A high-pitched wail from the short warrior sounded out through the expanse of a large forest.
Birds flew and small deer-like creatures ran, their steps echoing in response as titanic steps resounded across the forest. Rather than the small critters that ran away, the one that answered to the Saang’s call was a giant dinosaur-like creature, its large jaws and tower-like legs rampaging across the field. It would’ve looked like a dinosaur for real, except its arms were wicked scythes stuck on top of grossly extended arms, their joints bent in several parts that looked like a withered mummy’s skin. It was as though those arms were just small extensions that connected to the large, near 10 feet in length and half as wide scythes that were currently ready to slice Saang apart.
Scythasaur, Level 72
The name fit it rather well as the Journeyman-ranked monster roared in defiance against the warrior standing face to face with it. Despite the clear height advantage, its towering form the same size as a two-story house, Saang faced it with her shark grin and eager expression.
Zeke could see the reason why it looked agitated. Some of its leathery skin, gray and white in mix with steel like scales that covered its dominant areas, was riddled with bloody cuts and smears. It looked like it went through a meat grinder, but it still held plenty of health
The warrior in question swung her massive axe at the large foot ready to crush her whole, stepping aside and allowing the chunk of sharp metal gouge a part of it away, leaving a torrent of blood that not only showered the ground but Saang included.
And that was bad news for the large monster. Saang’s eyes glowed with a sanguine light, and all the blood that coated her and the ground began to shift and swirl. It lifted itself up as though it had a will of its own, its liquid form undulating in ways that felt like a snake coming alive through a charming song.
The blood flowed like a river around Saang, forming into rivulets of small spheres that suddenly exploded outward, puncturing through the skin once again.
The monster roared from the sudden attack of its own blood, its legs raising in response and stomping it below. The impact alone was enough to shake the ground, but it continued to do so as the earth suddenly sprouted jagged spikes heading straight for her. Saang used her axe and the blood to cut through the spikes heading towards her, keeping her occupied while seemingly at ease thanks to some help from the monster’s own ichor.
However one look at this, Saang has this monster completely in her control. However, there was a reason why this quest was difficult for some other adventurers.
Roars multiplied from far away, each one similar with the same sound of metal slashing the air as dozens of Scythasaurs ran out of the forest, cutting apart the trees like lawnmowers cutting the grass. Even when facing against one already, Saang immediately used the ichor she controlled to launch several crimson bullets towards two more Scythasaur, slicing their cheeks and near their eyes before getting their attention.
As for the others, the rest of the party has arrived.
Hamil, the casual leader of the party, flew in the air using small plates made of stone under his feet like air skates. With a flourish of his wand, the design looking more like a twisted medal dagger with a dangerous point at the top, hundreds of tiny sharp stones, each made of different minerals, flew out of the ground and any nearby stone croppings before showering them onto a small group of Scythasaurs.
Blood showered everywhere, which made it easier for Saang to increase her ammunition as all of that blood flew over to her side, taking down more of the Scythasaurs that increased on her side.
On the other side, Kote ran across the field, throwing sharp projectiles from his hands with the aid of his specialized metal gauntlets Zeke noticed back at the diner. Each of those projectiles flew true at the Scythasaurs, easily digging into their leathery skins capable of breaking normal iron weapons and causing more blood to ooze out.
Zeke was starting to realize that the party had made up their attack patterns as a way to get as much blood out of their enemies as possible, using it as fuel for Saang to keep fighting. Since her blood manipulation would also recover her injuries during battle, it made her the ultimate tank in a team that was perfect for her style of combat.
But what surprised Zeke the most were the projectiles from Kote. He could see with his magic eyes (a mixture of Mana Manipulation and Restoration) that the projectiles didn’t just carry his mana, but also a bit of his kinetic energy and, more surprisingly, his life energy.
Those weren’t knives or anything metal. Those were his bones.
He was shocked to see that, but realized a few things a moment after. Bones were pretty sturdy, and obviously Journeyman bones could be as tough as the person himself. With enough Vitality and Endurance, on top of supportive skills that could increase the density of his bones, he could literally use them as weapons against an enemy.
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A resource that he can use infinitely from his own body. That carries a lot of risks, but with careful practice and management, can do a lot of heavy damage.
In the end, however, what took most of his attention was Mikella. The draconian warrior flew across the sky, her wings beating with sparks flying out into the air. She held her new Natural Series sword, a simplistic looking sword with plenty of potential for growth as she became a hurricane of lightning and steel.
She cut down each Scythasaur with an empowered Heavenly Strike, killing it with ease before flying a second later to the next Scythasaur, repeating the process. Those were the ones that were hit by the rampaging attacks caused by Hamil and Kote. The others that were still healthy and rampaging took a while for her to beat down. However, her movements had improved thanks to the lessons Clara helped teaching them.
Her wings beat in rhythm with her swings, dodging a scythe attack and flying stone pillars as though she was dancing to a tune. With each pass over, she sliced an artery open or a joint that caused the scythasaur to fall over, disrupting their movements thanks to the lightning flowing through their bodies.
As for Zeke himself, he was all the way up in the air standing on top of his magical construct he created with Ethereal Manifest. Despite spending such a short time with the skill, he was already adapting to it a lot faster than he expected.
Still, there was no barrier, and that was proven when he tried to conjure a wall of turquoise light in front of the creature to stop its massive bulk from moving so much. That was utterly crushed without a shred of resistance.
Zeke exhaled sharply, disappointment mounting in his spirit. He knew it already before, but this was just sad to look at.
As for why they were doing this in the first place, Hamil decided to have a team practice before the day was up. When they left the diner, they returned back to the guild base like they promised and asked permission to head outside of the city into the monster infested areas.
There were several reasons as to why nobody can just leave without issuing a permission. Monsters could be commercialized either in gaining levels or receiving their drops, which can easily increase a person’s standing in society.
As such, they are heavily monitored and people with valid licenses are sent to quell any monsters on top of gaining personal wealth and power from the experience points.
This sort of thing isn’t so heavily monitored that it can stop literally everyone in the country. In fact, sometimes benefits can come from that if that illegal trespasser dies. The guilds that controlled those areas didn't have to pay restitutions. In other words, it was a win/win for that guild as monsters could get killed and they don’t have to pay anybody for the work of taking down troublesome monsters with the least valuable loot.
As for Zeke and Mikella, they were soon introduced into the Adventurer’s guild. They received their licenses, paid for by Hamil under Alissa’s orders and were given ranks. The guild had their own system when it came to their members in terms of ranks, which were different from the monster rankings of their power.
In this case, this is to show proof of their competency and experience in the field as an adventurer. This follows a simple rank guideline from a complete newb at Rank-E to a veteran at Rank-A. An adventurer can rank up from the bottom to the top in terms of how many quests they have done, their personal growth, as well as gaining connections that proves their abilities to take on any tasks.
Of course, this sort of thing is easily subjective, and can often change. One can also drop a rank should they prove to be unbefitting, and can be expelled from the guild if they were to break one of the solemn rules of the guild–one of them being the obvious of not killing their fellow adventurers for profit, or breaking any societal rules. No matter how the people often view adventurers as reckless, that doesn’t mean they are exempt from the rules.
As for the otherworlders, due to them being true Journeymen, they actually managed to skip all the way to Rank-C. Normally this would take a regular person dozens of quests and a few years worth of good service to the guild, but that was for users who were around the Expert stage. According to everyone’s personal viewpoint regarding the rankings, Rank-E are adventurers who are at the beginning or middle of Expert, and Rank-D are those who are on the cusps of becoming Journeymen or became half-journeymen for one reason or another.
The lower rankings are usually for doing quests such as gathering materials and guarding a warehouse for the night, basic jobs anyone with a decent number of stats and skills can manage. Those who actively pursue difficult quests have a chance of ranking up, but only if they were able to pass a test regarding their knowledge and whether they got suitable skills to match. In this case, having several Acquired skills are a given if one wants to take on difficult quests with high payments.
Zeke was glad that they didn’t have to be stuck gathering herbs or exterminating goblins while looking for the towers. It would’ve been difficult to explain as well, hence why having Hamil speak up for the two to the receptionist was another reason they managed to skip to Rank C despite having no history in the field. If one has a remarkable review from a top Rank-A adventurer, the guild would surely not put the two down for that.
That was why they managed to be on this field after about two hours or so registering as adventurers. They were on a quest to take down some troublesome Scythasaurs that were making headway across the nearby forest plains, devouring creatures that low-ranking adventurers were tasked to handle. If this continued, it would put the quests out of order and a lot of people out of a job. So the Tempest Winds took that difficult quest for the sole sake of training their teamwork. And so far, it was working rather well.
Or at least that’s what Zeke wanted to believe. Being up here all by his lonesome was… well, lonely. They already agreed that due to his losing his main core of a skill, he needed some more time to adjust to the battlefield without it. Even Zeke had to agree, figuring that he can just watch and survey the surroundings and practicing with his Attunement’s abilities to sense the mana surging around the battlefield as well as the environment around them.
But the more he watched the chaos unfold under him, the more agitated he got. His heel tapped against the magical floor underneath in a rapid pace, his fingers tensing on his crossed arms with his index finger tapping relentlessly as he watched Mikella’s sharp grin flashing as she took down one scythasaur after another.
Eventually, he raised his fist. It was time to pull his own weight in this quest.
That, and he just really hated doing nothing while everyone else gets to have fun hunting monsters.