—ROOAAARRRRR!!!—
[Rank D Ragnarok Beast, Codename – Shadow Hyena]
"Show me your determination to make Selene happy, Lucent!"
"I know!"
'Charge x Howl – Moonlight'
Unlike Luel's Howl skill, which bathes him in moonlight to restore vitality and heal injuries, Moonlight has an additional effect: it reveals Ragnarok Beasts using stealth, exposing the real body among a dozen Shadow Hyena illusions.
Moonlight rays illuminated the area around Luel, and the true bodies of the Shadow Hyenas were finally revealed—or more precisely, confirmed.
"You could've at least told me there were two of them back then, SILVERPUP!"
"Ehh? Did I not?"
Luel shouted in frustration. SilverPup, lounging on a nearby boulder, just played innocent with a "cute" act that only made her look more suspicious—and a bit dumb, in Luel's opinion.
His suspicions had started during training with the Moon Server's simulation. Back then, only six Shadow Hyenas had appeared—one real, five illusions. That meant Luel had actually managed to defeat the real one during his first encounter… before a second, hidden one decapitated him from behind.
"At least admit I'm not a total noob!"
"You are a total noob, Lucent! Do you think Ragnarok Beasts fight fair and square? They don't give a faqing care! Never have. Now focus—unless you want to be Selene's headless knight in shining armor!"
With SilverPup's warning, Luel snapped back to focus.
The Moonlight skill was still active—its radiance outlining both Shadow Hyenas. Before the light faded, Luel made his move.
While Moonlight was active, another Orion Class skill became available—one that granted him the same stealth powers the Shadow Hyenas used.
'Moon Shadow'
As the skill triggered, the moonlight vanished—along with Luel. It was as if the moon had disappeared behind dark clouds.
The Shadow Hyenas froze, caught off guard by their opponent's sudden disappearance. Before they could react, Luel emerged behind one of them, already channeling his next attack.
'Orion Fangs'
He lunged, biting deep into the beast's neck with his Devour Orion's Fangs, decapitating it and absorbing the dark aura spilling from its body.
"How does that feel, huh? Losing your head!"
"Sheesh… Someone's holding a grudge, aren't we, Lucent?"
"Of course I am!"
"Anyway! There's still one left. Finish it off so we can move on to more Rank D Raids!"
'Charge'
Luel activated Charge.
Using the same powerful combo as before would have made things easier, but with only 10% Link Force, his combined skills were limited. He'd already used Moonlight and Moon Shadow. Now, he had to wait a bit for the cooldown.
But that didn't mean he was out of options.
—ROOAAARRRR!—
The remaining Shadow Hyena unleashed its illusion skill again, conjuring five more copies and charging in a coordinated, chaotic stampede.
But Luel had studied this move. He knew the trick now.
"If there's only one real body, this method should work!"
As he charged, Luel suddenly stopped and leapt sideways, landing on the right and resuming his sprint.
The Shadow Hyenas mirrored him, but their pause to adjust their trajectory betrayed them.
Still aligned in a single formation.
Luel charged again—this time crashing into four Shadow Hyenas at once. Three disappeared as illusions, and one—the real one—was knocked to the ground along with him.
The Shadow Hyena tried to cloak itself in another illusion to escape. But Luel pounced, wrapping his arms around its neck from behind.
"Go ahead and piss me off!"
—ROOAA—
"I could choke the life out of you without—"
"Hey! Watch the copyright, Lucent!"
Being a Rank D Ragnarok Beast, the Shadow Hyena was still physically stronger than Luel at only 10% Link Force. It thrashed and rolled to shake him off, trying to crush him—but Luel held tight, activating one of his basic power-boosting skills.
'Orion Claws'
—SNAP!—
A harsh crack echoed as Luel snapped the beast's neck.
The fight was over.
—clap!...clap!...clap!—
"Congrats, Lucent. You finally took down a Rank D Ragnarok Beast with just 10% Link Force. That's not something a noob could pull off."
As Luel absorbed the beast's dark aura with his Devour skill, SilverPup approached, applauding.
"Let's go, Lucent! Your next Rank D Ragnarok Beast awaits!"
"At least let me rest first…"
"What? How can you say that when Selene's waiting—believing in your promise, Lucent?"
"...That line's not going away any time soon, is it?"
"Nope. Not even close!"