They arrived in Mindoro after crossing the old bridge.
Kael turned to the ten hunters he'd hired. "You guys, protect the workers while they clear the settlement."
He hopped off his motorcycle, stepped back into the subspace, and called out, "Boys, let's go."
Five of them emerged, wearing sleek battle gear.
Compression shirts made from the hide of an Ironhide Boar B-rank. Leather vests crafted from Demon Bull skin A-rank.
Reinforced pants, also Ironhide Boar hide.
Combat boots inlaid with mana stones and runes.
They already had their weapons, and that was enough for now. Mindoro was just a mid-level danger zone anyway.
From the perspective of the mercenary and Black Fang guild hunters, they looked like seasoned veterans.
"Are you sure they're only F and E rank?" one mercenary muttered.
"Yeah. I thought they'd make us clear the area that's why the pay's so generous. But no… they're making us guard the workers instead." Rodolfo, bald-headed leader of the Mercenary Guild, frowned. He was a twostar A-rank swordsman, not easily impressed… but this was strange.
Even Emilia, the A-rank party leader of Black Fang Guild, looked puzzled.
Kael clapped his hands. "Alright, since we're here, I'll sweeten the deal. Another hundred potions if you perform well. Four of you will handle the monsters together while I take care of other business. If you run into something you can't beat, don't play hero just run."
"Sir, yes sir!"
Before they could even finish, a pack of Demon Wolves emerged from the treeline.
Twenty-three in total all C-rank. And in the back, one Alpha Demon Wolf.
The four new hunters swallowed hard. Even one Demon Wolf was trouble without a solid C-rank team.
"Relax," Kael said, almost bored. "You've got mana to cast a hundred skills, plus your strongest attacks. Can you handle them?"
"Yes, we can."
"Good. Time to level up. If you hit level 100 in two months, I'll give you a thousand mana essence potions."
That lit a fire under them.
Andrew instantly drew his bow.
Wind Arrow [C] 30 Mana per arrow, no cooldown.
Mana formed into glowing green arrows, each carrying a razor edge of wind. He loosed volley after volley, striking the wolves. The shots cut deep, but with all of them under level five, the damage wasn't enough.
Paul stepped forward.
Taunt [C] 5 min cooldown.
(Forcefully draws enemy attention toward the user, reducing the threat to allies.)
The wolves' eyes locked on him.
Jordan rushed in, slipping behind the distracted wolves. His sword flared.
Mana Sword [D] 100 Mana per second. (Coats weapon in mana, increasing sharpness, hardness, and damage output.)
Rapid Slash [D] 5 min cooldown. (Delivers multiple strikes in quick succession, with increased critical chance from behind.)
Slash. Slash. Slash.
Six wolves dropped in moments. The rest hesitated.
But the Alpha remained.
The massive B-rank beast stood in the back, watching.
From above, Kael crossed his arms. Not bad… but they need more training. The real problem is whether they can handle that Alpha.
Behind the group, Liam was charging his spell.
Icicle Rain [C] 10,000 Mana, 100 sec cooldown. (Summons hundreds of ice spikes over a wide area, dealing heavy frost and piercing damage.)
Mana swirled around him, condensing into frigid power. Then
Shhhhk!
Hundreds of ice lances rained down, shredding the remaining wolves.
Ding!
[Level up!]
The system's blue text flashed in their vision. Experience split evenly between the party.
The Alpha roared, its body swelling to twelve feet, the size of a bus.
"That's… a big one," a construction worker muttered, pale.
"Don't worry," someone reassured. "Kael's got ten more B-rank hunters, and two A-ranks. As long as there's no S-class monster, we're fine."
The Alpha's eyes glowed crimson.
Demon Scourge.
Black miasma poured from its fur, sapping the strength of anyone who breathed it in.
Then it dashed a bus-sized blur straight toward the workers.
Kael tensed, ready to intervene, but Paul stepped up again.
Taunt [C]!
The Alpha turned on him, snarling.
Immovable [D] 800 Mana, 10 sec duration. (Increases user's weight 1,000x, stabilizing stance and preventing knockback.)
The ground cracked under Paul's boots.
Defense Boost [D] 100 Mana/sec. (Raises defense by 10% of current total.)
The Alpha slammed into his shield. A gust of wind burst out from the impact, but Paul held firm.
Then
Damage Reflect [B]. (After receiving a hit, next attack deals x10 the damage taken.)
Paul slammed his shield forward, throwing the massive wolf into the air.
At the same time, Andrew had been preparing his trump card.
Tempest Arrow [B] 5,000 Mana, 10 min cooldown. (Fires a volley of wind-infused arrows that break the sound barrier mid-flight, slicing through multiple enemies in a straight line.)
He released.
The arrow tore through the Alpha's exposed abdomen like lightning.
Liam followed up with Icicle Lance [E] 300 Mana, 3 sec cooldown. Ice spears slammed into the Alpha one after another, tearing deep wounds.
The beast crashed to the ground but it wasn't dead.
It roared and gathered demonic energy in its jaws, ready to unleash a devastating attack.
Paul reacted instantly, shoving Liam aside and blocking the blast.
Meanwhile, Andrew leapt between tree branches, loosing arrow after arrow, forcing the Alpha's attention back on him. The wolf was fast faster than it had any right to be.
But Jordan was waiting. When the Alpha lunged at Andrew, Jordan slipped underneath, striking at its exposed belly again and again.
The Alpha staggered.
Vertical Slash [C] 1,000 Mana, 100 sec cooldown. (A powerful downward strike that deals massive critical damage.)
Jordan's blade came down like an executioner's axe, cleaving through the Alpha's neck.
Ding! [Level up!]
Liam: Level 12
Paul: Level 12
Andrew: Level 11
Jordan: Level 13 (Bonus HP from last hit)
The loot was abundant pelt, meat, mana crystal. Kael had brought extra trucks just for this.
"Alright, anyone who knows how to process monsters skin it, take the meat, toss the bones. I'll pay an extra 50 Kalza Coins," Kael announced.
Several men stepped forward immediately.
When the work was done, Kael descended from the air. "Good job. Rest for now, then hunt again. Here take these hundred mana potions as a reward. Drink them quietly."
The four transferred the mana crystals to him standard custom, the leader handling loot distribution.
"When the pelts are sold, you'll get your promised ten percent."
"That's generous," Paul whistled. "C-rank hide? That's easily a million."
Most guilds gave only 3–5% to their hunters. But Kael wasn't worried about profit only about keeping his team motivated and strong.
He adjusted his gloves. "Now… my turn."
Can some one take a video of me? I'll post it on our guild website and socials
The agile assasin from black fang Guild step up, me I would I wanna see how yorelease said by Justin.
Then be my guest kael grining.
Agility Boost. Flight.
Mana poured out of him. The air grew heavy. Hunters struggled to breathe.
Emilia, the Black Fang leader, froze. "Even our guild master doesn't release an aura like that…"
"You sure he's F-rank?" Rodolfo whispered, his knees shaking.
"I… I can't even stand," muttered a level 82 mage. Around him, others were already kneeling.
Kael noticed. "Ah sorry."
He shot into the sky. The ground cracked from the force of his mana release.
Justin use agility boost, and follow kael,
"That guy…" Emilia whispered. "He's stronger than anyone I've ever met."
The four secretly drinking the potion on their car hiding it from everyone.
They also distributed their points.
Name: Liam
Level: 12
Profession: Ice mage ★★★
Mana Rank: E (101.200/101.200)
Strength: 10
Endurance: 30
Agility: 10
Defense:10
Attribute Points: 0
Passive Skill: Quick cast
Skills: icicle rain [C], Ice lance [E], Agility boost [F], Ice wall [E], Ice ball [F], Ice spear[E]
Liam priorities endurance so he would be able to endure casting multiple strong spells.
Name: Paul
Level: 12
Profession: Ice mage – ★★
Mana Rank: Tank (101.200/101.200)
Strength: 10
Endurance: 10
Agility: 10
Defense:30
Attribute Points: 0
Passive Skill: Pain resistance.
Skill:immovable[C], damage reflect [B], defense boost [D] , taunt [D], Shield bash [E], shield throw[F]
Name: Andrew
Level: 11
Profession:Magic Archer – ★★★
Mana Rank: D (103.300/103.300)
Strength: 5
Endurance: 15
Agility: 25
Defense:10
Attribute Points: 0
Passive Skill: Eagle eye, Night vision
Skill: Agility boost[C],Tempest arrow [B],Wind arrow [D],arrow rain [D], dagger throw[E]
Name: Jordan
Level: 13
Profession: Swordsman– ★★
Mana Rank: E (101.300/101.300)
Strength: 20
Endurance: 15
Agility: 15
Defense:15
Attribute Points: 0
Passive Skill: Weakness analysis
Vertical Slash [c] Rapid slash [D] Mana sword[D] Strength boost[E], speed boost [E]