Vineclaw Matriarch

Rain was still annoyed by the man's supposed gift, but he had more important things to worry about than useless memories. He rushed into the forest, searching for an opponent. Leaping through the trees at blinding speeds, he surprised himself with his newfound agility. He continued through the forest, ignoring weaker enemies before coming to a clearing. Four vineclaws were resting peacefully in the open space.

Rain decided this was a good opportunity to test his new power. He could escape with ease if necessary. He jumped into the clearing, landing directly in front of the vineclaws. As he landed, he activated Fog Cloak, enshrouding the area in dark blue mist. Surprisingly, he could see through the mist as if it wasn't there.

The vineclaws looked around in disarray, unable to find their attacker. Rain took advantage of their shock and began his assault. He used Raging Torrents, and six orbs of water appeared behind him. Locking his sights onto the closest vineclaw, he fired off the six orbs, which littered the vineclaw with holes, taking it out instantly.

Rain didn't let his shock distract him and Torrent Dashed toward his next target. He quickly closed the distance and unleashed a barrage of strikes with his staff, finishing with one final blow. The impact ended the vineclaw. Just as he finished off that vineclaw, another appeared behind him, slashing at him with its claws.

Rain reacted instantly, side-stepping the attack and countering with a swift kick, knocking it to the ground. He turned away from it, activating Aqua Vortex and trapping it in the whirlpool of slashes, killing it without issue.

Rain's vision turned to the final vineclaw. The vines attached to its lower back swirled to life and rushed toward him. Rain stared at the vines charging at him; they barely seemed like they were in motion. A mirror of water appeared in front of Rain, and the vines struck it. As they did, their momentum was lost, and four arrows of water emerged from the mirror, launching back toward the vineclaw. Each arrow hit its mark, leaving the vineclaw barely recognizable as it fell to the ground, limp.

Rain-deactivated fog cloak and stared at the carnage he left. He was only level four, he felt entirely too strong, maybe levels had more importance than he originally gave them. thinking about it logically. the average person wouldn't encounter monsters at the frequency he did, and there's no telling how much training it requires to naturally increase your stats, Rain had been fighting nonstop pretty much since he was born and hadn't gotten a single stat point naturally. 

The Trial of Champions was much more significant than he had thought. Three levels within a couple of days of just being born—surely that was abnormal. He felt fine for the most part, so hopefully, nothing would come of it. Regardless, there was nothing he could do about it now.

As thoughts of possible consequences left Rain's mind, the familiar magic words appeared in his vision.

["Multiple enemies slain. Lesser rune of agility rewarded(2). Lesser rune of Dexterity(3) rewarded"]

Rain looked at the notification in surprise. He had only received three runes of dexterity and two of speed. Were they not a guaranteed reward? The Trial of Champions was so different from leveling outside, it was possible. If this were the case, it would make leveling for the average person even more difficult. The realization set in: level four was a serious achievement, and Rajan was insane for making the requirement for his teachings level five.

A smile crossed Rain's face. His situation was unfortunate, but he'd had extreme luck in this new world. The entity that tormented him in his past life somehow had less power over him. Maybe it had to do with Kyma's ability to intervene in this world, unlike on Earth.

Rain stopped contemplating. He hoped he would get a chance to thank Kyma soon. Turning around, ready to leave, he was approached by two vineclaws. These were much larger than the four he had beaten before. Their appearances were different: their legs were wrapped in vines, and they had thicker, leaf-like vines around their necks like scarves. They also didn't look very happy seeing the dead vineclaws Rain was standing over.

Snarls emanated from the vineclaws, and green energy charged in their teeth as they lunged forward. Rain jumped out of the way, avoiding both charges, and landed on a nearby tree branch. This was the perfect chance to test his clan's ability. Four piercing blue wings projected from his back in the shape of an X, and he could feel the power surging through his body. He jumped forward, his speed destroying part of the tree as he took off.

Rain appeared behind the vineclaws and used Aqua Vortex to separate them, trapping one in the vortex. The other attempted to slash at him, but he dodged and created a clone to occupy it. Rain rushed back toward the vineclaw trapped in the vortex, leaving a hole in the ground as he sped off. Rain dismissed the vortex, grabbed the vineclaw by its vine scarf, and slammed it to the ground. While the vineclaw was disoriented, Rain activated Raging Torrents, and six orbs of water appeared behind him. However, he didn't fire; he held off and attacked with his staff, unleashing a flurry of blows.

The vineclaw grew tired of the constant barrage, and its entire body began glowing a violent neon green as it charged forward. Rain rolled under the charge and fired Raging Torrents while the vineclaw was still in mid-air. All six blasts hit, leaving the vineclaw unable to dodge. The blasts of water injured the vineclaw and knocked it out of the sky. Rain rushed at it again as it struggled to stand, clearly suffering from broken bones and no longer in a position to fight. Rain activated Aqua Vortex on his staff, making it seem as if his entire arm became a drill of water, and thrust forward, finishing the vineclaw.

He then turned his attention to the vineclaw his clone was keeping occupied and blitzed forward using Torrent Dash to boost his speed even further. He crashed into the second vineclaw, sending it hurling into some trees. Shifting into a stance, he could feel the boost from his wings beginning to wane; he needed to focus. The vineclaw recovered from the attack and charged forward. Rain's clone jumped in front of the attack, intercepting it and getting destroyed in the process.

Rain capitalized on his clone's sacrifice and used Aqua Vortex, littering slashes across the vineclaw's body. He then activated Raging Torrents once more and let the Aqua Vortex dissipate, firing the six blasts that injured the monster and sent it tumbling backward. The vineclaw stood up again, green energy shrouding its body as it charged at Rain. Rain activated Water Mirror, and as the vineclaw made contact, it stopped instantly. Seven arrows of water retaliated, lashing out and piercing the beast's skull, killing it. 

Rain let his wings dematerialize and took a deep breath. The ability was powerful but draining. He looked back at the dead vineclaws and then at himself. He really had grown stronger. This was the world for him, a place where he could reforge his legacy.

As he regained his breath, notifications filled his view.

["Multiple Vineclaw Concubinus slain. Greater rune of Dexterity rewarded (2)"]

Rain waved them away and went to open his stats, but before he could even look, the menu closed as he heard heavy breathing behind him. He turned around to see an even bigger vineclaw. Rain stepped back into a stance, and a feminine voice emanated from the beast.

"Why must you murder my children, young one? I would hate to end someone so young, but you must die."

A roar of fury left her maw, and a bed of vines surrounded them. Rain wasn't ready for this at all, but he had no intention of dying in this wretched place.