Kara scrambled to her feet, snatching up her daggers. Atlas half-expected her to falter after yet another close call, but her expression remained impassive—a cold, emotionless mask. She gripped her weapons tighter and lunged forward, driving one dagger into the open wound Atlas had inflicted.
The frog let out a guttural croak, flicking its head violently as it leapt backward. Kara disengaged smoothly, retreating to stand beside Atlas.
He glanced at her, giving a small nod as he raised his blade defensively. She responded by activating her spell again, the watery tentacles forming once more on her back.
If it weren't for the beads of sweat trailing down her face and the slight twitch in her brow, Atlas might have thought she was still full of mana. But it was clear the fight was wearing her down.
Taking a deep breath, Atlas decided to take a gamble. "I'll keep it busy. You go help Marcus. We're going to need all three of us to win this."
Kara frowned slightly, and for a moment, he couldn't tell if she was annoyed at being told what to do or simply hesitant to leave the fight. But after a second, she gave a curt nod and turned, sprinting toward Marcus, who was still sprawled on the ground.
The frog's glowing, mana-fueled eyes locked onto Atlas, radiating a murderous intent. He returned the glare, tightening his grip on his sword.
Let's do this.
The frog croaked loudly before spitting a jet of its corrosive liquid at him. Atlas twisted to the side, the acid missing him by inches.
He darted forward, blade held low in one hand. The frog's tongue lashed out again, but he sidestepped, refusing to let it wrap around his sword as it had earlier. Closing the gap, he slashed at its front leg. The blade bit deep, and the frog recoiled with a screech, leaping to the side. It landed awkwardly, its balance faltering for a brief moment.
Atlas allowed himself a small, grim smile. If he could slow it down, this fight might finally turn in their favor.
But the frog wasn't done yet. It leapt again, this time shooting a glob of liquid mid-air. Atlas dodged quickly, only to see another glob following close behind. He twisted and ducked, narrowly avoiding the corrosive spray as it splattered onto the forest floor. The acrid smell of burning grass and dirt filled his nose.
The frog landed and continued its relentless assault, spitting one projectile after another. Atlas retreated, zigzagging to avoid the barrage.
With every leap, the frog closed the distance alarmingly fast. He didn't need to look back to feel the oppressive aura of its dark mana; it was right behind him, closing in.
Atlas darted into the tree line, weaving between the trunks for cover. He ducked behind a sturdy tree just as another glob of acid crashed into it, the bark popping and sizzling under the corrosive assault.
Shit. This is harder than I thought,
He thought, his breaths coming quick and shallow. The frog's heavy croaks echoed through the forest.
Atlas's instincts screamed at him, and he leapt to the side. The frog's tongue shot past him, latching onto a nearby tree. He watched, stunned, as the tree groaned and splintered under the tension, the bark cracking loudly as the tongue tightened.
How strong is this thing?
Scrambling to his feet, Atlas quickly drew his dagger. Without hesitation, he stabbed it into the frog's tongue, pinning it to the tree trunk. The creature let out a deep croak, jerking back to free itself, but the movement only worsened the wound. Seizing the moment, Atlas raised his sword and swung with all the strength he could muster.
The blade sliced through the tongue, severing it completely. The frog recoiled, its cry reverberating through the forest as the severed piece dropped to the ground. Its glowing eyes narrowed, its body tensing with renewed aggression.
The creature spat a stream of liquid mixed with blood at him and leapt forward in the same motion. Atlas dodged the spray, but the frog's powerful jump brought it crashing into him. Its limbs wrapped around him, pinning him to the forest floor with incredible weight.
Pain flared in his chest as he struggled against the pressure. The frog's glowing eyes loomed closer, and its cheeks began to swell. Atlas recognized the danger immediately—it was preparing another attack. He twisted and thrashed, but the creature's grip was too strong. He could feel his ribs cracking in protest to the pressure and couldn't help but scream out in pain.
His scream cut off as he couldn't bring any oxygen into his body. He trashed under the wight of the frog while pain enveloped him.
The frog opened its mouth, blood flowed down onto him like a waterfall, he could see the severed tongue snaking in its mouth. If this had happened in any other situation he would have gagged and thrown up but as it was… well he wasn't to worried he was more focused on not dying. The green liquid pooled within, mixing with its blood. Atlas braced himself, his mind racing as he searched for a way out.
Shit
He trashed more while the frog seemed to savour his struggle. His body was protesting with every micro movement and his breathing was coming in rasps. But no matter what he did he couldn't move. He looked up one more time at the pooling mix of blood and toxic spit.
Here it comes…
He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the pain to arrive.
The attack never came.
He opened one eye slowly, peaking up to see what was happening.
Water tentacles wrapped around the frog's head, jerking it upward. The liquid missed his face by mere inches and sizzled into the ground above his head. Atlas looked infront of him to see Kara standing firm, her face tense with concentration as she controlled the spell pushing its head up and into the air.
Her water tenticals were dispelling one by one as the held its weight. Her hand shot forward and her dagger stabbed into the frogs stomach. She repeated the action another two times while her spell held the frog.
Blood pooled onto the forest floor and the frog tensed its legs to jump away, Marcus charged in from behind, flames coursing along his arms. With a loud yell, he grabbed onto the creature's hind legs, holding it firmly in place.
The frog tried to jump but he held firm.
"Now!" Marcus shouted.
Atlas scrambled to his feet, grabbing his sword. He focused his mana, channeling it into the blade.
Wind Blade.
The air vibrated as a crescent of energy shot from his blade, slashing into the frog's exposed stomach, where Kara had already stabbed. The beast shuddered, but it remained standing.
Atlas felt his mana surging to obey his commands, his aching body momentarily forgotten as mana pumped through him, listening to his every call.
Wind Blade
Again he slashed and his mana obeyed, the arc of air was larger this time and hit into the same spot, widening the wound and causing more blood to flow free.
The frog tried to jump again but Marcus was on it. His fiery hands gripped into its legs and atlas could smell its flesh beginning to burn.
Wind Blade
Again he sent another arc, his mana was starting to deplete and he felt his body growing weak once more. He didn't care.
Wind Blade
He sent one final condensed arc into the frogs stomach, it ripped through so deep, the frogs guts fell onto the forest floor.
Finally, the frog followed it and collapsed to the ground, its body still. Atlas stood there, breathing hard, his sword lowered. He glanced at Marcus and Kara, Kara was by its side still stabbing into its side with abandonment. Marcus was unleashing a combination that left blistering flesh in its wake, wherever he hit.
Atlas dropped to his knees, he thought it must be dead by now and his body had stopped listening to his commands as he tried to suck in gasping for oxygen.
"It's done," Ambro's calm voice broke the silence. "You did well."
Atlas nodded, his vision began to blur. The last thing he saw was Kara looking up while covered in blood and guts and running towards him while shouting.
***
Atlas woke to the sun on his face, his mind fuzzy and his body feeling like it had been trampled. The pungent smell of blood and guts still hung in the air.
He squinted against the rays piercing through the canopy, raising a hand to shield his eyes.
"You're up," Ambro stated simply.
"What happened?" Atlas asked, his voice scratchy. He turned his head to see Ambro sitting with Kara and Marcus nearby. The corpse of the frog lay only a few feet away, its lifeless form a grotesque testament to their struggle.
Ambro regarded him with a thoughtful expression. "The frog punctured your lungs. It's rather surprising you managed to keep fighting and even channel mana in that condition. Good job."
Atlas blinked, caught off guard. He didn't know how to respond to that. Instead, he cleared his throat, his fingers brushing against the sore spot on his ribs as though to confirm the damage.
Ambro stood, brushing dirt off his pants. "I've healed the worst of your injuries, but now it's time to focus on why we're here."
Atlas pushed himself upright, his limbs protesting. He followed Ambro's gaze to the frog's corpse, noticing for the first time the faint green mist still rising from its wounds. Kara and Marcus exchanged glances before standing as well.
Ambro gestured for them to approach the body. "As you're all aware, we're here to retrieve cores. The fastest way to obtain them is by taking them from awakened beasts."
He turned to face them, his piercing eyes scanning each of their faces. Atlas swallowed hard, his curiosity momentarily overcoming his fatigue.
"Every beast that has awakened to mana will possess a core," Ambro continued. "Just as every human does."
That caught Atlas off guard. He tilted his head, processing the information. It made sense in a way, but he'd never thought of it like that before.
Ambro pulled a small knife from his belt, kneeling beside the frog. "This Goliath Frog was freshly awakened. Its core developed a poison affinity, which is common for its species." He worked the blade carefully, carving into the creature's head. Moments later, he extracted a small core, no larger than a pebble, swirling with green mist.
Atlas leaned in slightly, fascinated. The core shimmered faintly in the sunlight, its glow almost hypnotic. Ambro dropped it into a pouch at his side with practiced ease.
"You all passed the first test," Ambro said, standing and brushing his hands on his pants. "If only barely."
Marcus frowned. "What do you mean, 'barely?' We killed the thing, didn't we?"
Ambro gave him a pointed look, tucking a strand of his blonde hair behind his ear. His gaze shifted to his bloodied hand, and he sighed, wiping it on his trousers. "Let me explain."
He turned to Marcus first. "You were supposed to keep the frog occupied while Kara found angles to attack. With your background, I expected you to excel at this. Instead, you rushed in blindly, ignoring strategy, and paid the price each time."
Atlas couldn't help the snort that escaped him as Marcus's shoulders slumped, his face a mix of embarrassment and frustration.
Ambro's attention snapped to Atlas, and the boy straightened instinctively. "And you, Atlas," Ambro said, pointing at him.
Atlas's stomach tightened under the scrutiny. "Your role was to focus on the mana in the air and react accordingly. Instead, you charged in the moment you saw an opportunity. If you'd stayed back and focused, you would've recognized the frog's corrosive spit sooner. You let your instincts drive you, which is admirable in some ways, but it clouded your judgment. There were smarter decisions to be made. The whole purpose of having you hold back was to test your mana sensitivity after your impressive display. Instead you seemed to forget about it completely. If you had kept your senses open you would have known that other beasts were coming and you could have warned the others. That's a lesson you all need to remember immediately."
Atlas nodded reluctantly. He couldn't deny the truth in Ambro's words, but it stung. He hated the idea of being relegated to a supporting role. It didn't feel like him. He almost voiced his frustration but bit his tongue at the last second.
Wait what does he mean other beasts??
Finally, Ambro turned to Kara, who was staring at her feet, her shoulders tense. "You, on the other hand, did well. You chose your moments wisely and capitalized on them. My only advice is to work on staying composed. Freezing up, even for a second, nearly cost you—and your team—dearly."
Kara nodded slowly, her gaze still fixed on the ground. Atlas glanced at her and then at Marcus, who looked more annoyed than anything.
Ambro sighed and folded his arms. "Take these lessons to heart. This wasn't just about defeating a beast. It was about learning how to function as a team and use your strengths effectively. Keep that in mind moving forward."
Atlas exhaled, glancing at the fallen frog one last time. He could feel the weight of Ambro's words sinking in, the realization that they had a long way to go if they were going to survive this training.
"You all also need to listen more. I will not be constantly repeating myself and this is the last warning you will get. Other beasts are about to arrive."
Atlas's eyes bulged and he looked up, right as he heard the crunching of leaves and the footsteps of something massive rushing towards them.
Shit