The Vocier let out a growl and Draven didn’t look away from the creature.
"What perfect timing it chose to show up."
Taliah fully unsheathed her sword.
"You can ask it if it wants to wait."
"I don’t think it’s in the mood."
The Vocier stepped forward with one of its front limbs and its claws sank lightly into the dirt.
Draven watched every movement.
The stance, the position of the tail, the tilt of the head, and even the way it distributed its weight across its four limbs.
’I know it well.’
He had faced that creature many times in the game.
The demonic Vocier wasn’t one of the most powerful enemies in the game, but it also wasn’t a creature a regular adventurer could try to hunt.
Its physical strength was enormous, it possessed great endurance, it had a considerable mana reserve, and it could kill a person with a single one of its attacks if it managed to land a direct hit.
Precisely because of that, defeating it would be a feat enough to apply for special admission to the academy.
Draven slightly spread his legs and held a dagger in each hand while Taliah glanced sideways at the weapons.
"So you’re finally going to use them."
"That’s what I brought them for."
"I thought you just wanted to show off Zenash’s gift."
Draven looked at her.
"Don’t start."
Taliah smiled while the Vocier roared and then attacked.
"Move!"
Draven jumped to the left while Taliah did the same to the right.
The creature passed between them with its hooves slamming hard into the ground and several rocks went flying.
Draven landed and immediately spun around.
"Taliah, now."
She was already advancing while mana began to surround her arms and legs, reinforcing Taliah’s body as she ran straight toward the creature’s side.
The Vocier tried to turn, but it didn’t make it in time and Taliah’s sword struck its flank.
The sound of metal clashing against the scales spread through the area, at which the Vocier let out a roar and Taliah pulled the sword back.
The blade had managed to pierce through some scales and leave a visible wound, though not too deep.
"It’s tougher than I expected."
"I told you it wouldn’t be easy."
"You said that after you brought me here."
"But you’re here, so don’t complain."
The Vocier’s tail came down.
"Taliah."
She jumped backward while the structure at the end of the tail slammed into the ground and tore up a large amount of dirt.
Draven started running, since this time it was his turn, but he didn’t use reinforcement over his entire body because he couldn’t afford it.
Even after all those years, his natural amount of mana still wasn’t impressive.
Oram’s blessing had considerably increased his capabilities, but Draven knew perfectly well that trying to fight the same way as Taliah would be stupid.
Taliah could keep a large amount of mana circulating through her body during a fight.
Draven preferred to concentrate it only where he needed it, like the legs, arms, sometimes the torso, and only during specific moments.
The creature raised a claw, at which Draven watched the shoulder and waited until the attack began.
Draven accelerated while the claw passed behind him, so he ducked and went in under the limb.
The right dagger cut the inner side of the leg, while the left made a second cut.
Draven kept running and came out the other side, producing only two wounds that weren’t deep.
The Shadows of the Forgotten hadn’t been created to produce large wounds, but that was precisely one of the reasons they were so dangerous.
Draven briefly looked at the blades.
The daggers consumed very little of their wielder’s mana compared to other S-rank weapons, since their drain was quite low.
The problem was the effect they produced on whoever received their cuts.
Every wound caused by the Shadows of the Forgotten began to slowly consume the target’s mana second after second.
The more wounds Draven managed to inflict, the faster the drain would be.
In the game, the daggers were especially coveted for fights against enemies with enormous mana reserves.
It didn’t matter how much they had at the start, since if the fight dragged on long enough, they would end up losing it.
The Vocier turned toward Draven.
"It already noticed."
Draven dodged another swipe of the tail and then the Vocier opened its mouth in a movement he recognized, at which he shouted to Taliah.
"Get clear!"
Both of them moved away.
A concentration of dark mana appeared inside the monster’s mouth and, an instant later, a blast shot out.
It tore through several bushes and struck a tree, causing the trunk to break.
Taliah looked at the remains.
"That would’ve hurt."
"And a lot."
The Vocier roared again, so Draven started moving to his right, since he knew that moment.
The creature was going to follow him and then perform two claw attacks, first the right, then the left, and finally use the tail.
Draven waited and the creature advanced.
’Now.’
The right claw came down, Draven avoided it, so the left arrived immediately after, he also dodged it, and the tail began to move.
"Taliah, go in."
She ran, at which Draven stepped aside, making the tail pass in front of him and Taliah attacked one of the front legs.
Her sword pierced through several scales, so the Vocier roared and backed up.
Draven smiled slightly, since he still remembered it and even after so many changes, some patterns remained the same.
The Vocier raised the front part of its body.
"Fall back."
Taliah obeyed.
The creature slammed the ground with both front limbs, causing a wave of mana to expand around it.
Draven and Taliah jumped.
The energy passed underneath and both landed almost at the same time.
"Are you done studying the animal?"
Taliah asked.
"I’m just getting started."
"Great."
The Vocier lowered its head and Draven immediately recognized the stance.
’Three seconds.’
It was one of its easiest moves to read.
When it lowered its horns that way, it prepared a frontal charge and always waited approximately three seconds before attacking.
Draven raised a dagger.
"It’s going to charge."
Taliah shifted her position.
"When?"
"In three seconds."
The Vocier tensed its hind legs.
’One.’
Draven started moving.
’Two.’
The creature kept its head down.
’Three.’
Draven jumped to the side, but the Vocier didn’t advance.
’What?’
The creature violently raised its head, making the horns strike several rocks on the ground and an enormous amount of mana ran through the black grooves.
The rocks shot out and Draven’s eyes widened, since he didn’t know that attack.
One of the rocks was heading straight for his chest and he didn’t have enough time to get out of the way, at which Taliah appeared in front of him.
Her sword clashed against the rock and the impact made her stumble back several meters.
"Taliah!"
"I’m fine."
Another rock passed next to them, but Draven barely managed to turn his head when the Vocier then charged without waiting.
"Move!"
Draven pushed Taliah to one side and jumped in the opposite direction.
The horns passed between them and the creature continued several meters before stopping.
Draven got up quickly and looked at the Vocier.
’It didn’t do that in the game.’
He was sure that attack didn’t exist.
"Draven."
Taliah was watching him.
"What?"
"I think you got it wrong."
Draven stayed silent.
"Don’t make that face, nothing happened."
"I almost took a rock to the chest."
Taliah raised her sword again.
"Then stop getting it wrong."
Draven looked at the monster.
’Easy to say.’
Draven was going to have to fall back on his training experience.