Fusion or Evolution

Edward sat on the platform at the far end of the boss room, using his left hand to flip to the page he had stopped reading in his book. Since there was nothing to do, he decided to just read ahead. When his arm heals, he will continue to practice magic.

\\I see you have gotten in a magic accident. But fret not. This is like losing your virginity, but for magic.

While we wait for your body to heal back to full condition, I will teach you how to cultivate and increase your mana pool...\\

Edward kept reading before he began cultivating. Since there was nothing else to do, now was the best time to increase his mana pool. With him only able to cast blink twice, he doubts he will be able to cast any spell worth a while if his mana remains this small.

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Andrew knelt low in the tall grass, his eyes pinned on the animal in front of him. No, animals aren't what that thing should be called. It is a monster!

Many yards away was a beast similar to a Griffin yet entirely different. Griffin is supposed to be an Eagle and Lion hybrid, but this wasn't. Instead of a lion, it had the body, tail, and back legs of a Cheetah, while instead of an Eagle, the head, wings, and the front legs were that of an Ostrich.

"A fucking Ostrich and cheetah griffin!?" Emma questioned, one of her brows perking up. She was at the left Andrew, with Ezekiel at her other side and Elizabeth beside Ezekiel. "What is this?"

"It seems like the animals are starting to become monsters," Andrew mumbled, watching as the Ostretah raised its head and looked around before it continued eating.

"More like a fusion or an evolution." Elizabeth rebuked curious eyes on the beast. Andrew was about to say something about her response, but Emma stopped him by shaking her head.

"I wonder how it would test." Ezekiel wondered, rubbing his jaw. "We should kill it."

"I second that." Elizabeth agreed, "How hard could it be?"

Emma turned at her, frowning. "Have you forgotten how Brody died because we underestimated the boss? It might happen again. I say we should not go after it and look for something else."

Waving her off, Elizabeth waved at her, her eyes still on the Ostretah. "It is a fusion of a Cheetah and an Ostrich. One is the weakest big cat, and the other is a bird that could be killed by any one of you three with ease."

Nodding, Ezekiel turned to Emma. "I think so too. We kill it." He was only saying this because he was sure he could escape if anything went wrong. His agility is now 30 after allocating 10 of his 13 SP from the achievements and the remaining on Endurance. "What could possibly go wrong."

"I can't be the only one against this." Emma groaned, turning to Andrew. "What of you, Andrew? Should we attack it?"

His answer would be a yes if Edward were with them, as he was now a level 10. But since this morning, he has gone missing. "No. We should retreat for now."

Emma smiled at his response as they both started backing up slowly. Ezekiel looked at Elizabeth just when she stood up and screamed, "Hay. Ostretah! Come and attack us!"

The Ostretah looked up and turned to them, its golden eyes on Elizabeth. It then looked down, noticing the smiling Ezekiel and the shocked Emma. Andrew on the other hand, had a look that screamed, 'What did I expect?'

The Ostretah let out a loud growl, opening its beak. Rows of sharp teeth littered its mouth, something a bird shouldn't have. With its wings open, the Ostretah took off running towards them.

Elizabeth stood in her spot with Andrew standing up and charging at the Ostretah, wearing his gauntlets. He was like a charging Rhino, his footstep and posture heavy and stiff, while the Ostretah was quick and light.

When it was close to the striking range, Andrew got in a boxing stance, punching forward. The Ostretah wings opened as it jumped more than 5 meters into the air, dodging his attack.

Sharp talons open, the Ostretah dived down at Andrew, who quickly jumped to the side. As it landed, it turned to Andrew, leaping at him. Regaining his stance, Andrew's left hand struck out, grabbing the leap Ostretah long neck with his gauntlet.

Seeing it was caught, the Ostretah opened its beak, letting out a high pitch roar. The roar caused Andrew to stumble back, letting go of its neck. With his guard down, the Ostretah leaped once more, only to flap its wings to instantly change direction as a bladed pendulum flew past.

Growling, it turned to Emma, who held the end of the rope with her left hand and her right hand in the middle as she spun it by her side.

She stepped forward, using the crescent pendulum to deliver a spinning lateral slash attack. The blade cut through the air, passing dangerously close to the Ostretah's neck as it jumped back.

Adjusting her grip, Emma kept walking forward as she continuously struck the Crescent Pendulum down like a whip at the Ostretah, causing it to retreat further back.

She now stood beside Andrew, looking at him as he stood up. "Are you okay?" She asked, quickly inspecting him.

"Yeah." He mumbled, getting in a boxing stance. "Thanks." His voice was even lower but high enough for Emma to hear.

The Ostretah growled, its eyes darting from Andrew to Emma to Elizabeth. It suddenly realized one of them was missing.

"Suprise, mother fucker." Ezekiel's voice came as he suddenly jumped out from the grass beside the Ostretah, slashing down on its side.

*Screech* The Ostretah screech, jumping away before looking at the long gush on its side, blood rushing down it. It looked up once more, finding its attacker gone.

"Step back a bit, Andrew," Emma said, her eyes on the Ostretah.

Andrew looked at her before moving back, confusing the injured Ostretah. Emma spun towards the beast, using the centrifugal force of the crescent pendulum to perform multiple spinning slashes. The Ostretah jumped back with wings open to avoid her barrage of spinning attacks, not noticing Ezekiel appearing behind.

He adjusted the grip on his short sword, stabbing into the Achilles tendon on the Ostretah's right hindfoot. Crying, it tried to jump, but its injured legs wouldn't allow it.

Using this chance, Andrew dashed past Emma, who had stopped her spinning attack, clenching his right fist and activating Savage Punch. Seeing Andrew rushing at it, the beast tried to run away, only for Ezekiel to slash its other Achilles tendon.

Screeching from the pain, the Ostretah didn't notice Andrew's right fist collide with its head, caving it in. It collapsed, blood flowing from its caved head and Andrews's fist covered in brain matters, dead.

"Easy, peasy." Ezekiel sang, stepping on the beast.

Smiling, Elizabeth folded her hand. "See? It wasn't that hard."

Emma glared at Elizabeth, growling. "Why the hell did you do that?"

"Because I knew it would be weak," Elizabeth responded, looking at her status screen. '350 EXP before level 10. Two more of this level 5 creature, and I will level up.'

"What if you were wrong? Then what?" Emma asked, walking up to her. "What would you have done if the thing---"

"Ostretah." Ezekiel said, "From the log, the monster's name is Ostretah."

Emma shot a glare at him before looking back at Elizabeth. "If the Ostretah had turned out to be stronger. What would you have done?"

"I would escape." Elizabeth casually said, smiling at Emma's reaction? "What? You didn't expect me to say that?"

"You fu---"

"Forget her, Emma. Let's go." Andrew ignored the Ostretah body, not sure if it should be eaten. "And, don't follow us, Elizabeth. You want to hunt monsters, do it yourself." He walked away, with Emma following after him.

Turning to Ezekiel, who was cleaning the blood from his short sword with the body of the Ostretah, Elizabeth asked, "Let's go hunt together."

"Sure." Ezekiel smiled, slashing the air. "It feels good to cut something with an actual blade. Why would I stop now?"