Griff and Cathy soon rejoined the rest of the party, and together they made their way up the mountain, moving with a disciplined precision. They formed a compact triangle formation—Griff leading at the front, Ryla and Amir covering the flanks, and Cathy and Robby securing the rear. Despite the earlier impression they gave, the group was now all business, their movements sharp and deliberate. Amir was thrilled to be part of it, soaking in every moment of the experience. He could sense that the others were holding back their true speed, allowing him to keep pace, but he was determined not to be the weak link.
'I have to keep up,' Amir thought, pushing himself harder as they weaved through the forest. 'If I fall behind, it could cost us everything.'
The night was his ally, the darkness enhancing his abilities and letting him move with greater speed and agility. Yet, he knew that in the daylight, he wouldn't be as effective. His sword art was powerful, but it was also limiting—something he desperately wanted to overcome.
"We've got two packs on the left. Ryla, Amir, take them out and scout from the trees before regrouping with us," Robby commanded.
Without missing a beat, Amir and Ryla broke off from the group, slipping through the trees like shadows. They'd been operating this way all night, constantly scouting and eliminating threats to ensure they were never caught off guard. Soon, they came upon a pack of Noble Salamanders—large, color-changing magical beasts with the fire element. Each stood about six feet tall, their spiked tails lashing as they sensed the intruders.
Amir didn't hesitate. He slashed his sword, sending five crescent blades slicing through the air toward the beasts. Using shadow step, he circled them from the left, sending out more blades. The salamanders were slow to react, and the sharp crescents cut into their bodies, leaving deep, bloody gashes.
One of the salamanders opened its mouth, spewing a massive wave of flame in Amir's direction. He dodged, sending another crescent blade that pierced the creature's side, causing it to screech in pain. The pack turned their attention to Amir, unleashing a barrage of fire beams at him.
'Oh, crap,' Amir thought, his eyes widening as he saw the incoming attacks.
He leaped nimbly from tree to tree, dodging the beams as they streaked past, igniting the forest behind him. Another beam followed, and Amir ran, leading them away.
'Gotcha!' Amir smirked as he darted through the trees.
Ryla appeared above the pack, spinning gracefully before landing in their midst. In an instant, the salamanders were cut down, their bodies falling in pieces as her deadly blades did their work.
Amir joined her with a grin, his eyes glowing slightly as he gazed at the fallen beasts. He wished he could harvest their cores, but the team had a different plan—they were leaving the bodies behind so that other magical beasts would consume the cores, triggering their evolution and leaving them vulnerable. It was a clever tactic, and they'd already used it to eliminate four packs that night, with plans to take out seven more before checking on the reserve forces.
"Hey Ryla, the fire's going to attract the other pack. We could use it to set up an ambush when they come for the cores," Amir suggested, his eyes locking onto Ryla's. She looked like she was in her mid-20s, with a sleek figure and jet-black hair that contrasted sharply with her purple ninja outfit, accentuating her soft features.
Ryla nodded in agreement, and they quickly scaled the trees to wait for the next wave of beasts.
From her vantage point, Ryla glanced at Amir, who was perched in a nearby tree. She couldn't help but be impressed by how well he was adapting to the team. Despite their need to slow down for him, he wasn't a burden. In fact, he was fitting in remarkably well. For someone who couldn't be more than 13, he was incredibly calm and quick to assist. His talent was undeniable.
'If he's an E- Rank now, he's not bad compared to the noble kids. With enough tactics, he could even beat them,' she thought. The children of nobles were often leagues ahead, many of them already at E Rank with the top ones at peak E+. But Amir had potential—potential that, if honed, could surpass even the elite.' She thought
A pack of noble deer soon appeared, cautiously approaching the lifeless bodies of the salamanders. They nudged the corpses aside before carefully picking up the cores in their mouths and walking off.
'Why aren't they eating the cores? What's going on?' Ryla thought, bewildered. She had expected them to devour the cores on the spot, giving her and Amir the perfect chance to ambush. But something was off.
She signaled Amir and silently jumped from one tree branch to another, trailing the strange group of deer. Amir followed suit, leaping from tree to tree with practiced ease. Eventually, the deer stopped, placing the cores in a pile. But what caught Ryla's attention was the unsettling sight of numerous piles of cores scattered across the area.
'What is this…?'
Ryla swiftly moved closer to Amir, startling him as she clamped a hand over his mouth to prevent any sound from escaping. Suddenly, a cocoon of darkness enveloped them both, and Ryla's eyes glowed faintly with a dark hue.
Emerging from the shadows was a massive beast, its skin a deep red, with black horns jutting out from its head and bulging muscles rippling beneath its hide. It walked on two legs—a King-Class Minotaur.
Ryla watched, horrified, as the minotaur picked up the cores, consuming them one by one. With each core, the veins in its body pulsed and throbbed. To Ryla's astonishment, the minotaur then offered a core to one of the deer, gently patting its head as if it were a pet. The beast sniffed the air, its eyes scanning the surroundings, but eventually, it seemed to lose interest.
"Huma...ns... cl...os...e. Gathe...r... th...e... oth...ers and ki...ll," the minotaur growled, struggling to form the words before lumbering away.
Ryla's heart pounded in her chest, her body drenched in sweat. 'It can speak... how is that possible? This is insane!'
Releasing the cocoon of darkness, Ryla allowed Amir to catch his breath, realizing she had held him too tightly. Without wasting another second, they darted back through the trees, moving as fast as their legs would carry them. When they finally reached the group, they were both breathless.
"Hey Ryla, how did it go?" Griff asked.
Ryla shook her head urgently. "We need to get off this mountain, now! There's a King-Class Minotaur up here!"
"What?! Why would it be here? Isn't it supposed to be busy with Marquis Aron?" Robby asked, alarmed as he stood up.
Ryla shook her head again, this time with fear in her eyes. "I don't know, but it's learning to speak—and it's been eating the cores of the monsters we've killed."
"You've got to be kidding me. Okay, we're done here," Robby started to say, but before he could finish, a massive surge of energy crashed over them, overwhelming and suffocating.
"Oh no... it followed us," Amir muttered under his breath.
The minotaur's towering 8-foot figure loomed over them, the sheer weight of its presence pressing down on them like a crushing force. Amir clutched his chest in agony, feeling as if his heart might burst from the sheer terror of being in the beast's proximity.
'What the hell is this kind of pressure?' Amir thought, his heart pounding in his chest.
Suddenly, the minotaur charged straight at Cathy. Griff lunged at the beast, trying to knock it off course, but the minotaur effortlessly flung him aside. Cathy froze, paralyzed by fear, until Robby tackled her out of harm's way.
"CATHY! Snap out of it!" he roared.
Jolted back to reality, Cathy quickly raised her hand, and a massive pit of sand appeared beneath the minotaur, dragging it down under its own immense weight.
"GRIFF! NOW!" Robby shouted.
Griff ripped off his shirt, muscles bulging as he leaped into the air. Curling into a ball, he plummeted with incredible speed, uncurling just before impact to drive his legs into the minotaur. The force of the collision echoed through the forest, and the minotaur sank deeper into the sand. Cathy then closed the pit, hardening it around the beast, leaving only its head and arms exposed.
Without hesitation, Ryla, Robby, and Amir unleashed their strongest attacks. The minotaur roared, a deafening sound that made Amir's ears bleed.
Breaking free from the ground, the minotaur grabbed Griff by the head and slammed him into the earth. Again and again, it bashed him against the ground like a ragdoll, cracking the earth beneath him. Griff's body was soon a bloody, broken mess, his bones shattered. The minotaur tossed him aside, his limp form crashing into a tree before sliding down to the ground.
"This is too much," Amir muttered, his voice trembling.
"Damn it, Cathy, check if Griff's alive! Ryla, go for its legs!" Robby ordered, pounding his chest in frustration.
Ryla launched herself into the air, spinning as she slashed at the minotaur's head. Robby sent a powerful blast at its legs, bringing the beast to its knees. But the minotaur grabbed Ryla's arm, crushing it with a sickening snap, and she screamed in agony. Twisting her body, she severed her arm with a blade of darkness, then used her remaining arm to slash the beast's eye.
The minotaur screeched in pain, its vision in one eye gone. Seizing the opportunity, Robby dashed at full speed, appearing in its blind spot. With wind-encased hands, he struck with all his might, ripping out the beast's remaining eye. The minotaur howled even louder, the sound reverberating through the forest. Robby, with a final burst of wind, planted his foot on the beast's chest and sent it flying.
"CATHY, IS IT READY?!" Robby screamed as he hit the ground, scrambling to his feet and rushing over to her.
A bright white pattern of light glowed beneath them.
"Two seconds left!" Cathy yelled, panic in her voice.
Robby's face paled—two seconds was too long. He turned to see the minotaur charging back at them, the longest two seconds of his life ticking by.
"Come on, damn it!" he shouted in desperation.
Just as the beast closed in, a massive 7-foot arc of dark energy slashed across its legs, making it stumble. It nearly reached them before Cathy screamed, "Ready!"
In a blinding flash of light, they vanished, leaving the minotaur alone on the mountain. The last thing it saw was a boy with black hair and bright golden eyes before it let out a roar that shook the entire mountain.