Alex launched himself towards the black cloaked man, not giving either side time to recover. He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly as he slashed across the air, sending arcs of fire flying towards the guy.
But his attack was too predictable and the man easily dodged it, feeling the searing heat as it flashed past him into the distance.
"You know, you really fight like an amateur. Do you not know anything else other than this projectile attack? Such crude fighting… I'm honestly a little disappointed. This fight won't be as exciting anymore." The man spoke again, this time ridiculing Alex's style of fighting.
"Argghh! Shut up and die!"
This time the words from the black cloaked man struck a chord in Alex, causing him to push himself even harder.
Just like the man said, he really hadn't got much more in his arsenal of attacks. His understanding of his Flame talent was still rudimentary and so far, he hadn't put enough time into practising it and exploring how far he could actually take it.
He had realised long ago why so few people reached B tier, as learning how to control elements was one of the hardest things awakened go through in their lives.
But Alex was determined to not let this guy get the better of him, and he started revolving his Phoenix fury technique.
Soon enough, the bright orange flames surrounding his sword extended up Alex's hands, arms and up to his shoulders, spreading out to the rest of his body from there.
In that moment, he felt a terrifying amount of strength built up inside him which he had never felt before.
He had activated his flame transformation once again.
Looking at Alex's figure, the black cloaked man smiled, "That's more like it! Finally, just as I was thinking about ending this farce, it becomes interesting!"
Ignoring the man's words, Alex charged in rapidly, closing in on the man's position in milliseconds and struck forth with his sword.
By this point, he had stopped listening to the man's pointless commentary anymore, as it only served to fuel his rage even further.
'What-' But as Alex's sword slashed down towards the cloaked man, he realised that Alex's flashy light show hadn't been for nothing.
His speed was so fast now that he could barely keep up with his attacks, and he had trouble dodging.
The man kept running through the trees to avoid Alex. But after minutes upon minutes of endless running and chasing, they came to a standstill at the edge of a cliff, with a drop so far only darkness could be seen over the edge. The man knew he couldn't escape Alex's attacks anymore.
He didn't panic, although Alex's attacks had suddenly become so overwhelming, he still had a few tricks up his sleeve himself.
He jumped multiple dozens of metres backwards, out of range from Alex's attacks for just a short moment.
But this short moment was all he needed.
Shing! The cloaked man pulled out some sort of stone, engraved with ancient looking runs all over.
'I didn't expect that I'd have to use this, but whatever!'
'Activate!'
He mentally chanted a word, and instantly a terrifying power leaked out of the rune engraved rock.
The surroundings were dyed in a myriad of colours, shifting from dark blue, light blue, purple etc. There was even the faint sound of a roar reverberating throughout the area, even though there was no beast in sight.
Suddenly Alex stopped, his face revealed his horror as he felt the aura exuding from that small rock.
'Variant class!'
A moment later he clasped the sides of his head, howling out in pain as he spasmed around on the ground, his fiery aura burning away anything he came into contact with.
The cloaked man came in close, passing right through Alex's defences. With the help of Alex's sudden mental anguish, the man's hard-clenched fist drove into Alex's body.
Alex felt a new wave of pain hit his stomach. As he was yelling in pain, he felt a strong acid rise from his throat and he vomited out the contents.
Drawing his fist back, the man found it covered in burns and the gloves covering them had been turned to ash, revealing his delicate white skin beneath them.
Thud!
He knew a single punch could not solve the problem called Alex, thus he delivered a second.
Thud!
And then a third…
Alex let out a painful howl, his face still completely covered in sweat that despite the intense heat he was radiating, didn't evaporate.
***
A few moments prior, when the man activated the mysterious looking stone covered in runes.
'What is that?'
Alex looked on vigilantly, making sure not to get too careless. He had learned not to overestimate himself and underestimate enemies, so he held himself back from rushing in to attack while the cloaked man's defences were down.
He stood on as he watched the man lift the stone into the air, revealing a little bit of his face under his hood. His expression looked like one of fear and respect.
Instantly, he felt the surroundings dim, and an aura leaked out of the stone that left him absolutely shell shocked.
'Variant class!'
Alex could only muster a single thought, realising what exactly this aura entailed.
That stone must have been some sort of item or artifact that stored a one time use attack of a Variant class E+ rank beast, as the stone itself turned to dust after the attack was unleashed.
But…
The strange thing was, that no matter where Alex looked, he couldn't see any incoming attack. He could still feel the terrifying energy exuded from the stone, but his eyes, and even his spatial perception couldn't pick anything up.
'Wh-'
But immediately after, he found out why, the hard way.
His vision suddenly blackened and Alex felt himself being transferred to his own mental space, conveniently where his inventory was located.
But what wasn't convenient was the fact that he wasn't alone in there. A disgusting looking creature with tentacles being its only appendages floated in the air in front of Alex.
It looked like a mass of green and grey flesh melded together with the limbs of an octopus to create whatever abomination this was.
But before he could react to this sudden development, the creature closed in with a blur of speed, so fast that Alex hadn't even registered the fact that it had moved yet.
The creature encompassed Alex's floating spirit form with its tentacles, and Alex felt an unimaginable world of pain envelop his very soul from this moment onwards.