A week passed since Seth and the others arrived at the training area.
It was over one thousand kilometers away from the capital and was an area with different landscapes.
The north was totally occupied by greenery for as long as twenty-five kilometers. Trees of all sorts as well as flowers which Seth nor the others had come across before.
The south was a mountain range spanning over twenty kilometers with mountains of different heights and a few valleys.
From an aerial view, the meeting of these two opposite landscapes was obscured by a fog so thick that nothing could see through it.
Seth's team had been staying on the north side as it contained dungeons of lower classes as opposed to the south which contained higher Classes of dungeons. Ten dungeons had been discovered in the south, half of which were said to be Class Five and the other half being higher.
As the afternoon sun slowly sank into the sky, losing its heat that stung the bodies of all it touched, Seth and Taro sprinted through the forest grounds.
They had become accustomed to their environment as they knew their camp like the back of their hand.
With great speed, they ran, chasing after something they had set their minds on.
It was a Ghost Leopard. A spotted large cat with black fur and dead leaf green tiny spots.
As its name suggested, it had the ability to vanish from sight while remaining in the same position. A master of camouflage.
Its speed wasn't also anything to scoff at as when its camouflage failed, it usually relied on its speed to outrun enemies or attack prey.
The former was the case at hand as Seth and Taro made up their mind to chase this creature classified as a Class Two magic beast to the ends of the forest if need be.
While searching for a beast that would serve them as dinner for the next two days, Seth's heightened senses had picked up on the Ghost Leopard, hidden not far away from them and planning to attack when they let their guard down.
Mana beasts were more sensitive compared to humans and as soon as the Ghost Leopard sensed the mana hidden within Seth's core, it knew who the prey was. As if it had seen death, it bolted away.
There were rumors about this beast being a top delicacy for magic users yo to the fourth Class and Seth, having seen one, wanted to clear this rumor.
He gave chase and so did Taro. They both went after it while the beast kept running, knowing it couldn't hide from Seth's senses.
Boom.
The floor cracked and an earthen wall shot out, blocking the pathway the beast had decided to take.
It opened its mouth and a ball of compressed wind rapidly formed before shooting out.
Boom!
Another explosion rang out as a hole was made in the wall, the Leopard making its way through.
"Damn it!" Taro grunted, increasing his pace so he could get closer to the beast.
Seth… Seth was nowhere to be found.
He had simply told Taro to keep chasing after the Leopard and casting spells that would slow it down and then he disappeared afterward.
"There's more where that came from," Taro murmured, conjuring the same earthen wall again. This time, it was layered as the Leopard would have to break one after the other to get escape.
Nevertheless, it would slow it down, giving Taro time to further close the distance between them.
It was a well-thought-out plan as Taro even planned to add more if needed.
Whilst he knew the Leopard had bolted because of them, he didn't know it was solely because of Seth. If Taro was alone, it would've stood its ground against him even though it would've died at the end.
The Leopard opened its mouth one more time as another ball formed in its mouth. This one was larger than the previous one and shot out even faster.
Swish.
It left the Leopard's mouth that was still open and three seconds later, it was in front of the first wall.
Boom!
The first was destroyed.
Boom!!
The second was damaged.
Boom!!!
The third was breached.
Taro's eyes widened as he obviously hadn't expected this much firepower from this beast. Still, he went after it.
While Taro was still thinking of ways to corner it, the Ghost Leopard stopped abruptly, its head facing Taro as in the next second, a fist-sized ball of compressed air shot out of its open mouth.
Taro didn't witness the ball condense like the previous ones as the Leopard had done it immediately after it shot the bigger one.
Taro reinforced his body with droves of mana to defend against the ball of air that was already too close to dodge.
The explosion sent him flying backward uninjured but in pain.
"Ugh." A muffled grunt escaped his mouth as his back slammed against a tree.
Taro got up and continued his chase before it got too late.
The Leopard didn't waste this opportunity as it chose to run instantly. It jumped through the first wall and then the second and then the third one.
It was its victory until it saw the sword closing in from its left side.
Puck.
A bronze sword made its way into the heart of the leopard and it growled painfully.
Its eyes connected with the eyes of its killer who had a lazy smile.
"Gotcha." Seth chuckled, pulling out his sword and pushing the dead beast to the side.
Taro arrived at the scene and saw Seth cleaning his blade on the fur of the beast.
"Can you not avoid sneakily killing them every time it's your turn?" He asked.
Seth shook his head. "There's no fun in that."
They both took turns hunting down dinner and this was Seth's third time. Every time, he'd hit their target when they felt the hunt had failed and it was safe.
"That's a cowardly move and you know it." Taro chided him.
"I know. What difference does it make though? Sneak attack or not, it would've died on my first attack either way. I don't mean to brag but I'm a genius." Seth said, smirking at his friend.
"Ugh." Taro's face twisted like someone who ate bad food.
"You could've easily killed it too but it wasn't your kill so you just let it do whatever it wanted to you." Seth pointed at Taro like an elder giving corrections to a child. "Don't try that next time and above all, don't lose focus."
"If it had been a Class Four beast, you'd be dead."
"I understand." Taro nodded obediently. Seth had been giving him pointers since the beginning of their training.
"I wouldn't want to see my only friend die because of a tiny distraction. There's no way I can stomach that. So do your best not to be overly cautious." Seth advised Taro.
Seth shoved his sword into its sheath on his waist and called out to Taro. "Now, if you'll be so kind, come help out and let's get this thing back."
"We've got a rumor to clear."