Guardian Of The End

'I think that was the first ever human I killed…' Jason silently thought.

He had started heading towards his destination again after killing the child.

[ Technically, it can't be called a kill since he will be revived again. Think of it as a handicap that you inflicted on him. ] The system pointed out.

'Indeed. Its kinda funny how I am not feeling anything right now, except satisfaction. That look on his face was good.'

[ What do you think you were supposed to feel? ]

'Hmm… I don't think I'm supposed to feel anything. Anyways, let me head towards the portals.'

Jason knew that the closer he got to the portal, the more conflicts he would experience. The number of beasts active in the region had also increased.

"I can fight that beast. I can fight that beast too. I should stay away from that beast. Is that a spider the size of an elephant…"

Jason encountered many beasts on his way. Not wanting to indulge in battle, he continued to move ahead.

Jason had figured out that the moment he would let a beast attack him, the others would jump on him.

In a fight between two sides, the neutral side always reaps the benefits. The only two options present were to either fight all the beasts in the region or not fight anyone at all.

The beasts, of course, didn't share the same sentiment. At times, Jason would have to use some of his skills to attack the beast before running.

'Only six more hours of travel and I will reach that structure.' He observed.

Jason stopped for his second last rest. His body had slowly adapted to his continuous usage of lightning, allowing him to travel just a tiny bit longer.

While being on break, Jason casually activated his special vision and peered at the surroundings. He could see numerous mana sources around him yet none of them seemed bothered by his presence.

'Hestia, can you go ahead and scout the area for me. Also, make sure that you keep your aura released fully.' Jason informed his guardian.

[ So you want me to be the bait huh. I guess I will be able to draw attention away from you before vanishing. ] Hestia chuckled.

'Indeed.'

Hestia appeared beside Jason in her wolf form. She moved back in the direction Jason had just traveled.

After traveling for hundred meters, Hestia released her aura, drawing all beasts towards her.

Jason took this opportunity to run towards the portal. His only goal was to enter the portal and combat only if he was in a life threatening situation.

Unfortunately for him, the life threatening situation came earlier than anticipated.

***

"Its already been twenty days since they have entered the trial. Only five out of the thirty spots have been filled," Albus murmured. "Its almost time for the appearance of the domain beasts as well."

Currently, Albus was hovering over the arena with a worried expression. Since it had only been twenty days, he had been able to reassure the parents that everything was fine.

However, their patience would soon run out.

'Damn it… Once the domain beasts expand their domains, everything is going to get slowed.' Albus sighed.

He had expected at least ten children to come out before the twenty days mark.

'It was just wistful thinking. With less than a month's training and fighting experience, its a miracle that even five students managed to get out so early. They have quite insane luck.'

Suddenly, Albus felt a huge wave of mana expanding inside the dome structure. He could only sigh in frustration while praying for the children currently present inside the trial.

"Hopefully, this doesn't last for another few months…"

***

Inside the trial, four simultaneous waves of mana washed over the four zones.

The mana was so dense that most students were thrown backwards. Until then, the trial had been in its tutorial stages.

Those who had managed to reach near a portal and enter it were definitely lucky. The real nightmare hadn't arrived for them.

"Something is wrong…" Jason mumbled.

[ Jeez, you think something is wrong? ] The system replied sarcastically.

"I am serious right now. That wave of mana right now was like the opening of a secret realm in Chinese cultivation novels. But along with those secret realms, a beast also shows up with some lackeys." Jason said clamly.

He immediately climbed to the top of the tree he had jumped to before the wave of mana had washed over the entire region.

'If a secret realm did open up, finding it isn't going to be easy.' Jason thought while looking across the entire region.

Four portals were still present there yet something had changed. A sinister aura of sorts had taken over the entire place.

'Should I continue heading towards the portals or try looking for some kind of secret realm based on my instincts.'

Jason was about to make a decision when his eyes suddenly widened. In the distance, hundreds of mana sources were moving in his direction.

All of them were hurrying to get away from the portals which had developed some kind of weird dark energy.

"The domain beast of the twin portals is, Iktomi, the spider spirit." A clear voice rang over the area, sending chills down Jason's spine.

Three more messages rang after the first one yet they weren't heard by him. He could only hear a muffle voice which didn't make much sense to him.

'Perhaps the voice just told about the domain beasts of the other regions where the portals are located. First of all, what are domain beasts?' Jason wondered.

He continued to stand at the top of the tree and monitor the behavior of the beasts fleeing from the center of the portals.

It looked as though Iktomi, who was most likely the source of dark mana near the portals, was responsible for terrifying all these beasts.

A frown appeared on Jason's face as he calculated his next move. It was pretty clear that he could no longer approach the portals with his simple plan.

Perhaps he could…

"Jason, what are you doing here?"

"Amber?"

Jason had been so lost in observing the beasts that he hadn't recognized the familiar mana moving between them.

"Are your eyes glowing?" Amber suddenly paused when she saw Jason's glowing eyes.

The latter quickly turned off his abilities and blinked his eyes a few times.

"Must be a trick of the light," Jason shrugged. "Anyways, do you have any idea as to why all of the beasts are running away from the center of the place?"

"Well, I ran away with them as well. That beast at the center is no joke. I don't think I can fight it even when I am combined with Flamey."

Jason's expression darkened after learning that despite being combined with hee guardian, Amber still couldn't take on the beast.

"But what if we combine our powers?" Jason suddenly questioned.

If two vessels joined hands to fight someone, their powers might be enough to wipe out a low level village or perhaps a town.

Jason wondered what destruction he would be able to cause at his peak.

"I mean there are two portals there and if we combine our powers, we can certainly do something." Amber agreed.

The two of them stared in the directions of the twin portals with a determined expression.

Jason and Amber then summoned their respective guardians and slowly approached the portals.

They wanted to observe the beast first before making any kind of decision. For all they knew, the beast might be able to one shot both of them.

'Damn... I've been raising so many red flags. This is certainly not good.' Jason scolded himself.

While slowly walking around the forest floor, Jason and Amber were on the lookout for any kind of trouble.

Surprisingly, Iktomi seemed to stick around the portals only.

"Ok, so do we have any type of battle strategy?" Amber asked when they were barely fifteen minutes away from reaching the clearing where the portals were situated.

"Strategy? No strategy works against a creature whom who have never battled before. The best I can think of is kill or retreat. If you feel like we can't defeat him, we will run away." Jason replied.

"That's not a strategy. That's common sense that people at times consider as cowardness."

"Hmm, I don't really care about people. I only care about a few people."

"I don't think we are supposed to talk about such things. Aren't ten year olds more interested in talking about imaginary things?" Amber asked.

"Hmm, I imagined that you are my wife in the future and we have three kids."

"That's not the kind of imagination I was talking about..." despite her repl6, Amber chuckled at his words

'So she didn't blush. Not innocent either.' Jason silently noted before turning his head forward.

"We'll discuss our imaginations later on. For now, let's go and see this spider, Iktomi."

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