Lukas blurred forward before any of the apes could think to throw anything at him, zipping to a stop between them.
The apes turned, ready to bash him into the ground, but he simply stepped between the hands of one of them, his sword flashing and ripping open its stomach.
As its guts spilled on the floor, he leapt into the air, dodging as one of them finally threw a clump of earth, slamming into the injured ape and immediately ending its life.
As he soared in the air, one of the apes threw a clump at him and he materialized a [Hex Shield]. The shield shattered from the force, and the clump slammed I to his shoulder, sending him spiraling to the ground.
He landed hard, immediately rolling to the side, an ape's feet smashing into where he'd been.
He rose to his feet and with a swing of his sword, severed the leg.
The ape roared as it lost its balance, and Lukas' sword flashed once more, severing its head from its shoulders.
Luckily, the shoulder where he'd been hit merely stung. If he'd taken the hit directly, the shoulder would have been dislocated at the least. And the worst case scenario, severed.
He turned to the remaining two beasts, just in time to see two clumps flying towards him. He rolled forward, leaving the clumps to slam into the ground behind him, throwing soot into the air.
He pulled back and threw his sword, sending it flashing through the air to sink into the ape's chest. The ape stumbled back, roaring in pain.
An instant later, Lukas' palm slammed into the sword, piercing the beast's heart and killing it. He grabbed the hilt of his sword with both hands and exerted force, shearing through the beast's chest.
The corpse collapsed to the ground, but Lukas ignored it, leaping backwards. His hair fluttered as the final ape's fists passed a hairsbreadth from his face to slam into the ground.
The ground cratered, soot flying everywhere. Before the ape could straighten, Lukas surged forward and plunged his sword into its eye, the blade emerging from the back of its head.
[You have killed a D-rank Silver Ape(x4)]
Lukas left his sword in the ape's eye as it flopped to the ground, immediately pulling up his stats.
[Lukas]
[Race: Human]
[Rank: E-rank Awakener]
[Class: Thief, Hexblade]
[Exp: 5.31%]
[Stats:]
[Strength: 866]
[Agility: 1267]
[Constitution: 1406]
[Mana: 2064]
[Skills: Pickpocket, Lockpick, Cursed Blade, Hex Shield]
All that work killing five D-rank beasts on his own, and he'd only progressed 5% towards D-rank?
He knew he was incredibly lucky to be able to face strong monsters like this entirely solo, and that other E-rank Awakeners had people to weaken the beasts for them, which meant they had to share the exp, but he still wasn't satisfied.
It just felt like the rewards should have been much higher compared to the amount of effort he'd put in. But at least, he would only have to kill around ninety five more D-rank beasts to ascend to D-rank.
If he faced higher ranked beasts, it could even be faster.
He turned to Melody, a grin appearing on his face. "So where were we?"
"Focus, Lukas." She said as she walked closer, a slight blush creeping into her cheeks. "We could be ambushed at any moment."
"Of course, of course." Lukas chuckled. He then changed the subject. "One would think [Hex Shield] was more than just a shield, especially with that name."
"It is more than just a shield, but its real value only begins to show after advancing to Adept. That's when its real function is unlocked." Melody answered. "As I'm sure you know, at Adept is where the real power—"
Her eyes suddenly widened, a scream tearing from her throat. "Lukas!"
Lukas didn't need to be told twice. He dove forward, but unfortunately, it wasn't fast enough.
As he was in the air, he felt claws tear through his back, lines of hot pain filling his awareness.
He slammed into the ground, possessing enough alertness to notice as Melody slammed into the beast, sending it flying.
He climbed to his feet, his eyes landing on his sword which was still stuck in the eye of the last ape he'd killed a few meters away.
"Lukas! Are you okay?" Melody asked, her voice urgent. Her sword was in her hands, and she didn't take her eyes off the beast.
"I'm okay." Lukas replied, voice strained. He pushed the pain in his back to the back of his mind, his eyes finding the beast that had attacked him.
A Shadow Panther. The panther's golden eyes flicked between him and Melody, its dark fur blending in with the surrounding soot as it slowly stalked them.
"Stay alert." Melody instructed. "The panther can teleport, so it can attack from anywhere. The moment it disappears from your sight, move."
Just as she finished speaking, the panther vanished. Lukas immediately bolted to his sword, pulling it from the head of the ape and swinging behind him.
His sword slashed into the panther's jaw, tearing a wound through the snout. The panther yowled, teleporting away.
He rushed to Melody, and they stood back to back, waiting for the panther to appear again.
The beast was targeting Lukas, recognizing that he was the weak link in their duo.
A second later, it appeared again, its claws reaching towards Lukas' face. Melody sword blurred, catching the panther flank and tearing a nasty wound through it. She'd already predicted where it'll appear and was ready.
The panther slammed into the ground, and Lukas immediately took advantage of it, his sword sinking into the panther's torso before it disappeared, his sword slamming into the ground.
The same instant, the panther's claws slammed into his legs, tearing off a chunk of skin. Lukas roared in pain, dropping to his knees, but the panther's killing blow never came.
Melody's sword bisected it into two before it could even land another hit, killing it instantly.
[You have killed a B-rank Shadow Panther]
Lukas stared at his mangled leg, his eyes watering at the pain.
"Lukas..." Melody gasped at the extent of the injuries. "We need to get to a healer immediately!"
She took Lukas' arm and pulled it around her shoulders, supporting him as she pulled him to her feet.
Lukas groaned from the pain as the action aggravated the wounds on his back, standing on his one good leg.
"No need for that."
Lukas and Melody's heads snapped upwards to see two men floating in the air above them.
"There's a B-rank Awakener here? That's a relief."
***
A/N: Hi! Hope you're enjoying the story so far. If so, don't forget to show your support with your power stones or a review. Even a simple tftc goes a long way. Thank you in advance!