Chapter 43 - Adventurer's Guild Test (Part Three)

Lucas saw two types of Beasts living in the pack. While one was blue, the other was orange. "I just hope they aren't what I think they are", he thought as he used [Inspect] on them.

[Advanced Tier Beast - Fire Lizard]

[The scaled on their body is though to cut through, quite suitable to make a weapon. They spit fire from their mouths, and they can light up their body parts with the Fire element. Watch out for their tongues and saliva. It can burn a person to death. Weak against Ice Magic]

[Advanced Tier Beast - Ice Lizard]

[The scaled on their body is though to cut through, quite suitable to make a weapon. They spit fire from their mouths, and they can light up their body parts with the Ice element. Watch out for their tongues and saliva. It can freeze a person to death. Weak against Fire Magic]

There were twenty-four Beasts in the pack, and they were divided equally. "Tough situation indeed, but it isn't anything I can't handle", he thought as he looked around the forest. "Listen, this time, we can't one-shot this thing. I'll smoke them out and you can shoot as many as you want", he said.

Emilia looked at him and brought out something from her back. "Smoke grenades?", asked Lucas. "Yes, and there is a mix of strong chloroform, that can knock out a Legendary Tier Beast. So, how do we split?", she asked as she handed him two and she took two. "Fifty-Fifty", he smiled as he received the grenades and a mask.

They both counted to three and threw the grenades. Then, he wore the mask and activated [Mana Vision]. Then, he began to cast [Fireball] and [Icicle] rapidly. "Shouldn't give them time to recover. Once weakened, my blade will kill them", he planned as he was casting. The bout ended in about fifteen minutes, with Lucas covered in blood once again.

"You reek of blood", wretched Emilia. Lucas smelled and covered his nose. "I do reek of blood. I need a change of clothes", he thought. He was once again impressed by the immersiveness of the illusion. "What kind of tech can do this? Not something available in this world. Maybe, it is from the Galaxy?", he thought.

He once again followed his map, and while following, he pulled up his quest to see how much he had remaining.

[Quest Incomplete]

[Place D Rank or above in this test

Beasts Killed

Demon Tier Beast 0/1

Demi-God Tier Beast 0/3

Emperor Tier Beast 0/5

King Tier Beast 0/7

Legendary Tier Beast 0/9

Advanced Tier Beast 12/11

Intermediate Tier Beast 11/15

Basic Tier Beast 24/20]

[Current Rank: F Rank]

He was baffled by two things. "I still need four Intermediate Tier Beasts to complete the requirements? And I am still at F Rank?", he thought. He was determined to complete this mission and about two hours were remaining on the clock. "I have to be faster", he said out loud as he was running.

Emilia was stunned when she heard his words. "Well, who am I kidding? I am also aiming for the highest ranking possible. Maybe C or B Rank would suffice", she thought. She followed behind as Lucas began to run faster.

"Kid, I would save my stamina if I were you. You are up against Legendary Tier Beasts. And you need to kill nine of them too. A pack of Legendary Beasts are no joke", said Valentine. Lucas didn't stop as he ignored Valentine's warning. "I will finish them, and I will complete this quest", he thought.

After reaching the spot, they followed the same tactic. When he was hiding, he saw a notification pop up.

[Rage Meter is Complete]

[Activate Rage Mode? Yes/No]

Lucas smiled as he saw it. "Can I control the intensity of the Rage Mode?", he asked in his mind. Valentine began to explain. "Rage Mode can be controlled, and I would be able to increase the intensity slowly. I don't know how much you would be able to handle without turning insane. We will start at ten percent, and I will decide how much to increase", he said.

Lucas nodded his head and activated his Rage Mode. A mark began to swirl up his right arm and stopped at his shoulder. The mark was pulsing like it was alive. His left eye turned blue, and three rings formed outside of the iris. One of the rings lit up and was pulsing just like his mark. Lucas saw the screen pop up in front of him.

[Rage Mode has been activated]

[All stats have been increased by ten percent]

[Eye of Prediction has been activated]

[Eye of Prediction - Will be able to perceive the next move of your opponent. Skill used to maximize the effect of Rage Mode]

[Mastery - 10%]

"Kid, can you hear me?", inquired Valentine. "Loud and clear", said Lucas. He began to increase the intensity. "15%... 20%... 25%... 30%. Kid, am I still audible?", he asked as he was worried. Lucas's breathing was erratic, but his mind wasn't consumed by the Rage Mode. "Increase it. I'm still sane", he said. Valentine began to increase again. "Just how much Rage has this kid been controlling in this Eighteen years?", he thought as he increased

[35%.... 40%... 45%... 48%...]

At this point, Lucas's breathing was getting out of control. "Kid, can you hear me?", he asked again. "Entering Rage Mode is a double-edged sword, and unless you can control it, it's useless. Should I increase it?', he asked with concern. Lucas was conscious, but he couldn't speak in his mind. His thoughts were blank. He just huffed.

"Alright, I'll stop at 50%. You will go insane, but try and control it as soon as you can. I know you can", he said as he pushed it up to 50%. Lucas began to huff smoke from his nostrils, and Emilia was scared. "Lucas, are you alright?", she asked. Lucas didn't turn his head towards her, instead kept it focused in front of him.

[Legendary Tier Beast - Earth Crickets]

[They are weak in strength, but they can use the Earth element as armor to cover up for their weaknesses. Weak against Fire Magic]

Lucas didn't remember the information although he had read it. Slowly, he was massacring every beast in sight, shocking Emilia. His breathing began to stabilize, and he saw the notification, regaining his consciousness again.

[Mastery - 50%]

[Rage Meter currently at 50% intensity. 75% of the Meter left]

Lucas smiled as he saw the pop-up. "No more pushing for now. Don't want to create any confusions with her", he thought as he looked at the terrified look on Emilia's face. He smiled at her, and that brought back some color to her. He stopped the killing and went towards her. "I've weakened them. Just go ahead and do your thing", he said.

Emilia shot down every Beast in her sight, and she saw the cuts on the Beast's body. "Just how fast is he", she thought as she saw him lean casually on a tree, smiling at her. Emilia finished her part, and she looked at the screen that was hovering above her.

[Beasts Killed

Demon Tier Beast - 0

Demi-God Tier Beast - 0

Emperor Tier Beast - 0

King Tier Beast - 0

Legendary Tier Beast - 6

Advanced Tier Beast - 12

Intermediate Tier Beast - 9

Basic Tier Beast - 15]

[Current Rank: D Rank]

Lucas looked at his count once again.

[Beasts Killed

Demon Tier Beast 0/1

Demi-God Tier Beast 0/3

Emperor Tier Beast 0/5

King Tier Beast 0/7

Legendary Tier Beast 9/9

Advanced Tier Beast 12/11

Intermediate Tier Beast 11/15

Basic Tier Beast 24/20]

[Current Rank: D Rank]

"Let's take a breather. Five minutes and we will move", said Lucas in a commanding tone. Emilia nodded her head and sat down by a tree, and Lucas laid down on top of a tree. "To expect so much in such little time. Is this what it means to be a real adventurer? I can't begin to imagine the SS and SSS ranks. No wonder there is very little SSS on the whole planet", he thought as he looked into the horizon.

He looked down at his hand and saw a mark on his hand. It was in the shape of two arrowheads crossing each other. "What is this Mark?', he thought. 'Well, that is the Mark Of The System. Or as the people call it, 'Awakener's Mark'. Every system has its unique system trait and a mark that follows. It can be anywhere on the body, and this is your mark", he said.

"Can I hide it? I don't want many people to know that I am an Awakener", he said. The mark then began to vanish. "If you activate Rage Mode, the Mark will become visible again. And you don't have to worry about it being thereafter. I will hide it", he said with confidence in his tone.

Lucas smiled as he jumped down the tree. "We will be heading in this direction. I still need to kill four more Intermediate Tier Beasts, and I saw some beasts on the way towards the next pack. And I'm warning you, the next one will be a King Tier Pack", he warned Emilia.

She nodded her head and they both began to head towards the King Tier Pack. Little did they know, that their every move was being watched by the Guild.. "Truly interesting indeed", amused Steve as he was watching them.