Beatitudes

Episode 84.

For the third time on the same day within a tier one tainted mountain, a group of three fighters consisting of two males and a female, each with their respective distinct classes and personalities, took a single step forward to be immediately engulfed by a wave of beasts. The beasts however low tier they were would prove to be a serious problem for some as they attacked in a group, but the same could not be said for the three that met their ferocious attacks with calm, almost somewhat relaxed, and swift movements.

One of the trio looked like he had been set on fire as a raging yet mild layer of crimson orange red energy covered his body, granting him a boon in the form of berserk strength and might. A berserker like him was most suited to fights against large numbers like these as his damage output soared higher owing to the relentless yet almost mindless attacks of the Direflame wolves surrounding him.

Out of the three fighters engaged against the wolves as of the moment, his was the most explosive and attention grabbing, with the constant sight of wolves flying back from his heavy strikes and the occasional, sickening sounds of bones breaking ringing out from his hammer smashing against the wolves.

The other two on the other hand displayed less gruesome scenes but the number of Direflame wolves dropping was just the same as the first’s.

On another side, a white sword was seen flashing across beast after beast, leaving behind deep wounds as the beasts yelped in pain. They grew increasingly frenzied, bloodlust filling their eyes as they tried to stare down the perpetrator, but that did little to intimidate anyone, all they got in return were more, deeper gashes from the silvery white eyed youth also using ‘will manipulation’ to condense white colored pikes that he occasionally threw out at unsuspecting beasts. It was already somewhat of a fighting style for him, odd as it may be. But he knew that wasn’t the only thing he could do with his willpower, the skill itself was a very versatile skill that allowed for a lot of maneuvers and tactics, he was just more used to swords and pikes at the moment. But the need for diversity was called to light as he stumbled suddenly, giving the beasts charging at him with their claws outstretched and jaws wide open a rare opportune moment, one they wasted no time to exploit.

Rolling like a wheel on the ground, he forced himself to evade a claw that had swiped close enough to gouge out his flesh if it connected. He had barely gotten to his feet as quickly as he could, only to immediately bend his waist down to a perfect ninety degrees with his leg when another wolf, acting as if in perfect co-ordination with the others, leaped to take a bite out of his head with its jaws wide open. He could see the underside of the wolf clearly enough to land a fatal strike and that was what he did, reflexively mustering all his strength he slashed out in a wide arc while trying to keep his balance steady.

The sword swept across the space above him and with a lot of effort in the uncomfortable position he was in, landed squarely on the beast, drawing a deep diagonal line on the underside of the defenseless beast. Blood spurted out in large amount as some of it splashed onto him, there was little he could do to avoid it as he was, but he managed to avoid it landing on his face as he raised himself back to his normal height, taking no more note of the once living beast that was behind him, now crashing onto the ground as it slid into the distance with nothing to stop it while leaving a trail of blood.

The sword swept across the space above him and with a lot of effort in the uncomfortable position he was in, landed squarely on the beast, drawing a deep diagonal line on the underside of the defenseless beast. Blood spurted out in large amount as some of it splashed onto him, there was little he could do to avoid it as he was, but he managed to avoid it landing on his face as he raised himself back to his normal height, taking no more note of the once living beast that was behind him, now crashing onto the ground as it slid into the distance with nothing to stop it while leaving a trail of blood.

He rose to his normal height just in time to see two more of the Direflame wolves that had reached a close enough distance to attack him, swinging their claws at him, aiming to overwhelm him with numbers and their continuous assault. He could only curse a bit under his breath as the gears in his head moved, eventually sending a signal to his body to which he waved a hand in front of him, leaving behind on the trail a cluster of something that seemed to be white mist. It was his willpower that had surged out as it all gathered in front of him before immediately condensing itself into a white barricade, spanning a distance of two meters in width and two and a half meters in height.

The two beasts had already charged forward with their full strength, so there was little left to muster, the wolves could only s***h their claws on the barricade that had suddenly appeared in front of them, which made screeching noises as it endured the force of the two slashing claws.

It was a barricade he condensed with a little amount of his willpower so he could save more of it as best as he could, this was a lesson he picked up during days not so far off in the past when he had just too little an amount of willpower to use as freely as he could. So while it could hold off against the two claws that had initially slashed across it, it had no more power behind it as it shook to show its instability before finally breaking into pieces, reverting back to its mist like state before then dispersing into space. But that was all it was needed for in the first place, as soon as the barricade cracked and then dispersed as mist, a flash of white had cut through the still dispersing mist as it headed for the wolves who had to pause in distraction at the sudden appearance and disappearance of the barricade.

It was a barricade he condensed with a little amount of his willpower so he could save more of it as best as he could, this was a lesson he picked up during days not so far off in the past when he had just too little an amount of willpower to use as freely as he could. So while it could hold off against the two claws that had initially slashed across it, it had no more power behind it as it shook to show its instability before finally breaking into pieces, reverting back to its mist like state before then dispersing into space. But that was all it was needed for in the first place, as soon as the barricade cracked and then dispersed as mist, a flash of white had cut through the still dispersing mist as it headed for the wolves who had to pause in distraction at the sudden appearance and disappearance of the barricade.

 The next moment had two large non human heads thrown up into the air as they still sported the distracted expressions on their visages, spending two seconds in the air before plopping down on the floor, the little blood left within spilling out to mix with the blood from the headless bodies of beasts beside it.

Isaac took a step forward as he looked down at the beasts lying dead before him, heads and bodies separated. He felt nothing in particular as he raised his head back up to assess the rest of the battlefield. He was just in time to see the last beast standing crumple to the ground like a blown up figure that lost all the air inside it. Not much could be seen from the outside of it save for the bloody hammer imprint on its side, it had everything inside of it smashed into pieces, one very discomforting way to lose its life compared to instant decapitation.

Harry like Isaac stood close to the corpse, showing that he had been the one to land the gruesome hit that shook the wolf to death,

“Poor wolf…” Isaac whispered to himself as pity for the gruesome death surfaced slightly within him, but that was all he could say and do before a screen abruptly popped up, blood red in color, it appeared in three places to each of the challengers present on the third floor. The familiar sight similarly carried familiar words that were only slightly different from before,

// Trial objectives:

1st Objective- Eliminate all tainted beasts (62/110)

2nd Objective- Clear all floors (3/5)

You have cleared the first three floors of the Tainted mountain (Tier one) and completed an additional two subtasks of the trial.

You may choose to step into the safe zone to recuperate and get prepared, or you may directly head on to the next floor of the tainted mountain to continue the trial of challenging the mountain. //

It was all they needed to see to know that they had truly cleared the third floor clean of all the beasts.