Chương 21: Evolving Threat

Sint sucked in a quick breath, then flipped over in the air to land on her feet. She always did. A quick look at her knife confirmed that it was fine. The Inscribed Glyphs were still glowing steadily. While the blow from the monster had been pretty strong, it wasn't anything to worry about. She could do this. With or without that crazy bastard's help. Said bastard was calmly leaning against a rock.

He looked very happy that he was staying out of the battle, like he had made a fantastic decision and was proud of himself for doing so. That man… The Wolbear howled another roar. That combined noise should have sounded awkward, but if anything, it made Sint's soul wish it could flee her body. She took a quick, self-fortifying breath. No. No getting scared or intimidated. Certainly no letting it show on her face or her posture.

She had to face down her fears, even if it took the form of a gargantuan monster that could bite her in half. Sint could do this. As the Wolbear charged in with blistering speed, Sint didn't even attack. She knew how to approach this. She had trained to fight beasts of this kind on the wild plains and dense jungles of Revorel. All she had to do was pull her arm back. Then chuck her stiletto just as the Wolbear overcommitted to its charge.

Sint dashed off to one side as the monster rushed through where she had been a second ago. With her knife buried in its eye. It should have gone all the way through to its brain, thanks to the Glyph of Penetration she had Inscribed on it. That should have killed it. But she either hadn't flung it hard enough, or as was more likely, its resilience was just too strong at Gold. That fact made Sint frown. When she had first seen the monster, her Inscribed Glyph of Warning hadn't glowed at all.

Which meant it had been below her rank. But then, all of a sudden, its rank had suddenly risen. Fast. Sint couldn't recall ever seeing a phenomenon like that. A monster's rank rising a whole rank-tier in the span of a minute? Impossible. But then, she was within a fake reality constructed inside a dome of Living Mana. The impossible was supposed to be eminently possible here. Her eyes fell to Ryland.

He was focused on her opponent, though, so Sint quickly refocused as the monster got back to its feet with a pained growl. Its ruined eye was weeping blood and pus around the stiletto blade. Sint decided to put it out of its misery. Fake or real, it didn't need to suffer. Just as it rose to its overlong feet with a roar, Sint cast her actual spell." [Rupture]." Mana surged through Sint.

Her core, brimming with magic, now let it loose as her spell circle came to life, Subglyphs sizzling with ferocious red and orange light around the gleaming greenish-gold of her Soul Glyph of Distortion. The right side of the monster's skull exploded in a gory burst. Her stiletto clattered away on the ground as the Wolbear thumped down, more blood pooling around its corpse. Sint retrieved her stiletto. The Inscribed Glyph of Repair was already repelling all the blood and nasty bits.

Honestly, it was a small marvel how many Glyphs she had been able to fit on one relatively small weapon. The potency of Glyphs was determined by the prowess of the caster, not by their literal size. But still. It was a feat she was proud of. A feeling that faded in the mental fray she was experiencing just then. There were too many other sensations calling for her attention. Weren't the Wolbears being tackled by a different team not that far from them? What in the world had happened to them?

And where in the world were Alendra and Kendren? How was Alendra still too afraid of heights to proceed at a time like this? And what in all the Realms was wrong with Ryland? Admittedly, that last concern brought with it such a whole quagmire of thoughts, she decided the best thing to do was to momentarily discard him from her mind. She didn't want to think about the calamitous levels of magic he had displayed. She had no wish to ruminate on what he was thinking or aiming for.

She was also getting tired of being wary of him all the time. Hmm, no achievement from the Grand Frame just yet. That was concerning. As if to echo her concern, Ryland spoke.

"Careful. It's not over yet." Sint whirled around.

"Curse the Calamities," she muttered. Ryland tutted for some reason. More of the Wolbears were popping up all around the area. They didn't look happy at all. Sint wondered if they had been holding back, falsely believing that the one she had killed would have subdued her without trouble. Only, it was dead now. And Sint was still standing. Then she called herself stupid for ascribing reasonable behavioural patterns to fake creatures constructed from Living Mana. She tightened her grip on her stilettos.

The monsters approaching her were even larger than the ones she had killed. The Glyph of Warning Inscribed on the back of her neck screamed that she was outmatched. That if these were Gold-ranked, then they had to be high Gold at that. Gold [70], Gold [80] maybe, or even higher. Way stronger than Sint herself. Worse yet, even a single use of [Rupture] cost a decent chunk of mana. Her manasoul was already feeling the first hints of strain.

She had potions to quaff on hand, but nowhere near enough to deal with that entire horde of monsters. Her eyes inadvertently fell to Ryland, who had raised his eyebrows at her. Almost daring her to ask. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Not for his help. Oh no, never that. What she really wanted to ask was why not a single one of the monsters was looking at him. Ryland shrugged, almost like she had spoken it aloud.

"I'll be here in case you need me." He was right. Sint really could use some help right about now. Even the other two would have been fine. Alendra might have been afraid of heights, but if she let it hold her back, then this team of theirs was done for. Sint forgot about it all. The monsters all roared as one, rising onto their hind legs. It made her realize just how enormous the Wolbears really were. They towered over her, easily over five times as tall, wider than a dozen of her standing shoulder to shoulder.

And there were at least seven of them all prowling in her direction. Daring her to start a desperate battle to survive the monstrous onslaught. Sint scowled. Screw that. Her Glyphs ignited. She shot at the beasts. The nearest one leaped at her with a vicious cry, just as the very first Wolbear had done. Sint grinned. She was ready for this. With a twist of her foot, she was able to change her momentum just enough.

Her left knife rose up to the right height, her Tier [6] Glyph of Deflection shining along the blade's length. Sint was able to push the Wolbear's impact off to one side, her second knife rising to the same spot as her first and stabbing in. She let the monster's own momentum carry it past her, her Inscribed Glyphs of Penetration and Distortion carving a gory gorge along the Wolbear's length. She steadied herself, trying to prevent her heart from exploding in her chest.

Her clawed hand gripped the stilettos ever tighter. Two down, just a few more— The next Wolbear grew even larger. Even stronger. And just to emphasize that growth, spikes burst out of its hide, turning it into a nightmare of flesh and bone that no real living creature could possibly have emulated. Sint's eyes twitched. Another evolution right in front of her. What in the world was going on? Even Ryland was entertaining a tiny frown on his seemingly unflappable brows.

"If you wish—""I'm fine." Sint steeled herself as the first monsters approached. The Trial Zone was testing her. If she couldn't do this on her own, then how could she ever call herself a deserving student of Arcoryx Academy? The next spiky, bolstered Wolbear slammed itself forward. So did Sint. But this next exchange didn't go anywhere near as smoothly as her previous ones. From the very onset, she was on the back foot. Her Glyphs failed to match up.

The Glyph of Barricade didn't stop her from being sent hurtling back. Distortion and Penetration barely left scratches on the monster's hide. It was only by using the Glyph of Empowerment Inscribed on her body that she was able to move fast enough to avoid the worst of the danger. The ground cracked. Tension coiled within Sint as her manasoul buzzed like lightning.

Teeth snapped in open air mere fingerbreadths from her face, claws swiped through the space she had occupied a blink ago, the very air feeling like it was charged with the intent of ending her. Rocks went flying at every impact that just barely missed her. Stray bony protrusions nearly caught her every other second. This was getting insane. Even as Sint jumped over low swipes and barely rolled away from barrelling charges, she was starting to fight off the panic as much as she was battling her opponent.

How had things turned so desperate in the blink of an eye? What in the name of the forsaken Calamities was going on? Sint threw herself back. More Wolbears were joining the attempt to kill her. The entire battlefield was turning into a lumbering mass of monstrous claws and teeth and bony spikes. And fur that was far too abrading. All she could do now was keep her distance. Openings were a lot harder to come by, but if she remained patient, she'd be able to carve out a few.

A tidal wave of werewolf-bears crashed upon her. For the briefest instant, Sint's breath caught in her throat. Then she threw her knife through the tiny gap between the bodies." [Rupture]." Space warped. Sint's body was forced to distort. She hated the instant it took for her to break through space and appear at her targeted location. Thankfully, the moment was infinitesimally brief.

"Ah," Ryland said distractedly.

"So that's how you leaped across the gap."

"That's what you're concerned with?" Sint asked, incredulous.

"And why did none of those things target you?" Behind Sint, the monsters had crashed against each other. Their bloodlust and ferocity had them ripping away from each so ferociously, they left grave wounds and splattered blood all around. It was a little humbling to see that they were hurting each other more than she had done. But that also meant she had a clearer idea of how to tackle the current problem.

"Well, if you really wanted to know," Ryland said.

"I'm starting to theorize about the phenomenon of Living Mana growing stronger in my presence. I've been able to verify the deeper link I was suspecting, though in this case, the dome's specific properties are worsening—""Sorry, Ryland. I need you to take the heat for a moment." The wall of monsters charged at Sint again. It seemed just Ryland's presence alone wasn't stopping them.

She wasn't sure if she'd have preferred that, but after seeing that [Sun Summoning] spell, she wouldn't have blamed even seemingly mindless monsters from halting themselves against him. Still. That wasn't the case here as the monsters barrelled at the two of them. Sint jumped straight up through the air a second before the Wolbears dived in altogether at once. Mindless was an understatement.

The monsters screamed and roared, their vocal cords shredding the air itself as a cloud of dust and debris erupted in her wake. Ryland had disappeared entirely. Something annoyingly told Sint he was perfectly fine. She quickly quaffed a mana potion as she rose and plummeted a second later, her knife flashing with the Glyphs she needed to win this. Going for a deathblow from above might have culled one of the monsters, but it wouldn't let her snatch victory. So instead, she aimed for the side.

Penetration and Distortion left a terrific wound on a confused Wolbear that had collided with several of its oversized brethren. Now, as Sint dashed away after delivering the heavy wound, it screamed piercingly and fell panicking against several other monsters. Leaving one isolated for her to take care of. If she could just kill a single monster, then at least that would prove… What? What would it prove? That she really deserved to enter Arcoryx and fulfil her dreams?

That she had made the right decision to leave Revorel and begin life here? Sint growled, even if it failed to match the thunder of the Wolbear charging at her. Then they collided against each other. The battle turned furious. Sint's blade flashed and sliced, her Glyphs burning bright. Her opponent's blows kept crashing in too fast, impacting her with far too much power. A cold dread tried to tell her that the Wolbear was beyond Gold, well into Adamantine now.

Her arms were juddering, and she barely avoided the worst of the monster's attacks. Sint was supposed to be winning. She had isolated one of the beasts while keeping the rest busy so she could take them out one by one. And yet— She got caught by a spike. Her robe tore open, as did her shoulder, hot pain preceding a spray of blood as she was sent flying backwards. Sint managed to roll over the ground and get back to her feet, casting a Glyph of Healing at the same time.

Mana writhed through her, bending into a mending shape that quickly stitched her shoulder back together. She didn't get back into the fight, however. As she got upright again, she found that she was next to Ryland. Who was calmly standing atop a mountainous pile of the Wolbears. Sint was in the middle of a fight. Her heart was thumping and her blood was singing with the song of the hunt. Her every instinct was screaming like she was back in the wilds of her homeland.

She was facing down a gargantuan threat the likes of which she had never fought before. Yet, through it all, the incredulousness of the sight floored her.

"What are you doing?" she choked out. Ryland had a strange Glyph burning in his right eye. It was too small for Sint to make out, but he was peering at the monsters' bodies closely.

"I believe I've discovered the source of their surging strength," Ryland said.

"It seems Fate is trying to get back at me for defying its will."" What?"

"And since Fate has decided to step in," Ryland said, his magic condensing into something that felt impossible.

"I think I should as well."