Rick darted through the clearing, the dark mist enveloping him like a second shadowy skin, swirling with an eerie, inky glow.
The Filthy Swarrs sensed him, their mandibles snapping hungrily with a wet, guttural clack, but he did not hesitate.
"Umbra Velum, Tenebris Strictae!" he murmured, a strange smile curling on his face, his eyes glinting with a manic spark.
Liquid shadows erupted from the ground, ensnaring the first Swarrs in black tentacles that crushed them with a sinister crackle, their viscous forms oozing a foul, acrid ichor. Their slimy bodies writhed, but Rick did not stop.
He felt mana pulsing through his veins, his affinity for darkness making him euphoric. This was no longer the weak ability he had once used against a dummy, holding it for a re mont.
It was far more. But Rick was not satisfied.
Not enough; I must push further! His eyes began to glow with a deep, inky black, like twin voids swallowing light.
Inspired by the monsters before him and his own shadow, Rick tried sothing new.
"Umbra Velum, Vorax Noctis!"
The shadows condensed into ethereal jaws, ink-like mouths that devoured two Swarrs whole, dissolving them into dark particles, leaving behind a faint, shimring residue in the air.
Mana drained faster, threatening to deplete quickly, but the power was intoxicating. "Yes, like this!"
Lian reached him in a flash, his Steel 1 body making him faster, stronger. "Rick, you idiot, why did you go alone—" he shouted, but his words caught in his throat. "Damn it, what the hell is going on?" he murmured, incredulous, his breath visible in the chilly forest air.
The power of Rick’s spells was on another level compared to what Lian knew. "I will ask him later; he seems to be holding his own," he shook his head, thinking to himself.
He had just acquired a new ability tied to his Knight path. He wanted to test it.
A monster approached him rapidly, its red eyes blazing like embers, but to Lian, its speed was nothing. "Let us see what happens—" Lian drew his arm back, but before throwing a punch at the monster, he began rotating it, forming an imaginary circle.
The mont he completed the rotation, an incredible force he did not know he had exploded from his arm. He imdiately threw the punch forward, colliding with the approaching Swarr’s head.
A mont later—
Splash!
Starting from the head, the monster’s entire body exploded into a grueso mix of flesh and blood, splattering across the forest floor.
Before Lian could even marvel at the punch’s power, more monsters approached, undeterred by their companion’s death.
Lian did not move. He wanted to test the defensive power at the core of his body.
The Swarrs’ sharp teeth reached him in an instant, biting every inch of his skin with a piercing, scraping sound. However...
Not a drop of blood left his body, only a slight annoyance, as if he were being pinched by tiny, stinging needles.
"Interesting..." he smiled, his lips curving with quiet confidence. Then he began punching all the monsters that approached, trying to draw other geotric shapes with his body.
Soon, Lian discovered that drawing a circle granted more explosive power, a triangle more speed, a square more resistance and sturdiness, and an oval...
"Unexpected..." he murmured, slightly incredulous. The oval gave unpredictability to his attacks, making them not only sudden but also extrely fluid. He could control his strength better.
But it was not just arm movents. Every part of his body could move according to these geotric shapes.
And the enhancent from the geotric shape did not apply only to the next attack but lasted for a few seconds.
While Lian’s smile seed one of satisfaction, killing monsters barehanded, Rick’s was entirely different. He seed to enjoy himself in a sadistic way.
He felt exhilaration from killing monsters with his shadows, evident in how he shouted and cheered with joy every ti a monster exploded into flesh and gore, its remains staining the earth.
More and more monsters were killed by the duo, but the number of Swarrs seed undiminished.
"He is stealing the spotlight again," Trevor said, frowning, his brow furrowed with irritation.
Without wasting more ti, he glanced at his two team mbers and charged toward the monstrous army.
Rebecca, Christopher, and Devis did the sa, rushing ferociously toward the monster army, which had now gotten close enough to the rest of the students.
Amidst this, three figures had ashen expressions. "Hey, since when is Rick this powerful?"
"I have no idea, but this is insane... at this rate, we will lose the bet!" The other group mber did not respond, his eyes fixed on the destruction caused by Lian and Rick.
"It is not over yet," he said finally, unsheathing an artifact shaped like a spear, its blade gleaming with a faint blue hue. "We are three, and we are stronger. With this approach, those two will soon run out of energy. Co on, let us go!"
Of course, the three were Marcus and his two lackeys, the group that had lent Rick money and wanted it back with outrageous interest.
Driven by the incredible energy of Rick and Lian and seeing how they effortlessly destroyed dozens of monsters, the other students joined the fight.
Hundreds of spells flew against the monsters, destroying many and injuring others. But the Swarrs were nurous, utterly unintimidated by their kin’s deaths.
With fury, they began clashing against the front line of students. Their weapons glead with magic, the runes on them glowing faintly with arcane light.
The monsters could not match the strongest. But they had the advantage of numbers.
Many Swarrs rushed toward the backlines, where the weaker students cast their spells undisturbed. Needless to say, the students were quickly overwheld.
Many began pressing the button on their bracelets, activating a barrier to assist in their retreat, a faint shimr enveloping their forms.
Other stronger students, the Silver Mages, stood aside, waiting for the right mont to protect struggling students from certain death.
This was a test, after all, not a massacre. Among these students were Gin, Pixie, and Adam. Their gazes were fixed on Lian, astonished beyond reason.
"Am I mistaken, or did that new Rune Master just advance? When we saw him earlier, he did not have that aura..." Adam tilted his head, surprised by what he was seeing, his eyes narrowing in curiosity.
Gin rely watched the young man’s movents closely, studying them. "He may have a powerful physique, but he moves poorly, like a beginner. He needs training."
Pixie rolled her eyes. "Always thinking about training... that guy gives chills. If he had your sword skills, would he not be on another level? What would beco of the rest of us then?"
While everyone discussed the ongoing scene, a girl with a dazed appearance lagged behind, incredulous.
She did not expect her teammates to be so powerful and ferocious...
Shaking her head vigorously and giving herself a light slap on the cheeks, Clara, the third mber of Lian’s group, decided to get to work.
Ard with an artifact, she ran at full speed toward the monsters, joining the "fun," her blonde twin tails bouncing with each step.
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