Chương 612: Chapter 609: Abundance of Monsters

That little smelly monkey was really the intriguing subject. After close examination, he was able to identify the general process of how it was able to manipulate its authority into its body. The biggest key he needed to focus on was making sure his aura and his authority were essentially a single entity. That was the first step he needed to get right. The next was a bit harder. He needed to take this aura-infused authority and curl it around his muscle fibers and his bones in a complex weave.

As if he were knitting a sock around his body. While he was good at controlling his aura and using it to enforce his body, this was a totally different type of aura control he was unfamiliar with. He suspected that the monster had been born with the ability, and it came naturally. However, he didn't think many, if any, humans would be able to accomplish this without a lot of trial and error. Thankfully for him, he loved to experiment, and he had some time on his hands while he was heading toward Corvus.

He already had a lot on his plate, but he was sure he could squeeze some experimentation into his busy schedule. After all, this new technique would complement his current body-enforcement skill. It might even give him a new evolution option for [Pyrokinetic Embodiment of Ruin]. Speaking of his skills, he received some nice skill level increases over the past week. The most recent one came after he finished off that monkey.

[Absolute Spatial Perception lvl 17 -> lvl 18] [Inexorable Aura of Ruin lvl 23 -> lvl 24] [Spirit Fortification lvl 15 -> lvl 16] [Field of the Shattered Will lvl 1 -> lvl 3] He hadn't really done that much or been challenged for the past couple of weeks. But he still saw several levels. His advancement felt like it helped his skills improve more quickly. He was starting to see why people decided to advance, despite the fact that having more high-level skills improved one's foundation.

He was very curious about what kind of growth he might see if he actually pushed himself. He didn't say it aloud, but he felt himself wanting to head deeper into the forest, and towards that powerful monster Cassandra mentioned. He looked over at Shin and Maya, holding back a grin because he knew the odds that Cassandra would lead them over there were high. And while they wouldn't like it, he wasn't upset about that at all. In fact, he was looking forward to it.

A couple of days passed by in the blink of an eye. At least for him. He suspected that Shin and Maya felt very differently. While Julius and the others were all relaxing and having a good time, they were fighting for their lives at every moment. There was an abundance of monsters inside this forest; as such, there was no lack of enemies for the two of them. Julius suspected that Cassandra was deliberately allowing certain monsters to attack while deterring others.

There were a number of Tier 4s who attacked the two of them, but almost every time, Julius had to step in and help out. It was something that neither Shin nor Maya liked, but knew that it was necessary. Otherwise, they would have been dead a day into their adventure. It really showed that being Tier 3 wasn't enough to survive the wilderness. If they were on their own, he didn't know if they would still be alive. He looked over at the two teens, who had just finished a fight against a group of Tier 3 monsters.

They looked like shit. The monsters hadn't been strong individually, but they were a nasty group that worked well together. Both of them had over a dozen small and medium wounds. It didn't help morale that they were forced to eat shitty rations and waste their time boiling and filtering water. Just like he feared, they hadn't thought to bring a device with a water generation filter rune. He had offered his own for them to use, but Cassandra insisted they learn how to procure and clean their own water.

The only reason they were still standing up straight was that they were getting good sleep at the very least. Those defensive anchor points had been an excellent investment, and thanks to them, they were able to sleep without worry. However, Julius was starting to notice a problem. They were running out of potions fast. He didn't think that they had a lot of potions left. After all, they had been consuming them like they were bottles of fruit juice.

In fact, he suspected that it was only going to get worse from here on out. He said that because his awareness picked up an incoming aura signature. And this signature wasn't Tier 3, it was Tier 4. He saw Cassandra giving him a look from the side, as if telling Julius to stay silent. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. He was starting to see why Maya had been so worried.

The woman was a strict taskmaster and showed no remorse for the grueling training these two were experiencing. If things weren't already bad enough, she wanted these two to fight a Tier 4 while they were recovering. Thankfully, over the course of the past couple of days, the two of them had learned how to keep their wits about them while not tiring themselves out needlessly. The fights and close death encounters had honed their instincts. Maya was the first to sense the incoming monster and quickly notified Shin.

He gave a firm nod and began tightening the straps on his armor while he prepared mana inside his blade. The other teen's previous attitude was nowhere to be seen. The endless fights for the past couple of days had gradually eroded the boy's temper and haughtiness. Now he was completely focused on survival and fighting. It was honestly quite surprising to see. Julius hadn't even heard the boy whine all that often.

Only at night, before bed, when he saw everyone else eating delicious food cooked by Loreyn, while he munched on hardtack. And Julius couldn't even find it within him to criticise Shin for that. Honestly, Julius would have done the same if they were to trade places.

"Shit, it's a Tier 4," Maya said with a glance at Cassandra, knowing that this was what the woman wanted.

"What kind?"

"Some sort of feline creature. I can barely track it, but it might be an ambush predator. If we can avoid getting surprised, we will stand a better chance," she noted. Shin nodded and stood up, sword at the ready. They waited for the creature to make its move. Maya correctly assessed that the monster was a feline creature and a stealthy attacker. Once it got closer to them, even Julius found it hard to keep track of the feline.

His spatial senses were sharp, but the animal moved around so much and so quickly that it was hard to keep an eye on it. He was learning that his perception skill had difficulty tracking stealth skills whose main purpose was to obscure his overall awareness. The type of stealth skills that tried to trick his mind into not noticing them. But as long as he was aware of that, the effectiveness of those types of skills was reduced dramatically. Unfortunately for these other two, he didn't think they were as prepared.

While they waited for the feline to make its move, they waited and waited. It was only when they started to get antsy and slightly worried that the beast made its move. A flash of gray and black crashed towards Maya. The girl was barely able to react in time. Her staff clipped the monster on the shoulder, and it was able to deflect it just enough so that the feline's claws scratched her armor instead of her eye.

It must have some kind of sharpness-related skill because its claw was able to slash through the metal plating of her chestplate. Shin reacted impressively fast. The moment the monster made its move, he had already counterattacked. He was faster than Maya and was way more decisive than he had been a few days ago. It was night and day different. There was an edge to how each of them fought. The change was a little jarring. The red-hot blade met the feline's claws in a clash of sparks.

Maya charged in and attempted to pin down the beast with her fire mana. A wave of flames collapsed onto the feline. But a quick swipe of the monster's claws and the flames were parted. However, not before Shin could attack again. He used his movement skill to get behind the beast, and his sword left a slash across the beast's backside. It wasn't deep, but it definitely irritated the beast. Julius got a good look at the monster.

It was around six feet long from head to tail, and was all gray except for a large number of black spots. It almost looked like a leopard, and if Julius was being honest, it had quite a cute face. Too bad it was curled up in a snarl as it hissed at Shin and Maya. It felt young, too. Its aura showed it had recently advanced, unlike some of the more experienced auras he had come across over the past couple of days. That was good news for them. The bad news was that the monster was pissed off now.

And so Julius could only watch from the sideline when the leopard went on the attack again, dashing straight for Shin's throat. Maya was there to intercept. She had been acting as the tank/defender while Shin was the damage dealer, and was able to thrust her staff between Shin and the monster. A wall of flames erupted around her, scorching the beast slightly and empowering her. The flames were hot, even to Julius. He was starting to understand why it was called the Burning Sun Sect.

If he didn't have the crown, he didn't think his flames at Tier 3 could compare to the sheer heat of Maya's or Shin's. The fight between the three of them was violent and brutal. The monster's claws were insanely sharp, and every false step or mistake was punished. Long and deep scratches were accumulating on Maya. Her armor was being shredded. But they were holding their own pretty well, and the monster was clearly not meant for sustained combat. It was on a timer.

And although all three were tired, it was ultimately the monster who backed off first. It wasn't as if it had lost to Shin and Maya, but thought better of it. Perhaps it would come back later to catch them off guard. Fortunately for now, it retreated, and neither Shin nor Maya made any moves to stop it. If anything, they were relieved that it chose to back off. Once it was out of sight, they dropped to the ground. Maya's chestplate fell to the ground.

The straps holding it in place had fallen apart, and Shin sagged against her. His blade fell to the ground as he sucked in massive gulps of air. They were bleeding everywhere, and Julius watched their hands shake as they uncorked their potions, barely able to drink them due to the adrenaline dump. However, there was a look of satisfaction and pride on their faces. They might not have killed the Tier 4, but they had survived a fight with one. The first time since they entered the forest. That was an accomplishment.

One that they were rightly proud of. However, Julius didn't go over and congratulate them because most of his attention was on a small swirling blue portal hidden beneath the roots of a tree he had only detected because the monster had run over the top of it. He looked over at Cassandra with a brilliant grin.