Panic spread like wildfire through the forest as everyone looked at the looming threat with palpitating hearts. They were scared yet thrilled at the same time, but no one was foolish enough to rush headlong into what could be their doom.
The cold grew fiercer as the beast approached. Reyes instructed his guild to move their bodies to prevent freezing, and it seemed to work.
Moments later, there was rustling in the trees. Magical beasts often destroyed everything in their path, but this creature moved with measured steps, almost human-like.
Noticing this, Nox grew more alarmed.
"It's here!" Captain Bofan shouted.
As if on cue, the trees parted, revealing the creature in all its fearsome glory. A collective gasp escaped the onlookers as the beast's pale blue eyes fixed on each of them in turn, momentarily freezing them in place.
Everyone collectively sucked in at the sight, the beast's pale blue eyes locking onto each person and stunning them for a split second.
The elemental beast was a large, hairy creature standing about eight feet tall. Its fur was white with a blue tint, and its eyes were a pale blue color. Its massive arms ended in sharp, ice-like claws, with frosty spikes running along its neck and shoulders. As it moved forward, its fur caught the light and glowed slightly.
As everyone watched the beast approach, they began to snap out of their daze, a hundred plus awakened with a spark of determination in their eyes.
But the Mavericks Guild held back as planned.
Meanwhile, Nox activated his Analyze skill.
Only the name appeared; no further information followed.
'Strange.' Nox thought. 'Is it a bug?' He tried again.
"W-why isn't it working?" Confused, he tried once more, but the result was the same — no additional information, just the name. Panic began to creep in as he attempted to use his Beast Sense, which also only revealed the name. No weaknesses, no strengths, nothing.
This was the first time something had happened. There had been no hiccups in past years, so why now?
'Is it a bug?' Nox frowned. 'Why now of all times! This fight is very important to me.'
Analyze and Beast Sense were his edge over the others, allowing him to see the skills and weaknesses of a beast. With this recent development, everyone was now on equal footing.
He tried using Analyze and Beast Sense a couple more times, but the results were the same, deepening the frown on Nox's face with each passing second. In his last attempt, a new screen popped up and Nox became ecstatic, but that smile turned to a frown when he saw the glimmering message.
[Analyze and Beast Sense Too Low]
[Use Skill Consistently to level it up]
"Shit! I didn't know the skills were low level!"
It hadn't been visible in the system after all.
'I need to level these as fast as I can.' Nox stared at the ongoing fight with a flame of determination in his eyes.
The humans were still on the losing end as they clashed with the two-meter-tall elemental beast. The beast opened its mouth, letting out a primal roar. A chilling blast of icy energy was unleashed, encasing the humans.
With a swipe of its hands, the encased ice shattered into several fragments.
Captain Bofan, hovering in the air, unleashed a barrage of wind blades at the elemental beast, his face darkening.
"Damn it, we greatly underestimated this beast."
To his dismay, the blades that could cut through solid metal bounced off the creature's fur as if it were elastic. The stray blades scattered, injuring several unlucky fighters, and groans filled the air, some even cursing at the captain.
"Sigh, this is just messed up." Captain Bofan didn't curse much, viewing it as a sign of irresponsibility, but today he couldn't help but break one of his moral codes.
The elemental beast was already very formidable, and the cold atmosphere could freeze anyone not moving their body, making the fight even more difficult. Though he was a citizen of Coastal City and had grown used to the cold, even for him, this was too much.
"Bastard, eat my fist!" Brolly, the berserker leader of Bladesong Academy, roared as he launched himself at the beast, slamming his fists together with a force that echoed through the forest. For a moment, everyone paused, watching to see if he had made a dent.
A deafening bang echoed throughout the forest, and the fighting momentarily stopped as everyone turned their gaze to Brolly, who had a maniacal smile on his face, feeling proud that he was the first to land a hit.
However, the others felt pity for him when they saw the intense anger the elemental beast directed at him. A moment later, the beast made its move, and Brolly found himself flying through the air, spitting and teeth flying from his mouth.
As his body levitated mid-air, the large youth couldn't help but shudder. Just now, the elemental beast could have killed him with its claws, but it decided only to deliver a fatal blow that would immobilize him for a while.
Why was that? It was very perplexing; shouldn't enemies try to kill each other in a fight? That was exactly what he was trying to do. Did this beast have other plans for him?
Meanwhile, on the ground, things were becoming more difficult. The Silver Mist Guild was the only group faring better than the others as they used ranged attacks.
Nox noticed that the cloaked person who had given him the death vibe had yet to make a move. The Mavericks Guild also remained on standby, observing everything, as did Ren and his group.
After witnessing the losing fight, Reyes frowned and looked at his group. "Guys, it seems we have to change our plans. I've been watching this fight for a while now, and from what I can tell, if we don't join, things might only get worse."
"Count us in!" Adin and Adam took to the air, Brenda summoned a large sword, Hex, unfazed by the cold due to his ice mage affinity, lifted his hand and summoned an ice lance.
Nahim Wong, the spectral archer, conjured a bow pulsing with white energy.
A large shield that covered his entire build appeared in Cormach's grasp.
Of all of them, Nox was curious to see how Reyes, the guild master, would fare against the elemental beast.
Meanwhile, on a nearby mountain overlooking the lake, a tall, handsome youth with a cross-shaped scar just beneath his eyes watched the unfolding battle with intense interest.
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