Chapter 182 Sightings of Ren

Deep within a forest, the sound of a roaring monster could be heard. A party of five B-ranked adventurers had surrounded a Sgnik, an A-rank monster. The Sgnik was a ten-meter long beast that had skin that was harder than steel. With its nimble movement powerful claws and horrifying bite strength, this monster was considered to be the top of the food chain in smaller forests, but here it's just one of many powerful monsters in the area.

The Sgnik charged at the party of five and swiped its claws at them. The person that looked to be the leader of the group intercepted the attack using his giant shield. The support mage that was with them started casting spells that strengthen the leader's defense. He then proceeded to cast speed and strength increase spells on every member of the party.

"I'll keep him busy! Go and attack him from the side!" The remaining three nodded their heads as they quickly surrounded the monster.

"Become my blade and slice apart my foe [wind cutter]!" Dozens of wind blades attacked the Sgnik but only did minimal damage. Seeing that his spell was ineffective the mage clicked his tongue and started to chant a new spell while gathering all the amount of mana he could muster.

The archer positioned himself upon a tall tree and infused his arrows with mana and started shooting at the Sgnik. The arrows were able to pierce the skin of the Sgnik but they were not deep enough making them nothing more than an annoyance for the monster.

The swordsman in the party jumped up and rode at the back of the Sgnik. While he was up there the Sgnik wanted to fling him away, but the leader of the group was able to stop the Sgnik in its tracks. The swordsman coated his sword with mana and started stabbing at the Sgnik.

The attack proved very effective as the Sgnik started roaring even louder and it became even more aggressive. The leader tried his best to hold the Sgnik but it was proving to be quite a difficult task.

"Henry, aren't you done yet!" The leader screamed at the mage while the Sgnik started biting at his shield. Henry was still in mid-chant so he couldn't respond, but not hearing any response from Henry was enough for the leader to know what's happening.

The archer and the swordsman tried to lessen the load on their leader by making the Sgnik shift its attention to them. The Sgnik's attention shifted and this time it tried to attack the support mage. The leader was quick to act and once again blocked the Sgnik, but this time he was unable to get a good foothold and was pushed back quite easily.

"I"m done!" Henry shouted at his companions. Hearing what Henry said the leader of the group charged at the Sgnik's side and smashed it using his large shield. The Sgnik was pushed away, giving time for the support mage to escape.

Once everyone from the party was far from the Sgnik the mage unleashed his strongest spell.

"[Downburst!]" A strong downward current of air that was visible to the naked eye came down on the Sgnik causing a strong gust of wind. The leader stood in front of his group and pierced the tip of his large shield onto the ground. He then proceeded to reinforce his body with strengthening spells. The Support Mage also casted spells that greatly increase the leader's endurance. He then used another spell surrounded the group with tiny mana shields since that was the best he could do given the limited amount of mana he had left.

Once the downburst spell was over, the group was able to see the shredded remains of the Sgnik. When they saw that they had finally won the battle, the group felt relieved. They have been hunting that monster for three days straight, and it proved difficult to corner. They were nearly out of supplies, and both their mages have little to no mana left. It was a good thing it finally ended.

"Good job guys, we just need to get a piece of its claws and teeth for verification." The moment the leader said this he heard another roar. When the party members heard the familiar roar of the Sgnik they unconsciously looked at the shredded remains of the monster. It obviously didn't come from that, when they were wondering where the roar came from, the group noticed that they were already surrounded by more than a dozen Sgnik.

"Damn it! That's why it stopped running away! It was leading us to its nest!" The leader shouted as despair and anger crept in. Their mages were out of mana and swords and arrows don't really work well against this monster. Not to mention that they were already having difficulty with one but now they needed to face a dozen. This was a hopeless situation.

As the party of B ranked adventurers were accepting their imminent demise. The two mages they had suddenly fainted, and then the remaining three felt a very heavy bloodlust surround the area. The mighty Sgniks that were about to kill the group were now cowering in fear and were about ready to flee, but before they could do anything a man appeared blocking their path.

Without any warning, the man holding a scythe started slashing at the Sgniks. The Sgniks who had skin that was harder than steel were being sliced in half like they were nothing more than a piece of paper.

It took the mysterious man but a few seconds to wipe out the A-ranked monsters. Once he was done killing the Sgniks he took the teeth and claws from each kill and then tossed them into a mysterious dark space where the items disappeared.

After his state of shock was over the leader of the B ranked adventurers wanted to thank the man for saving their lives but before he could open his mouth the man disappeared.

"Who was that?" The leader spoke after a few minutes of silence.

"I'm not sure." The archer answered while checking if the two mages that fainted were alright.

"That scythe, and the way he easily defeated those Sgnik, he must be that new adventurer in those rumors." The swordsman spoke while feeling relieved.

"Rumors?" The leader asked still a bit perplexed by the unexpected turn of events.

"Yeah, a lot of rumors have been going around lately about a recently promoted B rank adventurer that has been finishing almost all the subjugation quests in nearby towns. I think that was 'one slash' Ren."

"One slash? Is that his nickname?" Once the archer was done checking the mages he joined in the conversation.

"That's what I heard, but seeing him in action I can understand why they call him that. It only takes him one slash to kill."

"Well, either way, I'm grateful that he passed by." The leader spoke while approaching the Sgnik he and his party killed. He just wanted to get the proof of subjugation and leave with this horrible forest.

When he got near the Sgnik that his party killed he noticed that the claws and teeth that were needed for verification were gone. He quickly tried to look around and saw no signs of it.

"It's gone!" The leader shouted which surprised the other two.

"What's gone?" The swordsman asked as he approached the leader.

"The claws and the teeth are gone."

"Wait, what?!" The archer came closer as well and started searching. After searching the whole area and finding nothing the group came to similar conclusions. They remembered Ren who easily subdued all the Sgniks in the surrounding area.

'That guy must've taken them all!'