Chapter 265 A Named Monster [Part 1]
Northern was carefully observing his surroundings; everywhere had suddenly fallen into an eerie silence.
Not only were the footsteps of his comrades gone, but they were gone too.
All at once, he was separated from them.
He frowned darkly and slowly, in the wake of black sparks, materialized the Mortal Blade.
His eyes narrowed as they carefully scanned the dark corners of the forest.
At first, everything was submerged in a terrifying silence, one that caused Northern himself to almost shrink back.
It was all too strange.
And at the same time, it felt alluring.
This loneliness is the one thing he had been seeking; he slowly tread forward, cautiously retracing his steps.
Then suddenly, a low growl crept toward him.
In swift motion, Northern spun and whipped the Mortal Blade forward.
The onyx blade collided in a vibrating clang with the claws of a vicious beast that had lunged at Northern from behind.
The beast immediately flung backward and landed cautiously, its blue glowing eyes assessing its prey carefully.
Northern was also equally cautious.
The beast was... beautiful, not befitting of being called a monster.
It had a striking appearance, a robust, muscular body, covered in dark, textured scales that gave it a formidable look.
The scales had a glossy, almost metallic sheen, enhancing its intimidating presence.
Its head was adorned with large, curved horns that emerged from the sides of its skull, curling upwards and outward.
The horns had an ethereal, azure-blue coloration with intricate, glowing patterns etched into them, adding a mystical aura to the creature.
It stood on four powerful and sturdy legs, that ended in clawed feet and were also tinged with the same azure blue as its horns.
These claws appeared sharp and capable of gripping or tearing through tough surfaces.
Spikes of the same blue hue protruded from its shoulders and back, each one adorned with similar glowing patterns as its horns, adding to its fearsome appearance.
The creature's tail was long and flexible, covered in the same dark scales as its body but transitioning into a lighter, almost white tuft at the end.
The creature so well combined elements of beauty and terror such that its presence was almost majestic.
But all the same, incredibly dangerous.
Northern's eyes locked onto it, and then came Chaos Eyes.
In that moment, the monster leaped, and Northern dashed forward, sleekly deflecting the monster's claw attack away with the guidance of his sword.
He blinked for a moment and repositioned his legs.
'I guess there's no better time to learn this than now...'
The Heritage ability was already ingrained in his soul, so instinctively, he knew the basics, but the basics were not enough.
Each Heritage ability was a complex puzzle that the drifter needs to put together to emerge at the true picture and move to the next level.
The first push of Northern's leg was a basic understanding of his heritage ability.
The ability itself was one that manipulated one's footwork, to bring out the best of movement while utilizing leg techniques that used little to no energy, were swift and precise.
In essence, the best course of action for a particular movement without wasting too much time and effort.
Northern knew this instinctively.
And knew the basics of it.
But that only marked the beginning; on his own, he was supposed to make this Heritage ability work... for him.
How?
Honestly, he didn't know.
He was just going to follow his instincts for now. He wasn't a novice, after all.
Even though he had not learned properly, he was sure he knew a thing or two about fighting based on experience.
And he hoped he wouldn't be making a mistake deciding to follow the instincts that had been cultivated from that experience.
He also had an incredible variable.
[Formless]
[A demon of development, flexibility, and adaptability. These attributes enable you to adapt effortlessly to anything - natural phenomena, states of being, mentality, or physicality... you can become anything while applying unparalleled flexibility to reshape yourself. Your formlessness absorbs others' forms into its own.]
In essence, Formless worked as a foundation that allowed him to add flexibility to himself.
And because of it, Northern's most sensible path to directing this new Heritage was following his instincts.
Since the active ability of [Formless] is not something he could use consciously yet.
Northern sidestepped the beast as it lunged itself directly at him, then from the side, he swung his sword powerfully, hoping to cleave the beast.
But instead, his sword bounced, causing his wrist to vibrate painfully.
He stepped back hurriedly as the beast ferociously jumped at him.
With an elaborate leg spread, Northern lured it into a wide trap, and closed his legs, in the process exploding a perfect cycle kick that threw the monster back, smashing it against the back of a tree.
The beast whimpered as it fell and slowly stood back on its feet.
Of course, by now, Northern understood that this wasn't just a regular monster.
And more so, he could see it.
[[Monster Profile]
Name: [Lumidrake]
True Name: [Daughter Of the Fallen Skies]
Soul Rank: [Beast]
Danger Level: [Catastrophe]
Attribute: [Lord Of All]
Abilities: [Azure Flames], [Luminous Burst], [Shadow Veil], [Regeneration]
[Azure Flame]
Description: [It can breathe a stream of ethereal blue fire that not only burns with intense heat but also has a mesmerizing, hypnotic effect on those who witness it.]
[Luminous Burst]
Description: [The glowing patterns on its body can flare up, releasing a blinding flash of light that disorients and temporarily blinds enemies.]
[Shadow Veil]
Description: [The Lumidrake can cloak itself in a shroud of darkness, becoming nearly invisible in dim or dark environments.]
[Regeneration]
Description: [Drawing on the power of its true name, the Lumidrake can rapidly heal its wounds over time, making it incredibly resilient in battle]
Northern straightened his back and let out a deep, heavy, exasperated sigh.
Never, never in his encounters with monsters—he had not had many—but in all that he had had, never had he seen a monster with so many abilities.
'I thought Maelstrom rank is where they can start getting abilities?!'
Turned out he was wrong... again.