Chapter 25: Guild Mission
Slash
Loki slashed the thorns and gazed forward. Athena met his gaze and took a deep breath.
"Let's end this."
They both silently whispered and prepared their final move.
Loki gripped his sword and activated a new move.
[Tempest touch]
A gust of wind flew by and it approached Athena. The wind was rotating in different directions forming a crescent moon.
Athena countered it with her move. She slammed her palms on the ground and activated her move.
[Forest Blessing]
Saplings popped out from the ground and started to grow at a visible speed. In a matter of seconds, they grew into large trees and blocked the sunlight.
woosh
The wind dashed forward and clashed with the trees. It sliced them apart but also trapped itself within the forest.
Athena anticipated that and activated her special move.
[Planetary Devestation]
An illusory ball dashed forward with immense force. The ball approached the forest and absorbed the whole forest inside it. Even the wind wasn't spared from its absorption. After absorbing them, It grew around 10 meters tall.
The huge ball destroyed everything in its path and approached Loki.
Loki's face became solemn witnessing the illusory ball. Its destructive force was very high. He quickly formulated a plan to end this battle and activated his move.
[Life Severing Art: Life Haven]
His sword gleaned with white light and a white beam escaped from his sword's tip.
The white beam dashed toward the ball with great momentum.
The beam flowing with vitality clashed with the ball and an explosion occurred.
Boom
A cloud of dust formed across the ground.
Athena got distracted by the dust cloud and Loki didn't miss this chance. He silently activated his hiding skill.
[Life Severing Art: Life Hollow]
Loki had already activated his sensory skills and determined Athena's location so he silently approached her.
Athena's vision was blocked by the dust so she hurriedly cast her own sensory skill [Root Detection].
A network of roots surfaced from the ground and spread outward. Faint noises were detected near Athena and the root transmitted this information.
She sensed Loki's location and prepared for a counterattack but it was too late for her.
Loki vanished from Athena's senses and appeared beside her using [Shadow swap].
"You lost."
[condition completed…]
Loki appeared beside her and placed his sword on her neck.
"You are a powerful fighter. I admit defeat."
Athena accepted her defeat.
"It was a nice duel." She praised Loki and started healing her wounds.
"Let me help you." A green light flickered on Loki's palm and mended Athena's wounds.
"Thank you." She politely thanked him.
Clap clap clap
"Bravo!"
A series of clapping echoed as a middle-aged man appeared before them. He was wearing an office outfit with his grey shirt and white pants. He had brown hair hazel eyes and a brown beard.
"Who are you?" I questioned with a solemn face while protecting Athena.
"I am Will Sander. The manager of this place." He responded.
"Ohh… Nice to meet you." They lowered their vigilance and greeted him formally.
"I am Loki Odinson."
"I am Athena Skyrim."
They simultaneously introduced themselves.
"Both of your strengths are exceptional for your age. I was amazed by your performance." he praised them and took out a card.
"Thank you, Sir." They bowed slightly.
"Here. This can help you access more bountiful missions available only to the top members of the guild." He passed them the card.
Loki became shocked as inquired about the reason for this gift.
"This is a reward for showing me such a magnificent duel."
He smiled at them and vanished.
"Wierd," Loki whispered and returned to the mission hall.
He offered Athena the card but she declined.
"We can both use it." She exclaimed.
"How?"
"Let's team up." She explained accepted his teaming offer.
Loki was thrilled and thanked her.
They approached the counter lady and used the card to take on a guild mission.
The mission was quite simple. We just had to defeat some rare-tier beasts that were creating problems for the tourists in the Nocturnal Forest.
We accepted the mission and travelled toward the forest.
"Copy lightning element"
[Ding! Lightning Affinity added to host's status…]
They entered the forest and started their hunt.
Grr
A beast popped out of the bush and started growling at them.
Slash
"We should enter a bit inside the forest," Athena suggested.
"Alright." Loki nodded and they dashed inside.
Grr grr
A pack of wolves appeared in front of them. The pack's leader was a rare-tier forest wolf.
Loki glanced at Athena and nodded his head.
Athena understood his signal and sheathed her sword. She activated [Root Shackle] and entangled the wolves.
Loki rushed forward and cleanly beheaded them with his sword.
The pack leader witnessing the massacre went berserk and approached Athena.
Athena gripped her sword and slashed with the wolf's paws.
triing
Loki continued his massacre and the wolves flew away in panic.
Athena also activated her skill and overpowered the leader.
After a bit of struggle, the whole pack was annihilated by them.
After harvesting the salvageable parts, they continued moving forward. They took turns defeating the beasts and coordination developed between them. More and more beasts fell from their hands until they heard a frightening hiss.
A giant snake more than 30 meters tall was leisurely resting itself on a tree's branch. Its stomach was bulged slightly which meant it just had its dinner.
Loki and Athena silently gazed at the snake and communicated with each other.
"It's an epic-tier Green Venom Python," Athena informed Loki.
"We should leave this area," Loki suggested while observing the surroundings.
Athena nodded her head and they started moving away from the python.
crack
"Shit!" Loki mistakenly stepped on a tree's branch and broke it.
Hiss
The python opened its eyes and glanced at the area.
spits
It spat a green blob from its tongue. The blob rushed towards Loki's location and fell right near his foot. The blob instantly dissolved the ground.
The python observed its surroundings for a while. After ensuring no beasts were near its area, it slowly closed its eyes and rested its head on the branch.
Phew
"That was close," Loki muttered and glanced at Athena.
They were hiding inside a bush using their hiding skills. Loki activated [Life Hollow] while Athena erased her presence by merging with nature.
"We should move before it wakes up," Athena suggested.
They cautiously retreated while continuously observing their surrounding.
Both of them sighed in relief and ended their hunt.