Chapter 19
Grey left the human world and stepped into the portal he had drawn. The swirling energy transported him into a new realm surrounded by towering mountains, dark caves, and a dense forest in the distance.
Taking in his surroundings, he dismissed the unusual landscape, assuming the teleportation had been random. However, the sight of the distant forest piqued his interest—where there were trees, there were beasts, and where there were beasts, there were cores to harvest.
Harnessing his wind magic, he soared toward the forest at top speed, reaching his destination in under a minute. Landing smoothly, he summoned a small Earth pole and reshaped it into a dagger.
"Alright, beasts, where are you hiding?" he called out.
A deep growl from his left answered him.
"Hunting time!" He smirked, readying himself for battle.
Then, another growl rumbled from his right.
"Two? That means two beasts." He frowned, gripping his weapon tightly as he braced for whatever lurked in the shadows.
The cracking of trees announced their approach. With his Earth dagger in hand, Grey activated his fire magic in the other, prepared for the imminent clash.
From the left, a massive beast emerged. The creature, as large as an elephant of old, had enormous tusks, thick fur resembling a bear's, and an armored hide of jagged stone. Its menacing, gray-furred body heaved with breath as it studied the lone human.
"That's one huge beast." Grey swallowed hard.
Before he could react, another loud crack resounded behind him.
"C'mon, if it's two of you, then I will be dead soon." Grey mumbled as he looked between the beast in front of it and the other side were the other beast was coming from.
And then, in a split second, something massive was hurled through the air, landing at his feet.
Peering down, he saw another beast identical to the first, its body covered in deep wounds.
"Phew! Good thing it's dead." He exhaled in relief, shifting focus back to the standing beast.
But movement at his feet made his blood run cold. The fallen beast stirred, its body riddled with injuries yet still alive. It locked eyes with Grey, while the first beast prepared to charge.
"Damn, I'm screwed!" Grey cursed as his Earth dagger wrapped around his hand, forming into gauntlets reinforced with rock. His free hand crackled with fire as he took a battle stance.
"Come on, let's dance, you ugly beasts!" he roared.
The wounded beast lunged first. Reacting swiftly, Grey hurled a fireball at its armor, but the flames barely left a mark.
"Crap!" he muttered as the beast thrust its tusks toward him.
He leaped into the air using wind magic, causing the creature to stumble forward—right into the path of the other beast.
Still airborne, Grey channeled energy into his gauntlet. A bullet-shaped shard of Earth, engulfed in flames, shot toward the wounded beast's head.
Sensing the attack, the beast swung its tusks to block. The projectile shattered them but lost momentum before dealing a fatal blow.
"Damn it!" Grey growled as his gauntlet reformed into a short sword.
He rocketed toward the beast, aiming a decisive slash—only for the second beast to intervene, swiping him mid-air with a massive paw. He crashed through several trees before skidding to a halt.
"Ah, shit! That hurts!" he groaned, cradling his injured arm.
Before he could recover, the thunderous pounding of feet signaled the beasts' renewed charge. One was nearly upon him, with the other close behind.
"Ah, here we go again!" he grumbled, placing his hands downward.
"Aerius!" he called.
A sudden burst of air propelled him backward just in time, sending the lead beast crashing into the shattered trees.
Landing, Grey dropped to one knee, clutching his chest.
"Using so many elements in quick succession is draining my mana fast." He panted. "I need a damn break!" He shouted in the air when a loud stomping sound was heard coming from behind the beasts and a booming voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Where did that ugly beast go? I need to finish the job soon!"
Grey turned to see a peculiar figure approaching. His brow furrowed. "Why is he so short?"
The man, no taller than a seven-year-old, yet stocky and clad in heavy armor, turned sharply toward him. "That's rude, kid. You shouldn't judge a book by its cover."
Realizing he had spoken aloud, Grey hastily covered his mouth and studied the man further. He was slightly overweight, bore battle scars, and carried a hefty sword. Most distinctively, long rabbit-like ears twitched atop his head.
'I've seen someone like this before…' Grey mused.
Another growl snapped him back to reality.
"Right, I'm in the middle of a fight."
"You were handling these beasts alone?" the man asked.
"Yeah."
"Good! That means you've got decent strength. I'll take one, you handle the other."
"Fine by me." Grey grinned, fire igniting up to his elbow as his Earth gauntlet sprouted a sharp spike.
The man mumbled in awe, "What kind of magic is that?"
Before an answer could be given, the two beasts roared and charged.
Grey and the warrior readied themselves for battle.
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{A/N}
Okay! Looking at this refined chapter and the old one, I got to say. I messed up big time 🤧 so many errors that I failed to realize because I was too lazy. So many mistakes and many more awkward word phrasing.
All thanks to a special friend of mine who read my book and advised me to re-edit them and also giving me some pointers. I will recommend his book in the author's note for you all to check out. In the meantime!
Our mass release goals are still active guys!
500 Power stones= 2 extra chapters plus the normal release rate making it a total of 4 chapters to be released.
500 Golden tickets= 2 extra chapters plus the normal release rate making it a total of 4 chapters to be released.
Magic Castle= 5 chapters.
Spacecraft= 10 chapters.
Golden Gachapon= 15 chapters.