As soon as they crossed the boundary of Tempest Hollow, he felt the difference.
The air changed.
The Aether here was far more active.
Far more violent.
The sky itself looked strange.
Dark clouds drifted overhead despite the bright morning.
Powerful gusts of wind swept across the rocky landscape.
Trees bent under the pressure.
Dust and leaves constantly swirled through the air.
It felt like the entire zone was breathing.
Damon finally understood why textbooks called Distorted Zones elemental disasters.
This wasn’t simply land filled with elemental beasts.
The environment itself wanted to kill you.
A sharp gust slammed into his shoulder.
He stumbled slightly.
Several awakened did the same.
One of the guides chuckled.
"Get used to it."
"This is one of the calmer areas."
That wasn’t comforting at all.
A few nervous laughs followed.
Then suddenly another guide raised his hand.
"Contact ahead."
The formation slowed.
Everybody became alert.
Damon felt his heartbeat increase.
Several awakened gripped their weapons tighter.
Others began gathering Aether instinctively.
"Stay calm."
"Low threat targets."
"Remember your training."
The guide’s voice remained steady.
A few seconds later, shapes appeared between the rocks.
Small creatures.
Thin.
Grey-blue.
Barely reaching knee height.
Their oversized ears twitched constantly while their pale eyes scanned the area.
Long webbed fingers fluttered in the wind.
Zephyr Imps.
Damon recognized them immediately.
Every student in Haven’s Edge had studied them.
They were weak, cowardly. And dangerous only in groups.
Still...
Knowing something in theory and seeing it in front of you were completely different things.
One of the imps suddenly flicked its fingers.
A thin blade of compressed air shot forward.
Slash!
The attack cut across a nearby tree trunk.
Several awakened jumped backward.
One girl nearly screamed.
"Focus!"
"Attack!"
The guide shouted.
That broke the hesitation.
The first spells flew.
A fireball shot through the air.
A spear of ice followed.
Several lightning bolts crackled forward.
Most completely missed.
The imps scattered immediately.
The battlefield descended into chaos.
"Left!"
"Watch out!"
"They’re behind us!"
Nobody looked impressive.
Everyone was panicking.
Even Damon found himself dodging more than attacking.
An imp glided toward him and its fingers moved.
Wind Cutter.
Damon reacted immediately.
He reinforced his legs with Aether and jumped sideways.
The blade passed harmlessly by.
"Close."
He wiped cold sweat from his forehead.
Very close.
Meanwhile the talented awakened were already showing their worth.
Kane stood near the center of the formation.
Purple lightning danced around his body.
An imp rushed toward him.
Crack!
A bolt of violet lightning exploded from his hand.
The creature never even touched the ground before turning into smoke.
The surrounding awakened immediately looked impressed.
Kane smiled proudly.
As expected.
Not far away, the girl with the Lightning Rabbit moved surprisingly well.
The small spirit sat on her shoulder while tiny arcs of electricity surrounded her.
Whenever an imp approached, the rabbit released small bursts of lightning that disrupted their movement.
The girl then finished them with precise attacks.
The boy with the Lightning Goat was equally impressive.
His spirit wasn’t as cute.
The goat was larger than normal and covered in crackling silver fur.
Every charge it made scattered the weaker imps instantly.
A few awakened cheered when they saw it.
Several other talents began standing out too.
A wind Arcanist from another family used small gusts to knock imps from the sky.
A Vanguard reinforced his body and charged straight through a group of them.
A spear user moved calmly and efficiently, striking only when opportunities appeared.
There was even a young Support who maintained a faint barrier around nearby teammates.
Compared to them...
Damon looked strange.
Very strange.
An imp rushed toward him.
Instead of casting a spell...
He picked up a rock.
Reinforced it with Aether.
Then threw it.
Thud!
The rock smashed directly into the imp’s face.
The creature dropped instantly.
Several nearby awakened stared.
"...Did he just throw a stone?"
"What kind of fighting style is that?"
Even Damon laughed to himself.
"It worked, didn’t it?"
The nearby guide couldn’t even argue.
It really had worked.
Damon shrugged and grabbed another stone.
He wasn’t embarrassed.
No element? Fine.
No fancy skills? Fine.
He would use whatever worked.
An imp flew overhead.
Damon launched another rock.
Crack!
The creature tumbled from the air.
"Two."
He nodded in satisfaction.
Around him, some awakened rolled their eyes.
Others laughed.
But none of them could deny he was getting results.
As the battle continued, confidence gradually replaced fear.
The awakened started remembering their lessons.
They stopped panicking.
They learned the attack patterns.
They noticed how fragile the imps were.
How easily loud impacts startled them.
How quickly they broke apart once pressured.
Soon the first group was wiped out.
Then another appeared.
This time the battle ended even faster.
The awakened were adapting.
Learning.
Growing.
The guides exchanged satisfied looks.
This was exactly why these missions existed.
Books could only teach so much.
Real experience was different.
After the battlefield was secured, the guides ordered everyone to collect materials.
Membrane wings.
Ears.
Bones.
Nothing was wasted.
Every resource had value.
Damon crouched beside one of the fallen imps.
He examined it briefly before placing the useful parts into his storage bag.
A few days ago, this would’ve felt disgusting.
Now it simply felt normal.
The realization made him chuckle.
"I’m adapting way too fast."
Nobody heard him as the group was already moving again.
Deeper into Tempest Hollow.
The winds grew stronger.
The atmosphere grew heavier.
And somewhere ahead, they knew more dangers waited.
But the deeper the group moved into Tempest Hollow, the more confident the newly awakened became.
Now they looked like real explorers.
Their movements were no longer as stiff as before.
The fear that had gripped them during their first encounter with the Zephyr Imps had slowly faded away.
Now they could recognize danger.
They could react.
They could fight.
And under the watchful eyes of the experienced Elemental Users, they pushed even deeper into the distorted zone.
A/N:
Please, if you enjoying the novel so far.. leave a comment. And vote for me.
It’s a slow start into the dangers, and the MC abilities.. but the build is worth it. 💯