Shit! I was careless! Adam cursed inwardly as he heard the sound of the door creaking open behind him.
He had been so engrossed in reading Jason Howlett's journal entries that he had lost complete awareness of his surroundings.
Although this was a big mistake on his part, it couldn't be helped. The youth was just that surprised after finding the truth of what had transpired.
All this while, he was led to believe that the Howlett Family had been corrupted by Morven the Malevolent and as a result, had been slain by the mayor and the town council members.
But everything had been a lie!
The entire Howlett Family had been cursed into becoming werewolves!
Intense warning signals went off inside his mind as he sensed a menacing creature oozing with bloodlust dash out of the red door and land a vicious attack on him.
Sensing the sheer killing intent in the incoming attack, Adam knew that it would do a number on him if he didn't block. Moreover, from the energy waves radiating from the enemy, he knew that it was a Mana Liquefaction Magus!
Adam hurriedly turned around, augmented his arms with mana, and held them before him in a cross position. He knew it was too late to cast a defensive spell. This was all he could do.
"Kuackk!" He could feel his forearms go numb as the attack landed on him. Soon, he was swept off of his feet and launched toward the ceiling of the basement.
In one go, he burst through the three layers of the manor and flew outside into the clearing. His forearms were throbbing in pain as he thought to himself in shock, This is the physical strength of a Rank 2 werewolf?! Incredible!
The battle outside abruptly came to a halt when they saw a figure blasted out from the roof of the abandoned manor.
To say that they were shocked would be an understatement!
Everyone glanced at this figure in black robes summersault in the air and then gracefully land amidst a pack of wolves. The wolves were initially startled but immediately pounced on him. "Hmph!" Adam slammed his foot on the ground, resulting in a brilliant magic circle to light up underneath his feet.
Rank 1 Spell: Shape Earth!
Dozens of earthen spikes emerged from the ground and viciously impaled the wolves in his vicinity. The beasts howled helplessly and struggled for a few moments before finally dying. "P-Professor!"
Adam's squad members, who happened to be nearby, glanced in his direction with dumbfounded expressions on their faces.
They had been engaged in a brutal bloodbath with the ferocious wolves around them when suddenly, Adam shot out from the roof of the Howlett Manor and landed near them.
Adam turned his head, looking in the direction of his students and the Acolytes. Seeing them drenched in blood and surrounded by corpses of wolves, he grinned.
"You guys seemed to be enjoying yourselves," he said in a carefree manner.
His squad members were speechless. They couldn't help but wonder how he could be so nonchalant despite being blasted off from within the ruined manor.
More importantly, they couldn't help but be stunned thinking of just what could have happened to have reduced Adam to such a state.
The following moment, Adam's forearms glowed with a verdant, green light that started healing his injuries. After the light dissipated, a tiny figure stuck its head out from his robes.
It was none other than the wood spirit, Yavia!
She flew out from inside his robes and flailed are arms around before the raven-haired youth's face. "Adam! I was nearly squished to death in there! How could you be so careless?!"
Adam laughed awkwardly, "Sorry about that..."
"What?!" Yavia was enraged, her face turning red. "That's all you have to say?!"
Suddenly, the entrance of the Howlett Manor blew open and dust and debris shot out in all directions.
From the wreckage, emerged a menacing werewolf. He looked around with his bloodthirsty eyes until finally, his gaze landed on Adam.
He roared toward the skies before dashing in the youth's direction, slaughtering all the wolves that came in his way.
"Yavia," Adam said with a solemn expression. "Go help the kids."
"But what about you?!" The wood spirit blurted out in concern. "That... that monster is far stronger than your average Mana Liquefaction Magus!"
"Heh, so am I," Adam smirked as he looked at her. "Trust me."
Yavia deeply gazed at the youth before nodding. She then flew away in the direction of his squad members.
Meanwhile, Adam took out two long, black nails from his earring and flicked them in the air before him.
Then, he started weaving complex hand signs at great speed, all the while taunting the werewolf approaching him.
"Say, Jason... Do you recognize these things?"
The werewolf, who was in fact the patriarch of the Howlett Family, gazed at the pair of black nails slowly disintegrating in mid-air and could feel a deep connection to it.
His bloodthirsty eyes glazed over as memories of his children assaulted his mind. This only lasted a moment before insanity consumed him and he roared madly, charging toward Adam at an even greater speed.
The black nails were the material components that Adam had harvested from the two werewolves that he had experimented on a few weeks ago.
After reading Jason's journal, he was finally able to guess their identities.
Two magic circles covered Adam's forearms, causing them to contort unnaturally. The muscles beneath his skin bulged and twisted, growing thicker and more powerful.
The skin took on a rough, leathery texture as dark fur began to sprout from the surface. His fingers elongated and the nails warped into sharp, curved claws.
Rank 2 Spell: Werewolf Claws!
Just as the trasnformation was complete, the werewolf, Jason, had already appeared before
the youth, launching a devastating claw attack at his face.
Adam's lips curved up into a wide grin as excitement bubbled inside of him. His eyes flashed with a ruthless glint as he launched his own claw attack.