Minotaur

They had a slight glow but Michael destroyed more than 3 of these beasts with just a single muon blast.

Alonso, revealing his dagger, didn't even have to use his heat slash to get rid of the 4 remaining beasts.

Taking out the final one, Luciano almost snapped back into reality and shook his head with widened eyes.

"What just happened?" He asked, before shaking his head.

"I'm not sure. They managed to get you in a weird trance-like state. These deserts are a lot more dangerous than they seem." Michael said, looking out into the distance.

Upon analysis, these beasts were found to be Scoundrel Djinn. Just as they expected, they could collectively project hallucinations onto their targets to then eliminate them.

There were a handful of beasts in the vicinity and as they tracked them down, they managed to amass a total of 21 different crystals. Alonso had kept 6 of his crystals in his own inventory, where 3 were Golden Poison Wolves, and 3 were Scoundrel Djinn.

They felt rumbling in the ground once again and expected the Scoundrel Djinn to reveal themselves. However, they felt it get more intense – way more intense than the rumble of mere scoundrel djinn.

VOOM!

A massive beast revealed itself, which stood at 5'6 but looked to weigh around 100 kilograms. It had a humanoid body, but the head of a shark and sharp fins that ran down its spine.

"RROAAAR!!"

Its roar made the ground rumble, and the three of them looked wary. None were dumb enough to brazenly charge in to fight this being. It slowly stepped forward, before entering a full sprint at the three.

Michael shot out one of his muon blasts and found that his attack only left a wound that annoyed it more than injured it.

The shark beast dashed forward and gut punched Alonso with alarming force. It felt like a punch straight from Bernando, and his main instinct was to flop to the floor but he managed to step back and evade the subsequent punch that was coming his way.

It roared at Alonso as he evaded its attack, then received a heavy blow to the ribcage from Luciano. His bruiser-type mech did some grave damage, breaking a rib. It growled at him in annoyance, then received a muon beam right into its back before it had the chance to move again.

As its attention was diverted, Alonso saw this as a chance to act. His friends were getting more crystals than he was, so he wanted to steal the show.

As he dashed forward, the shark hurled down one of its clawed hands only to see Alonso reveal an energy shield to block it.

Dum!

The impact was forceful but Alonso's shield absorbed most of the force for him. Another punch came his way, but he also managed to block it with the use of his energy shield.

He pulled back this shield and twisted his body with the use of this force to land a crushing uppercut to its chin. Subsequently, he drove his shield into its head to knock it onto a knee and hand.

With its head aimed downwards, Alonso managed to land a dagger slash with the use of his heated dagger right to its neck. Blood came rushing out from the wound that was a dark, bubbling green.

The shark beast whimpered and grabbed onto his arm, but it only took seconds before it came to a sudden stop and Alonso made sure to acquire the crystal he had attained.

The crystal was dark green, and he managed to use his special trick of placing it in the system to keep it hidden.

His system notified him that it had taken up two slots, but this was not a bother to him.

If he was alone, that fight might've been slightly more bothersome but with three of them together to attack enemies, they could take down beasts much stronger than they were individually.

They searched through the MechAtlas once again and found the beast to be called the Dune Wereshark. It was Tier 5 while the strongest of them were at Tier 4.

These beasts were easy to kill on their own but were known to attack prey in hunting schools. It allowed them to take out larger enemies.

Entering another flat wasteland, they were given a better view of the surrounding beasts. The beasts on Kernei seemed to be in a constant state of searching for items. It made sense to Alonso, since there simply weren't enough resources out in the area.

Their mechs were filtering the sweat they were secreting so that they'd lose barely any water, while it also kept them surprisingly cool.

The ground was too fortified, which meant that scoundrel djinn and dune wereshark weren't lurking beneath their feet.

Ahead of them, they seemed intent on not getting the attention of a large, burly beast in the distance. It looked to be 2 metres tall or so from where they were standing and they didn't want to make any rash movements to attract it.

However, they had failed to stay off its radar and it swayed its body right in their direction. These beasts were starving to find food and water, and their bodies would satisfy both of their desires.

The beast charged in their direction and they decided not to immediately run. Michael lifted his arms and the other two prepared themselves.

Their fears intensified as the beast grew closer, though. Now only a few hundred metres away, it had golden fur across its legs with an open upper body that resembled a human torso.

However, its head resembled a bull that had yellow-golden fur. A minotaur.

It seemed even more muscular than the dune wereshark they had faced before, and Alonso readjusted his feet upon seeing its advance.

Poom!

Michael's muon blasts were shot straight toward the minotaur but it only left bruises across its torso.

"What?!" Michael blurted out, pulling back his head in shock.

Luciano leaped forward and clashed with the incoming minotaur. He was the only person with a strong and heavy enough mech to absorb the impact of its strike.

However, he immediately slid back and struggled to keep the imposing beast back. They fell into a power struggle and the beast had the clear advantage. Somehow, it lifted him off his feet before using one of its large hooves to kick him several metres away.

He was sent rolling back but he pulled his hand across the dusty sandstone ground to slow to a stop.

Alonso took his chance to punch the beast in its face, following up with a left hook to its body. His attacks moved it but did little damage, and he swiftly activated his energy shields.

Just as he predicted, he received a strong shot onto his shields that forced him back into a slide.

Michael looked terrified upon seeing this beast. His eyes were wide and he shakily stepped back with his arms up.

'Calm yourself! There's no time for fear now!' Michael said to himself.

"I have one attack that might do something, but I need time!" He stated, before actively retreating.

His mech concentrated across his forearms and hand to give them a gauntlet-like look. The same glowing white circles appeared in their centre but seemed to be glowing more brightly than before.

"RRRMPHH!!"

Steam shot out of the minotaur's nostrils, and it charged right for Alonso once again.

Slamming its head into his shields, he was hurled right off his feet, rebounding off the ground with the use of his shields.

Luciano rushed in and vehemently struck the beast before blocking a punch coming for him. The minotaur, even though it was unintelligent, made up for that in terms of pure power and speed.

Numerous punches rained down on Luciano's block, until it was inevitably broken.

As it broke, he was forced to receive a headbutt right to his helmet that cracked its vice.

Before the minotaur could throw another attack, Alonso was present to take the brunt of the attack.

"I got you! Move back!" Alonso shouted, before getting caught with a blow to the face.

Shaking the hit off, he began using his heat slash but couldn't land. The minotaur was too swift and felt the heat from his blade, which gave it a good reason to evade its swings.

Going in for another swing, his hand was caught before it could land.

Its grip was impossible to resist and he couldn't even wiggle his wrist around.

BAM!

He received a punch to the stomach that almost made him throw up. Even after receiving hundreds of powerful punches in the past, he could barely move. He curled up into a ball, with his arms grasped onto his stomach as he struggled to even take breaths.

"Mech Damage: Minor"

'Yes, thanks for the news flash, system!'

******

10 Power Stones by 10/06/24 = 4 Chapter Mass Release

8 Power Stones by 10/06/2024 = 3 Chapter Mass Release