After the herd of Rock Bisons had passed, the forest regained its peace, albeit momentarily.
But the air was thick with the scent of earth and dirt. The herd of magical beasts that had just passed had kicked up a storm of dust that hung in the air like a thin blanket, greatly reducing one's visibility.
While Adam was reveling in the fact that he had just managed to inadvertently use spiritual power to cast a spell, a six-legged panther was prowling atop a tree branch, greedily eyeing him.
This magical panther had sleek black fur that shimmered in the moon's dim lights filtering through the dense canopy. It moved with silent grace along the thick branch, its four yellow eyes fixated on Adam who was seated atop Ennea.
Unlike other beasts corrupted by the orcs, however, this panther seemed as if it was struggling to maintain its sanity.
Its four eyes flickered between manic and rationality. Yet, it could not help but give in to its raw primal instincts.
The moment it had confirmed that Adam's guard was down, it made its move. The panther's muscles tensed as it gauged the distance between it and its prey.
Then, with a sudden burst of speed, the panther soundlessly pounced on the youth.
Adam, after having utilized his spiritual power to cast the last spell, was now going through a soul-rending headache. His vision was blurry as blood continued to seep out from his eyes.
The pain to the soul was extremely excruciating for him despite having gone through so much pain before.
Just as he was trying to recover, warning bells started to ring inside his mind. He had deactivated his Sphere of Resonance earlier because of the toll it was taking on his mind.
So he couldn't sense the impending danger. But at the last moment, his survival instincts kicked in.
He knew if he didn't move, he would die!
When the panther's claw was mere inches away from slicing his head off, Adam abruptly leaned to the side as fast as he could.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Dodging the attack was out of the question. So he could only go for the next best option.
However, despite his attempt, the beast's claws ripped the youth's jugular vein, tearing a large chunk of flesh from the neck area.
"Gaaahhh!" Adam grimaced in agony as he miserably fell off Ennea, blood gushing out of his neck like a fountain. As he thrashed about on the ground, he caught a glimpse of the attacker.
The six-legged panther soundlessly landed on the ground. After having failed to kill Adam, it viciously waved its claw and swatted Ennea away.
That one attack carried such great strength that the white fox was flung into the distance for several meters, before it crashed against a large boulder and miserably fell to the ground, wincing in agony.
Such great strength!
The youth had a dumbfounded look on his face as he thought of a terrifying possibility.
A Rank 2 beast!
The panther, after having gotten rid of the white fox, coldly gazed at Adam. It circled around the youth, instead of immediately attacking him.
Despite the advantage the beast had, it didn't haphazardly go for the kill. The human in front of it gave off a very dangerous aura. So it maintained distance, patiently planning for its next move.
Something's wrong… Adam thought to himself as he clasped his neck injury, trying to stop the blood from flowing. He struggled to get to his knees, extremely vigilant of the attacker.
If it was a Rank 2 beast, it would not have been corrupted by the orcs… Yet, its strength is close to that of a Rank 2 beast. Could it be…
Adam thought of another possibility. He squinted his eyes, trying to sense the mana fluctuations coming from the beast in front of him.
As I thought… It's about to advance to Rank 2!
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})No wonder it seems so level-headed compared to the other beasts I've come across.
Is it resisting the corruption?
Adam's speculations were on the mark. The six-legged panther had been on the verge of advancing to the next rank when the orcs had begun their invasion.
Because of that, it was not completely corrupted by the artifact.
The youth's expression was extremely grim as he gazed at the panther that was approaching him stealthily.
"Six legs… four eyes…" Adam mumbled under his breath. "A Hexaclaw Panther!"
A Hexaclaw Panther was a creature of the dark. It was a solitary hunter that stalked its prey silently through the shadows before launching a swift and deadly attack.
It was very much like an assassin.
Adam struggled to get to his feet and face off against this formidable magical beast. He conjured a healing potion from his earring, uncorked it, and was about to apply it to the injury on his neck.
But right at that moment, the panther made its move!
It bolted forward and raised its paws at Adam, intending to finish him off this time. However, Adam had been waiting for this moment. The act of taking out the potion and healing himself was just a feint.
The moment the panther was within range, Adam's eyes flashed with a ruthless glint. He dropped the vial and weaved hand signs at insane speeds.
Just as the magic circle in front of him was about to form, it shone unsteadily before completely breaking apart!
"Arrrgghhh!!" Another wave of pain washed over his soul, causing Adam to cough out large mouthfuls of blood. He profusely bled from eyes and nose, his mind in complete chaos.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})What's… happening to me?
Why can't I cast—
That was all the time he had to think.
The panther had already appeared in front of him and viciously swung its paws.
SLASH!
The beast delivered a deep gash, starting from the injury on the youth's neck, down to his waist.
Adam's robe, which was imbued with defensive magical properties, was effortlessly shredded by the beast's sharp claws. His flesh and muscles were slit open, making his ribs and organs visible.
The youth's eyes dimmed as he listlessly fell backward. A puddle of blood formed beneath him instantly as he weakly glanced at the approaching panther.
Inside his spirit sea, Valerian roared helplessly as he flapped his wings and levitated above the white lotus in his draconic form. He could sense that Adam was in grave danger, but for some reason, he wasn't able to exit the youth's spirit sea.
Ever since Adam had used the white lotus as the magical focus and his spiritual power as the fuel to cast the spell, his spirit sea was in absolute chaos, preventing Valerian from traversing out of it.
It was an apocalyptic scene inside. Waves thrashed about violently as if his spirit sea was going through a major violent storm.
'BROTHER!!'
Valerian roared to the skies, pearls of tears streaming down his scaly face.
Outisde, in the real world, the Hexaclaw Panther had already appeared before the youth. It growled menacingly, slowly opening its maw.
The next moment…
It bit down on Adam!
