Balloons everywhere

Then I finally saw a good spirit beast. It was all alone, creating a big area around it where the other beast didn't dare to approach. It was a little sphere of no more than 1 meter of diameter, purple with some spikes around him. It didn't have eyes, it was completely smooth except the spikes. And was hovering 1 meter over the ground.

Just at that moment, one ignorant beast entered within 50 m of it, the ignorant beast was a Ground Shielded Hippo of maybe 4000 years old, a brown hippopotamus like beast specialized in defense. The purple sphere quickly shot more than 20 spikes to him, they were very fast and they seem to be very sharp. They easily penetrated the Hippo.

The Hippo was gravely injured but survived. However, it didn't last long, after 1 minute fell dead. The sphere approached it, this time one hole opened in its form. The sphere inflates more than 5 meters and easily swallowed the Hippo.

I couldn't help to shudder, of its strength and expectations. My defense power is great contrasting with my low attack one. This beast will surely provide one skill for improving my attack power. I really didn't know what will be, but seeing it the skill will be something related to poison, throwing attack or some increase in size. All of them perfect to improve my attack qualities.

Due to its size and easily overpowering a 4000 years old beast, I was sure that it would be over 10.000 and seeing even the other 10.000 beasts scared to approach it, it will be stronger than them. Usually beast grew in size until the 10.000 years old, and then they started to decrease the size, even if there are exemptions, they usually follow this rule.

The sphere seemed more attracted to the other beasts rather than the essence of the immortal treasure. Having come for the great group of beast formed.

I turned to Grandmaster "Grandmaster, do you know what is it that beast?" I asked signaling the purple sphere.

"The purple sphere? I am not completely sure, it seems a very characteristic beast, but rarely seen. The most similar beast I listened about its the Spiked Balloon. A beast in the form of a sphere with spikes. But in that case, when it was killed it was only 1000 years old. Also, it was brown. So maybe its a variant, I don't really know" explained Grandmaster.

"Do you know the age?" I asked.

"It's a rarely seen beast so I don't have the knowledge to estimate. The only read document one was a thousand years old and its description is similar to that one. Seeing how the other beast reacts we could expect to be over 10.000 years, but I really can't calculate it" Grandmaster answered.

I turned to Mayi "This will be my ring. As it seems its area is absent from other beasts, we won't need to attract it. Mayi, let's kill it"

Mayi nodded enthusiastically, really wanting to have some fight.

"I don't recommend that beast. We don't know exactly its characteristics, attacks and age. You should try another safer option" Grandmaster advised.

"Thanks for the warning. But I already decided it" I said.

"Mayi, full power" I told Mayi. Shrek showed all their techniques fighting previously, so as a show of sincerity, we will also use our own.

I turned to the others "Please, don't help us, except if you detect that it is completely necessary"

I invoked my sword, showing 4 rings, yellow, yellow, purple and purple. Mayi activated her, her usual armor manifesting. We charged towards the Balloon, Mayi following at my back.

When we arrived at its range, like before against the beast, the Balloon shot multiple spikes towards us. I activated my 4th skill, I quickly realized that the defense of the Balloon was minimum, so I focus in near beast to increase my defense. I swung my sword covered with Protection intent, creating a shield before us.

I was tensed, prepared to dodge in case the spikes penetrated my shield. My worry was unfounded, the shield blocking the spikes. We continued charging, quickly arriving near the Balloon that seemed to not react at all.

When we were at our range of attack, its body spikes extended, I blocked them changing their trajectory, Mayi jumped over me. She concentrated her spirit power in her punch and punched the Balloon.

I expected her to push it to the ground, however, what happened surprised me a lot. Mayi's punch pricked the Balloon like a rubber one with a "Pooof" sound. Breaking it, surrounding as in scraps.

When Mayi landed at the ground she was surprised by how easy was to break it. At that moment all the Balloon's scraps started moving. All of them became little Spiked Balloons that started to inflate.

I could sense the danger. From my body expanded a gray aura arriving until 10 meters diameter <Sword Domain: Protection>. Then I used my intent covering Mayi and me in it.

Just as I finished the Balloons exploded, shooting an uncountable number of spikes in all directions. I could listen "clap" sound hitting my intent, trying to break it.

After 3 seconds, the sounds finished, my intent keeping its form. Looking at my surroundings, I couldn't see any other Balloon. Instead, in the place where was the Spiked Balloon a purple ring was floating.

"What the fuck is this?!" I exclaimed.

Mayi looked at me with a regretful face "Sorry for killing it, Bai"

"You don't need to worry about it. It was too weak, to only be 1.000 years beast. I don't know why I sensed that it would be good for me" I said. At that moment I detected something from my Mind Eye.

I quickly turned around swinging my sword creating a shield. The shield stopped three spikes. This one was a little different, they were brown and a lot bigger, they also were slower and their penetrating power was lower, but their strength and resilience was bigger

I looked at the culprit of the attack. In that direction, now appeared a brown balloon. This was similar to the other one, the difference was their color and that this one only has 3 big spikes in it.

Mayi approached it and kicked it in my direction, this time it was a lot harder, even if it was some broken areas where Mayi kicked, the balloon didn't explode.

Seeing it coming to me, I activated my 4th skill, this time I could absorb a lot more defense from it, affirming that its defense was greater than the other one. I also activated my 1st skill increasing my power.

When it came to me I swung my sword cutting it in half in two parts, even if there was some resistance it wasn't enough.

Each half shot 3 big spikes towards me. Activating my 3rd skill I easily evaded all. In the balloon position, now there was a purple ring.

"Maybe, they are some kind of evolution beast. When depending on how it grows, its characteristic changed" I thought aloud "It didn't matter, each one is too weak. It's not worth it for my ring" I sighed.

Mayi then approached me and took my sleeve "Something is not right. They don't seem alive. Strangely, they have a ring. My instinct told me that something is wrong" said Mayi.

I glanced around, expanding at maximum my Mind Eye trying to find something. Nothing, I couldn't detect anything special nor any other balloon.

Mayi, for her part, was also searching since the brown Balloon appeared, her antennas twitching around. Suddenly, she widely opened her eyes. At that moment from nothing, we were completely surrounded by 50 Spiked Balloons. All of them were different colors and I could detect them having different characteristics, some were harder, some were on fire, there were poisonous ones...

"What? I couldn't detect any!" I shouted surprised.

All the Balloons' spikes pointed us. Before they started attacking us, Mayi launched towards a near tree, the Balloons started shooting her, completely ignoring me. Mayi easily evaded, the more powerful one while ignoring the weaker ones that were reflected in her armor.

I didn't know what was her intention, but at least I would support her. I started to shot aura shield towards her surroundings. Some of them blocking spikes, Mayi also used them as a trampoline.

When Mayi arrived at the tree I could see doing a catching gesture. In the space of her hand appeared some cracks in the air, then the air seemed to break and in Mayi's previously empty hand, now there was a little translucent sphere, no more than 2 cm of diameter with 2 black points like eyes.

Just as she caught it, all the Spiked Balloons surrounding us stopped floating and fell to the ground, completely stopping their attacks.

Mayi approached me with the sphere in hand "This beast is who was controlling all the others. Kill it, Bai"

"Good job, Mayi" I said kissing her, she smiled "How did you know where it was? I couldn't detect anything in its position" I asked.

"It was hiding its presence, it was impossible to detect by smell, sight or presence. But I could detect its influence in the other one, marking its location" Mayi explained.

"So this little sphere was who was controlling the others" I pierced it with my sword. The truth is that it was completely defenseless and I easily penetrated killing it.

From its body appeared a black ring. At that the same moment, from all the balloons appeared different rings, there were whites, yellows, purples and even a black one.

"Killing it, it caused all the other to die. This is truly strange" I said.

At that time all the beast that was being wary of the balloon, charged towards us. Seeing the big quantity Mayi and I didn't have other options than run, so we retread to the poison formation.

Inside, Grandmaster approached us "It seems that one was controlling all the other, even maintaining their life. The most probable is that the recorded one was one of the controlled ones. But really a peculiar beast. Surely it's a control type, but I don't know if it has another type. For its pressure, its age will be around 40.000 years or so. Too older for you absorb"

"I will absorb it" I said.

"This is too much" shouted Grandmaster "Trying to absorb a 40.000 years old beast as a 4th spirit is nothing less than a suicide"

"Thanks for worrying about me, Grandmaster. However, you don't need to worry, I have a secret technique to reduce the age of a ring. It didn't matter how much older it is I could reduce its age until being optimum for me" I explained.

Grandmaster seemed curious about it, but knowing that it was probably a familiar secret he didn't try to convince me to tell him "Anyway, we didn't know a lot about it. Its effects may be negative. It's too aleatory"

"I had a sensation that it will be good for me, I will absorb it" I said leaving their position with Mayi "Please, don't follow me. It's a family secret so don't come"

They respected us and didn't follow us. At least now, I have monitored them just in case. Mayi and I moved to the opposite side of the hill.

Like when I absorbed my 4th ring. Mayi and I did the same thing. After 4 hours of absorption, I obtained my 5th ring of 51.000 years old and Mayi created her own of 42.000 years old.