Trust in yourself.
Adam’s words echoed in Desmond’s mind. But what was there to trust? The Oozebloom Abomination was two whole tiers higher, a sylvan beast whose natural strength and weapons far outmatched him.
Even now, a shudder of wordless horror crept down his spine each ti he narrowly dodged roots that gouged the ground. The air thickened with dust and the rotten stench of venom. The barrier Adam had draped over hissed in mad resistance against the spores.
Hopeless.
End the beast? He could barely keep himself alive, his lightning mantle the only spell he could sustain to boost his speed. Yet, sothing, a disgusting feeling, churned in his gut when he glanced at the beast’s jaws closing on Adam.
He pressed his lips into a tight line, brows furrowed in a pained grimace. Adam had it worse. There must be sothing, anything, he could do to turn the tables.
’THINK!’ An inner roar returned clarity to his terror-muddled mind, and his thoughts raced with strategic purpose.
Reduce the mantle’s consumption, but will lose speed. Need ti to channel. Roots won’t let ... A range strike would take too much ti.
Then he rembered how Adam had fought, not the overwhelming display of physical resilience, but how he had woven mana while moving. That was it. Channel while dodging. An idea he would have called madness sprouted through his mind like wildfire, and his eyes cleared.
The lightning mantle covering him burst into lightning arcs, small at first, then thicker. They condensed, drawn at his feet into knee-high purple boots that shone with an almost tallic luster. Freed from its crackling shell, his uniform flapped as he leapt left and crouched in the sa motion. He felt faster, his speed more focused, and less draining.
But that was just the first step of his plan.
A long sword sizzled into existence. He gripped its hilt, his knuckles white, and charged toward the beast with a feverish roar. "I’ll believe in you who trusts !"
Wherever he stepped, sizzling footprints dug into the ground. The roots whipped at his back with the nimble fury of nature itself. They drilled into the ground, leaving pits covered in venom in his wake, the threat closing on his back with relentless abandon.
Yet, the beast’s countless eyes only saw him smirk, the sa confident smirk the prey struggling against its fangs had.
Three blue lightning circles ford ahead on Desmond’s path. His technique was quite simple. Over the years, he ca to understand that lightning could be either positively or negatively charged. And once these charges t, they repelled each other with surreal velocity. His purple lightning was positive. The blue negative.
And when his boots passed through the first circle...
The scenery blurred and his speed doubled, then doubled again, then again. The wind whipped against his face, distorting his cheeks into a rippling ss and hurting his eyes.
He reached the beast in a heartbeat, leaving a thundering trail behind him and his loud scream. "YAHOOOOO!"
His blade, also boosted by the negative circles, roared in its descent.
BOOM
The beast only had ti to see a purple flash before lightning exploded atop its head. It felt the bark crack from the crown down to its upper jaw. The tender wood beneath split, and fire ravaged it from the inside. It let out an agonising shriek, its fangs releasing Adam as its tentacles squird back.
Through the flas devouring many of its eyes, it saw Desmond bolt through its cleaved head with uncontrollable montum.
"AHHH!"
BAM
He crashed face-first against a tree, then slid down, nose bloody, and stars dancing in his vision.
Great. It would devour this dangerous bastard first.
Before it could take its first step, it saw Adam wipe the disgusting venom staining the spotless skin underneath. This one survived inside its mouth? Absurd...
And yet, he wove sky-blue mana pants to replace his uniform and smirked. "A bit rough, especially the landing, but not bad at all!" Purple lightning erupted into a long coat over his shoulders. "Makes want to play a bit."
The beast’s eyes widened—another lightning user! But Adam had already raised his palm. And with its rise, blots struck the shuddering soil, lting it into smooth slabs and carving steps between them. A crackling throne ford against his back, and he sat, resting his head on his palm with a playful smile like a monarch about to judge a rebellious subject.
The Oozebloom Abomination roared, roots flailing before it froze. Eyes wide, it stared at four colossal halberds roaring a malevolent tune of promised doom. They were all made of hateful lightning that sizzled around him. In front of them, the sa blue circle that the other human had used. Weaker... No, like the threads and halberds, they overlapped so tightly that countless seed like one.
"rcy!" it scread in human language, roots raised over the flas charring its skull.
Adam snapped his fingers without even considering its plea.
The halberds shot through the circles with a deafening roar. Their radiance turned into four blinding streaks when their speed multiplied exponentially.
BOOM
They crashed on the Oozebloom Abomination, drilling into bark, setting timber afla. The beast shrieked in agony, its venom vaporising into thick dark mist, joined by the ashes of its own body. Once the halberts lost montum from the collision, they burst into miniature lightning storms that zapped its nerves from inside its mouth. It tried to plead again, but only managed to twitch its root until fire ate through its head, and its tentacle body collapsed to the untouched ground like untethered roots.
Adam rose from his fading throne, pointed a thumb at his bare torso beneath the lightning coat, and snorted at the abomination’s remains. "You shouldn’t have touched my uniform."
With a sigh, he loaded a hovering mana crate with the timber, then knocked on the dazed teenager’s skull, his mana fixing his concussion.
Desmond shook his head, his vision clearing. "The abomination," his voice twanged when he saw Adam safe.
"Dead." Adam nodded. "You good?"
Leaning against the tree, Desmond slowly pushed his wobbling legs up, then nodded. "And you? The venom, the fangs... are you infected?"
Adam reached for Desmond’s pocket, shaking his head. He retrieved the boy’s talisman and placed it on the remains of the Oozebloom Abomination.
"Wait!" Desmond called out, but it was too late.
The talisman flared gray, and the image of the Oozebloom Abomination appeared on its empty surface.
Adam smiled as he handed it to Desmond. "You’re still rough, but fought well. You should have it."
Desmond raised his palms protectively. "I don’t even know how it died. No, no. It’s yours."
But Adam just shoved the talisman in the teenager’s chest pocket and waved. "Let’s head back."
"And you?" Desmond asked, his chest warming as he followed Adam. "You still haven’t filled your talisman, and ti’s running."
A bush rustled nearby, and Adam hurled a mana spear. A whimper echoed, and when he checked the body, he found a silver-furred wolf with bronze strips. "That’s mine," he grinned, but Desmond grimaced.
"It’s so weak—just a tier three Bronthil that must have co to scavenge on the Oozebloom’s remains."
"So what? I’m also just an apprentice." Adam placed his talisman on its head with a shrug. "Enough for ." He gave Desmond a teasing tap on the back. "Anyway, think we’ll get those two hundred points?"
Desmond wanted to nod but stopped mid-movent, his face growing solemn. "Hard to say if Trevor and Nadia tead up. Jonathan is also strong, with many friends."
"So the competition will be between our three groups." Adam tucked his fingers around his chin. "Then may the best win. Hahaha!"
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AN: Longer Chapter and end of the battle.
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