BOOM…!!!
Ross swung his greatsword to the side, putting out his blue flames. Behind him was a sea of flames that devoured all that was within its path.
The A-Tier void creatures had given the redhead a challenge. Even then, it was relatively easy as he didn't have to go all out. He employed a combination of high-speed pierces and swings that cleaved the creatures in half.
It left the wounds on the creatures cauterized and unable to regenerate in time. Even when they fired their jet stream of attacks, the one-horned would simply manoeuvre through the madness with expert movements, travelling at speeds the creatures could barely follow.
Looking over in another direction, he noticed Julia coming to a close with her targets as well. The Knight princess utilized a combination of swift sword skills and spells that left the void creatures behind.
They couldn't keep up when their magical energy and body parts were frozen to almost absolute zero. After slowing down the void creatures, it was only a matter of chipping them away until there was nothing left.
"Impressive skills…"
Alex said as he materialized closer to Julia. He looked over in Ross' direction and in the next second, the redhead appeared close to him. It would have left Ross shocked if he wasn't already getting used to it.
"Obviously…" Julia giggled and flew into Alex's embrace. "We're not that simple, you know?"
"Right…" Alex chuckled while patting Julia on the head.
"Where to next?" Ross chipped in, his gaze roaming the surrounding space. "Everything looks the same…"
"Not quite," Alex replied, gesturing towards a certain direction. "You see that slow-moving cosmic storm…?" His friends looked over and nodded.
"That is our next destination. It may look normal and even insignificant, but it gives a clue to reaching the S-Tier."
The slow-moving cosmic storm appeared like a combination of mesmerizing colours that swirled around in a subtle spiral, devouring the surrounding energies at a very slow pace — almost unnoticeable.
If it wasn't for its size and location, it would have been considered a very tiny galaxy taking shape within another galaxy.
Ross and Julia sent their senses over, paying close attention to the phenomenon but finding nothing impressive.
"Are you referring to how it's spiralling? A vortex?" Julia asked, looking over to Alex. She wasn't sure if that was the main focus. Maybe it was something they weren't seeing.
Spirals could be found all over the universe — they weren't particularly special. However, that was probably what they and a whole bunch of others were missing.
"Yes…" Alex nodded. "Spirals are common across the universe. Do you know what spirals are good at?" His question wasn't popping up light bulbs.
Seeing their confused expression, Alex chuckled and then brought the two closer to the spiral. Despite its small size, it still rivalled a star in radius.
Ross and Julia immediately felt the pull of the spiral as it sucked in the surrounding energies. The redhead wondered how long this spiral had been sucking in the energies and if it was this big from the start.
"You're on the right track, Ross." Alex looked over to the redhead with a gentle smile. "Spirals don't start this big. This one in particular is different in the sense that going towards the centre would send you into another space — sort of like a hidden domain where all the energies are stored.
"And the more energy it absorbs…"
"The bigger it gets…" Julia added, not wanting to be left out. "But wouldn't it eventually reach its limits?" Her question was a valid one.
"Eventually…" Alex agreed. "However, that is not the end of the spiral. It becomes something else after reaching its limits."
Ross pondered as he looked at the spiral with a deep frown. He was getting somewhere and could feel his manitoria twitch as if excited.
"Spirals or more specifically vortexes are the hallmark of the S-Tier, isn't it?" The redhead looked over to his friend, who revealed a small smile.
"I see…"
Julia immediately felt her mana twitch as well. The feeling was fleeting, but it came and went. Since Alex said the S-Tier was all about the vortexes, that meant that is what she planned on doing.
The question was: how do they get started?
"That's what you'll be finding out," Alex replied, wrapping the two in an energy sphere and floating towards the core of the vortex. "Heads up though. You'll be experiencing extreme vertigo."
"Huh?" Julia didn't understand. "Aren't you going to protect us from the sensation?"
"Feeling the sensation is part of the way…" Alex grinned softly. "You'll have to experience it to know where to even begin."
And as Alex warned, both Ross and Julia experienced some severe levels of vertigo. Everything around them spiralled crazily as the multitude of colours blended into a kaleidoscope of madness that churned their stomach.
Moreover, the deeper they dived into the vortex, the faster the spinning sensation became. It left the two hunters so disoriented that they didn't even realise when they emerged.
"Ugh… Fuck." Ross cursed under his breath, holding his head in his hand. "I can't feel anything."
He and Julia floated around the new space, unaware of their surroundings. Even after several seconds, they had yet to regain their composure or notice the abomination sleeping in the distance.
Alex had to shield their presence and make them invisible until they regained a hold of their senses. He couldn't help but laugh at the spirals in their eyes — it looked so cartoonish.
However, while the experience was out of this world, for the briefest of moments, the mana stored in their bodies followed the spiralling pattern of their surroundings.
That was the key to ascending to the S-Tier. But they would need stimulation to push them over the ledge, and that came in the form of an S-Tier void creature.
"Alright, that's enough." Alex snapped his fingers and broke them out of their daze. "If I allow this to pass naturally, we might be here for a while." The goal was to experience it and they had achieved it.
As soon as Julia regained her bearings, she turned to glare at Alex with so much passion that Alex would have broken a sweat if it were possible.
"T-there's no need for that…" Alex shrugged it off and gestured ahead. "You should be more concerned about that…"
Ross and Julia turned around and saw the S-Tier monstrosity they were to face. Fortunately for them, it wasn't ugly, but that was what would make their fight even more challenging.