'Guardian beasts are the embodiment of the very soul essence of their masters.'
These words, spoken earlier by the patriarch, were repeated by the sixth elder as he looked at the skeleton and its master.
'However, beasts differ from humans in significant ways. One key difference is human intelligence, which enables them to devise various combat strategies tailored to different enemies.
Humanoid beasts are also different from the other mere beasts. They are not particularly strong compared to other beasts, but they are endowed with a certain intellectual capacity.
This is the reason why many of the contractors aspire to have them.'
Unlike the others, whose thoughts could be seen just by the disdainful look they gave Devon, he didn't judge Mystic's guardian beast based on its weak appearance.
'That kid's enough powerful to defeat a beast of this rank without even the help of her summon, after all, as weak as she is, she is part of our clan.'
A century after the appearance of grimoires, analysts and seekers have demonstrated with supporting evidence that the perfect age to make a contract with a grimoire is fifteen.
Before this age, some people succeed.
At first, these people were hailed as geniuses.
But later, observations belied this claim.
Making a contract with a grimoire is not synonymous with having a bright future. The only advantage these people have is being ahead of their peers.
However, the older a child gets, the less likely they are to make a contract with a grimoire.
The critical age is fifteen.
That's why Mystique has lived like a piece of trash for the past two years.
Like any world running after power, the people of this world train their children in swordsmanship since they are thirteen, the ideal age for these humans to learn how to properly use their bodies.
However, the Shadow, Three Eyes, and Holylight clans are different from ordinary humans.
Especially the Shadow clan members who are born with stronger bodies than ordinary babies because of their bloodlines.
And when it comes to physical strength, no one is above them, considered barbarians.
At the age of five, any child in this clan can beat an athlete in both strength and speed.
Regardless, it is partly thanks to this herculean strength that this clan has been able to train their descendants intensively in swordsmanship without worrying about breaking them.
Their swordsmanship skills are by far the most advanced of all the others.
The reason why Eleanor and the sixth elder were convinced of Mystic's victory is in this detail.
When the patriarch said that Mystic was a genius in her childhood, he was largely referring to her skills as a fencer.
-
Meanwhile, Devon was focused on his thoughts, forgetting everything else, even the presence of the others behind him.
'With a body like mine, it would be foolish to prolong the battle against such a strong enemy.
Since my potency lies in my magical attacks, I must prioritize long-range combat.
For that, I know exactly what to do.
In some blink of time, Devon finished establishing his strategy.
Obeying his thoughts' line, a black fog gradually channeled above each of his hands.
Even if it was illusory at first, the fog gradually became thick to the point of resembling a perfect black sphere.
In the second that followed, the two spheres transformed into a crossbow and three darts.
-!?
The elder, the three other Shadows cubs, including Mystic, and the three guards showed different expressions which could be translated as shock.
'Is he a human…?' Nikolas wondered as he unconsciously held his breath.
'I've never seen him use a crossbow. It's strange, but this skill seems to be the same as the one he showed near the lake and with the patriarch.'
Even if the form was different, the awful energy that emanated from Devon was not something unknown to Mystic.
The crossbow is one of the weapons with a bloody history in the history of the world Devon came from.
Due to its accuracy and stability due to its easy use without advanced mastery, unlike the bow, Devon couldn't have dreamed of better.
When he was locked up in the Pets' garden, he did all sorts of tests to see how far he could go with this skill.
His conclusion was...
'Even though I can't create complex weapons like a gun, I can reproduce medieval weapons. Maybe it's my system, who knows?'
He mumbled to himself as he armed his crossbow with one of the three black arrows.
The other two arrows didn't fall to the ground but floated next to his body as if they were suspended by an invisible rope.
'Even if the speed of my attack is almost automated, the accuracy depends entirely on my aim.'
Since it was his first time aiming at a target, he could only imitate those he saw in the movies.
He holds it like a sniper holding a sniper rifle while standing, his body straight and rigid with one hand on the trigger and the other under the crossbow to distribute its weight evenly across his body.
'...On the other hand, he doesn't have the slightest skill in this area.' Nikolas wanted to laugh when he saw Devon's body arched with the crossbow.
The latter, finally feeling ready, confidently presses the trigger.
-Shoot!
The dart flies at lightning speed towards the target hidden behind the thick leaves of the tree branches.
But, Devon's shot that targeted his eyes only ricocheted off the solid scales of the snake.
The worst part is that it didn't even hit its huge head, but only the rest of his body behind it.
Snakes may be patient predators as they stalk their prey, sometimes remaining hidden in the darkness for hours, but they will become violent and over-reactive when they are discovered.
-HISSS!!
The same thing happened with the mutant axe snake when Devon's attack was missed.
The steady tree began to tremble as the snake crawled down the tree trunk at an incredulous speed!
'Shit!'
Devon dreadfully exclaimed as a wave of fear ran down his spine.
Although his eyes were able to follow the snake's crawl speed, his mind debated on his body's ability to keep up.
To avoid the worst, he grabbed the two arrows that merged to create a medium shield that he erected between himself and his prey-turned-predator.
-Thud!
A powerful impacting sound rang out when the mutant axe snake's fangs came into contact with his shield!
The weight of the impact was such that Devon put a knee on the ground.
'Keukh! Its strength is kinda monstrous but…I somehow feel it's weaker than mine!' With this first assault coming from his enemy, Devon gained confidence.
Furthermore, the snake also hissed in pain when its fangs touched Devon's deformed shield.
'Why?' Nikolas frowns when he sees the snake arching while hissing in pain.
If it had persisted even a second longer, the snake would have not only managed to break Devon's shield but also severely injured him.
With his combat senses and sharp eyes, Nikolas understood that Devon was no match for the snake, whether in terms of strength or agility.
But when he saw it backing away while it had the advantage, his eyes drew a straight line toward Devon's shield, frowning.
'Is it because of that shield?' He wasn't the only one wondering about it, except for Mystic, everyone else had the same confusion.
"What are you waiting for? Attack him while he's still in a state of confusion!"
Despite her desire to remain in retreat, Mystic failed to keep this role until the end.
Her eyes were full of annoyance after she witnessed such a deplorable sight coming from Devon.
'Isn't that crazy, how can he be so confident while being so weak? I thought beasts inherited some combat senses from their master.'
Looking at Devon who was fighting with worse than a beginner, she felt indirectly insulted by him.
Following this scream coming from her, Devon felt like his body was moving on its own.
The strange nervousness he had felt by instinct also flew away as if he had just received an adrenaline rush.
With the little spiritual energy he had left after three simultaneous uses of his unique skill, he created a long black sword before running at full speed toward the snake.
Seeing his prey come back to him, the snake hisses once more, but in rage this time.
His immense body moves as quickly as before and encircles Devon with its head above.
However, Devon did not panic this time.
He targets a random part of the Mutant axe snake's body and sinks his sword
-HISSS!!
When his enemy felt the corrosive pain in its body, he dived at Devon to crush his bones with his fangs.
But Devon did not give in so easily.
Although he does not know how to fight with a sword, he has lived in the suburbs before.
With this experience that has earned him the survival instinct engraved in his soul, he tore his sword out of its body and got out of the snake's path by leaping.
As soon as he landed, he started the same strategy again by attacking once more before retreating when the snake tried to devour him raw.
After five minutes of charging headlong, Devon's reaction speed became faster and his movements more flexible and precise.
It was as if he had trouble adapting to this new body at first.
This impression was felt by the onlookers who saw him progressing by leaps and bounds.
'Impressive, although his swordsmanship skills are mediocre, he progresses by leaps and bounds after each blow.'
Even Nikolas was not indifferent to this scene he saw before his eyes.
The battle that took so long came to an end when Devon finally placed a fatal pierce on the snake's left eye.
At the same time, his control over his sword stopped as his spiritual energy points reached zero.
[You've gained 10 evolution points and 30 XPs after successfully killing Mutant Axe-Snake(Lvl03).]
[You've leveled up!]
As Devon read these messages, his body and Mystic's body were glowing slightly before the eyes of the others.
Nikolas had nothing to say about all these mysterious phenomena that were happening before his eyes.
Among the small silent crowd, the person who seemed to show something other than astonishment was Ivan's guard.
The eyes of this man seemed to contain something else unnatural.
A semblance of hatred mixed with pure rage as he looked not at Devon, but at Mystic.
"You, you're actually bad with a sword and everything."
As Devon stares into the area, Mystic approaches him from behind and belittles him with these words.
Devon looks at him momentarily before focusing on the black sword on his waist.
"What? Do you want this? But do you even deserve it?"