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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Al had been taught to hunt certain monsters and learn their weak points back when he was just starting out with the hero’s party in his past life. His friend , the dwarf knight Melgril, had drilled into him the importance of knowing when to fight and when to flee. Among the many beasts he had been warned about, the Elder Wyvern stood as one of the most fearsome.

“Unless you have at least a Grade Four or Five knight, warrior, or a Six-Circle magician, never engage one,” Melgril had told him sternly. “Their scales are nigh impenetrable, their elemental breath can level entire squads, and worst of all, they are intelligent. They hunt strategically and remember you must also be more cunning than they are. But if you ever see one, Al, don’t fight. Run.”

Yet here he was, staring directly into the crimson gaze of an Elder Wyvern for the first time. The creature’s maw dripped with fresh blood as it snarled, its towering form radiating a presence of sheer dominance. The remains of the mercenaries who had been unfortunate enough to cross its path lay scattered around—torn limbs, shattered weapons, and the mangled bodies of their horses soaked in pools of crimson. The beast’s breath was heavy and wet, the scent of iron thick in the air, as its sharp fangs gleamed, coated in the flesh of its latest victims. There was nothing mindless about its rage; its eyes held a calculating malice, assessing Al and Shin as prey that had yet to be properly dealt with.

Al turned to Shin, his voice firm. “Our escape routes are cut off. We have no choice but to fight. Be careful—this creature is smart. It’s not just strong, but cunning as well. It remembers its enemies and learns from past battles. It won’t fall for the same trick twice, and it will anticipate our moves if we’re not careful. Elder Wyverns are apex predators, capable of using strategy mid-fight. If we underestimate it, we won’t live to regret it.” They both got in their stance ready to engage in battle because a confrontation was now inevitable.

As if responding to his words, the wyvern let out a wild roar, its tail slamming into the ground with immense force, kicking up a thick cloud of dust and debris, and creating a smoke screen. It immediately turned its full attention to Shin, its crimson eyes narrowing with a grudge-fueled intensity. The wyvern had not forgotten the earlier humiliation—when Shin had boldly grabbed its tail and yanked with all his strength, momentarily halting its charge. It was a wound to its pride, an insult that could not go unanswered. A creature of its intelligence and experience would not let such an offense slide.

Before they could react, the wyvern lunged at Shin, its razor-sharp fangs seeking to rend him apart. Its movements were far too calculated for a mindless beast; it did not simply charge forward, but instead feinted first, shifting its weight to one side before suddenly twisting mid-motion, forcing Shin to make a last-second adjustment. It was testing him, learning his reflexes, figuring out how he moved. The beast’s armor-piercing fangs closed in, snapping just inches away from Shin’s torso. If he had reacted even a fraction of a second slower, he would have been torn in half.

But Shin had anticipated the attack, twisting midair as he narrowly evaded its bite. In the same motion, he delivered a powerful punch to the wyvern’s jaw, forcing its head to jerk sideways. The impact was strong, sending it back just a few inches away from where it stood, but the wyvern was no ordinary opponent. It recovered almost instantly, using the momentum to propel itself into another attack. This time, it lashed out with a vicious swipe of its claws, its talons gleaming as they carved through the air with deadly precision.

The strike was not reckless—it was targeted, and controlled. The wyvern had calculated Shin’s trajectory and timed its attack perfectly to meet him mid-motion, proving just how dangerously intelligent it was. It fought like a seasoned warrior, adapting with every exchange, refining its attacks based on Shin’s movements. This was no mere monster—it was a battle-hardened predator.

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Just before the deadly talons could reach Shin, Al intervened. Emerging from the smokescreen, he cast a water spell, transforming the ground beneath the wyvern into a sticky, mud-like trap. The creature’s eyes widened slightly in surprise as its feet sank momentarily. Seeing an opportunity, Al unleashed a barrage of attacks, aiming for the gaps between its scales but they were tightly sealed while Shin moved toward its blind spot. But their strikes barely left a scratch, bouncing off the wyvern’s near-impenetrable scales.

Shin, refusing to relent, coated his fist in aura and struck the wyvern’s spine. The moment his knuckles connected, a deep, resonating crack echoed through the battlefield. The force of the impact traveled like a surge of violent energy through the wyvern’s body, sending rippling shockwaves along its spine. The beast’s massive frame lurched, its muscles seizing as pain coursed through its nervous system. Its roar was deafening, filled with both fury and agony, as it bucked and writhed like a wild tempest trying to rid itself of the agony radiating from its core.

The power behind Shin’s blow was immense, it had landed exactly where he wanted it, after all that training with alexandri his precision strikes were getting more better. The aura-infused punch not only rattled the wyvern’s bone structure but also momentarily disrupting its balance and coordination. The beast’s wings flared out violently, their powerful gusts of wind uprooting loose debris from the ground, while its claws dug deep into the earth, struggling to stabilize itself.

Still, Shin did not let up. He gritted his teeth and braced himself as the wyvern thrashed beneath him, its spine convulsing under the aftershocks of his attack. The sheer size of the creature made it impossible to bring down with one hit, but he had felt it—felt the slight give beneath his strike, proof that even this legendary beast was not totally invincible. He had struck a nerve with that blow, the exterior of the beast was very hard to damage but it couldn't completely absorb the shock from the impact.

Meanwhile, Al muttered under his breath, weaving a spell as mana surged through him.

“The light that engulfs the darkness and devours everything, O flames of Huntrae, come to me and do as I command—Flame Wall!”

Shin leaped away just in time as a wall of fire erupted around the wyvern, engulfing it in searing flames. But as the smoke cleared, the creature emerged, seemingly unscathed. Al, however, had planned for this. A series of runes he had secretly placed during the earlier smokescreen activated.

“Flame Arrows!”

A hail of burning projectiles shot toward the wyvern. With a powerful flap of its wings, it swatted them aside, but this gave Shin the opening he needed. Seizing the beast’s tail, he swung it with raw, unrelenting force, sending it crashing into a massive rock, shattering it upon impact. The wyvern landed hard on its back, momentarily vulnerable.

Al wasted no time, dashing forward. He had already activated another rune, his voice ringing with magic. “Double Ice Lance!”

During the earlier smokescreen, he had informed Shin of the wyvern’s only known weakness—a soft patch beneath its neck. He couldn’t afford to leave this attack to chance. As one of the icy spears soared toward the creature, he grabbed onto the second midair and activated yet another rune.

“Wind Dance!”

He launched the spear with enhanced velocity, aiming for the exposed underside of the wyvern’s neck. It tried to swat the first ice spear with its wings instead it got frozen and heavy just as the second came flying in, just before impact, the creature’s eyes gleamed ominously. In an instant, the air around it crackled, electricity surging as it unleashed a devastating lightning breath. The sheer force of the attack obliterated the ice lance and surged toward Al, who barely dodged it thanks to the speed boost from Wind Dance. Sparks danced around the wyvern, unfreezing its wings, and with a mighty leap, it ascended into the sky.

Melgril’s warning echoed in Al’s mind: If an Elder Wyvern takes flight, your best chance of survival is to escape.

A deep, resounding voice suddenly echoed within their minds, reverberating through their very souls. It was not spoken but heard—a telepathic projection from the wyvern itself. Al knew the creature was smart but he never expected it to be capable of this.

“Two Alcateen boys… I never thought I’d meet another Alcateen apart from that monster who killed my mate.”

Its piercing gaze settled on Al. “But you… You are different. I don't know how it is you wield magic, yet you are also shrouded in a strange power.”

A shiver ran down Al’s spine. The wyvern could sense it—the anomaly within him.

As the monstrous beast hovered above them, its presence now more dangerous than ever, Al tightened his grip on his blades.