{Rel''s POV}
[Location: Ind Of The East: Monster Infested - South Side - Inner-Middle-section]
During the time I hunted, I did end up encountering our main characters from here and there.
In the second hour, I found Valencia fighting 3 ss 1-B students at once.
With the title of sword saint befit for someone like her, she came out on top, easily overpowering them without her elemental attribute.
But after the fight ended, she nced right where I was hiding. I flinched instinctively.
She definitely saw me... and that look she gave... the same one I always get. It confirmed my suspicions.
I mean... when was there a time when she couldn''t sense me?
(He was right)
...
...
...
Then in the third hour, I found Jae Yoona and Alice fighting a high-ss C-ranked monster, which was the Gloomfang Panther.
They were panthers that were corrupted by dungeon erosion, turning them into a Gloomfang Panther, they usually looked twice asrge as normal panthers with the addition of glowing eyes.
Their trait was that they were stealthy hunters who could move through the forest without making a single sound.
But thankfully for Jae Yoona, her eyes could exceed a reaction time that defied a corrupted panther''s speed and she ended up finishing it off with a shot to the head, with her newly modified bow I gave her.
Well, it was my bow at first... and I shouldn''t be surprised but after the fight, she spotted me almost immediately and she told me toe out from my spot and I surrendered myself in.
Our conversation was short and sweet.
She wanted to set a study schedule, and well, who was I to argue?
Truth was, I nned on using club activities as an excuse to ditch most of those sessions anyway.
...
...
...
Back to now.
I''m in between the innermost middle section, which was the closest to the centre of the ind.
I just want to get this over with.
I''m looking at where all the damn monsters should be, and still, I''ming up empty.
BANG!!!! BANG!!!!
SHAAAAAA!
Another explosion of fire erupted from the centre.
It was Louise again, showing no mercy to those poor students.
p...p...p....
Wait, what was that?
[Deadeye has been activated!]
With Deadeye activated, my vision sharpened, revealing three sunfire hawks fleeing the explosion.
I figured it was my time to get on the move with this.
Watching the Hawks soar through the air, I raised my crossbow, tracking their movements.
huuuu...
Focusing on shooting the first target I quickly slowed my breaths to minimise the shake on my aim.
TAK!
Firing the first shot of my arrow, It slowly curved through the air and...
[Critical Hit!]
[Monster Hunter (Special Passive) Amplified the attack!]
The arrow found its mark and right before my eyes, the shot erupted into a beautiful explosion on impact, engulfing the other two sunfire hawks.
What remained in the air were the feathers that scattered in the sky, making their way down to the ground.
"That was... kinda awesome." Gotta respect the power of a clean shot...
Meanwhile, everyone else was scrambling in the centre.
Me? I was picking off all the stragglers, those poor monsters fleeing the chaos.
"Woah... that was amazing."
"...?"
A voice cut through the air, breaking my focus off the explosion.
Turning my head towards the voice of Thiago Basten I already knew something was off.
He stood there, his blue hair ruffled against the breeze of wind.
His blue eyes were fixed on me with a face of resentment.
I didn''t lower my crossbow, a sense of unease settling in the pit of my stomach.
Thiago was from the opposing ss, and his presence here only meant trouble.
If we fight right here this could attract even more attention from both our sses.
We were in the middle of a practice exam, and tensions between our sses were already high.
Thiago smirked, his gaze locked on mine.
"Just admiring your remarkable archery, Rel",
He said, sarcasm dripping from his words.
"Quite the shot you''ve got there."
I narrowed my eyes, not buying his act for a second.
Thiago was up to something, that much was clear.
But... what was his ability again? Something I couldn''t immediately recall.
[Perceptive mind has been activated!]
I locked eyes with Thiago and triggered Perceptive mind.
Immediately, the system window appeared.
FWANG!
[Status Window Of Thiago Basten]
[Age: 18]
[>Strength: 88, >Durability: 78, >Speed: 33, >Mana: B, >Elemental Attribute: Wind]
[Current Thoughts: "He''s not gonna see iting..."]
[Main Ability: Wind Constructs. He can solidify air, shaping it into various forms such as des, shields, or even simple tools like ropes or tforms. While these constructs are not inherently tied to his wind attribute, they can be enhanced or manipted further with his understanding of his attribute, making them more versatile and effective.
This ability allows Thiago to adapt to different situations without relying too heavily on his elemental ability.]
Ah... right so he could fly if he wanted to as well.
But "it"? What am I missing? Is there someone besides him?
[Deadeye has been activated!]
"...!"
Activating deadeye, I could see both Sergio Vex and Carlos Muller hiding amongst the trees and bushes.
Now that I was a sitting duck in the open, I needed a way out.
"You look worried Rel."
Thiago''s smirk was practically a weapon.
With every step closer, his sword unsheathed, the pressure mounted.
"Afraid there''s more to this than meets the eye?"
tap...tap...tap...
[Sixth sense (Special Passive) has been activated!]
Okay, what were my options here?
Fight like this, and I''d be taking hits?
Because I know these guys weren''t pushovers, even if they were side characters.
haah...
Whatever, losing here doesn''t affect my rank anyway.
But there was no way I was gonna stand here and be a punching bag.
I''ll fucking fight back.
____________
Authors Notes:
- Woodlings: They are corrupted trees that have a humanoid appearance. their size is a dwarfpared to their adult version of Woodans. (Woodlings are 9ft in size.)
- Woodans pronounced as Wood - and
- Sunfire hawks are hawks gifted with the fire attribute they arepletely different to the appearance of a phoenix.