Arthur led the small party of three deep into the Lost Woods. He looked a bit flustered. "What was up with those girls gawking and coming over to me whenever I am outside the dorm?", he complained.
"Oh I don't know.", Ray said nonchalantly, "Maybe it's because you're one of the top five hottest guys in the academy?", he sounded a little sour.
"Seriously? So where am I in the top five?", Arthur asked, intrigued.
"I would say you're fourth or third.", Rhea said, sizing him up. She blushed, "Oh my goodness. You are hot. Especially in that outfit."
Arthur was wearing a black T-shirt with brown pants and black boots. Instead of his jacket, he wore a black overcoat which was custom-made by the Callen family and has protective enchantments against a certain degree of physical and magia attacks.
"My jacket was ruined after facing the statues in Elvenglade and it was getting old. So I switched with this one.", he said.
Ray smiled, "I think that's the reason the girls were wooing over you. The only thing stopping them from asking you out was the fact that you're a student of Special Class A."
Arthur frowned, "I find that kind of thinking a bit worrying. So anyway, who's number one in this top five?", he asked.
Rhea smiled, "It's instructor Seventeen."
"Of course it is him. But he's not a student."
Rhea shrugged, "Well. He is young enough and I believe this list also includes instructors."
"Who creates this list?", Arthur wondered.
"I haven't the slightest idea. Maybe the journalist club?"
Arthur scoffed, "Those guys are always looking for some scoops."
He stopped and sniffed the air, "I smell fire. I believe we are close.", he said. Ray nodded as he held up a small metal ball with runes engraved on it. The runes glowed as the ball showed a screen of magia floating in the air with a map of the entire property of the academy.
"You are right. We are about 15 minutes from the lava pool. Damn, this place is huge. We had been walking for an hour.", he complained.
"Your sense of smell is truly amazing. I'm not surprised, considering your bloodline.", Rhea complimented Arthur.
He smiled, "It's a convenient gift at times. The same could be said for my hearing and eyesight."
"The Nights are definitely unique.", Rhea said as they walked in the direction Arthur had pointed.
On the way, they encountered many different animals, mostly small ones like foxes and rabbits with glowing eyes. They wisely steered away from the rabbits.
After walking for some time, Arthur felt the temperature rise, "We're close.", he said and took out Ghost from his storage ring. He strapped the sword to his belt and took out a bow and a quiver full of arrows.
"How many weapons have you mastered?", Rhea asked as Arthur took out five throwing knives and checked them.
"Almost all of them. I had been practicing since I was 6 years old.", Arthur replied. He smiled, "You could say I'm a jack of all trades when it comes to weapons. But my primary weapon would be the sword."
"The difference between me and attribute users is huge. So I make up for that difference with my superior combat abilities and use of multiple weapons."
Rhea nodded, "I can't argue with that. Based on combat abilities, you are the strongest in the class. But overall, the strongest one in the class is obviously Damien."
"No doubt about that. That guy is a former S-class student.", Ray said. He took out his chained blades, "So. What's the plan?"
"You guys wait here. I will scout the area and check how many ember newts are there. It's also helpful to understand the terrain.", Arthur instructed and went towards the lava pool.
He jogged a few meters and stopped when his ears picked out the distinct sound of bubbling lava and smoldering.
Arthur crept up to the source of the sound and hid behind a tree. He peeked from behind it and saw an amazing thing.
The ground dropped gradually into a huge crater surrounded by huge trees whose canopies hid it from the sky. At the bottom was a glowing lake of lava surrounded by natural vents and glowing rocks.
Shuffling around the lava lake, unaffected by the high temperatures were about 20 ember newts, their red smoldering scales glowing in the light of the lava.
Arthur went back to Ray and Rhea. "I spotted 20 ember newts around the lava lake. Apparently, it's at the bottom of a huge crater and the only cover we'll get is from the trees surrounding the entire crater.", he reported.
He pondered the situation for a moment. He finally created a plan, 'Hope this works.', he thought.
"Ok. Here's the plan.", he said, "Ember newts are weak against the water attribute. So Rhea should do the first strike by using a powerful Water Code."
"The temperature at the crater is high. Do you have a protection code?", Arthur asked Rhea. She nodded, "Yep. I can also boost your abilities."
Arthur smiled, "Nice. Now after weakening those lizards.", he looked at Ray, "You single out one of them and ambush. Make sure to hit hard."
Ray smiled, "I can hit hard."
"But aren't ember newts always in a group? Surely the others would attack me and Ray as soon as we come out in the open.", Rhea pointed out.
Arthur smiled, "That's where I come in."
The other two looked at him. Rhea suddenly understood, "You're going to distract the others?"
Arthur nodded, "Yep. I will lead most of the newts away from you two. You guys can take care of one or two ember newts right?"
Ray frowned, "What's that supposed to mean? Of course, we can handle a few ember newts. They're only high-level CAT 5."
Arthur grinned, "Just kidding. But don't underestimate them. They may be CAT 5 but their poison and fire are deadly. Plus you can't hurt them because of their thick and smoldering scales. That's why we need water to weaken those scales.", he reminded them.
"So you guys ready?"
Both Ray and Rhea nodded. "Let's whup some scaly ass.", Ray said with enthusiasm.
The three of them went along the way Arthur had previously scouted and hid behind the trees surrounding the crater. They could already feel the heat from the crater and soon enough, they were starting to sweat.
"Damn this is uncomfortable.", Ray stated as he wrapped the chains around his gauntlets. Rhea nodded in agreement, "I'll activate the Code."
She held her rapier, {Water Code: Hydro Cloak}, and a thin film of water enveloped the three of them. Arthur felt his strength increase and he felt invigorated. He didn't feel the heat from the lava.
"This feels nice.", he remarked.
"Hydro Cloak, along with providing a fair amount of protection also increases physical abilities. Essentially it's a booster.", Rhea explained.
Arthur nodded, "Thanks, Rhea. Now weaken the ember newts with a powerful water Code. Let's get started."
"Whooo!", Ray yelled as they broke from the trees and dashed towards the ember newts. The newts were taken aback by this surprise assault. But they quickly recovered and hissed, their underbellies starting to glow orange.
"Now!", Arthur yelled. Rhea leaped into the air and landed right in front of a group of five ember newts, {Water Code: Tidal Surge}, a powerful wave of water erupted from the rapier and washed over the whole area in the crater. A huge cloud of steam erupted as the water met the lava.
The air hissed due to the steam and the water affecting the ember newts. Rhea jumped back and disappeared amidst the steam. Arthur appeared and released five arrows on the dazed ember newts. Each arrow hit a specific weak point between the tough scales.
This broke the ember newts from their daze. Their eyes fell on the young man in front of them and were seriously angry. They hissed loudly and tried to breathe fire but failed. Arthur smiled wickedly, "Oops."
He started to run. The enraged newts went after him. Arthur sensed the other ember newts and ran towards them with his arrows ready. He left three of the lizards alone for the other two and proceeded to lure the other newts away.
Soon enough, he was running out of the crater with more than a dozen fire-breathing, poison-spitting, and seriously pissed-off lizards on his tail with murder in their eyes.
Arthur didn't look back but was pretty sure a lot of them were chasing him because of their smell. Since ember newts live near volcanoes and hot vents, they have a sulfurous smell to them.
The last thing he wanted was to be trampled by lizards that smelled like rotten eggs.
And he couldn't just kill all of them since he doesn't know if there are other ember newts in the Lost Woods. For all he could know, these are the only ones in the whole academy.
Arthur heard the crackling of lightning. Ray must have started attacking. He needs to take the majority away from the crater to give Ray time to harvest the materials.
He led them into the trees, making sure he would be in their sights. Ember newts aren't really known for their intelligence. So he zig-zagged and ran in different directions, confusing them and making it hard for them to return quickly.
When he felt like they had created a suitable distance from the crater he stopped and faced the ember newts. He took out a small grey ball. The last smoke bomb that he hid when Alice confiscated them.
He smiled, "I would like to take care of you guys right now but others need you. So this is goodbye.", he winked and threw it to the ground, releasing a huge cloud of smoke.
The ember newts were confused and by the time the smoke cleared the rude human vanished. They looked around to find him. But he was gone. They snorted and turned around to go back to their crater.
Upon the tree, hidden among the leaves, Arthur saw the ember newts crawl back the way they came. He smiled. Those newts are going to be so confused.
He jumped off the tree and landed lightly on the ground. He stumbled a bit and looked at the back of his palm. A small patch of corrosion spread slowly across it.
He winced. Looks like one of the ember newts spat poison and it had found its mark.
The poison is slow acting and painful. It would slowly sap away the victim's strength. If not treated within a week, paralysis takes over. Fortunately, there is an antidote for it. He just needed to go to the infirmary.
'Damn, I was careless. Need to get this treated.', he thought. Arthur's eyes fell on something behind him, 'But before that."
"It's useless to hide. I sensed you ever since we left Cardinal Town.", he said aloud.
Leaves rustled as six individuals emerged from the trees and bushes. They surrounded him.
The ghost of a smile appeared on Arthur's lips.
"This is going to be interesting."