"And that makes twelve," He said as he pulled his blade out of the daemon's head. "How many you at now Leo?"
"Though I tread areas unjust protect thy soul for the end will be fulfilling." He took up his sword and slid it onto the harness on his back. "That completes my quota, nine in total."
Mael Ianbris was a genius, in all the clans in the world there have only been four geniuses born within the last three decades, Liric, Emirus, and AE, he was the fourth. Born with a vast mana pocket and an intellect on par with the great minds of the world he truly was the cream of the crop as well as the pride of the Ianbris.
Born and raised by a top family, consisting of a retired A-rank hunter as a father and also a retired magic instructor as a mother. Mael had learned to control his mana from a young age, learning how to wield a sword, unleash acts and make the best use of the two magic types he was blessed with. Battle magic and support magic. Though support wasn't the best for quick-paced fights if you knew the right spells and can find a space to use them, it can be just as dangerous as battle magic.
"Wanna go after the big one?" Mael asked Leonard Hollowhound who seemed to have wrapped up a prayer to Alto.
"No, we've cleared out all the daemons here already, even though they were all tiger class I'm more than satisfied." Leonard took rest on the sand using a rock as his pillow. "Plus, there's no need in biting more than you can chew. There's a reason that daemon isn't hunting. If it's dragon class your gonna regret going near it, I don't care how skilled you think you are."
"Is that a bet?" Mael asked Leonard as he returned his blade to its scabbard.
"I'm not betting anything but by all means go for it, you irrational blockhead."
[Support magic act one: Wind and sky]. Gusts of wind blew him up and by shifting his body weight Mael could tread through the sky as effectively as someone with a wind glider could. He could see it from above, the oh-so-feared daemon. It was probably dragon class. Gladius had informed them about the classes of daemons they would see in the exam but this was the only daemon that had a benefit attached to it.
In Gladius's words. "There are daemons in there, ranging from Tiger to Dragon class. The person that defeats the dragon class daemon would be given the enhanced sword. "Kozaku Honojiri" like all enhanced treasures, the Kozaku has been enhanced by an A-rank hunter of the Roosevelt clan. It significantly reduces the amount of mana spent when inducing an enhancement act on it.
Mael didn't want the sword. As far as he was concerned his clan's treasure was on a whole 'nother level, however it wouldn't be given to him until he became an A-rank hunter. He dropped to the ground and rolled as he got within ten meters of the dragon class.
Sneaking about he hid behind a boulder. It wasn't dormant but since it hadn't noticed him, a surprise attack would be the play. [Support magic act two: Great tide] [Support magic act one: mud ravine]. Daemons could smell mana the same way sharks could smell blood in the water and the higher the class of daemon, the sharper its senses. However, in this case, the daemon's acute sense of smell will be its downfall.
The daemon rose from its resting place. It was the size of a house and it looked much different from lower-level daemons. It looked like a beast thorough and thorough, with horns on the front ends of its head, back legs that resembled the legs of goats, and giant arms with claws that were sharper than the blades of the most highly valued blacksmiths.
It ran at Mael full speed ahead smashing through the rock he hid behind but uncovering a nasty surprise left for it. The mixture of the two support acts was used to create a pool of water that acted the same way quicksand did and it worked, the daemon was trapped and all Mael had to do was kill it.
[Support magic act one: wind and sky], [Battle magic act three: raindrop]. Flying into the air Mael was untop the trapped daemon, it growled and dug with its claws but to no avail, support magic could not be broken out of that effortlessly and it won't end until the user's mana runs out or he decides to end it. With the first not happening any time soon and the second being something Mael wouldn't do.
"That makes thirteen." Mael plunged from the sky as brisk and nimble as a raindrop but this little raindrop had a sword in hand and was aiming for the jugular.
He fell past the daemon and he could quickly clarify that the attack didn't go through, why could he clarify this? Because his sword broke immediately it made contact with the daemon. The daemon grabbed Mael and dunked him inside the quicksand, forcing him to undo the act which led to the daemon's freedom and what would seem to be his end.
"HAHAHAHA." The daemon laughed in an almost human tone, higher class daemons have been known to have much more similar qualities to humans. With there being multiple reports of the higher class daemons having conversations with one another. "HAHAHA." The daemon laughed again mocking Mael as he jammed him into the floor with its palm.
Blood spewed from Mael's mouth as his spine suffered whiplash from the slam and again the daemon slammed him onto the ground before tossing him into a pile of sand. Barely unconscious Mael couldn't even use an act, his life flashed before his eyes and he saw himself from an omniscient viewpoint. The sand was red, and his body suffered cuts and blunt damage. Was he dead?
The daemon walked slowly towards him, the food was assured. Was this the end of the genius? Still seeing himself from above Mael's body moved, it got up with its head down and its legs struggling to keep balance. He wasn't the one in control of his body but it was moving. The daemon rushed him and immediately it got within arm's length. [Battle magic act five: Stardust], the daemon stopped. Pieces of glitter rained down from the atmosphere, bedazzled by these phenomena the daemon looked to the sky almost seemingly in a trance embracing the glitter which immediately when settled on its body began to form little stars inside its arms, head, and torso.
Slowly enlarging the stars weighed the daemon down before exploding and turning it into a piece of mush on the sidewalk.
Mael opened his eyes, he could feel his heart, his legs his arms, he could also feel the cracks in his ribs and the cuts on his body. "An application of yin magic?" he asked himself before shortly falling face first onto the ground.
"This just proves it again, I am a genius."
But it wasn't over, two daemons walked towards the down and out Mael wanting a quick meal from a foe with a seemingly endless mana pocket. The two tiger class daemons dragged their feet in the sands slowly approaching Mael.
"Even a fallen opponent is prey, you disgusting wretches." She ran unleashing her blade from its harness.
Ashae Haldia was the only living daughter of the Haldia clan, blessed with a good amount of mana and one type of magic her only way of improvement was training every other second of the day. Having both affinities for lightning and earth magic she ended the lives of foes with terrific amounts of battle sense and a style of fighting she learned because she wasn't talented.
[Battle magic act three: Desolate lightning], there wasn't a cloud in sight but thunder could be heard. Moving at outstanding speeds a gleam of blue light covered her sword as she sliced through the torso of a daemon before being greeted by a thunderclap. She made short work of the second one and again the heavens applauded.
She had nothing but envy for the talent in this world. Blessed with vast mana pockets, magic types, and elemental affinities. But in her case she used her envy as a driving force to outwork everyone she met, what they were gifted through birth she would attain through hard work.
"Mael Ianbris." She always wanted to know where she stood against him, but after the display he showed against the dragon class she knew one thing for sure. "The talented truly are terrifying."