Free Web NovelChapter 5: Slaying a Third-Stage Abomination
Ryven froze for a moment. "Wait... Did you just said people?"
He asked skeptically. At first, he felt a surge of relief—there were other humans in this place.
But that relief quickly faded when he thought about it cautiously. In a place like this, there was no guarantee they were sane.
"Indeed, I saw some people. They were strong, but still no match against a Fifth-Stage abomination."
"To be honest... I could’ve saved one or two if I had level up to ten immediately."
She sighed quitely.
"I also wouldn’t have been this injured in escaping from that Fourth-Stage abomination earlier."
Earlier, her ability was really weak, and her mana was also so limited that, she had to constantly calculate the amount she use.
Now that Ryven was awake, her Mana had increased significantly, as he had already used the accumulated experience points to enhance it.
On top of that, unlocking a new ability further boosted her strength.
If she had this kind of strength from the beginning, everything would have gone much smoother during her hunt.
Ryven could only smile apologetically.
Based on what she had said, their coordinated behavior suggested a certain level of intelligence, which meant he should be able to communicate with them.
"I’ll take the blame for that. But for now, we need to find those people. Surely there should be more of them."
"R-right... Would you mind carrying me while we travel?" Ryven asked softly, his ears visibly reddening.
His body was weak and slightly overweight.
He at least knew that, he wouldn’t be able to keep up if they started running through the forest.
Although he had already promised himself he would get into shape soon, now clearly wasn’t the time.
Looking at his somewhat pathetic figure, Samminah rubbed her delicate temples.
"You’re a burden."
She spoke, a trace of irritation in her voice, as she effortlessly lifted him with one arm and threw him over her shoulder.
"I know..." Ryven admitted shamelessly.
Jumping out of the nest, Samminah and Ryven saw a huge pile of snake bones. Ryven felt a little enlightened realizing where the bones had came from.
"Hmm... Do you think Fred is capable of defeat that thing?"
Ryven remarked while inspecting the remains. It definitely looked like a serpent, Fred must have encountered it near the tree.
If Fred was truly able to defeat this thing, Ryven’s expectations for the skeleton would skyrocket.
"Of course not. I reduced it to the brink of death. The skeleton only delivered the final blow."
"I helped it slay a few abominations so it could at least keep up with my growth."
Upon hearing that, Ryven felt slightly disappointed. His high expectations of the skeleton faded immediately.
Well, it’s still impressive feat to defeat that kind of creature, even though it’s in the brink of death. He mumbled in his heart.
After a brief pause, Ryven offered a suggestion.
"Let’s head in the opposite direction from where you saw those people earlier. We don’t want to encounter that Fifth-Stage abomination."
Samminah gave a slight nod, "Very well."
...
At the same time, within the foggy forest, a young man with deep black hair and amber eyes watched in horror as one of his friends was devoured alive, his body torn in half.
"N-No... Liam?!"
Beside him, a boy with light brown hair and eyes spoke in a terrified tone.
"I’m sorry, Hans... We should’ve listened to your warning and not broken the rules of the village."
"I’ll take responsibility for my decision, so please run and call for help. I’ll hold this creature off for you."
Hans barely heard what the light brown-haired boy beside him said.
His thoughts were completely thrown into chaos by the scene in front of him.
The creature loomed hunched over, its face completely absent, no eyes, no nose, only a mouth filled with extremely sharp teeth. Bone spikes stuck out from its spine, and adding to its terrifying appearance was its grey skin.
Anyone would be petrified at such a sight.
However, the light brown-haired boy, Austin, stood firm, he gripped his sword tightly, ready to fight the strange creature.
In a blink of an eye, the abomination closed in, slashing its claws in a wide arc.
Austin raised his sword, perfectly blocking the attack. But a second and third slash followed immediately. His arms grew numb with each block.
Hans stood petrified on the sidelines.
"What are you doing?! I told you to run!"
Hearing that, Hans’s body refused to hesitate any longer, he turned around and quickly ran.
His speed was extraordinary, even surpassing an expert runner at full sprint.
I’m sorry... I’m sorry...
Tears fell from his amber eyes as guilt assaults both of his mind and heart.
They had only planned to leave the village briefly to gather flowers, as someone instructed. Who would’ve expected such a tragedy?
After a few seconds, he heard Austin’s scream.
Only then did he realize he had been running in the wrong direction.
Sh*t...
A sense of dread washed over him. His face turned pale, his heart sinking into a bottomless abyss, swallowed by deep despair.
I’m going to die...? Austin’s sacrifice is useless...?
After just a minute, he felt a figure drawing closer behind him. Sweat drenched his back as death approached.
Knowing his end was near, he didn’t want to die as a coward. freewebnovёl.ƈom
He stopped and turned around, forcing down the fear in his heart.
The abomination tilted its head, seemingly amused by the futile resistance he will make.
It then attacked him.
Although Hans had been trained since childhood, fighting this kind of abomination was still suicide.
After all, his abilities were long-ranged.
Despite awakening an S-Class Rank System, which named ’Archmage’ he was still young and had many weaknesses, particularly in close combat.
At the moment, he couldn’t even use his abilities since they required time to cast.
Thus, Hans fought with only a sword and a bronze shield, which he conjured from his inventory.
Although he specialized in using a staff, it would be ineffective in close combat.
After several exchanges against the abomination’s fierce claws, he soon realized something strange, the creature seemed to be deliberately avoiding fatal blows.
It was clearly toying with him.
Ten minutes passed.
His body was now covered with deep wounds. His face and skin had grown pale, resembling that of a corpse.
The creature whom had been toying with him now seemed bored.
It slowly stepped forward.
Looking at the arrogant creature, his eyes burned with madness. His earlier fear vanished, replaced by deep hatred.
"I’m going to f*cking kill all of your kinds if I ever get a second chance!"
The creature seemed to simply scoff at his words.
But before it could take another step forward.
A crescent-shaped moonlight blade shot forward, piercing deeply into the ground before it.
"Good, we’ve made it just in time."
Ryven immediately jumped down from Samminah’s arms and approached the boy, who looked to be fifteen or sixteen and was on the brink of death.
Hans looked at the three figures in a daze.
The first was a woman with an alluring figure, half of her face was hidden beneath a thick purple veil mask. With a glance from her, Hans felt a deep chill across his body.
The second was an ordinary-looking young man, except for his shining golden-brown eyes.
Behind him stood a strange skeleton. frёewebηovel.cѳm
Sensing no hostility from them, Hans finally exhaled in relief.
"Thank you..."
He muttered before losing consciousness.
Thankfully Ryven caught him just in time.
"It seems this kid had a rough time..."
Ryven looked at the boy with pity and gently placed him against the trunk of a tree.
Meanwhile, Samminah gazed at the creature.
As she did, it trembled in fear as if sensing something about her.
"Mm. This should be perfect to test how strong my Moon Luminesce ability currently is..."
Slowly, a faint purple mist manifested around her. It was a versatile ability that enhanced each of her abilities, such as concealment and moonlight blade. It could also heal wounds.
Not only that, it could also heal the soul and mind, while even possessing the ability to attack the soul to a certain extent. In other words, this ability was considered incredibly versatile.
But with her current mana, she could only conjure two Moon Luminesce.
She analyzed the abomination and murmured in deep disgust.
"So that creature’s descendants are still alive?"
She didn’t launch the two moonlight blades floating beside her. Instead, she watched, savoring the fear, that was written across the abomination.
It was consumed by fear, it trembled uncontrollably with Samminah’s presence.
It immediately fled and vanished into the thick fog. Upon seeing it left, Ryven frowned a little, before asking in puzzlement.
"Why did you let that creature go?"
"Who said I’d let it go?" Samminah shrugged, and the two enhanced moonlight blade shot forward.
Eventually, the moonlight blade vanished into the thick fog.
However, it continued shooting forward along the path the abomination had taken, eventually catching up to the creature, strengthened by her mana and enveloped in Moon Luminesce.
The speed and force of the two moonlight blade were far stronger than before.
It soon made contact with the abomination’s neck. It didn’t pierce easily, as the creature offered futile resistance, tightening its skin.
It was after all a Third-Stage abomination.
But, even a Third-Stage abomination had its weaknesses. In an instant, its neck was severed.
Samminah yawned lightly, a hint of satisfaction crossing her expression.
Fortunately, fear had already overwhelmed the creature. Had it attacked her, it would have been far more troublesome than ordinary Third-Stage abominations.
[??? Had slained a Third-Stage, Night Crawler]
