CHAPTER 27
"What the?!" Grey shouted as the beast, which had been standing at least four feet away, was suddenly right in front of him, thrusting its sharp horn forward with lethal intent.
Seeing the horn closing in, Grey instinctively utilized the 'Aerius' spell to blast himself backward just in time before the point could lunge into his chest.
"How did it manage to close the distance so quickly?" Grey asked breathlessly, wiping away a small bead of sweat that had formed on his forehead from the sudden rush of adrenaline.
That was when Randin stepped forward, standing firmly beside Grey with his sword held out as he analyzed the red-furred predator carefully.
"This type of beast is known as a Jaguar; they are a notoriously fast species. Even though some of them remain at low levels, they are feared specifically for their lightning-fast nature," Randin explained, his voice low and steady.
"Well, now I'm truly glad we didn't encounter a higher-level version," Grey said, heaving a sigh of relief—only for the beast to vanish into a blur again.
In the blink of an eye, it was suddenly in front of Randin.
It attempted to stab him with its horn, but the dwarf's shield materialized in its path, blocking the strike with a heavy thud.
Before Randin could deliver a counterattack, the beast disappeared from his line of sight and reappeared near Grey, striking out with its sharp, hooked paws.
Swiftly, Grey pulled his sword out and clashed with the paw; the impact vibrated through his arms, but he managed to push the creature away.
When it was shoved back, the Jaguar didn't fall to the ground; instead, it used the flat of Grey's blade as a foothold and leaped backward gracefully.
It landed smoothly on the forest floor, baring its yellowed fangs at the duo in a display of primal anger.
"Darn! This beast is fast, alright," Grey mumbled, tightening his grip on his hilt as he focused his gaze on the creature.
"Why aren't you utilizing your magical powers?" Randin asked, glancing sideways at the young man.
"Because I want to improve my swordsmanship," Grey replied stubbornly, just as the Jaguar darted toward them both once more.
In a heartbeat, it was on them.
With a powerful, whipping motion, it whacked Grey aside using its thick tail.
'How is its tail so incredibly strong?' Grey wondered as he was sent flying, crashing into a tree with enough force to crack the trunk before he tumbled further back.
After clearing Grey out of the way, the Jaguar turned its full attention toward Randin.
It made a sudden stab with its horn, but Randin blocked it with his shield just in time.
He swiftly countered with a thrust toward the beast's head, but it had already repositioned itself behind him.
The predator swiped at his back with its claws, leaving a long scratch on his armor and pushing him forward.
Randin spun around, performing a wide swipe with his sword, but he hit nothing but empty air.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp sting in his calf as the Jaguar's horn pierced his leg, drawing a fresh stream of blood.
As Randin retreated to put some distance between them, the beast pursued him at top speed, swinging its tail toward him like a club.
Randin raised his sword to guard, but the impact never came.
An Earth wall erupted in front of him, allowing the Jaguar's tail to crash into the stone, cracking the surface slightly.
Knowing exactly who the wall belonged to, Randin looked around and saw Grey approaching, a slight trickle of blood running down from the corner of his mouth.
"I don't know what it is with you guys and this obsession with trying to injure me," Grey said, his hands held out as he channeled his mana.
Noticing the beast's legs were twitching in preparation for another dash, Grey quickly realized what was about to happen.
"No, I won't let you run away like that again," Grey declared, quickly closing his outstretched fingers into a fist.
"Earth trap!" he shouted.
The wall standing in front of Randin shattered instantly, the debris reforming around the Jaguar's legs to encase them in solid stone, keeping it rooted in place.
The beast struggled desperately to break free, but it was unable to move.
It pulled and yanked at its trapped limbs, but the Earth didn't budge in the slightest.
Seeing that its movement was restricted, it simply snarled at the human who had neutralized its greatest advantage.
Grey walked over calmly, a small, triumphant smile on his face.
"You see, Earth trap is a new spell I picked up from the mage's book. It allows me to restrain any beast weaker than myself with ease.
Since I knew you were only a level 2 creature, I was confident it could hold you just fine. If you were level 3 or higher, it might not have worked, and we would have been in trouble because of your speed," Grey said as the Jaguar continued to snarl loudly.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, would you just keep quiet!" Grey shouted.
He gestured with his hands, attempting to form a muzzle of earth around the beast's mouth, but the creature snapped its jaws, shattering the rocks before they could connect.
"Oh, you still have quite a bit of power left," Grey remarked.
"Will you just end this quickly so we can get a move on?" Randin interjected, clutching his wounded leg.
"Fine," Grey said.
His hand began to glow with a concentrated orange light.
He pointed his fingers outward, shaping his hand like the barrel of a rifle.
He mumbled a single phrase.
"Fire bullet!"
Immediately, a thin, high-velocity bolt of fire shot from his fingertip toward the Jaguar's head.
But in that same instant, Grey heard a sharp, sizzling sound coming from directly behind him.
Turning his head just in the nick of time, he managed to dodge a searing laser beam that had been aimed straight at his skull.
Because of his timely reaction, the beam only grazed his hair, singeing the tips before it continued its path and crashed into the trapped Jaguar's eyes, killing the beast instantly in one shot.