The breeze of the cold nature resonated throughout a vast forestland. It was very peaceful and tranquil that even the sound of the wind could be heard.
"Roar!!!!"
All of a sudden, a battle cry was let out by a lion breaking the silence of the terrain. Its height measured up to 10 metres, unlike a normal lion. The pupil of its eyes emanated red light while its nose omitted smoke with every breath.
"Argh!!!!", another battle cry exuded from the other side. It was a human armoured with a body suit. His fists were wrapped inside gauntlets. At once, the gauntlet unleashed lightning bolts which soon reshaped into a huge fist.
<<
The gigantic lightning fist smashed the lower jaw of the lion but little did it do any damage. The lion continued charging towards the man. That's when another human launched an attack with fire. She used flames as a medium to keep her under levitation. The man shouted, "Thanks, buddy!!!", and launched another lightning fist onto the beast's forehead. But, the lion didn't faze and immediately tried to crunch him. The woman launched another wave of fire, henceforth damaging its left ear.
<<
Another, young man with hyper-speed leapt onto the lion's back. He then immediately brought out two daggers and implemented multiple slashes. The beast cried in agony, "Roar!!!", and hit the guy with its wagging tail. The young man crashed into the woods only to remain unconscious. The other two people who were in the battle gritted their teeth. The lion then glared at the one who was levitating.
The woman flinched and immediately launched a flame wave. The beast took the wave head-on. It leapt forward. Its mouth reached her but the fist user jumped forward and once again hit the lion's lower jaw. The lion, however, used its tail to trap him. After landing on the ground, it began to squeeze him so hard. He cried in agony, "Aaaaah!!!!"
The woman charged forward in anger, "Let him go, you filthy beast!!!!"
The lion threw the man onto another side. She immediately flew towards him while trying to catch him before he could hit the ground. However, the gigantic lion bared its fangs and bit her on the belly. She writhed in agony, "Heeaaah!!!!"
The lion held the woman under its teeth. She looked around with faint eyes. Her two comrades were lying on the ground. Right, when she thought of closing her eyes,
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an explosion occurred a few afar from the lion. The woman snapped out of her fatigue to look at her front. The ground formed a crater. On its centre stood a man who was wearing a blue hoodie on top of a white t-shirt and black pants. He wore white sneakers with red soles. The woman was dumbfounded by his appearance. What's more, was that he had earphones where he was listening to songs and shaking his head. But, he vibed as per the beat of the music. At once, he opened his eyes. They emanated a blue aura. The woman jolted, "Wait, those earphones alongside the colour of your eyes... You're Melomaniac, right?!!"
"...!!", the person in front of the lion remained spellbound. He said, "Let's chat later. For now, focus on dealing with this beast!"
She gritted her teeth and tried to get out of the lion's mouth, "Argh!!!!"
She then unleashed an immense amount of fire from her body. The lion threw her into the woods and stopped the fire in its mouth. It then looked forward. The man with earphones spoke, "Phew, that was one heck of a song. Now, it's time for my 100th song. What shall I play?!"
"Roar!!!", the beast charged towards him without a second thought. He evaded its fangs by dodging forward, backwards or sometimes left and right. After a few moments, he increased the distance between himself and the beast. The lion looked at him with gritted teeth. He took out his cell phone while mumbling, "This song became quite famous and viral on Spotify and YouTube. Let's try listening to it!", and clicked the play button on his phone screen.
The phone screen popped up and a song began to play,
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[Playing - Xxxxxxxx]
__________
Rapid beats and sounds of piano resonated in his ears. He then began vibing non-stop as the lyrics and music continued to resonate through his ears. At once, he took a step forward.
<<
Within a few milliseconds, he spawned behind the lion. The lion failed to respond to his speed and jumped a few metres away from him. He tried balancing his composure, "Woah, so this song stimulates my speed, huh? How convenient?!"
He then spawned before the beast and implied an axe kick. The lion ended up crashing onto the ground. Its lower jaw accumulated critical damage. He then started implying rapid kicks and punches from different directions. The beast was rendered unable to counter his hyperspeed. Slowly, it lost all its power and collapsed. The three people who were battling the lion earlier gathered at one spot. The hooded person who subjugated it conversed, "You must be the newbie awakener Pinky flame. The other two newbies must be Lightning streamer and Hyper monkey!!"
The gauntlet user responded, "Yes, I'm Lightning streamer. But I wish you'd call me Sam!!"
The woman said, "You can call me Ashiya!"
The third one exclaimed, "My name's Viraj!!"
The hooded guy paused the music and said, "I'm Anshu!"
Lightning streamer commented, "To think we'd meet the infamous Melomaniac at death's door!!"
Pinky flame commented, "How lucky could we be?!"
Hyper monkey said, "You can submit this beast to the awakener's bureau since you're our saviour and also the slayer of this beast!!"
Anshu hesitated, "But, you people were the ones who discovered it!"
Ashiya said, "We need to give an explanation to the awakener's bureau on how we slew the beast for getting the rewards fairly. You know it is impossible to lie to them, right?!", whilst sulking. Anshu replied, "How about this? After I am done getting the rewards, I will give you 50% of my share!"
Sam let out a huge laugh, "Hahahahahahaha... Sir, that 50% share isn't a small amount. If people get to know about this, then it wouldn't be you but us who'd invite suspicion of false proclamation!!"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot how dangerous the world of awakeners is!!", Anshu exclaimed. He then walked towards the lion and placed a metal chip on its skin. The chip radiated fluctuations of blue light towards the sky. Soon, a few people in black suits reached the spot. Anshu and the other three members got into a bus. Ashiya was undergoing a healing process whereas Sam and Viraj were being given first aid. Anshu's phone rang a bell. He viewed it.
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+91-ABRD
$110,000 have been transferred to your account.
For more details, contact ABRD.
__________
He chuckled and continued listening to songs. Everyone inside the bus continued staring at him. His head was constantly vibing front and back along with the music. He then looked outside the bus window and began thinking.
[ABRD - Awakener's Bureau and Resource Department
Every human who's classified as an awakener must register themselves in the bureau if they want to be protected from the surveillance of ordinary humans. The bureau post all kinds of missions, bounties and rewards on its private website. It also has certain rules and regulations.
Just now, the subjugation of that awakened lion was classified as mid-tier. Yet, these three low-tier awakeners rushed in for the task. They would be held under ABRD's custody for a week being scolded for their reckless decision. Well, they brought it on themselves. They must face the consequences for that.]
Viraj attempted, "Sigh, now that we broke the rules of ABRD, we will be held under custody for an entire week!"
Ashiya commented, "If only we weren't too confident!!"
The one who was treating her said, "Even if you weren't too confident, I doubt you'd win!"
They looked at her with puzzled expressions. She continued, "The term awakened doesn't apply to the only body but also mind. Mid-tier awakened animals tend to have equal IQs as mid-tier awakeners. That's why we termed them beasts!!"
Sam asked, "Then what about high-tier beasts?!"
Anshu interrupted, "High-tier ones aren't called beasts!"
Everyone turned towards him. The healer emphasized, "High-tier awakened animals go by the term monsters!"
Pinky flame attempted, "Why so?!"
She interpreted, "In terms of normal life, a lizard stands no chance against a dog. But in the case of awakened, it is the polar opposite. An awakened dog would be as big as a bear!"
Viraj interrupted, "What about the awakened lizard?!"
She made a pause. The three of them looked at her anxiously. She then exclaimed, "50-100 metres at a minimum!"
"Gasp!!!", they shook at her revelation. She continued, "The awakened lizards are extremely hard to deal with. The world of awakeners does not address them as awakened lizards but as dragons!!"
The three newbies became spellbound. The healer finished treating Ashiya. She immediately got up and sat beside Anshu. She then asked, "I want to know how you became a mid-tier awakener with your low-tier ability!!"
Viraj flinched and sat on the front alongside Sam. Sam asked, "We heard that low-tier abilities lack the potential to evolve into the next tier. So, how did you do it?!"
Anshu chuckled and began his narration.