Chapter 47: Nirad Raid (3)
The sword clashed against the tentacle, then was swatted away powerlessly. Ariel’s expression remained unchanged, as he immediately dismissed the sword into particles that dissolved into his crystal core.
His original goal wasn’t to kill this creature, but to escape it. Without even looking back, he dashed into the forest, his speed lightning quick.
The ostrich froze as if flustered. It must have expected the sword to deal some damage, but was shocked when it didn’t. Was that human really that weak?
Soon, it shook off its daze, then shot after its prey. Despite Ariel’s brief disruption, it still wanted to devour him.
’Unpleasant.’
Ariel’s mood soured as he sensed the creature still pursuing him. He didn’t want to kill it, as he had already attracted enough attention. Soloing a strong monster would show how strong he truly was.
Just as he felt like resigning to his fate, he caught sight of a streak of gold in the distance.
’Sebastian?’
Seeing the curly hair, he realized the identity of the student. His thoughts spun rapidly, and he changed his direction towards the student. The abominable ostrich continued to chase him, though it didn’t seem to care about where he was going.
Ariel’s green eyes checked the surroundings, and he quickly confirmed that Sebastian was alone. That was a relief, as his plan would go smoothly. Sebastian was strong, and with the two of them, defeating the creature wouldn’t be surprising.
Finally, Sebastian’s attention turned towards him, then to the creature chasing him. The narcissistic boy’s eyes shone a black light as he summoned a sniper rifle.
"Sebastian... let’s work toge—"
Whatever Ariel wanted to say died in his throat because Sebastian’s eyes weren’t focused on him. The young man was grinning wildly while combing his hair.
"You stand back, boy-princess. Stand back and witness my magnificent self in full glory!"
Sebastian’s self-praising speech, filled with confidence and pride, made Ariel wince. Magnificent self? Full glory? And why the hell would he be called a princess?!
He didn’t ask, and simply stood behind the blonde kid. He was also curious about the true ability of his classmate.
Seeing the creature draw near, Sebastian hoisted his rifle and fired a shot.
Bang!
The surfing tentacles reeled, pushed back and sliced by the force of the bullet. The creature screeched in fury, as the two tentacles suddenly split into eight, ready to exact revenge on its assailant.
Before it could attack them though, Sebastian fired another shot with focused eyes.
The bullet tore through the air, then drilled into the ostrich’s head. The creature froze, then collapsed to the ground.
[You have slain an Awakened Monster, Echoes of the Seas]
[You have received a Relic]
Sebastian threw his hair flamboyantly, then glanced at Ariel.
"Well... puny mortal. Engrave this divine one’s extraordinary magnificence into your memory."
Laughing to himself, he ignored the corpse of the creature and smoothly dashed into the forest.
Ariel stared blankly at his disappearing back, then nodded perfunctorily. "Of course."
He glanced at the ostrich’s corpse, more precisely its head, then
sighed. ’He’s undeniably skilled and strong. No shots missed or wasted.’
His green eyes, always calm and steady, revealed a curious glint.
...
"Haaaa!"
Liam sliced through the neck of a huge snake, creating a large wound that dealt the final blow. The snake dropped to the ground, joining its colleagues who were already dead.
[You have slain an Awakened Beast, Mud Dweller]
He relaxed, then checked on the condition of his teammates. A few of them were injured, but it was nothing serious as one of them had begun healing the injured.
’Kiera is amazing. A fighter and a healer.’
The girl who had recently become his girlfriend displayed astonishing qualities. Her affinity for blood allowed her to speed up the regeneration of wounds. This was enough to call her a healer. Even then, she was actually strong enough to fight on her own and win against an Awakened Beast.
"Good job, guys."
He smiled brightly, throwing an encouraging thumbs-up at the group, then squatted to dig out the soul crystal. The others smiled back at him, then proceeded to collect the soul crystals from the other corpses.
"Yo, Liam." Astron appeared by his side, nudging him with his elbow. "Seems like things have been going on well between you and her, hm?"
Liam’s cheeks reddened slightly, but he didn’t deny it. "I accepted her confession."
Astron laughed, but kept his voice a whisper. "Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone until you want to announce it."
The brown-haired boy seemed relieved, then tossed the crystal in his hand. "Have that as a shush fee."
Astron blinked in surprise, but didn’t refuse. He calmly added it to his collection of soul crystals.
Soon after, the students finished collecting the crystals, then gathered around.
"Is anyone feeling tired already? If so, we can find a place to rest."
Liam addressed them, his eyes carefully checking their conditions. This was already their third battle today, and it was normal to be exhausted. Surprisingly, no one wanted to rest yet.
"No. Let’s hunt more. We need to get as many crystals as possible!"
In the face of their enthusiasm, Liam could only smile wryly and compromise.
"Alright. But we’ll rest after one more hunt, okay?"
They agreed easily. The group of ten students went deeper into the forest, occasionally meeting other groups. As if having a tactic agreement, the groups ignored each other. Unfortunately, one massive group didn’t ignore them.
"Isn’t that...?"
Kiera whispered to Liam, whose expression hardened.
"That’s right. It’s Apollo." He felt a pang of headache. "His whole class is moving as one?"
Compared to a team of thirty armored students, their cohort of ten looked small.
Soon, the two teams crossed paths. Apollo gazed at the Class-E with a mischievous glint in his eyes, then spoke.
"Seems like you’re still the most popular in your class. Bitches sure swarm you, huh?"
The expressions of all the girls turned ugly, and Kiera almost snapped. With this, they immediately understood that Apollo had come to taunt them.