The three large cones of fire roared towards Lukas and as he bent his knees to leap away, he realized...
'Too slow!'
There was no way he'd be able to escape the blast. At least one of them would catch him.
And so, before his brain could even catch up, his body moved on instinct. He leapt backwards, the fire still roaring at him, then lifted his hands in front of him.
[Hex Shield]!
An instant later, the attack slammed into the shield, shattering into mist. But that was not the end.
The attack slowed, slamming into the next shield and shattering it, only to meet another shield, then another, and another.
Lukas hadn't cast just one [Hex Shield] but as many as he could within that short period of time.
Eventually, the attack slammed into the last barrier, before dissipating into thin air. But the fight wasn't over.
The three scorpions, having followed behind their attack, slammed into the shield, shattering it.
Lukas dipped his sword into the soot that coated the ground and swung. The soot flew into the air, obscuring the vision of the scorpions. By the time their vision cleared, Lukas was nowhere to be found.
Lukas stood atop the branches of the blackened tree, gazing down at the three scorpions. They moved this way and that, trying to find their prey.
They saw Melody in the distance, but none of them dared approach. If it had been a C-rank Awakener, they would have attacked, as they had the numerical advantage. But this was a B-rank Awakener. They would simply be going to their deaths.
Lukas frowned, sword gripped tightly in one hand. How was he going to kill the three beasts in one shot?
He couldn't help but wish he had a skill capable of causing that kind of damage. But to get that kind of skill, he needed enough Gacha Points. And to get those Gacha Points, he needed to complete this quest.
He sighed at his train of thought. 'I should at least be happy with what I have. Without the system, would I even have the confidence to face three D-rank beasts?'
He catalogued his skills once more. [Pickpocket] and [Lockpick] were pretty much useless in this situation. Which left [Cursed Blade] and [Hex Shield]. One was offensive and the other was defensive....
His pupils shrank as a thought occurred to him. 'What if...'
A grin appeared on his face as he realized that it was possible! He'd have to take a gamble. If it worked, he'd have three hundred Gacha Points. And if he failed, he'd simply be set back by three days. Three days wasn't a long time in the grand scheme of things.
He was willing to risk it.
With a loud roar, he jumped off the tree, his landing causing a layer of soot to rise into the air. "Over here, you fuckers!"
The scorpions snapped towards his direction. They'd separated to search for him, but the moment they saw him, they surged forward, putting on a burst of speed.
He skipped backwards, inviting them in.
'Not yet...'
One of the scorpions charged up another beam, firing it at him, but he dodged with contemptuous ease, laughing in response.
The three scorpions separated, trying to entrap him and capture him in the middle. He let them have their way, even positioning himself to make things easier for them.
'Not yet...'
The moment he was in place, the three scorpions rushed forward, their tails blurring at him.
'Now!'
Lukas bent his knees, and with all his strength, jumped into the air.
"Woah!"
The stingers met thin air as he surged into the sky, rising faster than he'd intended.
When he was at the apex of his jump, the forest sprawled below him, and he could even see the vast city walls of Havenhart in the distance.
Then he began to descend. He fell, slowly, then picking up speed. The scorpions awaited below him, stingers at the ready. Now, he shouldn't be able to escape.
But as he dropped, he began casting [Hex Shield]. For the first time since he'd Awakened, Lukas felt his mana drain as fifty shields slowly flickered into existence in front of him.
The ground quickly grew closer, until...
Boom!
He slammed into the three scorpions, creating a large crater on the ground and sending soot flying into the air in a mushroom cloud.
The moment the shields shattered and he landed, Lukas threw himself to the side, rolling out of the mushroom cloud.
He stood there for a moment, his arms stinging. He'd landed arms first, and the only reason he hadn't sustained a grievous injury was the combination of the shields, his strength, and his constitution.
An ordinary E-rank Awakener wouldn't have walked away from that kind of fall without at least breaking a lot of bones, and in the worst case scenario, an instant death.
"Are you okay?"
Lukas glanced behind him to see Melody standing there.
"I'm alright." He smiled at her, before turning to the clearing cloud of soot. He knew she'd come closer in case his move had gone wrong.
Ding!
[Congratulations, you have cleared the quest.]
[Reward: +300 Gacha Points.]
[You have killed a D-rank Deathstalker Scorpion(x3)]
The cloud of soot finally cleared, revealing what the system already told Lukas.
The three scorpions had been squished to death, their meat bursting from cracked exoskeleton, green blood painting the floor of the crater.
"I did it." Lukas whispered.
Melody gave him a side hug, her arms wrapping around his waist. "You did it."
Lukas pulled up his system interface.
[Gacha Harem System]
[Gacha Points: 400]
[Banners:]
[Wife (cost: 2000 Gacha Points)]
[Skills (cost: 500 Gacha Points)]
[Item (cost: 500 Gacha Points)]
[Mystery box (cost: 1000 Gacha Points)]
All he needed now was just 100 Gacha Points, and he would be able to pull for a new skill.
While the prospect of getting an [Item] for free was enticing, he would rather spend the points on a skill. [Items] could be outgrown but skills grew with their wielder.
He still had two outstanding quests, which would grant him a total reward of 150 Gacha Points, so he wasn't far away from getting a new skill.
"Alright." Melody pulled away, unsheathing her own sword. "It's time for us to move up to hunting C-rank beasts."
Lukas celebrated the announcement with an energetic fist pump.
"But this time, we'll be fighting the beasts together." Melody continued. "I can't very well ignore my own progression too, can I?"
"Of course." Lukas grinned. He pointed his sword in the direction leading deeper into the Scorched Forest. "Let's go!"