"Alfie, the river is just up ahead!" Gyanav said merrily.
He was carrying a giant backpack with Octorels' carcasses inside, walking with light steps towards the river in the distance. Although the blood had been drained out of the carcasses, he still made sure to zip his backpack tightly shut.
The long coat that the young Caeco was wearing swayed in the breeze as he walked. The sunshine hit his face and the smell of the grass and the forest ahead filled his lungs.
Pant... Pant...
Alfie had run ahead of Gyanav and back, circling him for a while before starting panting. The golden retriever's eyes exuded joy and his tail was wagging non-stop in excitement.
The massive walls of the city got smaller and smaller the farther he walked while the sound of the water running became louder. The river was just up ahead, and he could already see the rocky stream cutting through the vast grassland.
"Grrr!! Woof!! Woof!!"
Suddenly, Alfie stopped in his track and started barking, his body all tensed up. He was baring his fangs against what was in front of him.
Seeing his dog acting strange, Gyanav quickly scanned his surrounding using his Caeco eyes that were slightly better than human eyes.
Slowly, three figures emerged from a large rock across the river and Alfie kept on barking at them threateningly.
"Look what we have here..." said one of the figures as he was crossing the river.
It was a short man with a blue mohawk and skull earrings. He was wearing a black tight suit that looked easy to move in and a shoulder guard that looked sturdy. In his right hand was a knife while his left hand was holding a steel pipe with bloodstains on it. It seemed that the man's Vocation was an attacker or something similar.
The one standing next to the man was a woman with short hair that was holding a chain with a hook attached to the end of it. The woman was wearing a coat, similar to Gyanav's, but thicker and looked more expensive. It appeared that the woman was a spellcaster of some sort.
The last person was yet another man with a burly body and a shaved head wearing a thick leather jacket plated with steel on a lot of the parts, especially the shoulder and chest. The man was carrying a round shield made of scrap metal and a bloody crowbar as a weapon, making him look like a typical defender.
The thing in common about the three people was their greedy expression at the sight of Gyanav and his dog. They looked at Alfie as if he was a pile of gold.
"That guy looks poor, but the dog will fetch a high price if we can find the right buyer, heheh!" said the mohawk man.
"Judging by his equipment, he must be a new Vocator and a spellcaster at that. Should be easy for us to deal with," added the woman. Her tone was condescending and her eyes looking down at Gyanav. It seemed that as a fellow spellcaster, she felt superior to him.
"Just as we thought we would have to keep hunting Octorels just to make ends meet today. It's our lucky day today, fellas!" the burly man said loudly.
Alfie kept on barking to ward off the aggressors, but to no success. The three figures successfully crossed the river and got to Gyanav's side. Meanwhile, Gyanav was looking around to see if there was anyone nearby.
Seeing their target looking around desperately, the man with the blue mohawk scoffed and laughed.
"There is no one to help you out here, boy. You're unlucky to have run into us. Now, if you surrender the dog to us, we might think about sparing you... after we have fun, of course! Hahaha!!"
Gyanav stood his ground and looked at the three people with cold eyes.
"Humans are all the same; despicable and loud. Alfie, get ready," he said angrily and dropped his heavy backpack.
"Howl!!" Alfie howled and surrounded Gyanav with a light green aura, increasing his master's speed.
When the three people got closer, the woman started swinging her chain hook and then hurled it at Gyanav.
"Drain!"
The hook darted through the air at a frightening speed, but Alfie's boost made it easier for Gyanav to see the hook. Quickly, he used his own ability at the hook itself.
"Slow!"
The Slowing Curse came into effect with a dark green aura that surrounded the hook, slowing it down. Easily, Gyanav could dodge it without any problem, and the fact that his ability worked on an object also gave him an idea.
The hook failed to hit the target and hit the grass on the ground instead. The moment it came into contact, the grass withered instantly and the hook was filled with a kind of yellowish energy that looked corrupted.
"Weaken!"
Gyanav used his Weakening Curse on the short man, who looked to be the spearhead of the group. His weapons looked the most dangerous among the three.
"So you use debuffs, eh? I don't feel anything, unfortunately, heheh!" shouted the mohawk arrogantly while inching closer towards Gyanav.
Dash!
Suddenly, the mohawk leaped from his spot and darted towards his target. Luckily, his Caeco eyes enabled him to see the man's action just before he began his leap and readied himself to activate his ability.
"Slow!"
"Weaken!"
The man's movement became duller and Gyanav could closely avoid his knife attack by stepping to the side. If not for Alfie's boost and his Curse, he would have been stabbed by the man right in the chest.
"Stop playing around, Ivan! How did you miss that pipsqueak?" shouted the burly man.
Before the mohawk could recover his footing from having missed, Gyanav was trying to smack his face with his heavy book. However, the woman had hurled her chain hook to support her partner, and although the hook moved relatively slowly, it was enough to make the target take a step back to avoid it.
Meanwhile, Alfie had charged at the burly man to prevent him from two-teaming his master.
Having failed to attack the mohawk, Gyanav quickly activated his ability instead.
"Slow!"
"Weaken!"
Having been hit by the Weakening Curse for the third time, the man's hands suddenly trembled as he dropped his knife and steel pipe on the ground. There was a shocked expression on his face mixed with confusion as to what had happened.
He tried to pick up the weapons that he had dropped, but the second stack of the Slowing Curse made his movement dull.
Gyanav, who was now quicker than the man, grabbed the knife that he had dropped and swiftly smacked the man in the head with his heavy book.
Bash!
The metal edge hit the man's head, injuring it and toppling him.
"Fucker!" shouted the man angrily as he was falling, but his voice came out slowly like from a broken recorder.
Since Gyanav wasn't able to wield conventional weapons, his right hand began trembling and pain came coursing through from the skin that touched the knife. He had to act quickly or his plan would fail.
"Slow!" Gyanav placed a second Slowing Curse at the woman, reducing her speed even more and refreshing its duration. It also made her unable to react quickly enough to support her companions.
After that, Gyanav shouted at his dog.
"Alfie! Speed at the knife!"
The dog looked at his master and seemingly understood what he had to do.
The moment Gyanav threw the knife, the golden retriever howled, "Awoo!!"
A bright green aura surrounded the knife, enhancing its already high speed. It darted through the air at the speed of a bullet straight towards the surprised woman.
"Slow!"
With the third stack, a dark green aura appeared around her feet, preventing her from moving.
Stab!
Unable to dodge, the knife impaled her right in the neck, which was unprotected by her coat. Blood came spurting out of the wound around the sharp weapon that had seemingly pierced through her throat. Unable to support her weight anymore, she stumbled to the ground lifelessly, her feet still bound by the green aura.
There was an expression of surprise and disbelief on her face that was immortalized by her death. Up until her last moment, she didn't understand what had happened and how it could have happened. She had been very confident in her companions' ability to handle the lone man, and she paid dearly for it.
"Taliya!! Whoreson you'll pay for it!!" shouted the burly man furiously.
Alfie, who was still keeping him busy, was barely able to avoid the man's kick. With the dog out of the way, he quickly charged at Gyanav angrily.
Smack!
Gyanav didn't pay attention to the dead woman nor the burly man. He was busy dealing with the mohawk, who was slowly trying to get back up. Luckily, his Curse was still in effect, so he could easily use his book to hit the man in the head, knocking him unconscious.
"Woof! Woof! Howl!" barked Alfie, warning Gyanav. He also boosted his master's defense with his howl.
"Defense Break!"
"Slow!"
Having repeatedly used his Curses, Gyanav felt that his spiritual energy was being drained quickly. If he didn't end the fight soon, he would be completely out of it and would be a sitting duck for the two men to beat up.
"This won't affect me! My defense is impenetrable! Now I'll teach you a lesson that you won't forget, you dogshit!" yelled the burly man.
He was running rather slowly at Gyanav, stomping the ground underneath him with his weight. The wet grass was crushed under his boots as the man got closer and closer to his target.
After the five-second cooldown was over, Gyanav quickly recast his abilities.
"Defense Break!"
"Slow!"
The man became even slower now, but he was moving steadily towards the Curse Mage. His face bore an expression of confidence in his own capabilities as his eyes looked threateningly at Gyanav.
"Shield Charge!"
Came a shouting from his mouth as his ability activated. The burly man's movement suddenly became faster and it appeared that he had become unstoppable unless he hit his target, which was Gyanav. The round scrap metal shield in his hand had a red glow and the air around it was broken as the man advanced.
"Slow!"
The third stack of Gyanav's Slowing Curse caused a thick dark green aura to appear around the man's feet, binding him. However, the aura quickly got broken by the air pressure around the man's shield and his charge failed to be stopped.
"Barrier!"
The man shouted again and around his body, something that looked like a glass barrier had been erected, following his movement. He was now like a protected tank advancing towards Gyanav menacingly without obstruction.
Since Gyanav didn't know yet the extent of his abilities, he could only gamble. Before the man reached him, he quickly activated his Curse.
"Defense Break!"
Instead of using it on the man, he used his Curse on the barrier itself, weakening it. However, it still looked too sturdy for Gyanav to break.
"It won't work! My barrier is unbreakable, even if you use your weak debuff like that!" the man ridiculed Gyanav's attempt.
"Howl!!" Alfie caused a bright red aura to envelop Gyanav, raising his attack.
"Defense Break!"
For the second time, the Caeco used his Defense Breaking Curse on the barrier, weakening it even further, although it still looked as hard as before. It seemed that only a very strong attack could break it.
"Just give it up! Only cannons can break my barrier. Now just accept your fate and die!" said the man in mockery as he was slowly 'running' closer to Gyanav. Although he couldn't be stopped, the Slowing Curse still had its effect on him.
The impenetrable glass dome was getting closer and closer and Gyanav could already feel the air pressure coming towards him. If he didn't do something about it quickly, he would be in deep trouble. Luckily, his plan was all but set in motion.
A smile surfaced on Gyanav's face, which made the man suspicious. However, he couldn't stop his advance, nor did he want to. All he thought about was killing the young boy to pay back for his companions.
"Are you desperate to be smiling like that? I know that my abilities are really frightening! That's why my Vocation is the best among new Vocators! Hahaha!!" shouted the man arrogantly.
Gyanav ignored his nonsense.
"Defense Break!"
The third stack of the curse was now in place, and a dark blue glow appeared on the barrier. It was its weak point!
Still under Alfie's attack boost, Gyanav readied his book and leaped towards the man with the barrier. The weak point was located above the man, so he had to jump to reach it.
Smack!!
With the steel plate of his book, Gyanav hit the blue glow, breaking it.
Crack!!
Along with the broken glow, the barrier was also shattered like glass. Pieces of barrier fell down to the ground before disappearing into thin air, along with it the man's confidence. There was a look of utter incredulity on his face the moment his prided ability got destroyed into shred.
Being unable to stop his Shield Charge, he could only move forward towards his target. However, the arrogant look on his face had been replaced by doubt and hatred.
"Impossible! How did you do that?!! My barrier is unbreakable!! Arrghh!!" he roared in anger.
Gyanav only smiled.
"Defense Break!"
This time, a blue glow appeared on the man's forehead as the third stack of the Defense Breaking Curse was placed. Unable to see the glow, the man could only feel the sudden sense of danger overcoming him. However, it was too late.
Bash!!
Gyanav hit the blue glow using the steel-plated edge of his book and destroyed it. The hard metal broke the blue glow and the man's skull easily, which had been weakened to such extent.
Splash!
Blood spurted out of the man's open skull and splattered all over Gyanav.
The man then collapsed to the ground lifelessly, falling face-first on the grass. His cracked skull was still leaking blood all over, along with brain matters that were carried by the blood.
Meanwhile, Alfie came running towards his master's side, who was busy vomiting in the river once the adrenaline rush was gone.