Two hours had passed since Nexus started to recover his mana. According to his estimate, he can recover thirty points of mana per hour. It should be related to his energy stats.
Though he felt that if he were in a poison element-covered area, his mana recovery rate should at least double.
As he was lost in thought, he sensed a disturbance in the distance. His massive head turned as he saw a blurry figure coming toward him.
He focused his eyes as he saw a massive gray furred tiger moving through the trees, just sensing the energy, he understood that it was the Burial Tiger.
"ROARRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!"
A roar spread through the area as a gale broke through his poisonous mist covering his surroundings. His eyes turned serious as he looked at the eyes of the beast.
"Leader of the Heavenly Tiger Alliance, what brings you here?"
He asked as his body tensed; he was ready for a battle. Although he was an entire rank weaker than the tiger at the lower stages, the poison element beast held quite an advantage.
"Name?"
"Nexus."
"Hmm, do you want to join my alliance?"
"No"
Hearing his answer, the tiger narrowed his eyes, and his aura exploded as it pressed toward Nexus. Nexus wasn't to be outdone, as his aura was also released.
Their aura clashed as the poison element and death element released by them distorted the air. Though after a while, the aura of Raymond suppressed Nexus.
"Then leave this region."
He said with a warning tone, as for why he asked to leave this region, it's simple: when one stays in another region for more than a week, they join the chat group of that region.
It also means that they leave the chat group of their previous region, thus if Nexus leaves the previous top ten will regain his rank.
Although no one knows what the reward is, it must be something good as it is being given by the system.
This is also how the current rank has been maintained; those weak enough to be suppressed had left the region, and those strong enough to stand firm or in an alliance stayed.
Although it can be considered an unfair act, who made him an alliance leader and as a leader, his job is to get the best deal for his alliance.
Thus, he will try to suppress the opposition and elevate his own members. Though the suppression must be done in a moderate amount so as not to incur public outrage.
"No."
Nexus replied as he hissed, giving off a dangerous aura. Although he doesn't want to take the risk of battling this alliance leader, he knows sometimes he must stand firm so as not to be pushed around.
He can run from battle in this region, but won't he have to battle in other regions? Thus, it's best to fight an already known enemy instead of an unknown one.
"I see."
Raymond muttered as he pounced with his massive body, a black aura containing death element covered his claws as Nexus instinct warmed him like crazy.
He smacked his feet on the ground as he pushed his body back, his mouth opened as he formed a poisonous arrow.
[Mana: -30 and -30]
The arrow was released as it produced a sonic boom, and the tiger opened his mouth as he released a roar.
ROARRRR!!!!!
A shockwave was released as it collided with the arrow, slowing it down. The tiger moved his body as he dodged the arrow.
Seeing the small crater left by the arrow on the tree and the wood that was being corroded by poison, the tiger narrowed his eyes.
"Still wanna battle."
[Mana: -100]
Nexus roared as a concentrated, poisonous aura surrounded his body. Raymond instinctively warned him like crazy, but he didn't back down.
"Why not?"
He said with a grin as he pounced on Nexus. Nexus wasn't to be outdone as he pounced on Raymond.
The claw covered in death energy and the claw covered in poisonous aura collided as Nexus body was pushed back due to the difference in their strength.
The tiger continued its attack as it swiped its claw on Nexus's stomach, leaving a deep wound. The death element corroded the wound, slowing the regeneration rate.
Nexus wasn't to be outdone as he didn't back down, but bit on the hind leg of the tiger, with a mouth covered in an intense, poisonous aura, he tore a deep wound.
Raymond attacked with his other paw, throwing Nexus body back as he left another deep wound. Nexus took the opportunity as he dived deep into the tree, killing his momentum.
Without a second to spare, he started to release his Stealth Mist as his figure began to become illusory.
[-30 Mana]
Although it can't hide him completely from the tiger, it can still give him an edge in combat.
"Rarrrrr!!(You bastard!!)"
The tiger roared in pain as he started to suppress the spreading poison with his death element. The pain brought by the poison was far more intense than he had imagined.
Although he managed to suppress the poison by concentrating his energy near the wound, his overall strength decreased by 10%.
Just as he was suppressing the poison, a poisonous arrow was fired toward him, and he was too late to dodge as it dug into his back.
It disappeared into poisonous mist, suppressing him even more. Although the speed and destructive power were far less than the last arrow, the poisonous concentration was too high.
After all, it contains a poisonous aura generated with 160 points of mana. Although the arrow was made with only 10 points of mana, it was far more lethal than the last arrow made from 30 points of mana.
Though it also means that he only had ten points of mana remaining, and he recovered these ten points after consuming the mana recovery potion.
As for the poisonous aura, it can last for half an hour after being generated, so he wasn't going to run out of it soon.