Each stage of the Chaos Trial had its own purpose and specific goal, but this time, Zayne had no boundaries. He could go far beyond this territory if he wanted to. However, there was no point in that, as he had to realize who he had to protect.
"Hmm... Something tells me to move towards that strange tree..." Zayne muttered with a thoughtful expression.
He was unfamiliar with the area, but he realized that the tree was the central point for the village and the fortress, and something had already happened that he had yet to find out about.
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
Suddenly the stone peak on which Zayne stood began to tremble. He turned around and saw a beast with long shining claws trying to tear it apart.
"Damn, I just got here and I'm already being attacked by some monster... Well, I don't really want to waste my time on this." Zayne calmly said before jumping to another peak.
There were hardly any trees in this forest, just a lot of blue plants, but there were many stone peaks that overlooked the entire area. Also, whoever climbed to the very top would become a target for anyone looking for a fight.
The monster noticed this immediately and tried to destroy the next peak, but Zayne paid no attention to it. Zayne was quickly approaching the river, the border of this forest, so the monster couldn't let Zayne run away, it would be a disgrace for it.
Whoooooooooooooosh.
The bony growths running down the beast's back shone brightly as it turned into a brilliant blue flash, demolishing everything in its path.
Zayne didn't have time to react, so when he jumped to the next peak it was only then that he realized the ground beneath his feet was collapsing.
Zayne's eyes went wide as he headed down with the debris, straight for the wide-open maw of the beast.
'Damn, why is it that every time I try to leave the battlefield, I'm prevented from doing so? This beast will regret its decision to fight me!" Zayne frowned as his ring shone brightly.
A long black sword appeared in his hand, its blade instantly brought down on the beast. However, the beast didn't even try to defend itself, for at the moment before the attack, its body was covered with electrical discharges, powerful and active.
Zayne's pupils narrowed since he realized what was about to happen to him, but it was too late to change anything. He simply couldn't stop his attack at this speed.
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
Electricity traveled through his sword, traveling to his body and absorbing it. Zayne felt intense pain with shivering, he had a hard time keeping the sword in his hand, but he was able to handle it.
"Shit! You bastard! Now you've pissed me off!" Zayne shouted out as his sword flashed brightly with blue flames, causing everything around him to be covered in a thin layer of ice.
Beast had no emotions, it just wanted to fight whoever decided to invade its forest. To Beast, Zayne was an enemy that should not have crossed borders.
'Strange... Even Toruf and Valira showed emotion when I used this skill... But him... He looks like he doesn't consider me a serious opponent. Is that possible?'' Zayne pondered while staring intently at Lightning Beast.
For a while, they just stared at each other until Zayne made the decision to attack. He couldn't waste any more time and had to finish this fight as quickly as possible.
Whooooooooooooosh.
Zayne swung his sword, unleashing a flaming cross on Lightning Beast that should have frozen the beast forever.
However, Lightning Beast just stepped forward as his eyes flashed like stars. Then, it turned into a lightning discharge, quickly spinning around Zayne. The flaming cross crashed down on the stone peaks, covering them with a thick layer of ice. It was obviously a complete failure.
"Hmm... I doubt Chaos expected this to happen..." Edvin muttered with a complicated expression, staring intently at Zayne.
Lightning Beast was moving so fast that it left residual images like illusions. Zayne couldn't tell which one was real, all he could do was wait for the attack and try to repel it.
"Isn't the second stage supposed to be about defending someone or something?" Kota asked in confusion, "This beast looks like it should have been in the first stage."
"That's surprising, but you're right." Edvin nodded.
Kota didn't know how to react to that, as it was both praise and insult, but still, her cheeks puffed up.
"Zayne needs to move on, the shield test is further away. I can't be sure, but I think I know what happened there, that Snake Tree is both a blessing and a curse." Edvin said coldly, staring intently at the majestic yet eerie tree by the river.
Edvin sighed, "It was towards the Snake Tree that he was supposed to move towards, but Lightning Beast decided to prevent him. It certainly wasn't part of Chaos's plans, but sometimes our world is unpredictable."
Kota gave him a questioning look, "Doesn't that mean he should just defeat that beast and move on? This one is fast but doesn't look strong at all. Perhaps even I could handle him!"
"Well... Looks like you stayed as stupid as you were. I thought something had changed in you, but apparently I was wrong." Edvin arrogantly said throwing a mocking glance at Kota.
"What...?!" Kota exclaimed indignantly.
"Silence." Edvin threatened, silencing Kota immediately, "In fact, this monster, is much stronger than Valira. Zayne doesn't stand a chance, he has to run away, otherwise, he won't pass the Chaos Trial due to accidentally meeting an opponent who turned out to be much stronger."
Apart from Edvin, everyone who had already gone through the Awakened Process understood this.
Lightning Beast didn't look strong, neither in appearance nor in its aura. It had no aura at all, and the faint ones thought it was an indication of the beast's weakness, while the strong ones realized that it was because of the superior mastery of the Lightning Beast.
Whoooooooooooooosh.
Lightning Beast lunged forward, charging at Zayne.
Zayne swung his sword sharply, but before he could realize it, Lightning Beast was already behind him with bloody fangs.
Crackle.
A stream of blood rushed from Zayne's shoulder from two rather deep wounds, causing him severe pain.
"Shit!" Zayne shouted in agony, grabbing his shoulder to somehow ease the burning sensation.
Lightning Beast didn't attack again, though he had the opportunity to do so. He just watched Zayne carefully, as if assessing his actions.
Whooooooooooooooooooosh.
Suddenly, Zayne's ring flashed brightly with scarlet flames as an emblem appeared in his hand. The shield emblem shone brightly, and Zayne had nothing to do with it. It seemed as if Chaos itself had intervened in their fight to show why Zayne was here.
ραndαsΝοvεl ƈοm Lightning Beast first showed some emotion as his eyes went wide, but he quickly returned to normal, maintaining his usual cold stare.
After a while the emblem faded, returning to Zayne's ring, its task complete.
Step. Step. Step.
Lightning Beast nonchalantly approached Zayne, but there was no longer any threat or any desire to fight in his gaze. Lightning Beast realized that everything was already over and there was no point in continuing since Zayne didn't want to intrude here.
Zayne was wary, clutching his sword tightly and preparing to attack, but Lightning Beast just walked past him, slowly and calmly, showing that this was the end of their little skirmish.
"Agh...?" Zayne looked puzzled at the receding silhouette of the Lightning Beast, gradually disappearing into the shadows of the forest.
The opponent that could easily tear him apart had simply walked away. That was a real stroke of luck, but it also showed that Chaos had been watching, during the Trial, something must have been under control.
'Chaos saved me...? No, it's wrong to think of it that way. It's just making sure I pass the Trial, though... It seems like it's a beast I couldn't handle. It's a too high level for me for now...' Zayne internally muttered before turning around and heading towards the river.
He was lucky that Lightning Beast didn't immediately fight him seriously, as then Zayne would have been injured much more severely.
His shoulder was bleeding, but because the wounds were small, it did not prevent his shoulder from functioning. During a dangerous fight where the pain wouldn't matter, Zayne wouldn't even notice it.
"Damn... I haven't even reached the main stage yet, and I've already been beaten up... Well, I hope I have enough strength to get through the second stage." Zayne lightly complained while exiting the stone forest area.
Immediately, there was a pleasant sound of bubbling water in the active flow of the river, but Zayne didn't have time to enjoy it as something soon sent chills down his spine.
"What the hell...?" Zayne's eyes went wide at the sight of a huge spider, also heading towards the river.
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