Artefacts gaining the ability to harm the skin of a predator-ranked walker when even a mystic's enhanced fist couldn't leave a scratch.
This wasn't the result of any special characteristic inherent to the artefacts themselves.
No, it was the application of mana that ultimately decided the outcome between the two, determining which one would prove fatal when facing a predator-ranked walker.
If a mystic enhanced or an artefact mana enhanced would see past a predator's steel like skin.
When an artefact is used, the mana embedded in that artefact responds to the violent mana of the predator, the same destructive force that has transformed the walker into what it is, a force of raw devastation.
Why such a reaction occur upon collision, how does it work, or when it first manifest?
These questions remain unanswered.
Though the research is ongoing, a comprehensive explanation is still elusive.
Yet, one thing is certain: numerous mystics have dedicated their lives to understanding mana.
They are the ones who opted for the study of mana as an anomaly that needs to be unravelled, unlike the mystics who chose to equip mana as a form of weapon to be used for combat.
Through the interference of said mana philosophers, the use of mana has been greatly revolutionized, allowing for the development of several mana-based techniques.
And though their findings have yet to be implemented universally, they have uncovered a means for those with a deep understanding of mana to apply this principle in battle.
Ian Somalder was among the rare few mystics with an unparalleled grasp of mana and its nuances.
This understanding allowed him to apply mana in ways most others could never fathom.
Right now, he was about to show the others how the application of mana could be used to penetrate a predator's skin, leveraging only his fist and raw mana drawn from his mana reserve.
Or at least, he intended to.
But the alpha wolf wasn't about to allow that.
With an earth-shattering howl, the alpha unleashed a shockwave, blasting everything around it.
Ian and the rest were thrown back, pushed several meters away from their original position.
Ian quickly raised his guard, shielding his face as he was propelled through the air.
Aldrich and Camelia to responded with a defensive stance that shielded their faces over other parts.
However, Trevor had something else in mind.
Amid the storm of force, Trevor began to inscribe the runes for a water-based Art.
As the shockwave swept him away, he conjured up a small, concentrated water bubble, its delicate form carefully crafted to stay unnoticed.
While Trevor's attention was mostly on survival, his water bubble snuck up on the alpha wolf, floating toward it with a quiet, almost unnoticed precision.
Camelia, aware of the situation, acted swiftly.
She conjured an earth wall behind them, catching their bodies as they were about to be slammed further away, ensuring they were safely stopped.
"Now's your chance if you want to kill it!" Trevor's voice rang out, full of urgency. "The water bubble has the wolf's head trapped at the moment, but not for long."
Trevor was right.
The water bubble had surrounded the alpha's head, cutting off its air supply.
With every passing moment, the wolf struggled more, its need for air growing more desperate.
But as Trevor had warned, it wouldn't be long before the wolf broke free.
The water bubble was a low-ranked technique, mostly relegated to testing theories, rarely ever used in combat.
Yet, Trevor's creative thinking had turned it into an unexpected advantage, one that others would have overlooked.
"I got it!"
Trevor's words rang with the promise of success, giving Ian the opening he'd been waiting for.
This was the moment to deploy the advanced mana technique that could slice through the predator's skin as if it were nothing more than a paper-thin barrier.
Ian moved forward, his body already in motion, but before he could reach the alpha, a shadow loomed overhead.
A figure darted through the trees, walking along the barks with feline grace, her blade gleaming under the sunlight.
She surged from above, her sword descending in a swift arc toward the alpha's neck.
With a single, precise swipe, the sword cleaved cleanly through the wolf's neck.
The severed head rolled away, and the body dropped to the ground with a heavy thud, lifeless.
The one responsible stood beside the fallen creature, her blood-drenched sword hanging at her side.
Her blonde hair fluttered behind her, catching the light as she stood in perfect stillness.
Her face, radiant under the sun, was a stark contrast to the carnage surrounding them.
"Fiona!"
Aldrich's voice rang out, though his surprise was tempered.
Fiona was a second-term returning student, someone who had attended the same party, so it was to be expected that she might be here.
What had caught him off guard was her ease in wielding the artefact, and how she had taken down the alpha wolf in one clean strike, seizing the chance after the wolf had been temporarily incapacitated.
"Are you all okay?"
Fiona's voice was calm but tinged with concern.
"Fiona!". Camelia too called with a tone of surprise and weariness.
Fiona's gaze flicked between each of them, ensuring their safety before anything else.
"Camelia!" She called back, her voice softening.
There was a noticeable shift in the air between them, something that Aldrich picked up on immediately.
'Is it just me, or is there something... off between them?' Aldrich thought, observing the subtle tension that simmered just beneath the surface.
"Can we skip the reunion for a moment?" Ian's voice cut through the air, laced with sarcasm. "We need to get out of here, fast."
Noon was fast approaching, and the situation was rapidly becoming more dangerous.
The bloodshed from the battle had already drawn attention, and the footprints they were tracing were beginning to fade, dry under the harsh sunlight that had swiftly replaced the sun, leaving only a faint trace of what had happened.
However, the implications of their actions were becoming clear.