Unbeknownst to the party, three knights in heavy armor emerged through Avaloria Frostpeak''s gate.
The eldest among them, his face creased with age but a sly grin ying on his lips, spoke with authority, "Simple task. Retrieve the boy. Dispose of the rest."
The two middle-aged knights nodded, rearing for a fight after years of rotting as city guards. After all, who would be stupid enough to cause trouble before Alkemia Al-Nour''s gates?
Thomas and his two acolytes came here as soon as they learned about Julius''s expedition. The set-up was perfect. They would simply abduct the boy and disguise the death of the party as an ident caused by a beast stampede.
With that n in mind, they quickly set off in the cave''s direction, ready to enact their sinister n.
*****
Simultaneously, as the dust dispersed, Adam quickly re-materialized his mage''s hand to grab a talisman from Julius'' pouch and stuck it on the bear''s face.
Everyone gawked at the scene. Before themy the humongous body of the bear, or what was left of it...
The Ethereal Radiance pierced its body, activating the Radiant re enchantment within and causing its belly to burst. The white and bluendscape of the cave ended up painted a blood-red color as pieces of flesh and organs covered the floor and nearby walls.
Upon seeing the gruesome spectacle, Asha bent down, vomiting, while Arun paled. Despite watching the bear closely, he struggled toprehend what had transpired. The only thing he heard were the two boom sounds.
Louise was less shocked by the scene, as she had seen her fair share of blood. However, the attack power left a deep mark on her heart. She questioned herself. Could she, one day, be that strong? Why was Adam a ghost? Could he be resurrected?
Unfortunately, resurrection requires being alive in this world initially, a condition Adam did not meet.
Then, they saw the talisman stuck on the bear''s head begin to glimmer before being carried to Adam.
"Hahaha. See how I''ll summon your kind to fight for me in battle monster, fucker!" He giggled, throwing the talisman, now depicting the cial Bear in the middle with a row of texts exining its abilities to Julius.
"Nine more to go before I run out of talismans. I should aim for tier-three magic beasts to form the strongest deck. Hahaha." Adamughed like a maniac, making Julius facepalm at his excitement for that weird game. After all, he didn''t see Adam ask about the rules or anything...
"Refrain from intervening. The kids are here to gain experience, not for you to do everything, big bro," Shiro suddenly said, making Julius frown in displeasure.
"I''ll kill any bear I see," Adam bluntly wrote before checking his kill notification.
[Tier 2 Elite magical beast: cial Bear. You have gained 200 experience points.]
"Status," Adam muttered, eager to finally progress.
Name: Adam
Talent: Unlocked at thirteen
Job: Tier one alchemist
ss: T2 Mana Conjuror
LVL: 4
Exp: 60/160
HP: 198/198
Vitality: 14->19.8
Strength: 14.6->20.4
Agility: 14.8->20.6
Intelligence: 46.8
Free attribute points: 15->0
Items: Grimoire Lingua, Beastbane Dagger, Manacore Heartgem, Ethereal Radiance, Gaston''s Sovereign Eye.
Spells: Active: T1 spells: Illuminate LV1, Mana shield LV2, Magical Perception LV1.
Other: Mana bullet LV MAX, Atom Burst LVL MAX, Mage''s hands LVL3.
Passive: Mana Control T3, Enhanced Intuition T1, Dagger mastery T1, Spear mastery T2,
Mana Shaping T2.
Note: Soul is damaged... You''re doing great! (Please use proper paths.)
Adam noticed his natural stats increase improved from 0.1 to 0.2 by level. Kwame''s promotion technique doubled everything, and even his intelligence benefited!
Satisfied with the enhancements and adhering to the same allocation method, he floated behind his friends, eager to fight tier-three beasts.
After a few minutes, they spotted their next prey: A creaturebining the serpentine form of a snake with humanoid upper body features. Its muscr body was covered in shimmering scales that gleamed with an icy hue, reflecting the ambient light with a mesmerising allure.
Frost-covered ws adorned the arms sprouting from its humanoid torso, each capable of freezing victims with a deadly touch.
Its visage was both elegant and terrifying, with piercing blue eyes that radiated an otherworldly chill and a mouth filled with sharp, jagged teeth glistening with frost. As it moved, the Frost Naga glided gracefully through its domain, leaving behind a trail of frost and ice in its wake.
One of its most potent abilities was its mesmerising gaze, which could ensnare unwary travelers, leaving them paralysed with fear as it closed in for the kill. Its icy tail was equally deadly, capable of delivering a freezing strike that could encase its prey in a sheath of ice within moments.
"Not good. We already reached the Frost Naga''s territory." Shiro eximed before adding, "They are solitary hunters, stalking prey from the shadows in icy caverns. We might be ambushed at any moment starting now."
She briefly pondered before deciding.
"It is too dangerous to continue. It will be yourst fight before I bring you back to the college for today. Also, I''ll lead the fight. That creature is adept at using ice magic and is usually in thete stage of the second tier." She exined, taking her supervisor role seriously.
The kids nodded, understanding the gravitas of the situation. If they were to be ambushed by such powerful creatures, they were sure to be wounded or, even worse, die.
"Alright, support me from the rear. I''ll fight it in melee with Julius." She gave her instructions before striking her fists against each other, causing her gauntlets to echo loudly in the vicinity and her long, leather coat to flutter in the wind.
Then, she charged at the frost naga, throwing a powerful palm while casting a spell. The wind howled as she created a shockwave that collided with the creature''s scary head, making it jerk backwards.
Subsequently, she released her spell after less than five seconds of casting, creating a crushing pressure to crash on the creature.