Chapter 18: First hunt (1)

Chapter 18: First hunt (1) The Corrupt beasts in the continent were divided into a few ranks based on their power and danger. The weakest were the ’Deadly class (1-2nd circle)’, which can be dealt with by first, and second circle fighter mages and wizards, then comes the ’Killer class (3rd circle)’, needs third circle mages, then ’Nightmare class (4-5th circle)’, needs fourth to fifth circle team of mages. Then comes ’Disaster class (6-7th circle)’, they can be dealt by sixth and seventh circle mages though not solo, but in a team of at least five. Then are the ’Destruction class (8-9th circle)’, they are the rarest beasts and are found in the very deep parts of the corrupted forest. Even a single ninth circle wizard can’t deal with it. It requires a team of almost five wizards and five fighter mages to subjugate. Very few examples are present in history of a Destruction class beast subjugation. Finally, the last one is the ’Annihilation class (10th circle)’. These are the beast akin to a calamity. Only a few beasts reaches this stage in a realm. They are like the observers of the world and are almost impossible to subjugate. Even if a few tenth circle mages and wizards fight it, killing it would be a far-off dream, rather the whole continent could get wiped out because of their fight. Not a single case of subjugation of this beast is present in history, which shows its powers and capabilities. Noah and Luke were now on the mission to hunt a Killer class beast. Though it required a third circle mage or wizard, both of them were almost near it, and the hunt wouldn’t be that dangerous for them. They reached the entrance to the forest of corruption, where a huge arc shaped gate was built on the wall and two enforcers in their black uniform and hat were stationed near it. Luke had seen the wall from the airship platform and it was his first time seeing it up close. It was so huge and tall that he felt like an ant in front of it. He marveled at its size and praised the one who had made this architecture possible. As Luke and Noah reached near the enforcers, they asked for the id plate. Both of them pulled their adventurer id’s and showed it to the enforcers. They pulled a round ball like object with a mana stone fixed inside and did a quick scan. When the mana stone blinked green, they returned the id’s back to them and allowed them to pass through. "What was that thing?" Luke asked, curious. "The scanner? It’s a magic engineered device used to authenticate your identification plate." "The id plates of the guild and also the military have a specific mana signature in them and that device reads the signature and authenticate it. So that any impersonator cannot enter." Noah explained. Luke nodded in understanding. They kept walking and went a little deeper inside the forest as the beast they were searching for was in the second layer of the outer zone of the forest. The forest was made up of four zones, the outer zone with two layers, the middle zone with two layers, the inner zone and the core zone. The inner and core zones were death zones and entries are banned for everyone by the empire, no matter who they were, as these two zones holds the most dangerous Destruction and the annihilation class beasts. Most of the kingdoms and the capital of the empire were towards the north because of the presence of the forest of corruption as they covered almost half of the continent, almost all of the south till near the seas, and only a few kingdoms and cities shared border with the forest, and the major part shared by Gemburn city. As they went deeper Luke was surprised by the change in scenery. The trees and plants started getting bigger, the crown of the trees forming a canopy that covered the whole sky, making the area below darker and humid. The dancing fireflies and some luminous shrubs and small animals were the only light source in the darkness. All kinds of plants and small insects and animals that he had never seen or known started appearing. Luke felt as if he was in a completely different world altogether, that it is a realm in itself rather than existing on the same land that he lives. Luke was following Noah behind when suddenly Noah stopped on his tracks. "What happen..." "Shush!!" Noah immediately stopped Luke from speaking. Noah and Luke stood motionless. Just when he was looking around, his ears perked up. The forest was eerily silent for some reason. There was not a single beast they saw along the way which was very abnormal. After a few seconds Noah suddenly screamed. "Dodge!!" he jumped away from the spot and Luke followed him as he jumped back away from the spot. Just when they jumped away, a long and thick tail with half a meter long and sharp blade struck at that place. The ground split open as a small hole formed on the ground, soil and stones flying away. Growling noises came from the darkness between the trees as a huge black furry beast with a snake head came out of it. Its long fleshy whiskers dancing around and two long teeth protruding out of its mouth. Its face twisted in anger upon missing the target. It was the Screelowa they were searching for all this time. Luke was shocked seeing such a huge beast in front of him. He has been excited on his first hunt as an adventurer, but the beast in front of him shattered all his excitement and gave him a check of reality, the true fierceness and danger of a corrupt beast in flesh. The Beast jumped towards Luke, its tail arched up ready for a strike. Luke was still dazed and stood motionless, he froze at the spot, fear had gripped his senses. Noah immediately bit his thumb and smeared it on the locket as his shield and hammer appeared. Without wasting a moment, he sprinted, vanishing from his spot and appeared right in front of Luke. THUMP!! The blade struck his shield producing a loud metal striking sound. "Come back to your senses Luke!!" Noah screamed as he held the beast from approaching Luke. Hearing Noah yell at him, Luke was woken up from the stupor. Anger boiled inside him. He was ashamed of his cowardice. "Thanks, Noah! I’m ready now!" he steeled his mind and clenched his fist, ready for the hunt. Noah smiled at seeing him back. "I’ll hold him back and you try to deal as much damage as you can! But make sure to evade its blade and protect yourself!" Luke nodded and started channeling his prana. Amber prana covered his arms and legs as he vanished from his spot. Noah shielded another attack from the beast as he slid a few steps back, when Luke appeared at the side of the beast. His arm swinging at its head, and before the beast could react, the punch hit squarely on its face, throwing it off balance towards the ground. "Look out!" Noah yelled as the tail blade came rushing towards Luke.