CHAPTER 20
Then, without warning, the two beasts split up and bolted toward the two humans who were ready for a clash.
The monster that remained in relatively good condition was the one that barreled toward Grey, who readied his stance and narrowed his eyes in focus.
When the creature drew near, he quickly utilized 'Aerius' once more to swerve sharply to the side, narrowly avoiding a direct collision.
He then launched a concentrated fireball toward the predator, but the beast agilely avoided the brunt of the heat; the flames struck its dense Earth armor, merely scorching the rocky surface black again without causing internal damage.
'Darn that armor! If I can just get my hands on it, I will make that beast pay,' he thought as a desperate plan began to take shape in his mind.
Instead of waiting for another charge, Grey boosted his momentum using wind magic and flew directly toward his adversary.
The beast, seeing Grey heading its way, suddenly reared up on its hind legs.
It opened its massive maw and shot out dozens of jagged Earth shards toward the flying mage.
"Darn it! It can use elemental abilities!" Grey shouted as he performed a mid-air roll to avoid one of the shards, but dozens more were already whistling his way.
Evading another projectile, Grey lifted his hand and used his wind magic to blow several others off course.
For the remaining three heading straight for his chest, he quickly reshaped the Earth gauntlet on his arm to form a thick mini-shield.
The shards crashed into his makeshift Earth barrier with a sickening metallic clang.
The sheer force of the impact was too much to counter, and it threw Grey from the air; he plummeted toward the ground with a heavy force that uprooted the grass and dirt beneath his feet.
Standing up slowly, Grey was visibly bleeding from a gash on his forehead, as he had landed face-first in the dirt.
'Of course it could use elemental magic, especially looking at that Earth armor. So, I'm guessing this is a high-tier level 3 beast then,' he thought as he coughed out a small speck of blood.
'But its Earth magic is significantly stronger than the other level 3 beast I fought previously, which means if I were to absorb this core, my affinity for Earth magic would increase exponentially,' Grey thought with a small, pained smile as he saw the monster charging again with its tusks pointed outwardly.
"So, how about I stop playing around and get serious then!" he bellowed.
He lifted both hands forward, bracing them and pointing his fingers like the barrel of a rifle.
Waiting for the creature to get within optimal range, he smirked.
"Let's put the spells I learned from the library to good use."
"Explomb!" Grey shouted.
A massive, roaring fireball erupted from his palms and streaked toward the beast at breakneck speed.
It crashed into the monster's chest, and a huge explosion immediately followed.
Flames and intense heat spread rapidly through the clearing, to the extent that the short man felt the thermal wave from a distance and looked up at where Grey was battling.
"That strange power is quite formidable; I really need to study him better after this fight is over," the man remarked.
He narrowly avoided a swiping paw from his own opponent and swiftly sliced the limb off with his heavy blade.
He then exploded toward the monster and severed the other paw, throwing the beast completely off balance.
Left defenseless, the creature had no other option than to spit dozens of stone shards toward the warrior.
The man quickly clapped his hands together, and a magical helmet materialized on his head, shielding his face from the projectiles.
Leaping from his position, the short man accelerated toward the beast at tremendous speed.
In a heartbeat, he crashed into the monster and used his sword to slice its head off with a clean, expert stroke.
"Phew! That was a job well done." He smiled and turned his gaze toward Grey, who was still heavily engaged in the struggle with his own opponent.
After casting the 'Explomb' spell, Grey knew the initial blast wouldn't be enough to finish the kill.
Sure enough, the beast was seen emerging through the thick smoke, still heading toward him with murderous intent.
Without wasting a single second, he cast 'Aerius' twice in rapid succession to push the beast further back and create distance.
Then, his Earth gauntlet shifted, elongating into a long, wicked spike.
In a split second, the weapon was coated in fire from head to toe, making the stone glow with a bright, white-hot intensity.
"I wish I could create a full Earth pillar. But this will have to do for now, and I hope your core will be enough to let me increase my affinity enough to actually do that!" Grey shouted as he hurled the burning spike with every ounce of physical strength he could muster.
"That took up almost all my remaining mana. If this doesn't hit the mark, then I'm done for,"
Grey mumbled, lifting his hand to cast one final spell with his dwindling reserves.
"Aerius!" he shouted.
A massive burst of pressurized wind hit the back of the spike, propelling it forward even faster than before.
In a split second, the spear collided with the beast's skull.
The intense fire surrounding the stone melted the creature's natural armor, allowing the spike to pass through as easily as a hot knife cutting through butter.
The spike crashed into the beast's head and exited through the other side, burning a perfect hole through its brain.
The monster collapsed with a thunderous thud, while Grey was seen swaying on his feet, overcome by exhaustion.
But before his body could hit the hard ground, he was caught in the sturdy arms of the short man.
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A/N: Quick recommendation. In case you love system novels with an inhuman MC, check out my other work: "My Tribrid System: More than a Monster." Thank you for reading 🫠