40 days later
'The terrains became silent, I wonder where they've lurked? After a week or two I gave them the hardest challenge that I presented. They have to avoid getting captured for the entirety of our stay, three days left and they did something like this...? What the hell are they planning?'
It's been so long since they'd arrived and persist in this chaotic and death-infested land known as the rifts. As the days passed so quickly the difficulty increases, along with the loss of their rations. The first week was nothing more than a means to temper their body and adapt to the harsh environment of the rift
In the second week, they lost all support from their knowledgeable ally, and they began their hunt within the wilderness. They've mostly hunted the monsters which contain high amounts of protein, but their inability to cook made it harder for one to swallow. Their potions ran out and they mostly rely on herbs and spices scattered in the habitats of the roaming beast
Third and fourth weeks they completely immerse in their surroundings, and they become harder for him to track. At this point, he prepared them for their final test and which was to avoid the most controversial thing of all, a traitor. He plays off as the traitorous scum of their party who's filled with greed and seeks to steal every treasure they have
'I can't believe they ransacked my supplies, and I was saving them for dessert. Guess they've finally come to that conclusion, I said they can't be caught and that's what they're trying to accomplish. By stealing every food I stored for safekeeping, they think I'd be incapable of hunting with an empty stomach,'
"Hehe... Hehehehahahahahahaha! Now they've done it, I promised that I'd go easy on them, but im not sure if that can help. A single attack is better than suffering from perfectly aimed consecutive hits. Now that's all settled it's about time I make a move, if this was a real situation the traitor will be agitated. Since that's the case, then I shall make this a horrific evening!" Once the night finally made its appearance, Neon was nowhere to be found in his usual spot
There weren't any traces of his existence, not even a sound or a sign of his arrival, and he became one with his surroundings. The way he moves with such haste, a being who claims to be stronger, vigorous, and relentless in his pursuit. No doubt that he was equivalent to the killers in a horror flick of the past
The setting was near perfection, the curtains rise and the actors and actresses are scattered in this spectacle they perform. This was now a tale of a killer and his potential prey, a story in the middle of nowhere where none can hear their screams. These persevering guardians would late encounter a series of events that will test their might and most will give them the fight of their lives
"Ahahahahaha! That bastard sure as hell deserves what we done to his supplies. I can't believe his been saving his portion for a long time, with this we don't have to worry about hunting. We can just lie back and wait until he concedes, speaking of Neon, where's Alex? I haven't seen him since I wonder where hes at~"
"You called?" He appeared in Zane's back, and the fright he received was enough for him to instinctively cast a spell
"Alex! What the fuck man!? I thought I encountered, Neon for a second. Why the hell aren't you wearing your eye patch, that glow scared the living shit out of me. It's a good thing I already dump my load, have you seen the others when you arrived?"
"No luck, it seems they're trying to avoid master by taking a detour. Before we continue our chat, we gotta make a run for it... You almost blast me with a fireball, what's worse it might have caught his attention~ Aahhhh!!!" The two were then startled when a headless monster came falling from the trees, and a figure emerges from the shadow
"Guess my luck is considerably at its weakest... Those booby traps were meant for the four of you, it's a pity that these monsters went ahead and did you a favor. Seriously, this is your response after we haven't seen each other for the past couple of weeks?" In their short and thrilling reunion, he's showered with spells and arrows alike
There wasn't anything for him to deny a barrage of attacks in point-blank range and his body sparkled and later exploded. Their attacks weren't enough to kill him in a single strike but the result would've had him resting for days to come. But in the area where all of their attacks collided with their chosen target, there wasn't a single sign of his presence
"Above you!!!" Zane shoots a fireball and before it lands in its target, the spell was deflected with a simple swing
The force behind his spell wasn't a match by the aura which engulfed his blade, but it gave him the amount of time to escape. He reaches Alex's body in the nick of time and soon after a shield made of pure energy protected their skins from his blade. Their other members were nearing their location and as his means of escape, Neon threw a vial that emits a thick layer of fog
In the last attack, he dealt to the shield it managed to crack and his hand reaches for their spell caster. But before he could do as he pleased, Alex blocks his hand, and before he knew it he was tossed off the range of effect. Neon was about to apprehend him but in the end, Olivia and Tanya arrived and he left as quickly as he could
"Alex, are you alright?" Olivia and Tanya arrived with an army of puppets in her command. Even though Neon was no longer present, their group was now faced with the rage of the monsters that rouse from their slumber. The commotion they'd created not only alerted their group but the monsters originating from the ruins
"It's already hard that we're fighting dozens of monsters now he lures a bunch of elites...?" These towering beasts clad in the armor of their prey and the ones from the forest instigated a clash with these pair of newcomers
"Everyone to your formation!!!" With Olivia's guidance and the aid of her puppets, they withstand their attacks and prepared for a counterattack
[System: The guardian has invoked the required chant for [Frost spear]
[Frost spear]: When the spears break they create a small aoe field which slows and damages for some time]
He aims his spell at the sky and slowly it loses its force, the spears descend and land in their surroundings. He paired this spell with the use of a fireball and a bind which locks any form of movement from his enemies. With him by their side, it's near impossible for any of the monsters to reach their flesh
"Chain lightning~"
"Stop spamming your spells, and reserve your mana, Alex can deal with the rest. Tanya, do it now! I can't stall any longer than I can, these monsters are pushing away my puppets," Olivia's mind was nearing its end, and her consciousness was affecting her view and their formation altogether
"Olivia, do it now!!!" With Tanya's signal, the puppets disperse and in their stead form a long thread that bound every enemy in sight
"Thread magic, Intertwined knot!!!" The threads disable the monster from ever taking another move and their ace on the whole appeared at long last
"Basic sword arts, Wide horizontal slash!!!" The reach of her blade extended and the heads of their foe had fallen from their bodies and reached the surface of the ground
"We did it! Guys we won~ Arrrrggh!!!" Their celebration was cut too short and they were attacked in their most vulnerable state
Their bodies fell to the ground and their feet were struck by an arrow, but the thing which broke them was the identity of its shooter
"Why did you do it...? Tell me why Alex," Zane was drugged, and Olivia was mentally drained upon controlling the puppets she called
Lastly, their vanguard had four of her limbs perfectly struck by his arrow, and her nerves were badly damaged in the process. Tanya couldn't move a finger and all she could do was glare at the betrayal which led to their demise. He chuckles and gathered them in a single line, and they were then treated for their wounds
[System: The effects of the skills [Homunculus shifts] sub ability has met the end of their duration!!!
(Shapeshifting) Sub ability: As long as the caster can fully describe his targeted form of transformation he can mimic and copy their voice, appearance, and behavior. The only drawback about this skill is that it requires the caster to fully immerse himself in the form his trying to maintain. Any form of disturbance may lead to the loss of the form they've chosen to create]
"Surprise!!! It's za me Neon at your service," Their expression turns from hatred to pure terror upon the reality that their brains have refused to accept
"You guys lost and a question remains, when and where did I replace Alex? The question is the time I've tossed him out of the shield, you might think it's absurd but I had plenty of time. Instead of escaping with Alex, I decided to pull a high IQ play and that's to play the role of an imposter," While they remain silent, he threw a pebble to a tree and it activated a mechanism he placed in advance
They saw Alex descending from the trees where his bound to his bones and equipped with all sorts of scars from their scuffle
'Inhumane strength, stamina, senses, what's more, he can alter his body and mimic someone else. What the hell is he...? No matter how rare of a race he is it's downright impossible for a single race to have all of that ability. Just as he said, he could easily capture us and we wouldn't even notice his presence. Is it because of his mimicry or does he have another secret he's yet to disclose from our group?'