"So the plan is that you hunt first, since you’re at level four. If I join you, the Life Mana extraction will be based on my second level five system," Elvis said to Caelithia as they jogged deeper into the woods.
Caelithia nodded, her black sword already out of its sheath and held ready in her grip.
Elvis wanted to hurry up and reach Level 5 to unlock [Life Inspection] before they ventured deeper, since he considered himself an authentic Level 7 Awakener—maybe a pseudo Level 8.
They passed many people hunting within a certain perimeter closer to the fortress. Whenever they came across people killing monsters, the Awakeners watched them warily until they had passed.
Several minutes passed as they jogged deeper.
Suddenly, Caelithia pulled Elvis to a stop and pointed at a region covered in a tangled mess of knee-high, brown thorn thickets, with a few deadwood trees and undergrowth scattered among them.
"Can you use a controlled volume of [Shadow Mist] over that thorny area?" Caelithia whispered.
"You saw something?" Elvis whispered back as he studied the still mass of thorn thickets.
Caelithia shook her head and pointed at a sunken spot in the thicket, barely noticeable at a glance due to the dense thorny undergrowth. However, upon closer inspection, the spot seemed to tunnel into the thickets.
Elvis instantly agreed, without needing Caelithia to explain much. He deduced that she wanted to use the eye-stinging property of [Shadow Mist] to drive anything hiding in the thicket out into the open.
However, he was a bit surprised by her acute senses.
"Keep your distance when I release [Shadow Mist], and watch for anything that runs out. Although I don’t know if I can control it," Elvis said.
"It would be best if you jumped onto that deadwood a little closer to the center before crushing the black orb," Caelithia advised in a low voice before silently sprinting back.
Elvis stared at her back, thinking, ’What a daring lady. Do you even know what’s hidden in this bed of thorns?!’
Turning toward the moss-covered log, Elvis deliberated, ’Hmm... It shouldn’t be higher than level four or five. I can tank it if anything goes wrong.’
Then Elvis took ten steps back and stretched out his palm.
A few seconds later, black mist swirled. Elvis concentrated, trying to reduce the size of the black orb to a quarter of its usual size.
The swirling black mist coalesced into a small orb. After a sharp inhale, Elvis bolted forward. Experiencing that superhuman speed again was a thrilling ordeal in itself.
Then he leapt like a cannonball, soaring over the thorn thickets.
Just before landing on the deadwood, Elvis crushed the black orb, plunging his surroundings into darkness. Using his momentum, he vaulted forward again, leaving behind the cracking sound of splintering wood.
He flew out of the darkness, landing close to the edge. He dashed out of the thorn thickets before pivoting to face the darkness and retrieving his sword.
The spherical mass of darkness spanned a radius of about three meters, just enough to almost engulf the thorn thickets.
Suddenly, dissonant hisses echoed through the darkness, accompanied by rustling and scraping sounds. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Checking his hunter watch, he spotted Caelithia’s location just on the other side of the thorn thickets.
Elvis moved back a bit to widen his field of view and hid behind a tree.
Abruptly, a loud shriek sounded.
[Your Spirit Beast has slain a Lv. 5 Ironscale Monitor!]
[20 Life Mana Extracted]
Suddenly, the lifecrest badge pinned to the left side of his chest emitted a soft glow, which quickly vanished. He placed his hand on it and felt the warmth.
’This means I can’t wear it when hunting with others, since I haven’t heard of or seen a human Spirit Beast.’
Then he shifted his focus to the panel.
’It used my Devourer System to extract Life Mana for the negligible aid I offered her? Who designed this system?!’ Elvis nearly cursed at the panel.
He snapped his head to the left when he noticed three two-meter-long monitor lizards covered in earth-brown scales quickly crawling out of the thorn thickets submerged in darkness.
’They should be Ironscale Monitors. Not too strong.’
He first scanned them with <Blood Appraisal>.
———?Race: Ironscale Monitor?
?Status: Awakener?
?Dominant Attribute: Constitution?
The Ironscale Monitors were already crawling at a brisk pace.
Knowing that he was the one used for Life Mana extraction, Elvis didn’t waste time. He dashed toward the Ironscale Monitors from the side, catching the first one off guard and cleaving its neck open with a single strike.
[You have slain a Lv. 5 Ironscale Monitor!]
[20 Life Mana Extracted]
Without pausing, Elvis pounced on the second and slashed its back, leaving a long, bleeding gash as it shrieked and tried to distance itself from him. The third spun around and lunged at his legs with sudden speed, its shard-toothed maw snapping at him. Get faster updates on novelping dot com.
But it was a little too slow.
Elvis sidestepped and whipped out his other leg, sending it crashing into a tree before it fell to the ground. The creature rolled to its feet, but Elvis was already upon it, slashing at its head.
The sword sliced through its tough, scaled skull, sending blood spraying. A notification appeared, confirming the kill.
Another notification came in from Caelithia.
Snapping his head around, he spotted the injured Ironscale Monitor struggling to crawl away, leaving a long trail of blood across the ground.
Elvis ran up to it.
It swung its tail at him, but he darted back, the tail whipping through the air. He lunged forward and thrust his sword into the long gash, ending it.
’What a stubborn fellow.’
He smoothly placed the carcass in his storage bag and spun around. He noticed that the black mist had vanished, revealing a few Ironscale Monitors hidden in the thorn thickets.
Then he saw Caelithia dash into the thorn thickets at blitzing speed, although she still fell short of his raw speed despite the augmentation provided by [Solar Momentum].
’I wonder how fast I’d be with that skill. But fighting in those thorns is reckless,’ Elvis mused as he watched her wreak havoc amid the thickets, maneuvering and leaping between deadwood and thorny undergrowth.
He studied her sleek movements, which contrasted sharply with his own instinctive, chaotic style—if that could even count as a style.
[Your Spirit Beast has slain a Lv. 5 Ironscale Monitor!]
[50 Life Mana Extracted]
He arched an eyebrow as notifications poured in.
’Her level is now being used for Life Mana extraction?’
Just as he was lost in thought, Caelithia suddenly screamed. He jerked his head toward her and saw her hopping on one leg, slashing at the deadwood she had been standing on moments earlier.
[Your Spirit Beast has slain a Lv. 7 Heart Poison Snake!]
[100 Life Mana Extracted]
[1 Monster Core received]
"F**k!" Elvis couldn’t help but curse.
He sprinted toward her as she staggered in the middle of the thorn thicket.