After dispatching the Horned Lupinors, Atticus quickly stored their bodies in his storage ring.
As he turned to leave, he sensed some unexpected movement emanating from the cave. His eyebrows furrowed in suspicion. 'Hmm? There shouldn't be any more beasts here, or could the information be wrong again?'
He couldn't help but contemplate. The reliability of the information they received on his first hunt with the squad had been questionable.
Although nobody had been harmed during that incident, Atticus had learned the hard way that nothing could be taken as 100% trustworthy in the forest. He had since maintained caution and preparedness for unforeseen situations.
His gaze sharpened as he observed a figure emerging from the cave.
It was a Horned Lupinor, towering over the ones he had just defeated, twice as large in size.
'Intermediate+,' Atticus observed silently, his alertness surging instantly.
All the hunts he had undertaken with his squad had only involved intermediate level beasts at most.
Magical beasts inherently possessed superior strength and were more adept at utilizing their bloodlines compared to humans of the same rank.
Although defeating them was not impossible, it would certainly be challenging. This was Atticus's inaugural encounter with an intermediate+, a situation that demanded his utmost seriousness.
The Lupinor stood at an imposing 5 meters in height, boasting a 15-inch horn jutting from its head. Compared to the creatures Atticus had faced earlier, heightened intensity of crackling lightning surrounded its body.
Suddenly, the Lupinor released a resounding howl upon seeing its fallen brethren. Then, it locked eyes with Atticus, its gaze piercing into his soul, and just as swiftly, it vanished from his view.
Atticus felt shivers course down his spine, his instincts screaming at him. His perception sharpened to its limits, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to move in time.
Acting on sheer instinct, he moved with lightning speed, focusing intently on the fire element. With both hands extended to his right, he unleashed the most potent blast he had ever produced.
The force of the explosion was immense, propelling his body away from the imminent danger of the Lupinor's deadly horn, a horn that threatened to skewer him mercilessly.
Despite the fact that beasts, like humans, awaken their bloodlines when they reach the intermediate- rank, most of them weren't able to use it immediately.
It usually takes time before a beast becomes adept at using their bloodline, but when they learn to use it, they become even more adept than humans at the same level.
The Lupinor, having missed its initial target, growled in frustration and increased its speed to unimaginable levels, employing the lightning element to charge at Atticus once more.
But this time, Atticus was ready.
With his perception operating at full power, he accurately tracked the Lupinor's movements, predicting its trajectory.
He raised his hands, pointing them forward, and released a fiery blast while keeping his legs firmly in place, simultaneously allowing his body to fall backward.
Then, with supernatural swiftness, he raised his right leg, unleashing a burst of fire from his heels to intensify the force of the strike.
As if it were a natural course of action, the Lupinor's jaw suddenly intersected with Atticus's kick. The blow landed from below with tremendous force, sending the massive beast hurtling upward through the air.
However, Atticus didn't emerge from this interaction unscathed. The lightning enveloping the Lupinor's body destroyed the protective suit around his feet.
'Shit! That hurts!' he muttered, shaking his legs to alleviate the numbing sensation.
'Did that do the trick?' he pondered as he shifted his gaze toward the Lupinor that had landed a few meters away. Its jaw was broken, and saliva mixed with blood oozed from its maw, but it remained tenacious, eyes fixated on Atticus with chilling intensity.
"Looks like I've only made it angrier," he muttered.
Atticus suddenly entertained a rather audacious idea. 'I'll try using earth,' he decided. Employing earth mimicry against a beast renowned for its lightning speed might seem foolhardy, and Atticus was well aware of the risk, but he was determined to use this encounter for practice.
Even though he brimmed with confidence in his ability to handle whatever the beast could unleash, he maintained unflagging vigilance, ready to react to anything.
Atticus swiftly stimulated his mana with the earth element, keeping his vigilant eyes locked on the menacing Lupinor.
His body began to feel firm and heavy as the earth element took hold. Then he dashed towards the beast, despite being slower than before, he retained an adequate speed.
As he advanced toward the Lupinor, Atticus observed the lightning enveloping the beast intensify, and its horn started emitting a brilliant blue glow.
Suddenly, the Lupinor bent its horn forward, unleashing a lightning beam at astonishing speed directly towards Atticus.
Atticus's eyes widened, and with rapid reflexes, he placed both hands on the ground, focusing on the earth element.
An earth wall, one meter thick, materialized instantly, successfully blocking the lethal strike.
Capitalizing on this narrow window of opportunity, Atticus swiftly manipulated the earth to shroud his legs, using it to glide seamlessly around the protective wall and closing in on the Lupinor at an even greater speed than before.
He reached the beast almost instantly, catching it off guard as it had yet to recover from its prior attack.
Without hesitation, Atticus directed the earth enveloping his foot to become firmer and sturdier. With a powerful jump, he used his earth-covered foot to deliver a crushing blow to the Lupinor's head.
The strike landed with brutal intensity, immediately shattering the creature's skull. The Lupinor was sent hurtling through the air, landing lifeless with a resounding thud.
Atticus landed on the floor with grace, gazing at the aftermath of his new art. "That was awesome!" He couldn't contain his excitement over the potential of this new art.
If these were just the initial levels, he couldn't even fathom the possibilities at higher tiers.
After marveling at the newfound power of the art, Atticus stored the defeated beast in his storage ring and started heading back to the camp.
***
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