The crackling violet energy slammed into the panther's skull with pinpoint precision. A sharp snap echoed through the clearing as the beast recoiled, its body twisting midair from the sheer force of the blast.
The panther landed awkwardly, claws digging into the dirt to stabilize itself, but the impact had left its mark—its head jerked unnaturally to the side, its movements slightly sluggish. Ethan didn't give it time to recover.
"Kill it now!" he barked, already summoning a second bolt.
Mark and Toren charged in unison, their blades flashing as they closed the gap. Toren's axe swung downward with brute force, while Mark lunged low, aiming for the beast's hind legs. The panther leaped back, avoiding the worst of it, but Mark's blade clipped its leg, slicing deep enough to stagger it.
The creature let out a sharp snarl, its predatory eyes locked onto Ethan. It had figured out the biggest threat. Shit. Ethan barely had time to brace himself before the beast lunged at him. It was fast—too fast.
He threw himself sideways, rolling just as the panther's massive claws slashed through the air where his head had been. The force of the swipe sent a gust of wind rushing past his cheek. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he retaliated.
Boom!
Another mana bolt exploded against the panther's ribs, throwing it off balance.
Toren took the opening and drove his axe deep into the panther's shoulder. The beast let out an ear-piercing screech, twisting violently to shake him off, but Toren held firm, wrenching the axe deeper into flesh.
Gale moved in next, his sword slashing across the creature's exposed side. Blood splattered against the dirt. The panther tried to retreat, but now it was trapped—surrounded by hunters closing in from all sides.
"Go for the throat!" Mark roared, gripping his sword with both hands. The panther let out one last desperate roar—but it was over. Ethan didn't even have to raise a finger. The rest of the group took care of the panther and brought the beast down quickly.
Its body collapsed, the yellow glow in its eyes flickering out. Silence filled the clearing. For a long moment, nobody moved.
Then, Toren let out a ragged breath. "We… we actually did it."
Gale wiped his blade clean, glancing at Ethan with newfound respect. "Not bad, Rutgard."
Mark, still breathing heavily, turned to Ethan. "You saved our asses back there. That magic of yours packs a damn punch. Why didn't you tell us you were a mage?!"
Gale gave him a little nudge and Mark realized that he had made things awkward. "Anyways, thanks a lot man. I don't think the panther would have left us alive this time. We would have died if it was not for you."
Ethan nodded with a smile. "Stop saying thanks. You guys did the majority of the work. I simply tossed two balls of mana at it.
Mark let out a rough chuckle, shaking his head. "Yeah, well, those 'two balls of mana' just saved half our hides. I'll take it." He clapped Ethan on the back, then turned his gaze to the fallen beast. "Damn thing put up a hell of a fight."
Toren, still catching his breath, planted his axe into the ground and leaned against it. "We should carve it up before something else decides to take a bite out of our hard work." He looked toward Mark, waiting for the go-ahead.
Ethan crouched beside the panther's massive corpse, his fingers brushing against its sleek black fur. There was something off about this thing. It had been too fast, too intelligent, way stronger than everything else in this area.
"Are there strong beasts like this in this area?" He asked Mark, feeling a little confused. His minions have been searching for stronger prey only to return empty-handed so this panther seemed very out of place.
Mark let out a sigh and shook his head. "No. There shouldn't be any. Most days there aren't any. But recently some have started cropping up. We are trying to address it."
"Will the Lord get involved?" Ethan probed. "I mean it's dangerous for the townsfolk."
Mark hesitated for a moment, his expression darkening. "The Lord? Doubt it. Nessleson doesn't give a damn about what happens outside his walls unless it directly threatens him. The townsfolk fend for themselves."
Gale grunted in agreement. "That's why we've been handling these hunts ourselves. If we don't take care of it, no one will."
Ethan absorbed the information, filing it away in the back of his mind. So stronger beasts have been appearing out of nowhere. That's not a coincidence. Maybe he could hunt these stronger beasts?
Seeing him engrossed in his thoughts, Mark continued. "I almost forgot you are new here. Our town is on the border, Ethan. No one cares about it. There is a mining area some distance away from here and a decade-long dispute over the rights of the land between two greedy pigs."
"Nessleson doesn't want to invest resources in a place that might not even be his in a few years. The other one says he will take care of everything once the king signs over the land lease." Mark sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "That means no guards, no patrols, and no reinforcements when things go south."
"A contested border town…" Ethan muttered, realization settling in. No wonder this place had slipped through the cracks of the system.
His gaze sharpened as he turned to Mark. "These mines—where exactly are they?" There was a nagging suspicion in his mind, an uneasy feeling that these might be the very same mines he and Lia had barely escaped from.
Thankfully, Mark pointed in the opposite direction. "A few miles from here."
Ethan let out a quiet breath, masking his relief. Different mines. That was good. But still, this place was a bit too close to the demon attack.
Chances are that this town was going to get attacked by demons any time now and it was better he got the hell out of here and went to a proper town.
Sure there would be those random checks and whatnot but he could keep moving and have a nomadic lifestyle. That way he did not have to worry about being anyone's underling. Just thinking about all of this made Ethan's head hurt. Everything was so tedious.
It was almost better if he simply accepted the terms and became someone's underling and progressed further from within the system. Why fight against it? He sighed. Perhaps everything would have been a lot easier if he had awakened with a normal class.
Well, his class better be worth all of this trouble.