CHAPTER 27

CHAPTER 27

The group did not expect to come across the very beast they were seeking.

Indeed, they had come knowing that their strategy of luring the beast to them might not work.

The basic idea was to hunt down other Rank F monsters while waiting to encounter the one they were looking for.

They expected to complete the mission in two or even three days, so they were somewhat surprised by this unexpected development.

They had recently reapplied the perfume, as the previous one was beginning to lose its effectiveness.

The scent was quite potent, and the beast in the distance, drinking peacefully, noticed it.

It halted its movements and raised its head, looking around for the source of this pleasant smell it was sensing.

Reily's group, seeing this, understood that they were about to be discovered, so they had to act fast.

The Greenleaf stalker was a beast that was naturally very agile, able to hunt its prey silently and swiftly thanks to its ability to camouflage itself in the vegetation around it.

Its claws contained a venom that once inside the prey's body, would paralyze it.

Therefore, they could not allow it to escape and blend into the vegetation, as it would then be difficult to deal with.

Reily was not sure if his perception skills would be sufficient to locate it if that were to happen, so he wasted no time and moved.

"As soon as it notices us, it will try to hide, and we cannot allow it to do so.

It's fast, and it will most likely evade your long-range attacks, so here's the plan:

I'll engage it directly, while you two from behind make sure its escape routes are cut off,"

he said as he dashed toward the beast that had almost noticed them.

The strategy was very simple: basically, they had to do what they had done in the previous battle, with the difference being that in this one, they had to hinder the beast's escape.

Clarisse knew that her fireballs wouldn't be of much help here, so she switched to another spell.

She had opted for this spell not only because it would be more effective against the beast, but also because spells like the fireball would risk damaging the beast's tail.

The last thing she wanted to do was go looking for another Greenleaf after this, after all it was already midday, and they couldn't stay here past the evening.

Finding another one in this period of time would have been very problematic.

The beast finally noticed the group, and seeing that one of them had already lunged at it, it wasted no time in moving and trying to escape from there.

It could sense that the three humans were of its same rank, so it could not directly confront them.

It had a lot of confidence in its ability to flee, so like a feline, it darted in the opposite direction of the group, trying to venture into the dense forest of trees.

Jenna, who had taken a certain distance from Clarisse, prepared to shoot, aimed, and released her mana-infused arrow.

The arrow was aimed at the beast.

The Greenleaf stalker, seeing the arrow coming, easily dodged it. Jenna expected this to happen, and that was what she wanted because...

"Fire Chains," Clarisse chanted, completing her spell.

A small magic circle appeared in front of Clarisse's scepter, and from it, a pair of chains shot forward.

The beast, which had dodged her friend's attack, did not manage to evade the spell.

The chains of fire wrapped around the beast's hind legs and tied them up.

The beast lost its balance and fell to the ground, trying to shake off the fiery chains.

The chains burned its skin, causing it to wriggle in pain on the ground.

GRRRR

The beast, resembling a green lynx, howled in pain as it continued to wriggle on the ground to rid itself of the chains of fire.

"Reily, hurry up, I won't be able to keep the spell active for much longer,"

Clarisse said, with a sweaty forehead.

The element of fire was one of the most problematic elements to learn due to the fact that not only was it difficult to master fire-type spells, but also because they consumed a lot of mana.

The higher the mastery of a spell, the easier it would be to use it, using an adequate amount of mana.

Being an adventurer of Rank F, not only did she not have great mastery in using this spell, but her mana reserves were also very limited, so she struggled to keep the spell active for too long.

Reily, who had already approached the beast on the ground, prepared to deliver the coup de grâce.

The beast, sensing the impending danger, tried one last desperate attempt to repel the opponent and attack.

From its slender green mane on its neck, two vines emerged, lashing out at Reily.

These vines were thin, no thicker than 1.5 cm.

They were fast, bridging the three meters between Reily and the beast in less than a second.

Reily had quick reflexes, so he moved slightly to the side and with a sword slash, cut the two vines.

The beast growled in pain, feeling its vines being severed.

Reily did not stop there; he quickly closed the distance between him and the beast and prepared to end its agony.

At that moment, just as his attack was about to land, he heard a distant shout.

"Reily, move away from there!"

It was Jenna's voice.

From the tone of her voice, Reily could tell that something was wrong, so he wasted no time, and with a quick kick to the ground, he leaped aside.

Just at that moment, in the place where he had been a second ago, something struck the ground, shattering it.

Reily, who landed two meters away from there, went on guard and tried to see what the attack was.

In the place of impact, the raised dust dissipated, revealing the scene of the ground destroyed by what looked like vines.

the vines resembled the ones he had cut a short while ago, but they did not come from the Greenleaf Stalker lying on the ground a few meters from him.

The vines began to retract.

Reily followed the direction in which they were retracting, and almost ten meters away from him, he could see a tall figure standing, staring at him with dangerous eyes.

It was another Greenleaf stalker, and from the expression of his face, he was clearly enraged

'Oh come on, seriously?' 

----------------------------

THE-PENGUIN:

I've been thinking about this for a while, and in the end, I've decided to ask you directly.

Do you think it's better for me to start adding titles to my chapters, or should I continue simply writing the chapter number as I do now?