CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 12

Upon hearing Adam's command, no one hesitated, and they all turned to run as fast as they could.

As they ran, they tried to shake off the beast, but they failed. The monster was too fast, and gradually closed the gap between itself and the group of four adventurers who were fleeing.

Arnold, the bald-headed man, seeing that they would be caught by the beast at that rate, decided to stay behind to gain enough time for the rest of the group to escape.

Except for Jenna and Clarisse, Adam and he had hunted for a long time, and he knew that if he stayed behind to stop the beast, Adam would manage to save him and the two girls. He decided to stay behind because he was the slowest of the group, not only because of his large shield that weighed a lot, but also because of his stature.

"Guys, go on without me. I'll stop here and try to buy time for you," he said, stopping and retrieving his shield from his back.

Adam, hearing him, stopped and said:

"Don't even think about it. Do you really think I would run leaving you behind to face that monster alone? It's an E rank, you'll definitely die if you try to confront it," he drew his sword from the sheath at his waist and continued:

"If anyone has to stay behind, it might as well be me. I may not last long against that monster, but at least I have a better chance of escaping once you've all gotten far enough away."

They didn't have time to discuss who would stay behind because the earth lizard caught up with them, and now it was looking at them with a predatory gaze.

The lizard could smell the scent of its fallen comrades from that group of humans. For it, that was its territory, and anyone who dared to trespass and try to hunt its species had to be eliminated.

Clarisse and Jenna, a bit further away from the other two, stopped and turned back:

"Jenna, what do we do? We can't leave them behind," Clarisse said, her forehead sweaty, her voice trembling.

Jenna, hearing her, turned to her:

"You go on ahead. If they're here because of me, I don't want you to die for it. I'll go with them to hold off the beast. Who knows, maybe we'll manage to defeat it," she said, smiling as she prepared to join the other two.

Clarisse clearly didn't like this response. It was true that she had introduced her to the team, but she couldn't blame her for that. After all, it was her decision to join them. Jenna was the first and only friend she had made since arriving in the city of Andris, and she didn't want to leave her behind at the first danger they encountered.

"I joined of my own free will, so there's no need to feel guilty about it. As you said, we might even win the battle. So I'll join you too. The more, the merrier," she said determinedly as she looked at her friend.

Jenna wanted to try to change her mind, but she knew it would be useless. She knew how stubborn the girl in front of her could be. If she decided to do something, she would hardly change her mind.

Taking a breath, she turned to the two adventurers, who were about to clash with the lizard, ready to provide support to them, and said:

"Damn you, and your stubbornness. Fine, you can join, but if the situation gets more desperate than it is now, you have to promise me you'll run without looking back. Got it?"

"Don't worry, I still have to become the strongest mage on the continent. I won't let myself be killed by an E rank beast," she said, trying to calm her friend down a bit, and more importantly, herself.

She thought that, although they were at a great disadvantage in strength compared to the beast, they might still have some chance of defeating it.

She didn't know how wrong she was...

A few minutes later...

"W-what, no, how is it possible that it's so strong?"

Clarisse, who was on the ground with one knee, was holding herself up using her staff as support, said as she reflected the scene in front of her in her eyes.

Although they didn't expect to have a great chance of facing the E rank lizard, they still thought they could hurt it and hoped to make it flee or kill it. But they were very wrong. The monster in front of them overpowered them effortlessly. It was fast, and its attacks were strong and swift. In no time, it managed to overcome Arnold's defenses and subsequently defeat Adam and even Jenna, who was sent flying after being hit by the lizard's tail and collided with Clarisse who was standing a short distance from the group.

The beast had turned out to be much stronger than they had thought, probably because it was almost at the peak of the E rank.

At that moment, Clarisse could see the beast, slowly approaching her, while ignoring her companions whose fate was unknown. The beast's gaze petrified her with fear.

"So this is it, I die? I haven't even attended the academy," she said as tears began to form in her eyes.

"No, I can't die. I still have many things I need to do. I can't die without avenging them," she said.

It was not known if she was referring to her teammates or someone else, but despair was beginning to take over her as she lost more and more hope.

The beast, now close to her, looked at her with a gaze that almost seemed to be one of contempt.

"These weak humans really thought they stood a chance against her. Pathetic."

With that, the beast prepared to finish off the prey in front of it.

Just as it was about to attack, a strange tremor from the ground made it stop.

Even Clarisse, who had resigned herself, opened her eyes slightly because she could feel the ground beneath her trembling a little.

The tremor of the ground became slightly stronger, while a loud voice struck her and the beast.

Both turned to look at the row of trees to the left.

The view wasn't the best, but if you looked carefully, you could see a figure coming towards them. The figure, noticing them, shouted:

"Damn it, move quickly from there if you don't want to die."