A deafening boom echoed through the air.
The dust rose into the air, and the earth trembled under the intense force.
The air went still. Nibo stood paralyzed on his spot as he looked in front of him.
They all seemed to hold their breaths, waiting for the dust particles to come down.
Their worried gaze was fixed on the dusty cloud.
As the dust settled, they could see a figure standing valiantly under the large arm of the beast.
His green skin seemed to have a luster to it.
Akhil cursed slightly under his breath as the pain spread through his body.
’Well, the ability is quite good.’
Nibo’s frightened look quickly shifted to one of shock.
"You have the same ability as me?!" Nibo said in a surprised voice.
He had yet to see two people having the same skill.
He was absolutely confused as to how Akhil could use his skill.
He stood there in a daze. Aria, however, quickly caught on to what Akhil was trying to do.
She dashed into action, smacking Nibo on the head as she went past him.
"Focus! Go through the right... I’ll go from the left. He’ll distract the beast. It’s practically the same thing we’ve been doing!"
While Nibo was still processing her words, Aria was already on the move, heading toward the left.
He quickly snapped back to reality as Akhil slammed his hardened fist straight into the beast’s gut.
The bear roared, thrashing its hand straight at him.
Akhil dodged the beast’s large claws by a hair’s breadth.
He could feel the cold air whoosh past his head, dangerously close.
Using Nibo’s hardening skill made him realize that there were some parts of his body he couldn’t harden—like his head.
He could feel the energy taking effect in every other part of his body aside from his head.
Instinctively, he knew he had to avoid a direct hit there.
And after seeing its first attack fail, the beast frantically launched more attacks toward Akhil’s head.
He dodged the onslaught of the large beast.
’I only have to keep its eyes away from the others and have it focus on me,’ Akhil gritted his teeth as he dodged another attack.
He bent under its large arm, throwing a punch at its gut.
~Boom!
His hand collided with the beast yet again.
Angered, the beast’s eyes gleamed with a red glow.
Akhil felt a sudden chill run down his spine.
The beast’s claws sharpened, a metallic luster appearing on their edges.
The sharp claws now shone brightly under the sunlight.
It lunged straight for Akhil, blurring from the intense speed.
Before he could react, he felt the sharp claws strike his hardened skin.
~Clang!
"Tch," Akhil gritted as he felt the air getting knocked straight out of his lungs.
His skin managed to take the brunt of the attack, but the sheer impact cracked through his hardened exterior, letting warm blood drip to the floor.
Just before Akhil could recover from the first blow, the beast threw its claws straight for his head.
However, Akhil raised his head, looking at the beast’s beaming red eyes—not like someone about to lose his life, not like someone in deep pain.
He looked at the beast with a mischievous smile on his face, like the winner he was.
Because right behind the beast, Nibo launched his axe down fiercely.
And from the other side, Aria plunged her sword straight into the beast.
The beast, upon seeing Akhil’s defiant gaze, sensed that something was wrong.
It turned, reacting as quickly as it could, almost slashing straight at Nibo, who was closest to its right.
But ’almost’ didn’t count on the battlefield.
Its large claws missed him, and before it could dodge the axe, the nerves in its neck were cleanly cut—its brain failing to register any pain as its head was severed cleanly.
The large head fell to the ground with a loud thud.
The deep red blood bathed the earth as it rolled to a stop in front of Akhil.
He stared at the lifeless head before him.
’It’s dead,’ Akhil thought, falling to the ground on his butt.
He greedily dragged air into his lungs.
’That was terribly close.’ Akhil could’ve sworn he heard his heart beating in his ears as those claws came down on him.
But as he saw Nibo already throwing an attack, a wave of relief washed over him.
He didn’t stop holding his breath until he was sure the terrifying monster was slain.
{Ding!}
{You have killed a level two mutant beast: Mammoth Bear}
{Final Strike: Player Nibo!}
{Supporting Characters: Player Nexus! Player Aria!}
{Here are your rewards}
Akhil saw another notification pop up in front of him.
{Berserk Mode}
{Effect: Boost your strength by 30%, increasing damage caused to opponents by 10%}
{Skill can only be used for 10 minutes}
Akhil read the description of the skill with a satisfied smile on his face.
The reward wasn’t bad at all.
"We did it!" Nibo’s voice tore him out of his thoughts.
"That was terribly close. It’s a good thing you threw your attack on time," Aria said quickly as she walked up to Akhil.
"You might be stronger than we are, but you have to gather some experience. You could’ve lost your life there."
Akhil scratched his head with a wry smile.
"I’m sorry, I got carried away... I really wanted to test my powers."
Aria sighed. "Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to test them along the way. If you’re going to lead the orcs, then you have to be strong enough to do that."
"Oh, you all did a great job! This is awesome." Gon’s croaked old voice came from the side as he walked up to the group with his staff.
His back was hunched as he took careful steps forward.
Akhil looked at him with a deep frown.
’How the heck have they been surviving with this old man?’
He didn’t know why, but something about this old man had put him on edge since they met.
’I’ll just wait till you show your true colors.’