Gamora's artim lasted for 5 minutes and disappeared. She flashed a soothing smile but the kids just tensed up. "Fuck!" That was what was resounding in their minds when their mother smiled. "I'm done. The rest is up to you. Good luck." She disappeared in a golden light leaving the kids dumbstruck. "D..did she just leave us here?" Lith asked in a shaky voice. He wanted an answer but looking at the shocked and confused face of Vorden, he realized the truth and seriousness of the matter. The cries of the beasts stopped for an instant and they heard a loud voice. "Let the hunt begin! Sigh! I've always wanted to say that." Vorden and Lith's eyes widened in shock. After the announcement, the place returned to a bone chilling silence which made the hairs of the kids stand on end. They subconsciously took fighting stances and looked around with focused eyes. They stood back to back as they tried to find anything. The silence continued for another 30 seconds until something happened. The ground under the kids burst open, revealing a strange set of razor teeth. The moment this happened, they heard the cries of different beasts. The empty wasteland had turned into a beast forest with just a single skill from Gamora.
Vorden and Lith instinctively jumped out of the way but it wasn't enough to escape the wide mouth and teeth which was following them. Seeing this, Lith casted an artim under his feet and activated it. Vorden did the same an shadow stepped out of the way to the part of the land that wasn't affected. The artim under Lith exploded and shot him to the other side of the beast that wasn't affected by the outburst. This outburst of the beast was like the signal for the beasts in the wasteland to grow restless. The way Lith used his skill was really funny but smart. Most people will never use the skill as a pair of rocket boots but Lith just did it. He'd just defied the way of the skill.
The beast seeing that its prey had escaped got out the ground. The kids stared in horror as a long black body came out the ground like pus. The top of the body was covered in shiny orange scales while the underside was covered in rough brown skin. It didn't have leg but a crooked pair of claws on its face in place of eyes. Five long grey antennas could be seen on its head. The beast appeared to be 180cm long. It was unnecessarily long. Vorden and Lith just froze from the appearance of the beast but they were broken out of their stupor when they heard a loud roar. "Crap! More are coming here!" Lith took his greatsword out of his ring. Vorden also took his katana out the ring. Like seasoned veterans, they attacked the Hell's Worm together. The flame properties helped a lot and in Lith's hands, it was more effective. They used the various skill of their weapons; Inferno Slash for Vorden and Flame Boulder for Lith. Not wanting to waste time, they activated the skills plus their skills and attacked together. Vorden shadow stepped close to the beast and slashed furiously at it while Lith supported him from the side. Anytime Lith used the Explode skill, Vorden will shadow step outside the area of effect and once it was over, he will attack. Within a 1 minute, the beast was swaying like a drunk but the duo weren't planning on giving it a breather. The used a combined attack of their sword skills to kill the beast.
They looked at the grilled Hell's Worm and couldn't help but sigh. They weren't fatigued but they were a bit tired. After some time, they realized a grave mistake. The rule was to dominate a beast individually not as a team so their effort in fighting the mid rank Rika class Hell's Worm was in vain. Before they could even come to a conclusion, they heard beast cries close by. Four Rika class Scaly Coyotes joined the fray and surrounded them. The beasts were 5 feet tall with shiny brown scales instead of fur. "Fuck this! Isn't supposed to be our hunt?! Why are being hunted then?!" Lith exclaimed in anger but no one could answer him. Vorden was also thinking the same thing but he couldn't get answers from anyone. It was annoying but he didn't think much of it. He quickly whispered to Lith that they had no choice but to fight individually which made Lith more angrier and coyotes were the perfect stress balls for him. His Fire art's power was greatly affected by his emotions but he failed to recognize it.
Vorden dashed towards two of the coyotes. He used the Inferno Slash the moment he got close. Not waiting for them to recover, he kicked on the muzzle and pierced his katana into the other's exposed chest but his attack was futile. Their scaly skin wasn't there for appearance sake but it was hard. His attack could have worked but he underestimated the power of the scales on the beast. The beasts were obviously enraged. How could a puny human launch a sneak attack on them. They attacked Vorden together. The sound of metal against metal could be heard as Vorden's katana clashed with the claws of the coyotes. Vorden was on defense as dodged the combined attacks from the two beasts but he was surprisingly faring better and within some few seconds, the tides had started to change in his favor. The reason was, he the advantage of a Pseudo Gold tier weapon which boosted his abilities. He wasn't used to the power difference as in actual sense, he was supposed to be using a Bronze tier or at most, Silver tier weapon, considering his level. There was an unspoken rule; no matter the tier of weapon you use, if its rank contradicts with yours, you would not be able to utilize its full power and this even applied to an Ultra guda like him. His level was a barrier for him but he wasn't in a rush. Using the various katana skills, slash, slap, chop, pierce and his nimble footwork skills, he dodged the attacks of the beasts while delivering his own. Even with the subdued power of the weapon, his blows were devastating to the coyotes and in a few minutes, they were bleeding profusely barel able to stand. Their scales couldn't withstand the blows of the pseudo Gold tier katana and they were butchered in many ways. Vorden seeing their heads on the guillotine, he raised his katana over his head and slashed down on their heads while activating the skill of the sword, Inferno Slash. A red aura burst forth from the katana and permeated the ground plus the heads of the beasts. After the slash, an explosion followed by a surge of flames burnt the beasts to crisp. That was a bit of the true power of the weapon.
Vorden didn't have to wait long when he heard an explosion behind him and felt an intense heat from behind. He turned around and gaped in surprise at the blown up pieces of coyote meat and scales all over the place. A boy stood in the middle of all these with an angry face and flaming greatsword. If Vorden's kills were clean, Lith's was a massacre. He had really vented his anger on those beasts. He looked at Vorden with angry but determined eyes and turned around. He dashed into the ruins. Vorden understood his actions. If they were going get out of the wasteland, they had to work separately. Vorden also turned in the opposite direction to continue his hunt. He was the hunter not the beasts and he would remind them anytime he encountered them. What they were facing was too much for them. It was clearly child abuse but it was for the greater good. For their future and he was going to make use of this abuse to complete his mission.