29 Facing A Variant
----
Not long after realizing Irauk's smug appearance, Apollo noticed a beast in the area they all had scattered from earlier. From the way it was sniffing the ground, it seemed to think of them as its targets.
However, its head raised the moment it caught the familiar scent of Apollo. Amongst the ground of scents, this one gave the weakest impression. In other words, the beast viewed Apollo as prey!
Its keen eyes locked sights with Apollo, who retrieved the Dark Cutter reactively.
It was a large wolf with crimson eyes. But more importantly, its fur was azure with a streak of violet fur connecting from its torso to the tip of its tail. Compared to the other wolves, this only seemed extremely odd.
Faint violet crackles of lighting circulated through its eyes as it emitted a low growl, baring its almost metallic-looking fangs with the lust reminiscent of polished steel.
「Monster Name: Azure Lightning Wolf
Type: Variant
Cultivation: Peak Stage Rank 0 Spirit Beast
Health: 2,000/2,000 」
'A Variant? What's a Variant? And there's such a thing as a peak stage?!' Apollo wondered as he prepared himself for the subsequent actions of the beast.
Fortunately, Azridan expanded on this matter.
[Variant just means it possesses abilities outside of its current threshold. In short, it is stronger than its average rank. As for the peak stage, it means it is at the absolute limit of its rank and could possibly evolve at any time.]
'Oh, how wonderful,' Apollo groaned before quickly dodging to the side.
A path of splintered rocks remained before him after experiencing the wolf's shocking dash!
'It's fast!'
This was the only thought running through Apollo's mind as he responded to that attack. He estimated the only reason he was able to respond was due to their distance. If he was any closer, this outcome might have been different.
This thought brought a frown to Apollo's face, forcing him to make a quick decision to avoid any unforeseen and perilous situations. Frowning, Apollo shook his head.
〈System: Agility: 8.3 → 11.3〉
Instantly, Apollo exhausted all of his free stat points to increase his speed. As a result, a refreshing and empowered feeling coursed through Apollo's limb.
Unexpectedly, having another attribute cross the 10.0 threshold produced a remarkable sensation.'This feeling is amazing. It feels like my body is brimming with never-ending energy,' Apollo surmised.
Boom! Whoosh!
Apollo accelerated rapidly after his brief reverie. A small foot was left in place of where he once stood. Immediately after, Apollo turned into a lightning-quick blur, which was barely slower than the wolf.
Nevertheless, this negligible could be rectified through fighting capitalizing on what he could. This wolf was only faster when it came to linear acceleration, its ability to perform directional acceleration was shoddy, requiring it to slow down temporarily.
Meanwhile, Apollo didn't have such an issue. Every time his speed increase, as long as it was within the scope of reflexes, he could control it properly.
Therefore, Apollo pivoted to the side and capitalized on that brief window. In that small window, he landed a slash on the wolf's hind leg.
This induced an enraged howl but Apollo remained calm and continued to monitor its movements.
Once another opportunity presented itself, Apollo spun and delivered a second cut before moving away.
This time, the wolf snarled while firing Apollo a dangerous glare. Consequently, the violet streak on the wolf's torso crackled with violet lightning.
A torrent of lightning-based Natural Essence deluged its four paws. As a result, its speed increased dangerously. Furthermore, those arcs of light surged to its claws.
In the next moment, a large tear appeared on the leg of his grey robes.
"Oh? It's the Lightning Gait," Irauk muttered as he shifted his gaze to Apollo. He was curious as to how Apollo would deal with this situation. Would he be able to prevail against that astonishing speed?
"Hoooo…"Apollo exhaled. The worst thing to do would be to lose his focus, especially against such a fast enemy. Once again, Apollo's instincts heightened, but he wasn't sure if this was enough for this type of opponent.
Unfortunately, he could only try and see the results.
The first attempt end in another rip on his robe and so did the next three. However, this ordeal gave Apollo more insight. 'It's weakness hasn't changed. In fact, it has become even worse. Therefore, there is only one other option.
Immediately, Apollo began circling the wolf. It first started off wide but with every revolution, Apollo tightened the circle. Since it required a constant change of direction, it put the wolf's reaction at a disadvantage.
Once close enough, Apollo stabbed the knife into the dirt. Due to his constant movement, a cloud of dust was kicked up, and his current speed was more than enough to limit it to the wolf.
Within a few moments, it looked like a crude prison of dirt, effectively limiting the wolf's sight. But, Apollo's was obscured just the same. However, not for long because the wolf frequently slashed at the prison, giving Apollo the needed window to locate its position.
To form a guard from the dust, Apollo wrapping his head with his robe but left to slits for visibility.
Ultimately, the wolf was forced to exit from the rapidly closing hole, but Apollo was banking on this. With his speed, both he and the wolf would reach that position at the same time!
The moment it appeared, Apollo hurtled a handful of dirt in its eyes.
Taking note of this, Irauk nodded in approval, 'Witty use of his surroundings while also capitalizing on the conflictions of attributes. Lightning doesn't fare well against anything having to do with Earth.'
"Howoooo…!" Both its eyes and snout burned from the clump of dust shoved inside, and even relying upon hearing was difficult because of its disorientation.
Meanwhile, Apollo moved like a phantom, delivering small cuts on its body. He unfurled a relentless barrage of slashes that drained both his stamina and the beast's health in tandem.
Luckily, his stamina could facilitate him doing this due to its large increase. It wasn't long before the beast's health fell under 20%. However, at that point, it fell into insanity. A large stream of lightning arcs danced around its body before spreading outward.
The Natural Essence in a small radius grew volatile which produced an alarming sense of danger. Apollo retreated with haste once the feeling encroached on Apollo's mind.
A shock wave of lightning burst from its body which interacting with the airborne soil, blowing it back. Fortunately, it was heavy enough to act as a barrier containing the blast to a radius of 2 meters.
After that small explosion, it fell into a powerless state. Seeing this sight once again, Apollo started to think there was a link, 'A survival tactic? Luckily, it didn't land, or else I could've been mortally wounded.'
Nevertheless, Apollo dashed in while the wolf entered a powerless state. Watching as the dagger inched closer, the wolf could only resign itself to fate with the knife eventually puncturing its throat.
A fountain of blood sprayed as its body fell limp and lifeless. With his unprecedented performance, Apollo had finally emerged victorious, albeit while bathed in blood.
〈System; You have killed a Variant Rank 0 Spirit Beast (Azure Lightning Wolf).〉
〈System: 700 [350+350] Experience gained.〉
〈System: Congratulations, you have reached Level 46.〉
〈System: ... 〉
Finally able to take a breather, Apollo dropped to his knees whilst a wave of exhaustion overtook him.
In the meantime, Irauk couldn't stop grinning. 'It seems I have underestimated this boy. He has primal survival instincts. The way he fights and thinks, only his survival is important. The means employed aren't taken into account. He could become a truly vicious boy.
Suddenly, a shout of pure shock echoed, "OH MY GOD!"
