Invading Contemplation

My feet could only stay in place as I stared down at the beast in front of me. It had to be at least three times my height. Each of its eight legs branched from its body and ended in sharp points like a blade. Random spikes of varying sizes covered each leg, making it look even more horrifying than it already was.

As I watched the green ooze drip from its fangs and wither the ground on contact, I finally managed to gather myself and take a few steps back.

An Octadic Lynx. This giant spider was a Bronze-class beast. Unlike the ants I had just faced, I had read about this monster. It was known for its innate ability to produce a poison that puts its prey to sleep once injected, along with its wind attribute.

Although Bronze-class was only a level higher than the Iron-class, the strength difference was not something to be ignored. And as the rankings go higher, the jump to each rank only grows. Not to mention, beasts are already inherently stronger than humans, meaning one Bronze-class beast took at least two Bronze-ranked adventurers to beat.

Keeping this in mind, I stayed on guard, thinking about what my options were.

"Yeah, I could fight the Lynx, but whether I could beat it or not, I was uncertain. Running seems more reasonable," I thought as I turned my heels and dashed in the other direction.

I never liked the idea of retreat, but I also didn't like to take uncertain risks. As a matter of fact, I was taught never to take uncertain risks.

As I ran, familiar words rang in my mind like a common chime.

'Live at all costs. And give your life only when ordered.' These words were what I was taught, told every day in my past life.

As the Lynx chased me, slicing trees and branches down without hesitation, even more unwanted bits of my past invaded my mind.

Looking back on it, in the midst of danger like this…was my life ever really my own?

I knew all along back then that I was just a pawn under someone's control. A powerful tool for war. A stronger chess piece for a bigger game.

My body felt cold thinking about it. "That's not me anymore…" I mumbled, still running towards the exit gate.

These past five years in this world, I had tried to push my past away, along with the old habits and the teachings they burned into me. But the more I tried, the more it seemed implausible. And this being the case only made me want it more and more.

I felt like an unstable cliff, soon to turn avalanche.

As the urge to defy my own nature grew, I used the wind and my mana-enhanced body to propel myself to one of the many trees around me.

The Lynx slashed out with one of its blade-like legs, slicing the large tree I was now on in half. As it fell to the ground, I jumped off and toward the beast.

My wind-clad dagger glowed a bright green at the overload of wind attribute mana I was pushing into it.

Flying through the air, despite my situation, I couldn't help but notice how the warm winds of freedom tasted ever sweet on my lips.

My dagger clashed with one of Lynx's legs, sending the sound of metal-on-metal resounding through the forest. My dagger only managed to cut halfway through the beast's leg, and I had to ultimately yank it out.

The Lynx's other front leg slashed at me, but I managed to dodge it by using wind to push myself backward. I tried to avoid a fatal blow, but the sharpened tip of the beast's leg still managed to nick my cheek, drawing blood.

Ignoring the blood trickling down my face, I enhanced my body with wind to attempt to dodge the continuous barrage of attacks the Lynx sent.

With each thrust and slash the Lynx sent, I barely avoided a fatal blow, and soon I was covered in bloody cuts and my light armor was reduced to tatters.

My only option was to Shadow Step away, but doing that would leave me drained.

My thoughts were interrupted as multiple balls of green poison flew toward me. They cracked through the air as if they were ballista bolts, and they were all enhanced by wind, making them even faster.

"I have no choice," I thought to myself. Obscuring my body in dark mana, I Shadow Stepped away. Now that I was out of the Lynx's range of vision, I didn't want to give it any time to react.

I began to conjure a torrent of wind in my bloody palm. My mana core ached as I dug deep into my reserves, pouring every last drop of mana I had into my spell. The torrent continued to grow, and I watched as shards of rock and water droplets merged with it.

Shooting it at the Lynx, it sounded through the forest like an explosion. The trees parted at its might, and it raged through the air like a violent twister.

The beast let out a blood-curdling screech and held four legs up in a desperate attempt to block my spell, but it was all in vain. My spell tore through its legs, sending them flying into the distance.

The Lynx was turned into a bloody mess. Crimson leaked endlessly from its wounds, and I watched as it tried to stand up on its remaining legs.

Watching my spell lose power and disperse, I fell to my knees, unable to stand due to my injuries and mana loss.

Looking toward the beast, I clenched my teeth. It was hard to believe it was still alive after that. Even after losing half its legs, it was still trying its hardest to make its way toward me.

It started to inch closer and closer, pushing itself with its back legs and making unnatural sounds as it stared down at me.

I tried to move, tried to get away, but my body refused to cooperate with me. I held up my palms and attempted to conjure up a gale of wind to push myself back, but all my mana core could muster up was a light breeze.

"Dammit!" I roared, trying everything I could to move.

The Lynx was finally on me and it brandished its fangs. The green poison continuously dripped from its teeth, and I had to forcefully move my body so the liquid wouldn't hit me and burn through my skin.

Its red eyes were layered in a pattern of endless hexagons. I could see my reflection a hundred times over in its eyes.

"Helpless" and "weak" were the only words that came to mind.

And for a moment, I could've sworn I saw me. Not me as of now, but me of my past life. An orphan child. A helpless and weak child.

The vision of my reflection dissipated as a beam of compressed wind shot through the Lynx's skull. It flopped to the ground, its eyes now lifeless.

I quickly looked around to determine the cause of the beast's death, but I heard a familiar voice coming from behind its corpse. "I didn't expect such a cunning kid to make such stupid choices," the voice said.

"I don't want to talk about it," I managed. "Please tell me you have a healing remedy with you?"

He searched his cloak for a moment and then produced a small vial, which he threw to me. "You're lucky I prepared for something like this, brat, or you'd be dead in the water."

I caught the vial and quickly downed the golden liquid inside in one gulp. I could instantly feel the liquid stop the bleeding from my injuries and somewhat replenish my mana. "Thank you, Zeph."

Rubbing the back of his head, he said, "Don't mention it. But it's too bad I couldn't bring you a change of clothes."

Looking at myself, I sighed, "I really am a mess, huh?"

Walking over to the Lynx he had dispatched so easily, he assessed its injuries. "Fighting this beast was a stupid choice, but looking at its injuries, I can confidently say you're as strong as a Bronze-class adventurer."

I stifled a laugh. "Is that what this whole thing was? Some type of assessment exam?"

"Did you think your sister was the only one taking one today?" he shot back as he walked around the beast's corpse looking for something.

Thanks to the healing liquid, I was able to get back on my feet, but my body still ached all over, and I had to walk with a limp. "What are you doing?" I asked, watching Zeph look around for something.

He didn't answer. Instead, he mumbled to himself, "...It should be right here..." Stabbing his sword into the dead Lynx's corpse, he carved out the beast stone and tossed it to me.

"Ah, of course. I had almost forgotten," I said as I put the stone in the sack with the other four. "How much are these things worth?"

"By the clanking in the back, it seems you've got more than one. Let me see what you've got and I can give you an estimate," he replied.

I poured the beast stones out on the ground and spread them evenly so he could see them clearly.

"Well, judging by the color of the other four, they seem to be earth attribute, but I can't be sure since I'm not an earth mage. However, by their size, they're Iron-rank stones, so they'll probably go for around 50 to 75 coppers each," he estimated.

Satisfied with the value, I gave a smirk. With that kind of money, I could buy some new gear. However, I was taken aback by Zeph's comment about the stones' attributes.

"What do you mean you can't tell their earth attribute? Isn't it obvious by the aura they emit?" I asked.

Zeph turned to me shocked and narrowed his eyes as he questioned, "Are you saying you can sense the earth mana in those stones?" His tone almost suggested that he didn't believe me.

"Yes," I answered slowly, "Is that bad or something?"

"Well, I have no choice but to believe you, brat. But if what you're saying is true, then you have the potential to use earth magic. Have you been able to sense any other elements other than wind, earth, and darkness?" Zeph asked.

"No, but then again, I haven't been looking," I responded a little uneasy. I was still trying to process what he was telling me. "I've never heard of mages being able to manipulate three elements. Is that normal?"

"There are some tri-elementalists, but they are very uncommon. Most people with three elements are high magic users, using both their elements to create a third element. But tri-elementalists have three natural elements. Do you get what I'm saying? There's a difference," Zeph explained.

"Yeah," I said, understanding his explanation. "Tri-elementalists don't have to go through all the trouble to use three elements since the natural elements are easier to manipulate."

"Exactly," Zeph said, turning in the direction of the exit gate. "We'll do some further testing when we get home, but for now, bag up the stones and leave the blockade. I'll meet you by the guild building."

As Zeph vanished into the wind as if he had never been there, I made my way to the exit. Looking at my hands, I pondered what he had just told me. If I was really capable of manipulating three elements, I could possibly learn high magic.

At the thought, I couldn't help but ball my fist up in excitement as I looked toward the future.