(One Week Later)
It's been a grind down here in the Sand Grotto, still no sign of the mutant, I believe it was hiding itself within an army of other mana beast. I could sense the presence of a lot more mana beast that we haven't taken care of yet.
We've been going on raids constantly every day, but we come across the same things, just Esene in large numbers. They are so weak, so slaughtering them was easy, and brought me joy. I did sense a more powerful beast at one moment, I lost track of it during a fight, and couldn't find it again.
I've been bonding with Callias a lot recently. He may be fifth-teen years older than me, but he is always nice to me and very supportive. That's the same way with everyone though. I was a boy, however, they treated me more and more like a fellow soldier every day.
"You ready?" Helen asked me, as I stood there motionless, contemplating everything. "Are you alright?" She put a hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm fine Helen, I was just thinking." I swung my cloak around me and swung the hood up. I then placed my blood stained mask on and turned to her.
"What were you thinking about?" She asked as we turned toward our two teams.
"Nothing serious." I told her honestly. "I was preparing myself for today, sooner or later a team will find something."
"You're right, I hope that's soon, I'm getting tired of walking in the stand." Helen laughed, and I did as well. "It's good to see you laugh once and a while, makes me feel better about what's going on." She moved her hand to my head.
"Helen, you know I am fine." I felt for my sword in my mana ring, getting ready to fight in the dungeon. "I'm getting use to everything, you know that."
"I was just checking up on you." She continued to smile. "Let's go, they're waiting for us." We made our way to everyone, and Helen got in front. "We go deeper today, prepare yourselves."
Callias nudged me. "Let's make it quick today." I nodded my head.
Helen continued. "Our team is the leading party at the moment, we were classified as the strongest force since we have been clearing rooms left and right." She turned to me. "That's of course thanks to Veer, but he won't be able to protect us forever." Yeah, I rather not protect them, I would rather wipe the army of Esene off the board myself.
"So, no one has been where we are going?" Angela asked, I'm pretty sure that's been the case this whole time, but this time we are going insanely deep into the dungeon.
"Yes, precisely." Helen answered. "We'll be fine, just look at it as a normal day." Everyone nodded their heads. I cracked my neck and got ready to fight, there's going to be a new mana beast here today, I could feel it for some reason. "Move out." Helen ordered and we all followed her into the portal.
As we went through, we got into formation, Adam, Jasmine, Callias, and me in the front, guarding the conjurers from the mana beast, so they could launch spells at the ones in the back.
I was now leading the group with Adam on my side, we could see the cavern up ahead, and I activated "Blood Oath" and sensed over two hundred mana beasts inside already, and more close by for some reason. It could be a trap or just mana beast gathering together, it should be fun.
We entered, and they all turned to us, sand dropping from their disgusting faces. "Yuck." Callias said. "It's good we are here to kill them, because who wants to live like that." I have to agree with him on that.
I pointed my hand out, and my elven sword appeared in my hand. Let's enjoy this moment, I coalesced blue fire over my entire body and sword. Callias did the same with his normal fire, and we went to work.
I cut through an Esene, then another, killing one after another. Two came running at me at the same time, and I ripped their blood out with ease. Spells were being launched over my head, taking out the horde as they ran at us.
"There has to be over a hundred mana beast here." Callias said to no one in particular.
"There are over two hundred." I told him, grabbing an Esene's throat after I dodged an attack from a sword, then covered its body in flames, burning it to ash. I spun and cut the head off another.
"Guess we will be here for a while." Callias slid his sword into the chest of a mana beast, then quickly dodged an attack from another, and proceeded to put his sword into its knee. As it fell down, he cut its head off and went onto the next.
I was a little further out than anybody, but no one questioned it at this point. Five Esene came at me, and I swung my sword in the air, sending a giant ice blade that cut through each one. I laughed, feeling the pleasure of killing rush through me.
Three more came at me, I don't need blood magic to kill these worthless creatures. I dodged an ax, brought my sword up into its chest, then the one to its right swung its sword down on me, and I released my sword, grabbed its throat and sent fire throughout its body. I killed the last one by shooting an ice lance through its chest.
I bent down, ripped my sword out, and cut the head off of another. "Ha." A laugh slipped my mouth, but I caught it before someone could hear it. Two more ran at me, and I ripped the blood out their bodies.
There were still over a hundred left, I barely used mana, and could fight like this for hours. I pointed my left hand out at the approaching ten Esene, and ice swords grew out of the ground killing them instantly.
An Esene swung an ax at me, and I back stepped, being my sword up in the process killing it. I ripped the blood out of another, then cut the head off of another. I felt my face smiling with each kill.
I saw Adam bring his spear up into the skull of an Esene, then he spun and placed it into another. Our teamwork was actually really damn good, there was not one singular weak spot on our team. We had experienced members and strong mages, it was perfect.
I turned back to an approaching Esene, dodged a sword, then dodged another sword, spun away from the two Esene, and ripped their blood out. I placed my sword into another one's chest. It shrieked in pain, as I pulled my blade out and kicked its corpse to the ground.
I slid my sword into one's throat, then shot a blue fire in front of me, killing four more. This made me think of Soul Fire, if I had that, I could get mana into people's blood who were stronger than me with ease. My weak ass human body prevents that from ever being a possibility, unless I find a way to upgrade my body, but I don't think that's possible. I did have a stupid idea, but that had to wait, because I couldn't do it at the moment, and if I did, I could die, and not change anything, making my life pointless.
"Veer, come back, you are moving far out." Callias called to me, and I started to back up. I cut a beast in half, then shot an ice sword into another's chest. There were about twenty running at everyone in front of us, and before they could get any closer, I pushed their blood out of their backs, killing them. "Brutal."
More climbed over the corpses that littered the ground everywhere, and we prepared ourselves, I conjured water scythes about my head, as I cut through an Esene, then shot the scythes at the five approaching me.
I felt for the mana beast that were left, there were about forty left. "There are forty left." I said out loud, but I could feel more approaching in the tunnel ahead of us. "More are coming down that tunnel." I pointed at the tunnel at the other end.
"Okay, is everyone good mana wise?" Helen asked the team as we continued to slay mana beast.
"Yeah, I'm good." Jasmine leaped into the air using wind magic and killed multiple Esene.
"Same." Multiple people said.
"Perfect." Helen released an arrow, placing it right between the eyes of a mana beast.
I ripped the blood out of the six heading my way, then watched as everyone took down the last ones. We probably had a minute or two before the others showed up. "I'm feeling another hundred." I told the group.
"We can definitely manage that." Callias exclaimed. "I feel like we just started."
I did feel something weird in this group of beasts, like there was a different type of mana beast inside the horde. "I'm gonna guess beforehand, but I think there is a new mana beast within the Esene." I paused for a second, I didn't know for sure, the blood felt differently shaped throughout the body. "I can't be sure though."
"Everyone, just watch out for any new mana beast that might show itself." Helen nodded her head at me, and we got ready for the next horde to come at us. Callias was jumping as he stared at the tunnel across from us. I scratched an itch I had on my back, and then squatted down and waited.
The approaching horde made its way out of the tunnel, Esene pointed their weapons at us as we they ran and growled, inside the horde were these tiger like beast, ones I haven't seen before. I could see their sharp teeth from here, they had pale fur with black stripes running through them. They were faster than the Esene but were using them as protection it looked like. I stood up and got ready to fight.
"Those are Frepirs, fast mana beast." Helen called out. "Just aim for the heard, and act like it's a normal one still."
The conjurers started to launch spells over our heads as the horde ran towards us, I joined in by shooting water scythes at them. The Frepirs hid behind the Esene when an attack headed their way. They seem to be slightly intelligent, or there was someone controlling them. I didn't sense any humans in this cavern besides us.
Esene started to drop like flies, but the Frepirs got closer and closer, they were insanely agile. It didn't matter though; I could still rip their blood out if I wanted to.
Three Esene made it to me, and a Frepir behind them, this was going to be quite interesting.
I ripped the blood out of the Esene, then stared at the Frepir as it jumped at me. I raised my hand, and before it could do anything, I pushed the blood inside of its body out of its back, killing it.
I watched as Callias struggled to kill the one he fought, but eventually did, these things were quick. I swung my blade through the body of an Esene, then raised ice swords out of the ground around me, to form a barrier of protection in case a Frepir appeared without me noticing. I did sense where all the mana beasts were at the moment.
A Frepir leapt over the ice swords, right at me, and I raised another ice sword from underneath my feet, impaling the creature in the air. I walked in front of it, so I was standing where my ice sword barrier was, then I started to shoot the swords that were already in the ground at anything I saw coming our way.
"Ahh." I turned to the scream of pain and saw Jasmine underneath a Frepir's paw. Helen aimed an arrow at it, but before she released it, I caused the beast to explode. It looked like Jasmine was bleeding from her shoulder, when she went to stand up, she grabbed it. "I can't move my shoulder, Helen." Jasmine started to back up into the line of conjures.
"It's fine." Helen told her. "Reform the front line, Callias, Veer, and Adam don't let anything past you." She paused and I felt her looking at me. "How many are left?"
"Ninety, maybe a little more." I answered honestly, we just started. I slid my sword into the chest of a growling Esene, then ripped the blood out of a Frepir.
"Is everyone else fine?" Helen asked, and everyone gave a nod as they continued to launch spells. "Veer, could you kill the horde yourself if you had too?"
"Yeah." I answered, cutting the heads off of two Esene.
"That's our fallback plan." She said as she released an arrow. I shrugged knowing I could kill them all, even if the Frepir were fast, it didn't matter if they didn't have blood in them to live. I felt for the injuries currently restricting Jasmine from fighting and started to heal her.
Adam, Callias, and I killed Esene and Frepir one after another, nothing could get past us, we were a brick wall. It did help I could control blood, and the conjurers behind us were laying down spells killing the ones in the distance.
A Frepir jumped at me, and I dodged its attack, then had the blood in its body explode outwards, drenching me in it. I was so used to it, that it didn't even phase me. I conjured wind and water scythes and blades, and shot them at the horde, which had maybe fifty left. My spell killed maybe ten more.
We were slaughtering these beasts with ease, Jasmine did get hurt, but she was going to be fine. She was probably so use to fighting these weak ass beasts, that the Frepir caught her off guard with its speed.
I was able to track them, so I didn't get surprised by their appearance. I brought an ice sword out of the ground and grabbed it with my left hand. I swung my elven sword right through an Esene, then turned and swung my ice sword through another.
Eventually after a couple of more minutes the rest of the beast were dead, and everyone stood there tired, except for me, I could keep on going, this was fun.
"We should probably head back, we did goo today, clearing two hordes." I agreed with Helen, we did do good.
"Roooooaaaaarrrrr!" An ear screeching roar came from the tunnel, I closed my eyes and sensed for the beast.
"That's." I said, then stopped, I took a step closer. "I think that's the mutant, the power it is emitting is insane." I could feel another horde around it, in the hundreds. The power though, that was no AA Class mutant, it had to be an S Class.
"Are you sure?" Callias asked me, as everyone started to gather together. "Is it really the mutant?"
I turned to them. "I'm pretty sure." I smiled under my mask; this should be fun.
There was one thing that worried me, I could sense the beast, but I didn't sense the blood inside of it at all.
What type of beast was this?