Hanging against the tree trunk, Jethro had managed to stay away from the Magma Sloth’s haunting periphery. That was the only reason the magma constructs had stopped clawing their way out of the ground.
But those damn Flamewing Crows, made of fire and razor-sharp talons, caused him to lose his grip when he ducked.
He fell back to the ground, spine-first. The Crows dived in a fresh wave, talons flashing, trying to rake his face apart.
Scorch, now on the ground beside Jethro, hissed furiously at them, a jet of superheated steam blasting from his vents. The flock wheeled back, keeping overhead, watching for another chance to strike.
Jethro got on his feet fast, jaw set, shooting the mechbirds a glare before his eyes locked on the Magma Sloth in the distance.
The normal eye wouldn’t have seen the deadly mechbeast from so far off, but with [Deep Sense], Jethro could even see the deep exhale that left the Sloth’s nostrils, and the hunger in its calculating eyes.
Another magma construct was coming.
Jethro quickly scooped Scorch from the floor, the lizard still growling at the hovering trio of fiery crows, and he bolted.
"We have to get away from that Magma Sloth’s sight!" he told Scorch between breaths. Behind, the Flamewings shrieked and dove again, wings of fire slapping the air, sending smoke in both directions.
"Just my luck that even after unlocking five new shared abilities, I still have no offensive ones!"
He zigzagged through the burning forest, narrowly evading the new constructs: giant pillars of fire that kept falling from the sky, threatening to squish him like a hopeless bug.
That Sloth could still see him! And that was why there were still more constructs.
Jethro remembered then he’d also unlocked another Skill. One that could possibly keep him hidden from the slow but mighty monster.
Praying it would work, he activated [Camouflage].
The air around him shimmered softly, then compressed into him. Or rather, he expanded outward, becoming one with the air itself.
He bended light, his form faded into it. His outline became indistinct against every color; the fire-leaves, the black rock, even the Flamewing Crows that had suddenly stopped chasing after him in confusion.
The constructs stopped appearing, which meant the Magma Sloth couldn’t see him either. And the best part was, he didn’t have to worry about running Scorch’s Soul Core dry of aether.
With his passive Skill, [Solar Charge], his body drained the heat and light energy from the flames of the forest, to fuel the [Camouflage] Skill rather than using aether.
Jethro exhaled a shaky laugh. Why hadn’t he thought of this in the first place? It would have saved him all the trouble.
But even more importantly, how was there a Magma Sloth in this Flame Forest? They were Gold-Ranked which meant they would be more territorial.
Did that Sloth manage to conquer this Flame Forest as its domain? Weren’t there any challengers from other Gold or higher Ranks?
The questions still brimming in his mind, Jetho rounded a cluster of burning trees, recognizing them as a sign that he was almost at the entrance to the forest.
Then he stopped dead.
Like a whiplash, his mind reunited with his body. [Deep Sense] was still faster than his reaction time, so it usually took him a while to catch up with his new heightened perception.
Nevertheless, what was that just now?
[Deep Sense] had screamed a warning— one that he didn’t believe for only a millisecond before he was forced to because his eyes had confirmed it.
Just right ahead, blocking the only apparent path out of this land of fire, a nightmare beast stood.
Nightmare beasts was the name given to the ugliest, rarest and most dreadful kind of beasts. The freak-creations of the mechbeast world.
They were powerful, yet, their disgusting features and twisted abilities made it so that they were unlikeable. Even to the kind of tamers who merely tamed mechbeast for power.
Some mechbeasts weren’t meant to be tamed. The Cinder Chimera was one of them.
At a ranking of Platinum, Grade A, this colossal beast was easily two times the size of the Magma Sloth.
Like its fellow Nightmare Beast, the World Ender Dragon, it had three distinct heads, rising from a shared, armored body forged from blackened Vincintine metal and cooled lava.
One was the head of a hideous lion, the mane drooling with a reddish flame, its jaw dripping as well with lava. A cruel scar slashed from its left eye down the side of its face where tiny skulls dangled.
The center head was a goat’s, horns bigger than its face, crackling with electricity, and eyes burning with cold blue fire.
And the final head belonged to a raven. Greenish eyes, a beak as sharp as an aether cutter, and glassy dark feathers around its neck.
Jethro suddenly felt like he was in the Darc Throne Depths all over again. He had once again walked into a dark place, and was given more than he had anticipated.
His heart pounded, his eyes dilated in fear, his fingers quivered. Even with the new growth, Scorch clamped himself close to Jethro’s neck, his body heat spiking as a frightened whimper rattled out of him.
Jethro didn’t know what to do. It was his drive to become stronger that had brought him here, yet, he wasn’t even strong enough to get himself out.
There was nothing in his mind but fear.
Especially after all three heads snapped toward him.
His heart skipped so fast that he lost control of his [Camouflage] Skill, letting it flicker away.
The Lion head roared instantly, and a wave of pure heat washed over him, making his skin blister despite his resistance. The horns on the Goat head crackled with electricity. The Raven head let out a piercing shriek that felt like ice picks in Jethro’s skull.
What the hell was he waiting for? He had to run.
So Jethro spun, abandoning stealth for raw speed only for a moment.
He activated [Camouflage] soon enough, knowing that Cinder Chimeras couldn’t see him if he was invisible.
But they could sense him. Cinder Chimeras possessed one of the strongest senses of perception among all mechbeasts. Jethro’s only chance for survival was to keep running.
Because the moment he stopped to hide, he’d be caught.
And there was nothing Chimeras loved to eat more than frightened humans!