In the dark, rotting heart of the forest, a blinding blend of gold and blue light formed, as if a small sun had exploded. The shockwave was so powerful that those massive, petrified trees around them snapped in half like matchsticks.
The immense thermal expansion created at the center of the explosion slammed the air forward like a sledgehammer, right into the middle of the boar herd.
The sturdy pelts of the boars shattered like thin glass from the sudden temperature change and the terrifying shockwave that followed. The massive creatures were hurled into the air by the force of the explosion. Their internal organs and flesh either instantly vaporized or charred in the scorching heat of the blast.
Aren had anchored himself to the ground with all his remaining strength to withstand the shockwave of the explosion, shielding Lilith with his robe. The hot wind passing over them reached kilometers deep into the forest.
A few seconds later, the interior of the forest sank into a deadly silence and dense steam mixed with mud.
When visibility gradually cleared, there was neither a herd left nor any approaching danger. The hundred-meter radius had turned into a battlefield covered in steaming black slime, filled with charred piles of flesh and toppled trees.
Over fifty massive Wild Boars had been torn to pieces.
In front of Aren, system notifications began to flow continuously, almost like a waterfall.
Experience gained. Experience gained. Experience gained...
CONGRATULATIONS!
Level 25>Level 26
Level 26>Level 27
Level 27>Level 28
Level 28>Level 29
Level 29>Level 30
Level 30>Level 31
Level 31>Level 32
Your stats have increased by a total of 7 points.
Aren was left panting. Faint smoke was rising from his hands. He had used half of his mana to execute this attack, and the other half to protect himself from the resulting explosion.
His mana pool was completely emptied, his knees were trembling.
But he had succeeded.
Lilith, behind him, slowly stood up in shock. Her ice-blue eyes looked at this apocalyptic scene in front of her in disbelief.
"You… That was incredible." Lilith said, that usual coldness in her voice completely melted away, leaving pure admiration in its place.
Aren lowered his trembling hands and took a deep breath.
His rational mind immediately issued a warning.
"Too early to celebrate." Aren said, without breaking the seriousness on his face at all, looking into the still-dark depths of the dead trees.
Lilith frowned.
"Right. Those massive creatures weren't coming to attack us. They were running away from something."
Aren inhaled the air that smelled of burnt flesh and evaporating mud.
Aren fixed his gold-ringed eyes on the edge of the forest.
"And whatever it is that scared them so much… It is still out there somewhere."
The interior of the dark, spacious, and high-ceilinged observation room was illuminated by the pale blue and crimson lights emitted from the massive floating screens.
Xeras was sprawled out with his massive frame on the wide leather armchair right in the middle of the room.
That tight and ridiculous tuxedo on him was still there, but there wasn't a single funny thing about his posture.
With his crimson skin, his horn, and the bat wings on his back, he looked like an apex predator.
In the crystal goblet in his hand, there was a dark red wine resembling blood.
He took a sip from his goblet and fixed his vertical pupils on that scene of destruction frozen on the largest screen in the room.
Mael, the armored clan member standing at the control panel of the screens, broke the silence with a respectful tone.
"Sir, there are 34 people left. I am transferring the targets with the highest growth rates to the main screens."
The massive screen on his left lit up.
In the image, very close to the rotting ring of the Crimson Forest, there were two people resting in the hollow of a massive charred tree. One was a black-hooded youth whose face was covered in scars like a map.
He was twirling the rusty, poisoned dagger in his hand between his fingers with a psychopathic rhythm.
Right across from him sat a red-haired, cold-eyed woman in tight leather armor, who appeared to be in her late twenties.
The woman was busy cleaning the blood and mud off the two short swords in her hands.
There was a predatory and highly controlled calmness in her posture.
The young man chuckled to himself. His voice was like a broken record echoing in the void, alternately crying and laughing.
"That ice-wielding bitch... She hurt me, sis."
The young man lightly traced the tip of the dagger over his own scar-filled cheek, fixing his eyes on the darkness. "My mother used to say bad girls needed to be punished. When I find her, I will slowly flay that smooth porcelain face of hers with this rusty dagger. I can't wait to hear her sweet voice as she screams."
Without taking her eyes off her sword, the red-haired woman replied in a very flat and emotionless voice. "Let's just get out of here first, then do whatever you want."
Xeras gently swirled the crystal goblet in his hand, the blood-red wine inside rippling. "This kid is not bad. He is just like the other one, isn't he? Awakened his Divine Ability early. I think he has a divine ability connected to the dead." After saying that, he took a sip of his wine and continued.
"It's a real pity the other one died, not only did he have two divine abilities, but he also had perfect talent for stealth and scouting. No matter. If this kid passes successfully, send him an 'invitation'. Next."
The main screen on the right switched to another image.
This time, there was a group of six advancing through an open, ash-covered area of the forest.
At the very front of the group walked Marcus, with his massive silvery plate armor and the double-sided heavy axe in his hand.
His height was approaching three meters.
He was yelling at his sycophants around him, boasting about how he had torn apart the creature he had just slaughtered, occasionally letting out a laugh and breaking the silence of the forest.
Mael commented while looking at the screen.
"This target is truly noteworthy, sir. His combat style is extremely brutal, ruthless, and direct. He doesn't hesitate to use those around him as a meat shield, he has no moral boundaries. His physical strength is very good. His mana level isn't bad. He would make a good 'warrior'."
While looking at the screen, Mael pressed a few keys on the control panel, and the camera angle slowly panned away from Marcus, locking onto a skinny, ordinary-looking man walking silently at the very back of the group with his head bowed.
The man only held a long, ordinary halberd in his hand, and there was no expression on his face.
Mael, adding a serious tone to his voice. "This person is much more dangerous. While he portrays himself as the weakest and most insignificant of the group, he is actually by far the strongest of the group. Marcus and the others aren't even aware that they are in the palm of this person behind them."
Xeras took a sip from his goblet and looked at the screen with that familiar, mocking smile on his lips. "Yes, smart and strong pawns are always useful." Xeras leaned forward from his massive leather armchair. "Now show 'him' to me."
The screen in the middle opened. The wild boar herd was approaching Aren and Lilith at top speed.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Evaporating mud, charred massive wild boar corpses, and two small human figures standing right in the middle of that destruction.
In the rest of the room, there were four more clan members in armor, red-skinned like Xeras but smaller in stature than him.
The silence was thick enough to be cut with a sword.
"This... This is impossible." said Mael, the clan member standing at the screens' control panel. His voice hitched like a computer struggling to process what it was seeing.
"Those adult wild boars possessed tremendous defense. Their levels were over fifty. How can just two lowly humans wipe them out in one go?"
Xeras slowly twirled the crystal goblet in his hand. That familiar, savage, and mocking smile appeared on his lips.
"It's a pity that the System doesn't allow us to monitor the 'dungeons'. That boy definitely obtained something special. Being able to grow this strong at this level in such a short time is not normal, even for a pioneer. A Flawless Body and a child of Fire…"
Xeras continued after drinking the whole goblet in one gulp. "We must absolutely recruit that boy into our clan, this way we can take him to our own world without violating any laws." His voice echoed calmly in the room.
Xeras snapped his finger, focusing on the two figures on the screen.
The image zoomed in on Aren and Lilith.
"At the same time, this girl is also very talented. In fact, I have never seen anyone with such talent before. She probably has talent equivalent to the Clan Chief's son."
His vertical pupils gleamed upon Aren on the screen, with the savage desire of a spoiled child looking at a new and unique toy.
"That boy will be mine."
While the other clan members in the observation room maintained their silence, Mael at the control panel swallowed hard, trying to hide his discomfort inside his armor.
'They are going to die shortly, you fool Xeras.' Mael thought. He clenched his jaw to not express that condescending disgust within himself. 'This muscle-bound lizard has gone blind because of his own arrogance and perverted fantasies. You were the one who personally placed that 'monster' there. And now you're talking about recruiting him into our clan. You are a complete fool.'
"Sir... they will probably die. You remember what it was that chased those boars, right?" Mael said, using a respectful tone.
Xeras slowly placed his goblet on the table. The subtle 'clink' sound the glass of the goblet made as it touched the surface cut through the heavy air in the room.
"Die?" An ominous and dark chuckle rose from the depths of Xeras's throat. "No, Mael... They will survive."
Xeras leaned slightly forward from his massive leather armchair.
His body twitched in a bizarre way.
As he looked at Aren's mud-covered silhouette standing in an exhausted state on the screen, his breathing suddenly grew heavy and wheezy.
His vertical crimson pupils dilated, not with the hunger of a predator about to devour its prey, but with lust, as if he were deriving some sick, sexual pleasure.
As he slowly ran his thick, dark-colored tongue over his lips, a perverted state of ecstasy settled on his face.
He was looking as if he was imagining Aren being crushed beneath that seemingly invincible cold-bloodedness, imagining tearing him apart with his own hands and putting him back together.
Mael's stomach turned. His fingers pressing the keys of the screen contracted involuntarily.
'Disgusting.' Mael thought to himself, averting his gaze from Xeras and fixing it on the screen. 'Completely devoid of strategy and logic. He acts only on his own sick impulses. That boy's mana is completely depleted, and the condition of the girl next to him is obvious. When that thing appears before them shortly, they will both die. But this fool is still fantasizing.'
Xeras leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest.
That sick expression of pleasure on his face gave way once again to that arrogant predator.
"Some things about this planet are weird. Before coming here, I didn't even know a 'Divine Ability' could be awakened early. I've even witnessed something legendary as possessing two 'Divine Abilities'. As if all this wasn't enough, there are also these two monsters. I'm sure they will show me another miracle." Xeras said, without taking his eyes off the screen for even a second.