"RUN," William, who had managed to duck down and avoid the attack, shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice cracking with terror.
Nobody tried to look back or even face the beast that had just slaughtered their companions, except for Alicar and Iris who stood frozen for a moment.
The latter used her [Appraisal] skill on the creature and sent the details over to Alicar, who read through them with growing horror.
[Sun Beast Lv.10]
[Rank: Legendary]
[Details: The boss of this secret realm, it sleeps all-year long and only wakes up when it requires human sacrifices to eat.]
Alicar and Iris felt utter despair as they read the panel, their hearts sinking into their stomachs with crushing weight.
Not only was this thing level 10, but it was also from the legendary-rank, something many awakeners never even encountered in their entire lives.
It was simply... impossible to defeat, a force of nature that they had no hope of overcoming with their current strength.
’So that’s why they chose us,’ Alicar’s expression darkened as he tried to calm down, his mind racing with horrible realizations.
’The temple reacted, and to prevent... that thing from escaping, they send sacrifices... that’s the purpose of this place.’
The sun beast was a 3-meter tall bird-like monster with dark and white feathers that emitted a dark light, white eyes that pierced through the souls of those it observed, a sharp-looking tail and claws on its body that could cut through anything.
Slash!
It swung to the side, and cut through another three of the awakeners who had been too slow to escape its deadly reach.
Even a single graze of that thing’s claws was enough to kill them at their current level, making any attempt at fighting back completely futile.
And more than anything, its head turned toward where Alicar was standing, piercing him directly with its gaze, as if it had chosen its next target.
The sun beast was about to jump toward Alicar and Iris to devour them, its massive claws raised and ready to strike, but right as it was about to...
Fwoosh! BAM!
A figure appeared from the trees around the group and slammed directly into the sun beast with the entire force of its being, crashing into the creature like a meteor.
That attack was not even close to being enough to killing or even injuring the legendary-rank monster, but it was enough to make it stumble backward in surprise.
ROOOOOOAR!
It roared loudly and gazed at the person who had attacked it, its white eyes burning with anger and confusion.
It was a young man, roughly 20 years old, though he didn’t look like it, as he seemed much more mature and hardened by experience.
He wore nothing but a few scraps as clothes and his muscles, seemingly trained for months on end, were flaring with aura that surrounded his entire body.
His hair was short and brown, and a small beard was on his face, giving him a rugged appearance that spoke of countless battles.
The sun beast took a few steps forward, its massive form looming over the man, then after looking even deeper into his eyes, it unleashed its wings and flew into the distance.
"Phew," the man looked up, slightly shaken by what had just happened, "I didn’t expect that it would actually leave..."
Still though, the one thing that Alicar paid more attention to during that moment was a faint panel that appeared before him.
Ding!
[A strong vessel is nearby!]
And as Alicar looked through the man’s body, he noticed that his soul was burning bright, faint fire surrounding it like a blazing aura.
[Name: Leon Dreemur]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 10]
[Vessel Potential: Supreme.]
’Incredible!’ Alicar’s eyes widened in genuine shock, his heart racing with excitement. ’Another supreme vessel!’
Though more than anything, Alicar noticed the fact that this Leon guy was level 10, meaning that he was at the peak of Tier-0, the highest possible level in the Initial Stage.
The other people that ran away upon seeing the sun beast returned after hearing the commotion, their faces pale with fear and relief.
"Thank you for saving us," William took a deep breath to stop shaking, his voice trembling with gratitude. "I don’t think we would have lived if not for you..."
"It’s fine," Leon replied calmly, his expression neutral and unreadable. "The name’s Leon by the way."
"How did you end up here?" Iris asked with a thoughtful expression, her eyes studying him carefully.
"Commander Rick knocked us out and sent us here as sacrifices," Leon replied coldly, his jaw tightening with anger. "I’ve been trapped here for a year as a result, trying to survive that thing and the other monsters in this place."
Alicar realized at that moment why Leon was level 10, because after a year in this secret realm, you were bound to become much stronger through constant fighting.
"Wait a minute," Iris interrupted him, her eyes narrowing with curiosity. "Us?"
She had noticed that small detail in his words, and Leon simply nodded, a faint smile on his face.
"There’s three of us left after all this time," Leon explained, his voice carrying a hint of sadness. "Though I’m not going to lie to you, leaving this place is impossibly hard, so be ready to suffer for a while."
Among the 20 awakeners that had been present at the start, only 7 of them remained alive, all the others were corpses in the clearing, their bodies lying motionless on the ground.
"We need to leave now," Leon urged, his voice urgent and serious. "It’s gonna come back to eat, and we don’t wanna be there when it does."
Alicar remained skeptical about this entire situation, but he couldn’t deny that Leon had saved them from certain death, and more than anything, that he was a supreme talent!
This meant that he was at the peak of the human race in terms of potential, someone who could rival even the best of the best.