*Next Day*
"Fuuuuuh.... The weather is really cold." Exhaling a cloudy breath, Talon stretched his limbs slightly as he looked around him. It was early in the morning and the sun was barely peeking through the horizon, giving its faint rays of light to the world.
Behind him, a group of 30 survivors were getting themselves ready as they were about to leave the base. They were quite strong with all of them being over level 15 with some even reaching level 18. Their equipment was decent too with some weapons over level 20. They were the elite amongst the entire mass.
Seeing their shiny weapons and armor, Talon could only sigh. 'I think it's time to start looking for a new spear. Blue Lapis has been really handy for a while now. But, it's starting to fall short as monsters grow stronger. I have to upgrade.' He thought to himself as he scanned his spear.
After weeks of continuous use, the spear had finally started showing marks of damage all over it. Chips at the blade and the handle could be seen everywhere. There were also scars from the many battles Talon went through.
In reality, he felt quite conflicted since this spear had been by his side for a long time now and it was his most trusted weapon. But, he knew that it wouldn't be able to continue with him forever as he was already facing monsters way above its level cap. The only reason it could damage these monsters was Talon's ridiculous strength.
"Sigh, well, it was good as long as it lasted." Putting the spear on his back, he turned around. "Ok is everyone ready?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Good. A brief recap of the plan, we are going to head north till we reach the forest. Then, we will separate into groups of 5 except for me. If you find a group of monsters, alert the others and deal with it. If it's too many for you to handle, use that flare to tell me your location and I will be there. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Good, get in the cars."
After that, the group put all their stuff in the vehicles and left the base quickly. They knew that the day was going to be long so they had to start as early as possible. The goal was to clear 20% of the way back to Seoul.
The cars moved through the ruined streets as they headed deeper into the forest. Talon was alone in the first vehicle while everyone else was behind him. At some point, the route diverged and the group was split into two. Then it diverged again and the group was split again.
Eventually, Talon found himself moving through the forest alone. Thirty minutes later, he stopped the car and left.
"This should be good enough." After that, he pulled the device. "Is everyone in their position?"
"It's good on our side."
"Same here."
"We are fine."
Immediately, he received multiple replies which Talon nodded as he turned around. "Stay alert and move carefully. We will talk later."
After that, he turned the device off and finally pulled his spear. "Hmm, I can sense some monsters lurking in the forest. But, there are way too few of them. I need to attract them outside."
With that in mind, Talon started moving into the forest. As he walked through the thick greenery, He heard sounds all around him. A second later, multiple monsters appeared around him.
They were all giant cats of some kind that stared daggers at him.
"Level 20, huh? Well, this is not bad for a warm-up." Talon shrugged as he took a fighting stance.
"Hmm, interesting." Scratching the back of his head, he finally nodded. "Ok, I think this is going to work." He said.
"What are you going to do?"
"Something I never tried before. Just watch." He said as he stored his spear and finally put his hands together.
Then, channeling a good chunk of his Aetheris, he activated Azure Flames. A small ember formed in his hand. The ball of fire then grew and grew, slowly increasing its size till it reached a point where it was almost as big as Talon's head.
But, he didn't stop there as he continued making it get bigger. At some point, the floating ball of flames was as Big as Talon himself. The latter had a strong frown on his face. His forehead was riddled with sweat and his teeth were clenched as he struggled to keep the flames stable.
'Ugh! It's hard... To control it anymore!! I wanted to make it bigger! But, I can't!' Cursing under his breath, he decided to stop there.
Acrypha watched with an interested look on her face, anticipating Talon to do something.
The young man then opened his arms as he looked up at the sky. Then, he clenched his open arms at the same time and the ball of flames was launched in the air at top speed.
The blue light emitting from it shone brightly as it reached dozens of meters in the air and continued moving. Eventually, it stopped in the air before...
*BOOOOOOOOOM*
The ball of fire exploded violently in a magnificent way. The light it emitted grew so bright that it almost blinded Talon and the sound of the explosion shook the entire forest and spread far and wide. It was so strong that the trees close from there were knocked down and the grass around him burnt slightly from the heat wave.
Talon covered his face from the shock before he looked up with a smile. "That's good enough..."
"Why did you do that?" She asked.
"Well, since I don't want to keep searching for the monsters, I decided to make them come for me instead." He replied.
"Wait, you mean?"
"Yeah, since monsters are attracted by the sound, they should notice this explosion and be curious to check it. When that happens..."
Before he could even finish the sentence, Talon started hearing loud steps in the far distance along with monster screeches of all kinds. The sounds were faint and were growing closer. His eyes flashed with a weird glint as he stared down.
"I can get rid of all of them in one fell swipe." Pulling his spear out, he waited for a moment.
A few seconds passed before the trees around him started shaking violently. Birds flew away in fear of what was about to happen.
It didn't take long for the open plain to get invaded by curious monsters. Monsters that were there searching for blood.
'I'm not going to stop till I boost my strength again.' Licking his lips, Talon felt his bloodlust grow bigger and bigger to an unprecedented degree.
He didn't realize that he was so eager to kill... Far beyond what he normally wanted.
A//N: If you enjoyed reading, don't forget to support the book with GT and PS. Thank you!