Between the Churgesh Mountains and the Arkanean Sea, surrounded by a thick forest was a gaping hole in the ground that had a diameter of hundreds of miles. From this maw of the earth rose hot steamy air that formed a strong gale that ruffled the forest as it traveled north. The first time that this happened, a village had happened to be in its path. You could hardly find a trace of that village now. By the time the hot gale reached the cold tundra of the north, the gale had died down to become a weak wind that circulated throughout the chilly region, slowly becoming cooler until the energy inside the wind switched to an icy energy. From a burning hot to a freezing chill. These chilly winds allowed only for the toughest beasts to live here, but also allowed treasures to form and remain undisturbed for years.
An odd mess of black hair could barely be recognized amongst the grey rocks and pure white snow that was far too common in the region. Pale blue eyes scanned the surroundings before he ducked his head back into a crude igloo that looked close to falling apart. Inside was a moonstone, a gently glowing rock that was common in this world, even sold cheaply in shops. Out here, it was vital.
“Be patient, Alphaeus,” said a young pale woman playing with the orange locks of her hair. She made an irritated noise as she tried to smoothen out her long hair, but those strands kept rebelliously sticking out together and freezing in that position. How annoying.
He made himself comfortable across from her, simply nodding to her words. She was beautiful, but he had already seen enough years ago. The igloo, despite looking like it had been quickly rushed which it may or may not have been, was very accommodating inside with almost anything they could ask for inside. One of the things missing inside was unfortunately any form of entertainment. A warm sigh escaped from his lips as he began to meditate, sending warm energy coursing through his body that quickly warmed himself up. The woman quickly eyed him before returning to examining her hair. Only a freak like her could truly act as if the conditions here were normal. They sat in there for what felt like hours as a fierce blizzard raged on outside. Despite the raging winds outside, he could hear his faint heartbeat pump out energy and circulate it throughout him.
Finally, she stood up. “It’s time to go,” she spoke softly as she swiftly gathered their things into a small pouch. Outside, above the howling winds a fierce roar of some beast could be heard. Their footsteps were quickly erased seconds after they had left them by the cruel blizzard. If they were to die here, the snow would cover them up. And snow would continue to follow, and the world would go on as if they never existed. That wouldn’t be especially hard for this duo anyways, as they didn’t belong to this world in the first place. A soft smirk appeared on his pale lips as these thoughts passed through his mind.
The roars were becoming increasingly louder, possibly due to them getting closer. The alternative was that the beast was pouring more energy into these roars. Why? Probably because it was trying to evolve.
People before have raised questions on when was the best time to taken down a beast. The first thing generally ruled out was around the time of evolution because the beast is obviously far stronger. But that actually was the best time to strike. When a beast is undergoing evolution to reach the next rank, all its energy and attention is devoted towards evolving. This short window of time would be the best time to strike, although the worst times to engage it were so close. At the peak of a rank and right after stepping into a new rank were dangerous times that Alphaeus might face if he were to miss this short window of time.
As they closed in, another duo sped up to match their pace at their side. A lazy grin formed upon the face of a handsome young man, his elegant blond hair seemingly resistant to the force of the wind. “Alphaeus, I never understand how you got so lucky to have such a beautiful goddess to work with,” he taunted, all smiles as he glanced at the two.
His own companion, a pink haired female with pigtails stiffened momentarily before letting loose a fireball full of overbearing arrogance flying at him which he narrowly dodged. Months of being taunted because she wasn’t as tall or well-endowed as the “goddess” had done a number to her head. In the distance, one could see the brutal mark it had left on a mountain miles away. If you could even call those remains a mountain anymore.
“Watch what you’re saying, you shi-” she angrily snarled before being cut off by the roars that had doubled in volume. The group glanced at each other before doubling their speed as well, now leaving behind heavy impressions into the snow with each step.
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Up further ahead, a third duo joined them. A well-built, dark skinned individual now ran in the front of his pack as he began to give out orders. “I will engage the enemy head on as we arrive. Both Ranged Powerhouses will arrive not more than three seconds after and seek to disable the beast’s limbs. The locals around here have named it Syrangheun, but it seems to be just an extremely powerful Artic Drake of the Epic Rank about to make a breakthrough. The wings of an Artic Drake are rather tough as it has to be able to fly even in blizzards, so don’t underestimate it. Assassin will cover the left flank, and Juggernaut will cover the right flank. Move out quick, I want to get this done before the sun sets,” he said unhurriedly, and the group began moving out far too used to this already.
Alphaeus diverted to a path different from the others as he rapidly approached his designated position. Colorful lights met together to form a dark blue flail that held a murderous aura in his right hand. In his left hand was a golden crook that he absentmindedly twirled. It rapidly vibrated in his hand as it brimmed with power. His pair of soul weapons was weapons he had bonded with for life, and would never forget. In the future, if he were to die these weapons would never forget the master that he had. A roar of pain much different than the ones he had heard before signaled that the battle had begun.
His skin suddenly melted into light blue liquid before suddenly forming a body much larger in stature. The inhabitants of this world if they saw him now would now call him a Churgesh King Bear. With a single pounce, he got into attacking range of the struggling beast as he got his first clear look at it briefly. Dark scales with a mysterious glint covered rippling muscles that powered dangerously sharp claws to gouge out the earth easily like a knife cutting through butter. Red eyes that held the dignity of a king of beasts ordered him to back off. Of course, there was no holding back now.
The gorgeous female assassin was covered in runic tattoos all over her body that shone with a bright gold. Her hands had become actual claws that did not lose at all in ferocity to the claws of the huge drake as she left long gashes on its body, ripping through the dark scales. A furious bellow from the drake caused the nearby female assassin to grind her teeth as tremors spread throughout the earth and heavens. Filthy mortals dared to threaten this king of the sky at his weakest time. The bringer of a chilly apocalypse to this world would not be stopped by a simple band of heroes! Before it could fully divert its attention to the lone assassin on its side, devastating fire and a hail of arrows rained upon it.
The dark skinned commander of this group had a scowl on his face despite how the fight was going. If this beast reached an epiphany through this battle and broke through the barrier between the Epic Rank and the Legendary Rank, this would be an impossible fight without a Gold member on their team. When they had first arrived at this world, they had been expecting to fight a beast of the Mystical Rank or Mythical Rank. Not a monster of gargantuan proportions that was rapidly closing in on Legendary Rank! The angry beast finally responded by unleashing a continuous stream of fire at their location.
Both of the Powerhouses behind him shifted their location slightly as the commander summoned forth a large tower shield that he imbued with power. The full brunt of the force of the flames caused him to take a few steps back, but he remained in place protecting the two behind him. The stream of scorching fire that alone had caused the temperature here to feel seem like a tropical vacation was rudely interrupted by the charge of Churgesh King Bear half the height of the drake. Despite its smaller size, a running start gave it enough momentum to shove the drake aside. The female assassin yelped as she pounced away from her location which was soon after occupied by an even angrier beast.
“Watch it!” she yelled before going to town on the back of the drake. Even more scales were cleaved apart as she left hideous gashes allowed for the steamy blood of the drake to seep through. Seemingly satisfied with her work, she dashed to another area of the drake and repeated her actions. An angry snort of the drake melted the snow around it as it stood up, towering over its puny enemies that were causing it grief.
“Mortals! You have gone too far now,” it cried out, its majestic aura actually crushing everything surrounding the drake with insurmountable pressure. “To save this world is a pretentious intent that borders on my domain of authority. Who dares give you permission to try to stop me,” the Artic Drake roared as energy fluctuated around it. For these bold mortal heroes, it would sacrifice its opportunity to evolve to wipe them off the planet and begin its reign of terror early. The energy densely coalesced into a thick coat that surrounded its entire body, declaring its intention to finally destroy them all!
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Is this even the right way to post new chapters.