Unaware of the triumphant outcome and Veda Stewart's sudden injury, Maxwell and Adonis remained fully engaged in their own battle with their respective arbour abomination.
"Max, let's finish this." Adonis sighed, sounding irritated rather than exhausted.
"Agreed Donny!" With his face covered in shallow cuts, Maxwell grinned cheerfully as if he wasn't involved in mortal combat.
"What'd you just call me?" While he continued to punch the numerous limbs that approached him, Adonis narrowed his brows and looked at his comrade.
"Donny! Y'know as in short for Adonis." Using his giant hammer to bash in a large appendage, Maxwell's countenance continued to display a cheerful expression.
"Don't call me that."
"Why not? You call me Max?"
"Don't call me that." Adonis reiterated sternly, his face displaying a look of pure disgust.
"Please, Donny!"
"No, stop."
{Kukuku, it sounds better than Adonis}
"Not you too?" Adonis sighed.
"What'd you say?" Distracting himself from the approaching threats, Maxwell redirected his gaze toward Adonis, who had impressively dispatched every single appendage in his vicinity with nothing but his bare hands.
"Nothing, try to keep up!" Taunting his friend, Adonis accelerated leaving a large imprint of his sandal in the ground.
"Wait what?! Donny wait up!" With a powerful swing of his hammer, Maxwell efficiently dispatched the remaining appendages, then hurriedly followed his friend, struggling to keep pace.
"Don't call me that!" Determined to leave the Eighth Rising Star in the dust, Adonis closed in on the first appendage that dared to attack him.
'Is he even human?!' Stunned by the sudden acceleration, Maxwell clumsily trailed behind his partner.
Using a sharp cross that managed to tear the limb to shreds, Adonis transitioned to a solemn expression as he began to internally count the seconds.
"1..."
Unwilling to relinquish the initiative to the arbour abomination, Adonis sped up.
Approaching the next target, he repeated the process once more. Deploying his left arm he decimated the monster's limb, sending a fountain of green liquid to erupt wildly.
With his warm silver eyes full of a complicated emotion, Adonis winced.
"..."
{Grow up.}
Swallowing his guilt and empathy, Adonis pressed forward.
Tilting his head to the side to easily evade the incoming assault aimed at his head, Adonis counterattacked by swiftly thrusting the tips of his fingers into the monster's appendage, instantly severing it.
"2..."
Not bothering to exhale, Adonis continued to prove himself as a Rising Star. With a flurry of motion, he threw both his arms in various directions, annihilating every single appendage in front of him.
"3..."
Finally, the silver-eyed youth approached the final limb, one resembling the monstrosity Veda and Vera had confronted earlier. Without batting an eye at the colossal threat that loomed before him, Adonis retracted his left arm and tensed his muscles.
"4..."
BAM
As his rough bare knuckle collided with the tip of the appendage, the sturdy limb exploded and the result was frightening...
Chunks of lignin and green flesh scattered everywhere and he was sprayed with a fresh coating of dark green liquid.
"5...Max, you're up."
'Does he even need me here?!' With an unsatisfied frown shamefully displayed on his countenance, Maxwell performed his duty of finishing the monster off.
"Metal Magic: Vulcan's Workshop!"
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Making use of a large grey magic circle that loomed above his head, Adonis summoned a wide selection of lethal tools: nails, screws, drills, and chisels.
With a powerful swing of his gigantic hammer, he slammed it into the magic circle, propelling these Earthly-Aura-coated tools at a ridiculous speed toward the monster's core, the bright flower that served as its heart.
SPLURT
The outcome was the rupturing of the toxin sac embedded within the flower, spewing light green liquid that marked the demise of the monstrous entity.
Refusing to look at the monster's corpse, Adonis turned his attention to his comrade and forced a grin of triumph. "Well done Max."
"You did most of the work." Puffing his cheeks like a sulking child, Max faced his comrades on the other side of the path.
"Are they done ye-?"
"Hm?" Adonis' demeanour changed soon after noticing the injury sustained by Veda, his countenance now demonstrating a look of concern.
'That basically confirms my suspicions, that monster was stronger than it should've been... Which means 'they' have intervened and are probably watching.'
"How bad is it?" Approaching Jerald, who delicately carried the injured Stewart twin on his back as well as the tearful Vera, Adonis maintained his composure.
"..."
"She's losing blood rapidly if it's not properly treated soon..."
{She has twenty-four hours at most.}
'Fuck...'
{If you weren't scared to kill, maybe this wouldn't have happened. And this especially wouldn't have happened if you could use magi-}
"I get it..."
{How many more people are you going to let die before you realize you need to grow up? Your body may have matured and gotten slightly stronger, but you're still that weak little phantom from eight years ago. You refuse to accept what you truly feel and run from what you truly are.}
"..."
"We should try to at least slow down the bleeding." The one to speak was Maxwell, his voice sounding slightly shaky, a huge contrast to the energetic tone he typically exhibited.
'Something's off with the Arbor Abominations in this forest... There's no way Veda should've been injured to that extent by it, especially from behind. She's usually really careful.' As a bead of sweat formed on Maxwell's forehead, he attempted to analyze the situation, causing him to develop a subtle headache.
'Thinking hurts.' He sighed.
"How'd this happen?" Adonis' question was directed to the highest-ranked student among them, Jerald Cecil.
Choosing to ignore number seven, Jerald continued to focus all his attention on Veda. He firmly pressed on the wound with both hands, his expression etched with grim determination.
"Ah!"
"Sorry...'
Unfazed by Jerald's rudeness, Adonis chose to redirect his attention to Vera; who also knelt by her sister, trying to calm her down.
"It'll be okay Veda."
"What happened?"
"T-the monster suddenly regenerated out of nowhere."
'I see...'
After clumsily tending to Veda's wound by using torn pieces of fabric from their tunics as bandages, Adonis' group ventured further into the forest.
Their goal? To cover the required distance for the day.
Despite the fact they travelled both quietly and cautiously, the squad attracted the attention of multiple magic beasts allured by the scent of their blood.
"Cecil, protect Veda!" As his gaze fixed upon the approaching Grey Wolves, Adonis took command of the squad, stepping into the role of the lead, albeit much to Jerald's distaste.
'Don't tell me what to do.' Despite his evident dissatisfaction with taking orders from Adonis, Jerald gladly focused all his attention on the safeguarding of his crush.
"Vera, are you sure you're fit to fight?"
'Did he just use my first name?!' Fighting the urge to squeal, Vera nodded and unsheathed her spatha preparing to engage in battle once more.
'Calling them both Stewart is confusing...'
The twelve Grey Wolves approached with hungry growls, the scent of blood greedily carrying them closer to the first-years.
Among them, three larger wolves stood up prominently, their striking white manes gleaming beautifully amidst the sea of dull grey fur and on their heads, they sported short brown curved horns that further amplified their mystique.
"Sonic Wolves, White rank." Identifying the pack's leaders, Maxwell boldly called out the names of these magic beasts, his mischievous smile growing wider as a prelude to the impending battle.
*Extra Information:
Rank: White rank- Black rank
Edible?: No
Drops: None
Weaknesses: Blades and Lightning
Behaviour: Travel in packs, typically leading Grey Wolves or among other Sonic Wolves of their Rank while being led by Sonic Wolves of a higher rank.
Habitat: Forests/Woods/Cold areas
Attacking style: Attack as a unit along with their pack. Typically make use of their claws and long teeth.
Abilities: Can produce a sound wave from their mouths.
Description: The wolves' fur directly corresponds to their rank; for example, White Rank Sonic Wolves have white fur. While they maintain the appearance of regular wolves, their aggression levels are notably heightened as well as their physical stats. The distinguishing feature in their appearance other than the color of their fur is the brown horns on their heads which vary in size according to their rank.
Note: A White Rank Sonic Wolf can become a Pink Rank Sonic Wolf, depending on how much magic they absorb from other creatures' magic crystals or from consuming humans.
Grey wolves closely resemble ordinary wolves, both in their size and colouration. The key difference between them and Sonic Wolves lies in their rank, as Grey Wolves possess clear magic crystals like every other unranked magic beast. Unlike Sonic Wolves, Grey Wolves lack the ability to use sound-based attacks and are forced to rely on their teeth and claws for offence, often exploiting their numerical advantage over magic usage. Notably, Grey Wolves like every other unranked magic beast or monster are unable to absorb magic crystals or absorb the humans they've killed.