness since it will vanish in the obscured forest to ambush us, and a quick beast that can hide would make this spy snake harder to handle than regular Rank 6 wind snakes. I analyzed the beast before feeling the need to convey the information to the siblings. Well, I can still manage since I'm getting a free hit and can afford preparations up close, but I wouldn't want to fight this thing head on if it found me first with my intermediate Rank 4. In any case, if it uses half the magic for each affinity, then it can't run or hide for too long, but it has High rank denoting intelligence and probably dual affinities with medium talents that would indicate an old soul. I determined then recalled my efforts to identify the affinity markings being unable to contact the siblings without alerting the prey with the mana waves from the collar.

Considering there aren't status appraisal skills in this world, affinity marking is precious information about the target followed by the magic probe which can tell the Rank, and the only unknown would be the skills. However, not all magical beasts exploit these advantages when others like serpents are unable to see colors unless they are Light magicians that can understand what visible light means, but white snakes must be very rare.

I guess creatures have their own way to judge prey, but we hunt at night anyway to avoid magic beasts realizing the other gray dragons are unawakening ones, so that a situation like the wolves toying with them doesn't repeat. Well, if they even knew what our colors mean that is since wolves are supposed to distinguish only yellow and blue which would make the snakes probably look gray to them. I realize there are some beasts neglecting their privilege to know affinity markings while others may only see some.

Nevertheless, the fact that I don't possess common affinities in these parts is my advantage since most are wind snakes and darkness wolves that are used to that commonality which also learn just one or two ways to use their magic to attack. Still, ranking up using the same magic phenomena could take a very long time, then I wonder just how old is this snake... I'm going to go with an estimation of a hundred years considering all factors. Though Midas should be much younger since living under the rule of high ranks could allow one to acquire far more knowledge than being solitary which the wolves and humans have the advantage. I affirmed to hold the advantage in magic skills variety before commencing preparations.

Let's see... I could flash-freeze it to the tree its coiled in but given this beast's size and rank, it can probably snap the branches anyway. The ice lances alone don't have enough penetration to pierce those scales and at most I can just break some, so let's use water combinations first to do as much damage as possible, then go all out with lightning through the wounds. I decided on the most effective method of attack.

Since the head is too high up to take real damage, I target the lower section of the tail creating three Ice spikes on the ground as thick as a human first in the bottom and half a meter long with compressed icy tip, then liquid water sealed in the bottom half. Next, I proceeded to compress the water inside the white cones during which lightning elementals are ready to discharge high voltage before the snake has a chance to move.

Well, time to wake up the beast! My body readies for combat as the senses increase along with the faster heart rate.

*PSSH...* I released the pressurized water in the ice lances turning them into rockets that propelled towards the snake's body a few meters above me along with the guiding force of elementals. *SHAACK!* The three icy spikes pierced through the scales and impaled the creature for one-fifth of their size.

"SHAAAH!!" The snake hissed high up in the tree while feeding without restraint my lightning elementals grouped around the stabbed icicles.

*BZzzrreerrzZT...* Three purple-white electric arcs two-human finger thick appeared from mid-air and connected with the three wounds on its tail.

"GHYCHAA!!" The serpent screeched the next instant from the electrocution and convulsed for a moment before forcing its rigid body to slither up the tree.

The shiny lightning bolts in the dark of the forest missed their target and landed on the tree trunk with a bright flash. *KRAAH--BOOM!* The wood exploded with splinters flying everywhere and falling my direction as smoke and water vapor created a cloud inside the foliage as accumulated precipitation pours down.

Woah! Spy snake has taken 10% damage! As expected of high ranked beasts... to be okay after receiving enough bolts to carbonize a few people, but it's an early Rank 6 beast, and it's too damn close to intermediate. I recalled my probe before it slithered away meanwhile maintaining high vigilance.

Hmm...It screamed like its ass was being electrocuted, and it does smell of roasted snake up there, but it's eerily quiet now.... Maybe this snake knows how to create a spooky mood like in the movies since I'm starting to feel scared now. I retorted before inspecting my magic reserves.

"Track scent." Sister orders the confused Reylus who lost visual of the snake as well.

Yikes! My reserves plummeted performing those circus acts... I realized waiting for the serpent recovering out of my range.