Leo Vitalite
fighting them will be easy because they are on the ground. That's what I thought… until flying monsters appeared. How I hate them.
Garin looked at me and said, "Beatrix and I will fight the flying ones. You and Karez handle the ones on the ground," as fog gathered around his hands.
Was he giving us orders?
I didn't think much of it. I charged at the monsters and drew my sword. I used Shingen for the first time, and with a single swift and light dash, I sliced through the monsters in front of me with ease. Their green blood and black limbs splattered everywhere. I felt the strange coldness of their blood on my cheek and quietly wiped it off with my finger. Killing monsters has become so easy now.
I used my ability. Tentacle-like arms with long claws emerged from my body and shredded the attacking monsters into pieces. But even though the claws were sharp, they still weren't as sharp as the sword—Lin—in my hand now.
One monster wasn't fully sliced and lunged at me, but Karez crushed it between four iron walls. "I have a great idea—hold onto your sword tightly," he said. I gripped Lin tightly. Karez used his ability on Lin and launched me toward one of the monsters, slicing it in half. Karez was launching me at such high speed that the monsters had no chance to react!
As I flew through the air cutting down monster after monster, I watched Beatrix and Garin's fight. Garin hadn't drawn his sword; he was fighting with his fists, which were covered in thick fog. Honestly, it was the first time I'd seen someone with that pale gray hair. I think his eyes were gray too—maybe foggy? His physical strength rivaled Sai's, who's considered the strongest physically in our class, on par with Kyotai. His appearance is average, but his hair and eyes are striking.
Beatrix grabbed her rifle, and when she fired, an air bullet shot out, piercing the heads of two monsters at once. Beatrix uses enhanced weapons to control Shinta, even though her control over Shinta is already pretty good compared to the others.
But now I wonder—who's really being attacked here? Us… or the monsters? Garin… or the monsters?
We killed all the monsters, and with their death, one of the walls opened. The fog around Garin's hands disappeared. He said, "Let's move forward."
Sai Vitalite
I felt Shinta flowing faster than usual. I was excited for some reason. "These ghouls won't be a problem," Kinto said.
"What about the big one?" I got my answer right away from Kyotai. "I'll take care of it."
"I didn't think you were the cooperative type."
Kyotai stepped forward. "Your low level won't help you against it."
…I take that back.
Kinto gripped his daggers and threw one at a ghoul with a bow, piercing its head. Before the other ghouls could react, Kinto had already sliced off their heads.
I can boost myself by 6% now. Training hasn't been improving me fast enough, but even this small increase is more than I expected. These ghouls are incredibly slow.
They gathered around me, but I used only my fingers to pierce their heads with astonishing speed. I feel so calm in this fight. Where did the excitement I felt seconds ago go?
All the ghouls died. Kinto handled his side. Maybe watching Kyotai a bit won't hurt.
The big ghoul screamed in Kyotai's face, but he stood his ground. The ghoul tried to strike him, but a wall appeared and blocked it. No matter how much the beast hit it, the wall didn't even crack. Kyotai suddenly leapt and created a cube around his hand—one strike to the ghoul's head, and it was crushed entirely. I probably would've taken much longer if I'd fought it.
One of the walls opened. Kyotai walked toward it without saying anything. He fights entirely alone. Kinto and I followed him. We need to regroup with the others as soon as possible.
Leo Vitalite
When we entered the next room, we saw another wall open. From it came Kano, Kani, and Mary. Is this cave really that easy?
"Where's the teacher?" I asked immediately.
Kano replied, "We don't know. He's probably with the others."
The ground began to shake. From beneath it, two giant monsters emerged. One wielded a massive iron ball attached to a huge chain, and the other held a spear the size of ten people my height. They must be the lieutenants of the leader.
Before the fight could even begin, the two monsters were completely crushed. A strange man appeared out of nowhere and killed them with absolute ease. He looked at us and smiled. "Thanks for making it easier for me," he said, and before we could react, he grabbed Mary and slammed her head into the wall, knocking her out. He's definitely targeting long-range fighters, which means his next target is Beatrix!
I moved to protect Beatrix, but the man targeted Kani instead! Kano stood in front of his sister and took a direct hit to the chest. It was clearly too powerful for him—he lost consciousness. How did the situation turn around so suddenly…?
For the first time, I saw tension on Karez's face. He tried to crush the man with metal, but it had no effect. The man attacked Beatrix, but I blocked him with my sword. He struck the sword again. I felt the shock impact my hand, but the sword was unharmed. The man was clearly shocked by this. Suddenly, he kicked me away, and Beatrix aimed her rifle at him, but before she could fire, he broke it. He was about to hit her when Garin drew his sword and tried to attack him, but it was useless. The man blocked him with ease.
Are we still this weak? Am I really still this weak?! I'm still so helpless…!
I tried to stand, but my hands were trembling, and my grip on the sword was unstable.
I will become the Sacred Warrior—I can't be this helpless. I have to be useful…
The man stopped as if everything around him was just a game. His face wore a look of mockery and scorn. "I am Azazil, you so-called future warriors." Azazil… I have to defeat him. I rushed toward him and tried to attack with my sword and long claws, but he blocked me again. This time, he used hardened sand. Then he pushed me away with strong winds! This man… can he copy abilities?!
Is everything going to end like this?! There's no way I'll die such a pathetic death! At the very least, let me die honorably, body!!
At that moment, when we had fallen into despair, we felt a familiar aura—stronger and more intense than before. Breathing became difficult, even though the overwhelming aura wasn't directed at me. A raging aura, yet under control. Teacher Langst had arrived.
"That leader died with one strike. But I didn't expect another scumbag to be here."
From where I was, I could see the fear on Azazil's face.
Langst looked at Mary and Kano, then turned his gaze back to Azazil. He spoke one sentence: "Did I give you permission to be a harsh training dummy?" That one sentence was enough to make Azazil flee, but Langst caught up in a single instant and kicked him away. And what luck—the kick sent him flying right toward me. I coated my sword, Lin, in darkness and sliced through Azazil's right hip and kidney. He fell to the ground, but this time his expression was completely different. From the look on his face, it felt like he had seen the Demon King himself. His pupil trembled like his voice, "You… how can a human have such a power…" Azazil then vanished. Since he can copy abilities, he must've used a teleportation-like one.
After everything ended, Karez spoke with the teacher and explained what Azazil's ability might be. Kyotai, Kinto, and Sai were in another room solving some puzzle. It's likely that was their situation because they had faced a large monster. The treasures in the cave were collected.
Mary and Kano received immediate care. On the way back, Sai spoke to me, "Even though we made it out without any losses… this… this was our first true defeat."
Our first defeat.
Somewhere else, Azazil moves with difficulty, bleeding from the blow Leo struck.
He speaks, his voice barely audible, "That… that power… I know it… it shouldn't belong to a human…"
Azazil loses consciousness and collapses to the ground. Then, someone appears before him.