Harpies are bird-like magic creatures, and like most birds they prefer to make their home in high places like the top of a mountain. They have a high affinity for the wind's natural energy and with their ability to fly, a mountain peak makes a perfect home for them.
At the base of a mountain, there is a group of three men, two of these men were in a relaxed state concentrating in their meditation with their eyes closed, but the third one was walking in circles with an annoyed expression on his face, and you could see how his face was getting more red with anger with every minute.
Finally, the man punched a tree with such strength that it created a huge dent in its center, before he started shouting.
"Goddammit! Why the fuck are we not going after that brat. There are 3 of us and he is all alone. Benjamin, since when has my brother's number two become such a coward," screamed Nick at Benjamin.
Benjamin opens his eyes to look at Nick, but the face he made was as if he was watching a clown in a show. The disdain in his eyes was obvious, and he made no effort to hide it.
'This retarded moron, if it wasn't for his brother, just becoming a Rank 2 Apprentice would have been a miracle.'
"I already told you, the information we bought says that the boy's mission consists of killing some harpies. We will wait until after he finishes the fight and attack him when he is exhausted. Now sit down and wait," Benjamin says before closing his eyes.
Nick saw the face Benjamin made when looking at him and was furious. But although he was a small-minded person, knowing who to mess with, was maybe his only good point.
He knows that unlike him that barely got to become a Rank 3 Apprentice even after all the resources he got, Benjamin is someone truly talented and although he has not reached the level of a pseudo-Magus, his battle strength is almost at that level.
Benjamin was a very strong apprentice and thanks to the path he followed, he was pretty powerful in a fight. Actually, he could form a team of his own, not having to follow other pseudo magus. But when he saw that Arthur had a mentality of someone that will never underestimate his opponents, he chose to follow him.
'Killing that boy won't be easy. Since we entered the forest, I have been feeling that something is off. I have to stick to the plan and take him by surprise.'
Just as he was preparing to go back to meditation, an immense feeling of danger assaulted him.
"WATCH OUT!" shouted Benjamin at Nick.
Nick was about to sit down when he heard the scream and felt how something was attacking him from the back. Mustering all the power he could, he tried to move his body out of harm's way.
Unfortunately for Nick, the attacker was someone proficient in assassination and his presence was only notable in the last moment. He could not stop the sword that was going towards his body, heading right for his heart.
Nick saw the tip of a sword come out of his chest, and an immense pain assault him. But although he was not able to dodge the attack, he was able to move his body at the last moment just enough to save his heart from being pierced.
'I can still make it! I need to hold on until Benjamin and Robert help me.'
As a body-refinement apprentice, Nick could still survive if someone helps him immediately, but unfortunately for him, what happens next shatters all of his hopes.
The sword started to shine as lightning started to run through it and started to burn all of Nick's organs.
"SAVE ME!" Nick screamed, full of pain.
Benjamin and Robert attacked the figure, trying to separate him from Nick and save him.
A fountain of acid headed for the figure, followed by huge rocks that fall from the sky.
When the attack was about to land on the person, he covered himself in lightning and moved behind Nick, moving away from the trajectory of the spells.
Benjamin arrived beside Nick. Unfortunately for him, Nick one was already dead, but when he saw the state of his body, he was shocked.
'Not even ten seconds passed from the moment I found the attacker, but his attack was so fast and ruthless that he destroyed most of Nick's organs before we could do anything.'
"You fucking brat. Do you know who just killed? Once his brother Arthur the Pseudo-Magus knows this, you will beg for death," Benjamin saw the figure and knew this was the same person they were supposed to kill.
Benjamin was always someone very cunning, and his words were meant to try to induce fear in the opponent and make him hesitate, unfortunately for him, his opponent this time was someone on which this type of threat will never work.
Ezequiel looked at the two apprentices with a calm face. He was always someone proactive and waiting for his enemy to attack was not something he would do.
Although they were covering their tracks very carefully, the angry attacks of Nick revealed their location easily.
Not waiting for the enemy to take the initiative, he charged at the duo with his body covered with lightning.
'I should take care of the weaker one first,' thought Ezequiel as he launched himself at Robert.
But before he could reach him, Benjamin attacks him, positioning himself before Robert, and as he stands there, his body starts to expand, and he transforms himself into a gigantic 5 meters long snake.
"Robert, maintain your distance and help me distract this brat."
Robert knows that if he were to fight directly with Ezequiel, his only fate was death. So he backed off immediately.
As Ezequiel looked at the huge snake, he started to distance himself from it.
'This should be a bloodline apprentice that Master told me. They can transform their bodies for a certain amount of time by stimulating the blood in them. I should maintain a certain distance until I figure out how strong he is.'
Benjamin, now in the form of a snake, chased after Ezequiel trying to crush him. He made rocks fly and trees fall as his huge body crashed at them.
As Ezequiel dodged the attacks from the snake, the lightning in his sword started to elongate and became a 3-meter long whip.
Benjamin opened his mouth and tried to spit acid as a lightning whip hit his face, creating a huge burn mark and making him scream from the pain.
"Ahh! You fucking brat, I will devour you," yelled Benjamin as he chased after Ezequiel.
As Ezequiel was preparing to attack again, a shower of rocks started to fall from the sky. Although the rocks were gigantic, they were also slow, so Ezequiel easily dodged them.
But just as he was about to continue the attack, something happened. He saw how his legs were sinking in the ground. He was surprised as he looked in the direction of the other apprentice and saw him kneeling on the ground chanting a spell.
Robert knows that his first attack was too slow and could not damage Ezequiel at all, but his objective was only to make him head to a place where his other spell was waiting.
Although this could stop him for just a moment, it was more than enough for the tail of the snake to crush him.
Ezequiel put up his arms in front of him to defend, making a cross with them. He covered his body and channeled all of his lightning energy into them to defend against the attack.
When the tail crashed on his body, the impact was so strong that he was thrown 15 meters away, breaking the trees apart as his body crashed into them.