The massive bear stood before them, its thick brown fur bristling in the wind, sharp claws digging into the ground.
As it erged from the shadows, it caught the smaller bear in its grasp. Harry and the group instinctively retreated, preparing themselves for an attack.
The mont the larger bear realized the cub was lifeless, a deafening roar tore through the jungle, sending shivers down Harry's spine. The ground trembled.
"Jump!" Liam's voice rang out.
Harry reacted instantly, summoning a space barrier beneath his feet and leaping onto it. Gracie flickered out of sight, reappearing three ters away. Liam was the fastest, dodging sideways with ease, while Eldrich and Nephis leaped backward just in ti.
Five jagged wooden spikes erupted from the ground where they had stood.
Had Liam not warned them, they would have been injured severely.
Harry used his montum to leap forward, forming another barrier, then another, climbing higher and higher until he was directly above the bear.
If they would have been in peaceful area, they would have appreciated how the barrier skill makes Harry seem flying.
Nephis infused her sword with Qi, slashing downward in a swift, fiery arc. But just as her blade neared its mark, a thick tree branch burst from the ground, blocking the strike. Though she sliced through it, the impact weakened her montum-not enough force to break through the bear's defenses.
The beast felt a sharp, numbing sensation in its legs and instinctively lashed out at Nephis with a powerful kick.
Before the blow could land, Eldrich conjured a swirling water sphere, yanking Nephis back to safety.
The battle had turned into an all-out assault. The hunters attacked relentlessly, giving bear no ti to retaliate.
Harry, still hovering above, watched as Gracie blurred toward the beast's legs. Her sword pulsed with soul energy, layered with a Qi-enhanced strike.
The force of an Elental Master Level 4 warrior crashed into the bear, cutting halfway through its thick hide. But it wasn't just the physical damage-the soul-infused attack struck its very mind. The bear's vision wavered, reality twisting into a chaotic blur. Every subsequent soul attack would deepen the effect, unraveling its ability to think, to react.
Its knees buckled.
Then ca another strike-from Liam, attacking the opposite knee. He hadn't chosen randomly. His special ability guided him, revealing the perfect mont to strike.
Harry seized the opportunity. Gathering all his Qi into his sword, he propelled himself downward from the barrier. The blade sank into the bear's neck, slicing through muscle and bone, then gliding along its spine in a single, devastating motion.
With a final, shuddering breath, the bear collapsed, its massive body crashing beside the carcass of the smaller cub.
[Wood Bear has been killed. 20,000 EXP received.]
[EXP: 35,400 / 102,400]
It was their first real challenge. Group had two Level 4 Elental Masters and one at Level 3, yet the bear's wood affinity could have turned the tide if they had given it ti.
But their relentless attack had left it no chance to fight back.
Then...
'Clap. Clap. Clap.'
"You're all impressive fighters. But today is your unlucky day."
A figure erged from the shadows, slow and deliberate.
The group tensed, instinctively closing ranks.
[Elental Master Level 7]
Harry's brows furrowed. "Level 7..."
The others stiffened. Their odds of survival had just plumted.
They didn't know how Harry knew exact level. Gracie and Tyler knew about the system.
"And you are?" Nephis demanded, her stance shifting, ready to counter any sudden attack.
The man smirked. "Does it matter? You won't be alive long enough to rember my na." He unsheathed a blade-a jet white weapon, eerily transparent, as if forged from solidified ice.
"He's strong," Harry warned.
The realization set in. A three-level difference. A gap they couldn't afford.
Nephis didn't hesitate. "Surround him. Attack together."
Last ti, she and Eldrich held back. Now, they couldn't afford to.
Nephis's sword ignited in dark red flas, illuminating the jungle. With a powerful swing, she brought it down on the man.
He didn't flinch.
Raising his glassy white blade with a single hand, he deflected the strike with ease.
"That's it?" His smirk deepened.
Nephis retreated as Eldrich launched a slicing wave of water toward the man's wrist, hoping to force him to block.
At that mont, Gracie flickered behind him, her sword aid for his neck, while Liam struck at his legs.
The man ducked.
A wall of ice materialized in front of Eldrich's attack, absorbing the impact. At the sa ti, a white ice shield ford on his wrist, catching Eldrich's water-infused blade. The ice spread rapidly, forcing Eldrich to stagger back.
As the man saw beneath to deal with Tyler, to find him missing.
anwhile, Tyler had soared above the battlefield using Harry's barriers, descending like a hawk. The man barely had ti to react. He couldn't block with his sword...so he raised an elbow.
Tyler's blade bit into flesh. Blood trickled down, but the wound was shallow.
A Level 7 was no easy target.
Eldrich summoned water to lt the encroaching ice then encased the enemy in a sphere of water.
The barrier turned to ice.
Then.
'Crack!'
It shattered instantly.
Ice spikes shot toward Eldrich.
"Oh, shit"
The spikes struck an invisible barrier. One barrier broke, then another, and another. Finally, the ice shattered.
The group regrouped, wary.
The man's expression darkened. He could easily take them down one by one, but there were too many variables. Fighting against a group wasn't just an additive disadvantage-it was a tactical nightmare.
More importantly, two of them possessed soul bodies, forcing him to divert a significant portion of his Qi to shield.
But he was still relaxed, he hadn't went all out. He was confident enough to deal with them.
Then-sothing unexpected.
He felt it. A creeping sensation. A weight in his chest.
"Fear."
His hands trembled. His breaths ca faster.
"Afraid?" Gracie's voice was laced with amusent, her smile widening.
His mind snapped to a realization. "An Elental Skill."
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