Fetching King felt akin to picking up a child from daycare, especially considering the wyvern's reluctance to leave the arena where he felt most at home. Alistair pondered whether King's creation and intended fate within the arena had forged a deep connection between the wyvern and such environments. Alistair ensured that King was not missing out on any big events. Once Alistair told King where they were headed, King grew much more excited and eager to go along with Alistair. King had been doing quite well in the arena and was one of the more well-known beasts. Though by far not the strongest, King was a crowd favorite, as he loved to show off. He was also the only one of his sub-species that had been entered into the beast arena, which helped him stand out even more. However, that did not mean much, as wyverns were incredibly diverse.
Riseth and Alistair met at the cave inside the Trial worlds. They planned to scour the mountains before heading for some glaciers in the east. They had skipped sleep as going to sleep every night was too wasteful, even if it helped with the buildup of stress.
"Should we take turns killing monsters, killing the ones trying to interfere like last time?" Riseth asked as they flew over the mountainous landscape.
"We could, though I'm unsure if it gives great benefits, and we need to ensure we don't accidentally advance our grade before the tournament. We could team up instead and work on our teamwork. We might get different titles for that. Also, did you get the [Man Of Change] title?"
"It's not [Man Of Change]. Mine's [Mistress Of Change], but it functions the same way. Also, let's team up for some monster hunting," Riseth replied, her smile widening.
Alistair returned the smile. They had been doing a lot of training together and fighting against their friends in mock battles, but it had been a while since they actively hunted and fought together against the same enemy. Riseth had improved her shield to work automatically based on threat detection. Alistair, in turn, had managed to imbue magic to avoid friendly fire into most of his spells. Riseth had followed Alistair's example and doubled down on defense skills by developing a skill that extended a thin veil of space magic around her that reacted violently to attacks and redirected and bent attacks away from her and her allies. In some instances, she even rebounded the attacks back toward their originators. They had been testing that skill against Alistair's blasts. They found that the more magically charged attacks were too powerful to be redirected, but the weaker blasts had hurled back at Alistair.
She had also attempted to create a laser beam based on her light manipulation skill, but it wasn't particularly powerful yet. With the skill book she had bought in the [Nurturing Ward], she had a free skill point to develop an independent skill that manipulated space to twist and warp around her weapons and even extend to localized areas up to a degree. Her extending bone blades now caused much more internal damage than her poisons ever did. Using non-magical poisons without specializing in crafting them had lost more and more effectiveness the further they progressed in levels. Her subsequent skill goal was a potent ranged attack. Riseth had tried to replicate Alistair's blasts but discovered that her affinities did not align nearly as well with the skill as his did.
Through the cold whistling wind, they heard a roar from nearby that drew their attention. Alistair got closer to Riseth, and they turned invisible to investigate. They found a large creature that looked like a mix between a Sabertooth tiger and a Drake. It possessed both scales and fur, which were adorned in white with gray patterns, aiding it in seamlessly blending into its surroundings. It was adorned with two thick bull-like horns, and its eyes were rather small compared to the rest of its body. Alistair wondered if it was a wyvern of sorts, though it lacked wings. So, it would probably be classified as a drake. Its scales, particularly on its back, looked incredibly thick and would likely make for some great armor. Alistair noticed that the most well-protected areas were places it could not reach with its claws, head, or long spiked tail. [Identify] revealed it to be [Griteran - lvl ?]; despite its hidden level, Alistair could tell the beast was similar in strength to the other monsters they fought, perhaps a bit more powerful.
Alistair and Riseth nodded at each other as they descended on the Griteran, who was busy eating one of the Nari they had fought before. Riseth was the first to attack, teleporting near its neck, slamming her bone blades into it, one of the few vital parts not covered in thick, scaly plates. Her blades were wrapped in space magic, flickering with a surprisingly colorful display showing glimpses of something more. The Griteran let out a mighty roar as it stood on its hind legs before violently shaking itself, trying to get Riseth off its body. It tried to crush her by smacking its head against a rockface, but Alistair intervened, arresting its momentum and storing the kinetic energies in one of his spheres. Riseth continued hacking her extending blades into the neck of the monster with the space magic wreaking havoc on its body.
It would have perished on the spot if it had been of a lower grade. Grade 9 marked a stage where the first organs vanished as the rest became much less vital; beyond crushing its brain, the loss of other organs wouldn't immediately result in death. At this grade, beings primarily relied on their [HP] or equivalent energy for resilience rather than the integrity of their organs. This transition marked the initial step toward becoming a true magical being, as they could regenerate any lost organ, provided they survived the encounter. Losing an organ could still be impairing, some more than others.
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Alistair swiftly teleported to its legs using his razor slash to cut into one of its leg tendons to hamper its mobility. He was somewhat deep in thought as he witnessed the monster's unnatural resilience. Alistair already looked forward to that stage as it would reduce the chance of sudden death by a large margin. However, one of the big drawbacks of being a body cultivator was that when his organs were damaged or lost, it would take him much longer to repair himself. He would also be unable to use any given effects associated with the damaged or lost organ, potentially impairing linked skills.
The monster's roars had stopped as Riseth had cut its vocal cords. Only ragged huffs and gurgles could be heard over the cold, whistling wind. Alistair could sense the monster's rage as it swiped its spiked tail at him, which he stopped with his offhand. He used the stolen energy to shoot a razor blast to cut up its much more vulnerable underbelly. Riseth had repositioned herself slightly and was clinging on to one of its horns, trying to get a good stab into its eyes, and it violently shook its head.
Stepping back, Alistair teleported atop its neck and seized the creature by its bull-like horns, immobilizing it. Meanwhile, Riseth swiftly drove her blade into its tiny eye, penetrating its skull. The beast went limp and crashed to the ground. The beast was not dead, but the damage to its brain had put an end to the fight.
They gave the creature a clean kill so Simons's father could salvage the body parts and core. Thomas had become their go-to man for monster dismantling. They had purchased a study key for him to learn more advanced techniques, easily putting him above their previous specialists in quality and quantity of materials. He could even shift the concept of the core harvested based on the creature's strongest affinity. That ability alone was invaluable to the clan.
"That was almost too easy," Riseth muttered bearly audibly over the howling wind as they continued scouring the local mountains for strong monsters.
"We do work well together," Alistair replied.
He glanced sideways at her, noticing a hint of hesitance and a flicker of determination.
"You're itching to take them on solo, aren't you?" Alistair asked teasingly.
"Yeah, I can only handle a few more before I hit grade 9," Riseth replied.
The last fight had put her on level 48, so fighting higher-grade beasts was already risky. But there was a bigger gain to be had.
"Go all out, hold nothing back. Show that monster who's boss and enjoy yourself," Alistair said as he gave her an encouraging smile.
He had been tip-toeing the line of what the system would allow him to say, and Riseth looked at him curiously for a moment. She sensed he was withholding something he couldn't express directly due to system restrictions. However, resonance revealed the sentiment behind his words. He hoped she could let go as he had and obtain the [Primal Revelation] title.
Sadly, the ability to bypass secrecy restrictions by being in a clan only worked on [Study Dungeon] topics. The system jealously guarded many of the most coveted titles, the means of their acquisition, and even their existence. However, Alistair suspected that this was also a lesson. There would be ways to bypass the restrictions, but one just had to find the means to do so. Resonance was perhaps one of these.
As they reached the eastern edge of the mountains, they spotted one more large monster. It was a Yeti-like beast with bright white fur and a gorilla-like posture. It had very muscular arms and long, sharp, and hooked claws. Its large fangs were visible whenever it made a grunting sound as it aimlessly wandered across the landscape. [Identify] showed it to be [Uxrus - lvl ?]. It felt slightly less powerful than the Griteran but also much more dangerous.
"This thing won't be held back by its body, and you lack range options to take down a grade 9," Alistair commented over the link as they observed the creature, which had not sensed them yet.
"Unlike a human. I don't get that big of a skill selection. If I want to improve, I must fight monsters that are a bad matchup for me." She retorted, and Alistair could sense her resolve.
Alistair paused, touching her shoulder. He did not need her to resolve herself. She needed to enjoy it and embrace it if she wanted a chance at the title. He needed her to let go. He did his best to convey his feelings through their connection.
She looked at him curiously as she felt the connection between them, a toothy smile forming as she leaned in for an intimate kiss.
"I'll be right back," She said softly as she flew towards the monster.
As she glided towards the beast, the whistling wind hid her approach. Unfurling her tail, usually coiled around her midsection, a bladed whip materialized, its interlocking segments coming to life in mesmerizing undulations reminiscent of a serpent's dance. Alistair knew she had been cultivating to empower her tail to better integrate with the sepaskarite-bladed whip to the point that it looked like a natural extension of her body. The body cultivation variant she had gotten with the study key had insights into refining weapons with essences, and Alistair was curious to see it in action.
The Uxrus suddenly turned to face her, but Riseth had already teleported, plunging her bone blade into its flank, where it ripped through the creature and shot out the other side. Riseths tail lashed out rapidly, and the bladed whip coiled around the monster's neck, drawing blood. The creature reflexively attempted to strike her with its elbow, but she was shielded by a protective barrier springing up in her defense. With rhythmic precision, her bladed whip sliced into the monster's flesh, causing blood to gush from its throat.
From his vantage point above, Alistair grimaced and absent-mindedly touched his throat, feeling some sympathetic pain as he watched the fight below. Meanwhile, Riseth had leaped onto the monster's back, her bone blades flashing in a mesmerizing display of space magic and blood. Alistair sensed her reservations melting away, replaced by the exhilaration of battle.
"I suppose we're both monsters," Alistair reflected, his attention wholly captivated by the unfolding fight.
The Uxrus made a futile attempt to grab her chain and yank her off, only to find that the tail and its attached weapon had turned ethereal. Frustrated, it attempted to roll, trying to dislodge her from its back, and swung its long, muscular arms wildly. Yet Riseth was always a step ahead, guiding the beast as if it were an unruly dog on a leash, gracefully dodging its attacks. The once beautiful white fur of the monster was now stained red by the ceaseless flow of blood from its throat, painting the snow crimson.