The two of them rode on the back of the Dragon Rhino.
The broad armor and heavy shield brought Lu Cang—now Kanzaki Rei in this world—a considerable sense of reassurance.
Trand was different from the fat man they had met yesterday. He was a far more seasoned veteran.
Even though Rei couldn't see the man's physique beneath the armor, the hard lines of his face made it obvious—this was someone with powerful, well-trained muscles.
Level 3.
That level was already a watershed.
It was said that the vast majority of Class-Awakened adventurers in the world never progressed beyond Level 3.
The jump from Level 3 to Level 4 was a true threshold.
Ordinary people found it extremely difficult to cross.
That was why it was common to see Level 2 adventurers who were still around twenty years old.
But Level 3 adventurers ranged from people in their twenties all the way to those in their fifties or sixties…
[Windshadow Beast – Elemental Mutation]
A Third-Tier Lord-Class monster.
During the investigation, it was highly suspected to be a special variant. According to the intelligence report, when an Observer attempted to study it from a distance, the creature noticed his presence and began hunting him down.
He had barely escaped with his life.
That information alone proved something important—
Its perception was extraordinarily sharp, and its tracking range extremely long.
The Observer was a non-combat profession specializing in long-range surveillance. They excelled at observing targets from afar, detecting hidden traps, locating invisible units, and even identifying enemy weaknesses and flaws.
It was said that Observers above Level 5 could even lock onto a person's exact position from tens of thousands of miles away.
To make it easier to monitor the outside environment, the carriage windows were large and clear.
The "Everlight Lamp" lit up.
The forest's shadows were swept away in an instant.
"We're getting close."
Even though Maizel couldn't see it yet, he could already sense the enemy's presence.
The restless wind rustled violently through the trees.
In this terrain, trees surrounded them on all sides.
BOOM—
The Dragon Rhino smashed straight through the forest, snapping trees as it charged forward in a straight line!
Winding paths only made them easier targets.
SWISH!
"It's here!"
Rei felt the agitation of the elements.
BOOM!
Before his eyes could even turn—
The earth had already risen into towering walls.
RUMBLE—!
Three massive stone barriers instantly erupted beside him!
Immediately afterward came the impact feedback of stone and soil being struck!
BANG!
The first stone wall cracked with countless fine fractures!
So fast!
Rei hadn't even seen the enemy with his eyes yet—
And the attack had already arrived!
If his elemental perception hadn't been so sharp, the enemy would have seized the initiative completely.
But that strike finally confirmed the enemy's position.
A magic-type attack—
[Shadow Slash]
SWISH!
Rei felt dense dark-element energy slicing toward them!
BANG!
Yet the two incoming slashes slammed directly into a barrier that had formed in midair before Rei.
[Rigid Barrier (LV: 188)]
Two dull impacts echoed across the barrier.
The slashes had no effect whatsoever.
[Extreme Ice Lance]
[Lightning Flash]
[Silent Wind Swarm]
[Wind Burst]
[Rising Impact Pillar]
[Poison Vine Lash]
…
Ice streaked forward with a long trailing tail, punching through layers of trees.
CRACK—!
BOOM!
Lightning flashed repeatedly!
Beneath the Dragon Rhino's feet, shadows spread outward—
[Sinking Shadow Mire (Tier-2) (LV: 152)]—Extremely large area. Merge with shadows. Sink. Rapid spread. Rapid collapse. Adhesive.
Impact pillars smashed through the forest horizontally and vertically.
The storm wrapped around the Silent Wind Swarm and erupted instantly!
BOOM!
More than ten different spells detonated simultaneously, instantly obliterating the dense forest to the side!
And the Windshadow Beast that had originally been hiding between the trees—
Finally appeared within Rei's field of vision.
Its speed was astonishing.
Its form resembled a mimicked black shadow.
Its body looked like transparent wind mixed with polluted darkness.
As it sprinted, it resembled a flowing mass of black mist.
Within the narrow gaps between trees, it was almost impossible to see.
But…
When entire stretches of forest were blown apart and shredded by Rei in an instant—
The monster had nowhere left to hide.
The moment it realized the threat—
It immediately transformed into a black stream of wind and pierced toward Rei!
"Are you kidding me?"
Ross's eyes widened in shock.
Before this, whenever Rei had instantly killed Third-Tier Lord monsters, he had only cast two or three spells.
For a Level 2 Mage, that was already unbelievably outrageous.
But what the hell was that instantaneous spell eruption just now?!
Hey!
You just blew away an entire forest!
Was that really the power of a Level 2 Mage?
Had everything he displayed before just been the tip of the iceberg?
No way… right?
Ross's mind was filled with shock.
But even while stunned, he was already preparing for battle.
"Guard!"
Ding—
A thin layer of light suddenly appeared around Rei.
[Protection (LV: 2)]
A defensive spell from a Third-Tier Healing Caster.
Healing Casters were different from Mages. Many of their spells were chantless techniques.
They could be cast instantly—but required time to recover.
Yes…
They had cooldowns and could be stored in multiple charges.
At the same time, Trand twisted his body and stepped in front of Rei, shielding him as he faced the monster.
Rei's eyes narrowed slightly.
This monster had undergone an Elemental Mutation.
It had lost its physical body and become an elemental form.
Physical attacks without elemental enchantment were almost completely ineffective against elemental bodies.
However—
If struck by an elemental attack that countered its attribute, it would suffer massive damage.
If Rei used [Holy Cross], he could probably severely injure it instantly.
Or if he used the Tier-2 spell [Luminous Piercing Spear], it would likely deal outstanding damage as well.
But seeing Trand standing in front of him—
A thought surfaced in Rei's mind.
He wanted to see how they fought.
He had spent quite a bit of money hiring them, yet he had never actually watched them battle.
Even if they were just insurance, there was a good chance he would need them for a while longer.
He should at least see how well they could protect him.
Otherwise, he would have to hire new people every time.
And compared to fighting with unfamiliar teammates, it was always safer to fight alongside people you already knew.
BANG!
The boss transformed into a black stream of wind, stabbing forward like a piercing spear!
But before it could reach Rei—
It slammed violently into an invisible barrier.
[Rigid Barrier (LV: 188)]
A thunderous impact exploded across the barrier.
The strike failed to break through.
Rei could clearly sense it—
The monster was extremely fast and excellent at concealing its movements.
But its damage output was actually very low.
BANG!
The boss suddenly rebounded backward like a tightly coiled ball of black wind, bouncing away before instantly charging back toward Rei again!
Trand roared:
"Your opponent is me!"
At that moment—
Rei felt a powerful aura erupt from Trand's body!
Immediately afterward, he sensed something rising from within the man—
A powerful emotion of hatred.
[Combat Technique: Hatred Taunt]
So he has a taunt skill.
Rei lightly jumped backward, leaping directly off the Dragon Rhino's back.
Before he even landed—
A massive ice lance formed beneath his feet.
CRRRK—
Ice froze around both of his boots.
Rei stood atop the ice lance, matching the speed of the Dragon Rhino—
Using this method to achieve flight.