[Time: Somewhere in the afternoon.]
[Location: Granian forest, a few hundred miles away from the mountain.]
The sounds of wildlife and nature singing their melodious songs echoed across the forest. The humid air, cool winds, and warm sun shining down gave the forest an enchanting effect. Some of the sounds coming from the forest were beautiful, almost as if they were orchestrated by master musicians.
The other sounds were terrifying, and judging by their volume and magnitude, they seemed to have been made by large, terrifying beasts.
At the edge of the forest were Ace, Cherry, Jim, and Anya. Having only completed their last phase of training a few hours ago, the Blood Mutants were tasked with completing yet another one, which was to move from one point of the forest to its center, where Grim would be waiting for them.
At first, the Granian wanted the Mutants to complete the journey without their blood abilities. However, after facing rejection from all of them, he finally came to terms with them and agreed, leaving shortly afterward.
With their powers now active, the other three Mutants looked up to Ace and aspired to achieve what he had achieved during the mountain trek. His increased body mass, perfected blood control skills, and flaming blood technique were what they wanted to achieve.
While Cherry wished also to make her own blood fire, Anya and Jim still needed to learn how to use the Explosive Blood technique, something neither of them bothered to learn since they constantly failed to master it. However, now that the possibility of turning explosive blood into fire existed, they were willing to give a shot at learning the skill.
"So, what’s our plan going to be?" Cherry asked, eagerly waiting to practice her new skills while learning from her brother as well. "Are we all going to go in our Blood Mutant forms, or are we going to take things slowly and calmly?"
The three Mutants looked at Jim, who, to them, was the one with the brains to lead. The Golden Mutant thought for a while and contemplated every possible outcome. After thinking for a while, he returned to them with an answer for their question, saying,
"We’re walking through uncharted territory. Let’s split it this way. When we encounter smaller beasts, we should rely on our own strength with our blood skills. However, if we encounter larger beasts that are too tough for us to beat with our blood skills, we can then use the Mutant forms. How does that sound?"
The others nodded in agreement and even weighed the idea for themselves. In a way, the Blood Mutant Form would only be of use if they were in any form of trouble. For now, all they had to do was increase their blood strength and blood control skills, hoping to take them to new heights.
"That sounds like a positive idea," Ace agreed. "If you three like, I can still show you what I had learned on the mountain."
"Why not, after all that Grim fellow wants us to get what you have." "Don’t forget we have to keep up with Ace. If only one of us succeeds and grows stronger, extreme pressure will be placed on the others to improve. The last thing I want is for a Granian to shout and ridicule me for my progress."
"Enough chitchat," Cherry complained, her back forming tendrils with long blades at each tip. "Let’s get moving. Who knows what’s inside there waiting for us to just fight and kill."
"Alright then, let’s get going."
"DAMN IT!! SO MANY BUGS!!" Hardly thirty minutes in, there were already complaints and arguments about the bugs in the forest. The foliage was thick and covered the entire forest floor, forcing the Mutants to create blades for them to cut through them. Some of the ground was soft and easily sinkable while the rest was as hard as a rock. For their safety, the Mutants created reinforced blood boots, just to protect their feet from whatever creature was lurking, waiting to get a bite or sting.
"It hasn’t been thirty minutes at the least, Cherry," Ace complained back. "You cannot be crying about the bugs yet."
"YOU’RE LITERALLY WALKING WITH YOUR SHIRT WRAPPED AROUND YOUR WAIST. HOW ARE YOU NOT GETTING BITTEN?" Cherry complained even more, causing Ace to turn back and cover her mouth with his hand.
"Do you want the predators in this forest to come after us?" he questioned, but the woman was too stubborn and angry to listen. "Meft mho ov me"
"Promise not to shout, otherwise you’ll attract beasts to us."
"Well, it’s too late for that." Anya responded as her veins bulged, her blood covering her body as she transformed into her Blood Mutant form. Looking ahead, Ace and Cherry saw Jim transforming as well and a few feet ahead of them was a massive beast charging towards them.
The creature was shaped like an elephant with the legs of a crocodile. Its lower body dragged on the forest floor, but it was still able to move at an incredible speed. Its head, shaped like a peanut, had a large bone plate shaped like a lucky bone of a cooked chicken. The bone plate stretched to six feet in the air while almost half of its protected its head. Fınd the newest release on 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩~𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢~𝔫𝔢𝔱
[System Scan: Activated.]
[Transformation: Activated.]
{Species Name: Irbil.}
{Strength: Strong bone plate protecting its head. Large and long tail at the back reinforced with a keratin mound containing bone spikes designed for breaking bones.}
{Weaknesses: Short stubby legs that limit their movements. Near-sighted vision.}
Jim, raising his hand over his head, created a blood spear and thrust it at the beast, aiming for its sides. The creature tilted its head, causing the spear to crash into the hard, bone-like protective layer. "EVERYONE, GET OUT OF THE WAY!!" Ace warned as the beast swung its powerful tail. At the last moment, the four Mutants leaped out of the way and watched as the tail wiped away everything in its path.
’Imagine getting hit with that.’
[Reward: Instant Level up.]