Underneath the spooky shades of the dense and tall trees, a group of four individuals defiled the marshy grounds of the forest, dressed in heavy-looking robes with metallic embroidery.
They didn't look exotic enough to be perceived as royals, but yet, not enough to fit the ruggedness of the wilderness.
The oldest and leading man among them, head covered with spiky silver hair remained silent all through, paying zero attention to the crudity that existed among the three others behind him.
"Are we going to try and find Acer?"
A voice asked out of the blue, unintentionally posing a frown into the faces of his peers – including their leading subordinate.
"His detachment remains none of our business. Your focus should be to kill an awakened prototype beast."
The man replied with an elegant fluidity, though flawed by a monotonous tone.
Adam who'd asked the question decided to remain silent, carefully placing his head on the event of his top, and most interesting rival being disabled.
'No wonder his watch kept counting zero… It's a shame!'
Adam felt pity for Acer. The boy was always competitive and highly aimed, but now it all washed into an abyss – along with his annoying rivalry that had also been checked as experience points.
'An army's lost! He would've been useful against the Luxols.'
Adam caressed his straight pointy nose for a while and then decided to ignore Acer for a while.
The area was becoming more dense, and the impossible silence was enough to send them running back.
There were only shadows and undefined silhouettes – whether they were casual mosses or lurking predators remained a mystery.
Then in the next second, the group stopped, listening for a growl that had echoed into their ears only seconds ago.
The growl echoed in the forest again, braced with pale brutality and ferociousness.
Adam was the first to find the starry crimson eyes of the beast, lurking a few trees in front of them.
With standing legs and arms like that of a bear, the beast showed multiple potential of being lethal, from its great glittering claws and exposed canine that leaked slimy saliva, to its mighty stature – but irrespective of what it was, it was certainly beatable.
He wasn't going to wait and watch his mates, or their leading Elite snatch away the kill. It was his time to stamp an impression on them – especially the Elite Master.
Adam took a single leap of grace, charging at the beast before the widened eyes of his mates, and narrowed gaze of the Elite.
"[Black Burst]"
Adam's body spun through the air in graceful fluidity, evenly harmonized with his arms that expended a black whirlpool once it waved at its target.
Adam landed on the ground and dashed towards the monstrosity that kept staring up at the whirlpool that spun before it.
At a close enough distance, before the whirlpool would have eventually collapsed, Adam stretched forth his right hand, bracing it in support with his left.
He glanced at the boldly written number on his watch – 950
'At least fifty.'
Adam held his middle fingers with his thumb, ready to end the battle with a clean strike.
What happened now was a mirage playing before the monster in the whirlpool, imagining Adam spinning towards it at a height double its size.
When the final attack eventually came, it would be a shock to the beast that would be dead even before he knew it.
A giant ball of black revolving mass formed in front of Adam's pointed fingers within a split second and was instantly reduced to the size of a common ball.
All happening in the blink of an eye, the giant ball was sent shooting at the beast.
It was a meager catastrophe once the impact landed.
The black ball like a bullet easily dug halfway through the guts of the beast, and then exploding at final impact.
There wasn't a single splatter of guts, only leaving behind a moldy black residue of matter upon a small crater that formed on the ground where it once stood.
'875' The mana-counting watch read once the fight was over.
"Only a mutated beast! This would not be enough to…" The Elite Master paused on his words, interrupted by the repulsive figures of more bear-like beast that protruded out of the shadows.
The four beasts were huger and definitely a challenge than the smaller version Adam fought.
"Now these are Awakened prototypes – Duskmaw Ravagers." The Elite Master looked grim staring at the beasts that had the group rounded up.
"Beat this… and you'll have a chance with the Elite Serenity!"
…
Three students and a man gazed upon the monstrosity that threatened them continually with their uncanny growl and desperate eyes.
"Should I take it… again?", The Elite Master smirked at his companions, his bravery outstanding amongst the tension, "just like last time?"
"No!" Adam said, almost in unison with the two other students whose voices resonated after.
He continued, "We're having this one!"
"As you say." After one final chuckle, the Elite Master glitches in a blue hue, disappearing out of sight.
'Just us!'
Adam sighed, glancing at his watch and the beasts. He wasn't going to falter at this time, he had to come out successful.
Buckling his feet on the hard ground, Adam meant to sprint towards the closest Ravager before him, engaging the foreseen bloodbath.
But at the bat of an eyelid, Adam saw the two other students beside him leap into action.
Their eyes shone with blunt brutality as a bust of magic and combat paved into the surroundings.
Although now trailing behind his mates, Adam made a move, leaping toward the beast in front of him – meanwhile, his foot leaving a clean kick in the air.
"[Chaos Loop]"
A thin string of black energy drew out of Adam's palm from the air, spiraling around the orotund beast.
Adam tried to tighten his grip on the monster, but like a fluffy toy, he instead, saw himself waving across the cold air, crashing into the old barks of a tree.
Barely able to figure out what happened, the Ravager made a terrific pounce at the boy… its speed for someone like Adam.
"[Stripping Chaos]"
The words echoed from his lips and a whirlpool of black radiant appeared in front of his face.
The Ravager unable to negate its movement only fell into the black pool, harboring an impudent roar of fury.
Swiftly rolling away from the ground, leaving half of the beast visible only in the whirlpool, Adam deactivated the skill when he stood on his feet.
With a faint explosion, the whirlpool faded out of sight, leaving only the upper skin of the beast.
The Duskmaw Ravager, stripped of its black furs stood with half of its body completely peach pale.
The muscularity almost paralyzed him, but in the middle of battle, he couldn't afford to succumb to those conditions.
"[Continuous Blaze Of Chaos – Black Ball]"
A ray of spinning black ball shot towards the creature who currently gazed at him with blood-thirst, each ball trailing behind a fiery gas of blackness.
Underneath the dim light from the moon, a sudden catastrophe was unleashed on a single predator.
Each ball made an impact with the pale skin of the beast like bullets from a rifle, distorting into irregular smaller bits of pulsating energy that invaded nearby areas of the beast.
After the ball had done its work, a tall standing beast still appeared from the surrounding gas of blackness – looking untouched by the array of fury.
'What the fuck!'
Adam backed away, eyes widened with shock.
Continuous Blaze Of Chaos was like a finishing strike, meant to quickly end a fight with its vicious impact… however, the beast had made a pile of rubbish out of them, and all he knew of Chaotic Aberration.
Adam couldn't gaze away at the beast that moved towards it with its bipedal legs.
The beast was still shrouded in complete darkness, a few inches from the light that reflected from the moon.
If Adam were to remain petrified in awe without a clue of his next strike, then he would have been in trouble.
The Ravager wavered in its beastly demeanor as it crossed the light, lending Adam a glance at its condition.
Its muscular abs remain untouched… however, spurts of blood coated the area around its neck, trailing towards its undercoat of black fur.
'The neck?'
Perhaps, Adam had managed to locate a weak point during at the max of his predicament.
"[Chaos Ball]" A pulsating energy mass swiftly shit towards the monster, aimed at the neck of the approaching beast.
Upon impact, the Ravager stumbled backward, releasing a stern growl from its massive vocal.
More blood spurt out and the beast ended up in a pool of its blood.
Having taken enough of Adam's attacks, it lunged at the latter, its shiny claws in the darkness reaching for his face.
But unfortunately, the latter had just garnered a new level of confidence, easily dodging with a left duck.
"[Chaos Ball]"
"[Chaos Ball]"
Two pulsating folds of energy shot directly at the beast's bleeding neck, quickly leaving the monster unconscious on the ground… probably dead.
Adam turned to his mate, both of whom battled with their beast.
"Just aim at the neck region."
Adam switched gaze between the two boys, trying to figure out which among the students couldn't handle the monstrosity.
But in a sudden flash of blinding light, Adam saw a giant sword of transparent divinity slashing through both beasts.
An aura of inhumane strength quickly dissipated the coldness of the atmosphere. All radiating from the figure of a man with huge red hair, standing atop the completely split form of the Duskmaw Ravager.
A Katana tightly gripped in his palms.
"Freakin' hell!"