Chapter 50 - Lending Assistance (I)

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"L-Lucian, isn't this kind of extreme? Put me down!" Sylvia exclaimed with an apparent shade of blush on her cheek. The sudden action took her by surprise.

While they ran, Lucian held onto her legs. In his eyes, it did not differ from giving his young siblings a piggyback ride. After all, compared to the rest of the team, Sylvia felt to be the closest in age, appearing to be no older than 18 years old.

While Aeran and Quinn seemed young as well, it was hard to gauge.

Nevertheless, Lucian turned his head towards her and refused to do so, "If we rely solely upon your agility, it'll be impossible for you to keep up with me or the others for that matter. However, that's not the most important thing. Prepare to use your ability."

Sylvia's eyes widened when she realized what Lucian intended to do. Because of her realization, Sylvia began wondering if they invited a madman amongst their ranks. Just who would be this reckless?

All of a sudden, Lucian bellowed for the entire team to hear, "Don't worry about the distribution of points! The kills aren't the objective here. As long as you play your part according to the plan, there is a great portion awaiting you at the end."

Two things happened because of this exclamation. One, all the wolves within a 200-meter radius were alerted because of the volume of his shout. While looking forward, Lucian observed their movements and noticed some signs of them originating from the same pack.

Secondly, the others behind him gazed at his back with delighted expressions. Even though they had just met, Lucian's actions generated enough trust to galvanize the team without worries of him backstabbing them.

Although his actions weren't generous, they were pragmatic. With his prismatic thinking, Lucian found the easiest way to generate rapport amongst his teammate—by becoming their catalyst to increased strength.

'And he said was an inexperienced leader,' Ahri thought while observing the changes in everyone's expression. At the same time, she also turned back to see Adonis carrying Quinn over his shoulder.

Everyone seemed to lend each other assistance to reduce the time needed to travel the first span of vacant land. After traveling it many times over, they were aware of the specific areas to watch for.

Thus, Lucian reached that position in under 30 seconds. Without pause, Lucian instructed Sylvia of their next efforts.

"Use it now!"

Sylvia extended her delicate hand with a subtle nod. Before activating her ability, she removed a special glove from around it. It seemed to be made from some type of rubbery material.

A strong magnetic current burst from her hand the moment the glove was removed. The current continued to undulate into the surrounding without a shred of control until Sylvia closed her eyes and focused on the center of her palm.

Her frenzied Mana came under her control as she felt the general position of many of the incoming wolves.

"Do you want them?"

"Without a doubt; draw them all here at once," Lucian nodded. A cold gleam invaded his eyes as he extended his left arm and clenched his fist. A stream of dynamic Mana flooded into his arm, which caused the Meteorite Knuckles to emit tiny explosions around his wrists before following to his knuckles.

Unlike a typical Tier 2 weapon, these knuckles were more of a specialty as strong special effects usually appeared in Tier 3 and higher weapons.

Fwoosh!

A surge three times stronger than before rushed into the distance and Sylvia began her part. One by one, a large number of wolves were pulled through the bushes. Most of them appeared baffled by the abrupt change when their bodies left the ground. The feeling of weightlessness after being washed by a foreign force was too odd for them.

Bang!

Without a second thought, Lucian leaned back slightly to dodge their frantic swipes before landing a terrifying punch on the skull of the foremost wolf. Due to the Meteorite Knuckles and ample Mana in his arm, the wolf's skull shattered in one hit!

Brain matter splattered everywhere in a scene reminiscent of an exploding watermelon. However, Lucian didn't flinch at the ordeal and proceeded with his relentless attack.

Holding his hand in the form of a knife, Lucian delivered a sharp chop to the next wolf's throat. Once again, the presence of the explosive effect blew the wolf's neck away. In an instant, two bodies hit the floor without an intact head.

After witnessing such a shocking scene, the others could only gape and question if archery was truly Lucian's strongest skill.

"D-damn! That little boy is some type of monster. How can someone hit so hard with D+ Rank Strength?! Could it be that much stronger? Hey, wait! Don't kill everything, let's me test out my speculations!" Olov exclaimed.

Before they knew it, everyone witnessed Olov perform a massive jump before hurtling his shield at a nearby wolf. Since he possessed a mastery over the understanding of force, he was able to jump higher and channel that same force to substantiate his attack.

The shield rotated and blitzed through the air before smashing apart the wolf's ribcage. The blow was strangely impressive as half of its body shifted at an odd angle. Upon witnessing this, Olov could only marvel.

"I love it! Guys, you betcha asses you better get your hand on a knowledge! Do you see this?!" Olov exclaimed with mirth. However, his act was soon cut short by Lucian's icy gaze.

"Stick to the plan and stop celebrating so much. It'll be time for that at the end," Lucian reprimanded. Based on this sight, the team couldn't tell whether the mature one was Lucian or Olov.

Nevertheless, Lucian turned away before nodding towards Aeran, "Begin."

"With pleasure," Aeran responded before drawing his sword. The masterful unsheathing produced a harmonious sound to the team, which unsurprisingly gained the attention of a few wolves.

For some odd reason, it was almost as if they could sense the danger hidden within that sonorous noise.

Shng! Shng! Shng!

Aeran performed basic yet graceful slashes to the wolves before him. Each strike was precise, enabling it to land upon the connecting joints of the wolves. They lost the ability to move in seconds, only to be ended by Aeran next sword strokes.

Compared to their earlier runs, thanks to the existence of their new masteries, it was as if the party had been transformed! Then again, these were only the early monsters. According to their earlier runs, although they appeared to be the same, the wolves closer to the wolf den were far stronger.

At most, these wolves were the deltas of the pack. The ones that defended the den were most like the betas.

"L-Lucian...it's getting hard to control," Sylvia muttered with a weak breath. All the movements Lucian was doing contributed to increased strain as Sylvias was only used to deploying her ability while in a stationary position.

"Just cope with it for a while longer, we're almost done. If need be, consume an elixir. Then you'll have two minutes of respite to regain your thoughts. You're vital to the team," Lucian responded.

"Okay," Sylvia nodded before closing her palm. This discontinued the first magnetic wave. Since the affected wolves were all dead, it was redundant to keep it active. Instead, she consumed a Lesser Mana Elixir and produced a fresh surge of magnetic currents.

While watching her ability at work, Lucian's mind churned to locate ways of helping Sylvia refine her control over this ability. However, thinking about this made him question his own abilities.

'I wonder, are my abilities limited to myself? Or can I become a conduit to conduct power for other people? Unfortunately, I wouldn't know how to begin going about that,' Lucian inwardly thought.

Every human possessed a different vessel composition. So managing the uniqueness of a Guardian's vessel was something way beyond Lucian's current competence. Until he learned how to control his own vessel without fatiguing himself, this matter was just a colossal dream.

Nevertheless, Lucian attempted something else. While harnessing the power of his knuckles, Lucian withdrew his open palm before smashing it against the air before.

A sound akin to a cannon being fired was produced. Furthermore, because of the quantity of Mana, it became a tangible existence that billowed forth with great vigor.

Boom!

A poor wolf became the victim of this strike as its body was torn asunder by the violent currents of the Mana cannon. Meanwhile, Lucian became ecstatic. Although the consumption was great, Lucian came across a way to produce ranged attacks without having a projectile as a catalyst!