The robed figures turned to stare at each other for a moment before facing Ashur again and nodding. Four charged him at once and the two closest both swung their daggers quickly.

They both aimed for vital spots, one going for the tendon in his arm while the other aimed for the jugular.

Ashur saw this coming however and easily sidestepped both attacks before returning fire, cutting the two.

They both fell down, one completely lifeless from a slash to the neck while the other simply fell back after getting slashed across the chest.

The other two that had initially charged as well hesitated for a moment after seeing him easily dispatch the first two.

Before they could make the decision of attacking him as well though, Ashur charged the other pair.

He went for similar slashing moves and while he easily killed one of them, the other dodged albeit barely, getting off with just a nick on his ear. The one who got nicked leapt back as an attempt to gain distance but that would prove to be a fatal mistake.

The wild lizard-like beast which had been surprisingly neutral for a while, lunged at him. The man didn’t even have time to react because in an instant- he was eaten. Blood poured everywhere as the lizard creature gave him a hard bite or two before simply swallowing the rest.

It’s attention was fully on Ashur now and it started salivating as if it hadn’t just had it’s meal.

It lunged at Ashur next but unlike the man who was eaten a second ago, he was ready.

He leapt high, easily avoiding it’s attack. He looked down to see where he’d land and to his surprise the lizard creature was stationary directly below him.

He raised his dagger and delivered a powerful slash down on it’s back.

Ashur expected a squeal or even a lash out of pain but it simply spun violently all the while releasing strange sounds.

The creature was making huffing noises as if it was panting with excitement. It was shaking so hard that Ashur couldn’t stay on any longer so he purposefully let his body go limp while holding on to the blade which was jabbed deep into the creature's back.

Doing that sent him flying but he recovered smoothly, landing in the open field that he’d faced off against the robed group at.

There were still the strangely robed men but he could tell they were extremely cautious now. He was sure the combo of him and the lizard creature which attacked whoever and whatever was super nerve racking for the group.

Now, turning back his attention to the monster Ashur thought to himself. [This thing’s a monster and not just based on its appearance. It barely even flinched when I cut it just now, does it not feel pain or something? Those are always the worst kind of enemies to deal with.]

It lunged at him again and this time Ashur knew what he had to do. He rushed towards it as well, raising his blade high in the air, preparing for a sword technique. He expected another attempted bite but suddenly it stopped running and quickly rotated- smacking Ashur with its spiky tail.

Luckily Ashur was able to block it with his blade, otherwise he would’ve been impaled by one of the many spikes on its tail. It released it’s tail slightly before it swung it again, and again, and again. It pummeled Ashur relentlessly with countless blows.

Ashur was now struggling to hold his ground and it wasn’t letting up one bit. The first tail swing, while powerful, wasn’t enough to make him slip up but the repeated swings were starting to push him back.

It released and right before it went for another swing Ashur felt a presence behind him. He turned quickly to discover one of the robed men, charging at him with a blade aimed towards his stomach.

[Okay okay this might be tricky. The creature is going for another tail swing and sure it won’t kill me but I don’t want to be on the receiving end of that. My plan a second ago was to gain distance and change my plans but this robed attacker behind me is in the way and the way he’s holding his sword is so he could catch me if I jumped. Damn! I’ll just do this.]

In one smooth movement Ashur rotated his body just enough so that the blade barely grazed his stomach and grabbed the robed man. Turning quickly to use him as a shield.

The creature’s tail slammed into the robed man- killing him instantly and both him, and Ashur got sent flying back.

Now Ashur was soaring in the air. Using the robed man as a shield proved to be a wise strategy, he didn’t take any damage and he was able to gain distance also.

He smiled. This was the second part of his plan; Ashur was now being sent straight towards the rider who was still being held hostage by the robed men.

They noticed his descent in their direction and so, two of them threw daggers to try and snipe him out of the sky. However Ashur was able to twist and dodge them, raising his own blade and slashing down at them the second he landed- killing them instantly.

“T-thanks so much for saving me!” The rider cried out gratefully.

Ashur gritted his teeth, smiling. “Don’t thank me yet. We still need to get you back to the carriage safely.”

“Hey Ashur!” John was waving over at him across the field while clutching his stomach with his other hand. “I can escort the rider back to the carriage, you just focus on defeating that monster.”

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Appreciate it!” Ashur called out before charging towards the creature once more. This time he knew exactly what he needed to do.

The creature was hunched over, eating the remains of the robed man he had used as a shield earlier but once it heard him- it turned. Standing on its hind legs so it was standing human-like; it reached its hand up and slashed down with its claws.

Ashur was able to swiftly dodge but he took note of how each time he took a step back to get a game plan it changed its strategy as well. He slashed at it twice and while it connected- the beast didn’t react.

He continued to do this time after time, after it’s claw slash he would not only dodge but return a slash himself. Eventually it was covered in cuts.

It went for a slash again and Ashur leapt to dodge but it stopped it’s slash mid-way, quickly rotating, going for a tail smack. He wasn’t able to react in time and was smacked in his side, getting sent flying back until he landed into a tree.

“Argh.” He grumbled in pain while slowly standing up. He spit out a bit of blood but wiped his mouth confidently. “That was rough but I could take a couple more of those.”

The creature was rushing towards him now. “I could take more of that but I’d rather not.” He looked around and noticed that John and the rider were safely in the carriage a bit away. “MARY! I’M GOING TO USE IT!”

Without a word, he saw the chains which were lightly wrapped around the carriage fully cover it so there wasn’t even a gap.

It slashed and swung it’s tail violently but he dodged each attack. It was knocking over trees and scratching up the earth, being relentless in its pursuit of him; all the while salivating profusely.

It charged at him once more but he simply slid back, now being far away from the carriage.

He raised his sword up screaming out “Lig!” And in an instant light shone off his blade.

It seemed to coat the blade in pure light and he yelled out, slicing down with all his might at the creature.

Mary, the rider, Mr. Meyer’s, and John were all sitting down, awaiting Ashur’s victory.

Mr. Meyer was talking to John to make sure he was alright and he nodded but Mary could tell he was just trying to act tough.

John was sweating heavily, still clutching his stomach.

She noted that while he wasn’t stabbed in a super vital organ he was still bleeding a high amount.

Mary looked at John with a worried look. “Do you think you’ll be okay there?”

He gave a pained chuckle. “Yeah I think so. Sorry to have you worry Mary, I shouldn’t have let my guard down at that moment. I just didn’t expect that he was holding back.”

Mary gave him a reassuring look, “Well here’s some advice from a more experienced adventurer. No matter who you fight, one, use your full strength and two, always assume the adversary is stronger than you. That way you won’t slip up, the battle will come down to who is the stronger or the better fighter.”

John smiled “Thanks for the tip. I’ll keep that in mind for the future.”

Their conversation was brought to a halt after hearing a big boom from outside the carriage.

There was silence and they all awaited anxiously to find out what had happened outside. They were all clueless except Mary who was smiling. John noticed this and pondered “What are you smiling for Mary?”

“That was one of Ashur’s techniques that he can use due to his gift. If he used that there’s no way it survived.”

John’s eyes lit up with excitement as he thought to himself.

[I hope he did finish it! That thing looked super fearsome, If it was just me against that thing I would’ve definitely lost. Honestly back when all those robed men appeared I would’ve been done for. Ashur is really strong, it makes sense that he’s one of the people in place to become the next S rank adventurer.]

Right as the anticipation seemed to reach an all time high the first sound they heard was a whistle.

Whoever whistled did it 3 times back to back. Mary stood up, releasing her blessing.

The chains disappeared and all sitting inside the carriage could now see outside.

Ashur was standing at the front door.

Behind him they could see the eviscerated corpse of the monster. It was so scorched that only it's long spiky tail remained and even that was battered and split in several pieces.

Mary smirked, “Good job handling them all.”

Ashur smiled back, “Yeah I'm surprised it ended so quickly. I had to do a lot though, I’d say that earns me a reward later right Mary?”

She gave him a whimsical look, “Sure. We can discuss what that reward will be later.”

Ashur chuckled and reached to open the door but just then; he, John, and Mary all felt an extreme murderous aura.

Mary instinctively summoned her chains and while she didn’t immediately cover the carriage- she had them around the bottom, in case she needed to use them.

Ashur turned quickly behind him to try and spot the source of the bloodlust but he saw no one.

John shuddered. [What was that just now? The bloodlust was so strong I felt chills get sent down by my spine... The only other person to make me feel that way was Luna and there’s no way she’d be out in a backwater town like this.]

Ashur clenched his fists tightly. “Who’s there!?” He shouted out but there was no response.

Right before he started to walk out and check the area he saw someone in the clearing ahead.

It was too dark so he couldn’t clearly see who it was but when they spoke he couldn’t recognize the voice at all.

It was a girl's voice and was extremely high pitched and squeaky. “You did really well Ashur. Congratulations on defeating my little beasty, that was a magnificent attack. Loyd couldn't handle it at all, he died pitifully.”

Ashur's teeth were clenched furiously. He wanted to make her pay, for what she did to Loyd but now wasn't the time.

They needed information, also for all he knew she could've been trying to provoke him.

He slowly reached for his blade, keeping his hand on it. “So if I take your words at face value that means you sicked that foul creature on us as well as those robed men?”

“Yes. ” He couldn’t see the girl's face since she was in the shadows but he could hear a smile in her voice.

“So would I be right to assume you’re the leader.”

The girl laughed. This caught him off guard but he still kept his hand on the hilt of his blade.

The girl laughed and laughed and laughed.

She was hysterical and he could see her outline from far away, reaching up to seemingly wipe tears off her face. “No no no no no. Not even close, but I’m flattered you’d think so. Now, I’d like you to do me a favor and die okay?”

With that last sentence her tone was playful and in an instant Ashur dashed towards her, blade outstretched.

“Get going right now! I’ll catch up!” Ashur screamed out to the carriage.

Mary obliged, quickly sending the rider to take off and that’s what they did.

They were going full speed ahead, and passed Ashur while he combatted the Mysterious woman.

It was hard to see clearly but as they passed John saw them clashing; and he couldn't see what weapon the girl was using but he could hear a sound similar to metal clashing.

The last thing John saw were the two of them slashing back to back, looking to be on even ground as they moved farther, and farther away.