Thomas'' eyes widened as an elegant, crystalline spear materialised in a three-fingered hand made of pure mana. His experience and intuition screamed at him that something terrible would befall him. So, without wasting a single second, he jumped to the side.


    BOOM


    BOOM


    Explosions echoed as shockwaves rocked the ground where he had stood moments ago.


    Regaining his bnce, Thomas clenched his teeth, his gaze fixed on the spear lodged in the ckened earth for a second before mobilising the mana inside his body to his legs.


    As he lunged at Shiro, he disappeared again from everyone''s view, including Adam''s.


    "Tsk. You already used that. It won''t work again!" Adam said, clicking his tongue after his failed attack.


    He dismissed his spear while firing five mana bullets around Shiro to hit the knight during his dash. Then, he instantly created another mage''s hand.


    Sadly, Thomas'' keen eyes saw the attacking. Straining his powerful legs, he briefly halted his momentum, watching as the bullet collided with the ground before resuming.


    Closing the distance to Shiro, he prepared to strike when a primal dagger silently sliced through the air in a wide arc, hitting his Achilles tendon.


    "ARGH! " Pain surged through Thomas, his resolve tested by the sudden setback. This wound would make things much harder. After all, he just lost his speed.


    Upon hearing the pained scream, Shiro jumped back in panic. For the second time, Thomas had dangerously closed the distance and was at striking range while she stood clueless about the threat.


    Then, she opened her mouth, casting a spell to retaliate.


    "HAHAHA!" Simultaneously, Adamughed madly before adding. "You are in the third tier? Great! Let''s see how you''re going to fare in my deck!"


    Feeling a chill run down his spine, Thomas gave up any doubts holding him back. His situation looked grim. Fighting the anomalous ghost was already a pain, but now he had to deal with Shiro, too, since he couldn''t rely on speed.


    He leapt back, his left leg propelling him away as his hand darted to his pouch, retrieving a blood-red pill. With a grimace etched on his face, he clenched it tightly.


    Arun''s eyes widened in fear as he recognised the terrifying drug.


    "STOP HIM!" He warned, his voice trembling.


    "You forced me to use that..." Thomas muttered before biting and swallowing the pill under the boy''s terrified eyes.


    Adam''s eyes narrowed into thin slits as heunched the mage''s hand to stab the unmoving knight, rmed by Arun''s agitation.


    CLINK


    The sound of shing metal echoed in the cave as the dagger rebounded on its target''s skin.


    Subsequently, a whirlwind of pure mana and life force engulfed Thomas'' body, making his white hair dance wildly.


    Soon, the passage of time seemed to reverse as his wrinkly face became supple and smooth again. Before they could marvel at his sudden rejuvenation, they saw long and sharp fangs grow from his mouth in horror.


    Red fur sprouted all over his face, giving him a bestial appearance. His muscles bulged, andrge, snake-like veins crisscrossed them as his armor groaned and deformed in protest.


    He swiftly unstrapped the now useless piece of metal, revealing a torso covered in fur, his nails elongated, transforming into sharp ws as a furry tail grew from his lower back,pleting his metamorphosis.


    Adam''s eyes widened in surprise. Before him, a man standing two meters and a half tall gazed at him calmly, his bleeding right foot totally healed.


    "What the heck is that? Did he turn into a half-monkey?" He eximed, his mind full of questions, while Julius'' party''s legs gave in, their faces filled with despair.


    Thomas'' figure appeared less terrifying and grotesque than Marco''s, but that was what horrified them the most. It only meant that the life force settled in his body much better than it did for the traitorous guard.


    Thomas clenched his fists, relishing in the power he had been aiming to possess his whole life, his arms trembling with excitement.


    "Surrender. Fighting would be a waste of time." He said, his voicemending after assessing his abilities.


    "Haaaa? It''s sad for you, but this word doesn''t exist in my vocabry!" The ghost answered, re-materialising his Ethereal Radiance and recing the Beast Bane dagger in the mage''s hand.


    "Sight. After witnessing your brilliant fighting style, I thought I would be speaking with a strategist. But look at you... You seem as immature as the kid you''re protecting." Thomas answered, grinning mockingly, his eyes fixed on Adam''s body.


    "Oh? As immature, you say?" Adam responded, his brows twitching in annoyance. "I''M EVEN MORE IMMATURE, APE!"


    As he roared thest part, he channelled eighty percent of his mana tounch the most devastating strike he ever did. After all, consuming the Elixir of rity deepened his mana reserves, allowing him to draw more power.


    The spear disappeared, seemingly teleporting from his side to collide with Thomas'' torso.


    BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM BOOM


    BOOM


    Then, six deafening explosions resounded, and the cave trembled slightly as a mushroom of dust and fire engulfed the abomination''s body.


    The spear reached such speed that it broke through the sound barrier, its impact echoing in the aftermath.


    "Don''t... ever call me immature again, fucker." Adam said, his breathing ragged after he invested so much mana in a single strike. But he grinned at the result, confident he obliterated his hateful enemy.


    However, his eyes widened as Thomas'' voice cut through the chaos as he swiped his arm to disperse the dust and mes."That hurts, immature kid."


    The attack wounded him, but only superficially. In fact, the only real damage visible was the ckened fur.


    "Shit..." Adam said under his breath, his mind already racing to find a solution.


    "My turn. Witness the strength of a body cultivator in the middle stage of the fourth tier," he said, reappearing in front of Adam, swiping his deadly ws at his ethereal figure.


    By pure reflex and instinct, the ghost made the nearby atoms detonate while floating back in a panic, not doubting that Thomas'' strike could reach his ghostly form.


    ''I can''t win. I''m running low on mana, and my bullets won''t prate his leather-like skin. He is too fast.'' He analysed his despairing situation in a second, a calctive glint in his eyes as his gazended on the unconscious boy.