The Might of Tier 1

Tyler appeared before the third magic beast with the long sword in hand, ready to strike. Only to find the beast already in the air, having jumped the moment it saw one of its kin die so easily. Before he could comprehend why the beast had decided to jump, he saw a giant ball of dark green fire already upon him. It had been shot by the first beast he had sent flying. Their recovery speed was staggering.

Tyler forcibly stopped himself mid-motion. It seemed that at a high enough level, even monsters were capable of teamwork. He couldn't help but lament his lack of awareness of his surroundings—something that should have been elementary for a swordsman.

He bent his knees slightly and jumped up after the magic beast in the air. In one quick motion, he thrust his sword at the belly of the beast—pun intended. The stomach area didn't have any scales, making it easier to cut through the monster. He went through the beast, punching a human-sized hole in the monster's stomach as he came out the other side. Covered in disgusting fluids, he wasn't too thrilled about his kill this time.

The first Lesser Basilisk, which wasn't as injured as he would've expected, saw its attack miss and its last kin killed off so easily. It turned around and fled. With none of its peers alive, its natural instinct to survive kicked in. Tyler, agitated by the blood and goo all over him, wasn't in the mood to give chase. Looking around and seeing the rest of the monsters being handled, he decided it was fine to use magic. As long as he tried his best to control it, it should be fine.

Pointing a finger at the escaping monster, he cast a spell. "Fireball," his voice was low, but a number of ogres and beastmen could still hear him, including Liz. They couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with this guy. Granted, he was a ridiculously strong swordsman, but even if he were a magic swordsman with limited spells, Fireball was only a Tier 1 spell.

Against a monster at the peak of mortal existence, a Tier 1 spell was like trying to melt metal with a candle. Yet, for some reason, they couldn't bring themselves to ridicule him. Perhaps it was because he had just saved their lives—especially Erin's.

Suddenly, though, a massive ball of fire so hot it looked almost white appeared in front of his fingertip. The heat was so intense that even the person furthest away felt like they were being embraced by the sun. The ball of flame left his fingertips and traveled through the field, melting the ground below it and consuming the last magic beast, burning it to dust.

Everyone's mouths hung open. They were dumbfounded. How was this possible? A measly Tier 1 spell defied all sense of logic. Everything they thought they knew about magic was put into question. Liz was the most dumbstruck of all.

She was a mage—a powerful one at that—yet what she had just witnessed was unexplainable, even for who she suspected him to be. This felt wrong. It felt like he was cheating. She felt awe, frustration, admiration, fear, and hope. It was as if this man was not of this world.

Tyler felt just as stumped as the rest of the crowd. He had expected the spell to be more powerful than it should be, but this was ridiculous. He felt the massive amount of energy leave his body, but unlike last time, he didn't feel faint nor did he drop to the ground gasping for air. Perhaps his body was getting used to this, or perhaps one of the weapons he carried had something to do with it.

He stood there as he watched the others recover from their shock and kill the remaining monsters. It had been a hard-fought battle, and they all looked exhausted and miserable. Although they were a bit sloppy now, there were more than 30 of them against two monsters. They quickly dispatched the monsters and collapsed on the ground, exhausted.

Tyler couldn't blame them. He knew what war was like. Although this was just a small battle, he had no doubt they had all gone through hell. He walked through the battlefield back into the town to where Liz was standing. "I'll clean you up," she offered. Tyler was a little flustered as his thoughts trailed off. "Clean," she said, and bubbles appeared all over him, sucking out all the dirt and blood before disappearing into nothing.

He instantly remembered the lifestyle spells they used on the human continent and felt embarrassed he had thought of something else. Although the spell was a little different, it appeared demons used lifestyle spells as well. I should try learning some as well. Hopefully, they aren't as broken as the spells I can already use.

••••••

Some distance away.

The Darknar region was known to have two large defining properties: the Darknar Forest and the Darkin Mountain Range. They were located in different parts of the region and were only connected by the Red River that cut through both of them. They also shared a similarity in how dangerous they had become.

The Darkin Mountain Range was a more dangerous place, loaded with dangerous mountain golems and other rock-type monsters. These monsters were hard to kill and were worthless to hunters, making any trip to the mountain range not worth the effort. There were a couple of mines that provided rare ores within the mountain range, but these places had already been claimed by the Great Five Families.

Any trespassers would incur the wrath of one of the Great Five Families, reclassifying the place as a forbidden zone. Usually, no living soul would enter, but right now, a hooded person entered the mountain range with steps that made it seem like they were skipping through.

The hooded person followed a narrow path up a mountain. They soon came upon a large opening that looked like the entrance to a cave. The person entered the cave without any reservations.

Three figures hiding inside the cave turned their gaze to the hooded person who had just entered and made a slight bow before returning their gaze to its previous location. A female figure sat at the end of the cave, and the three male figures stood around her, spaced out in some sort of tactical manner. They all had slightly glowing weapons that provided the only source of light in the cave.

"Damn it!" the woman suddenly exclaimed. The three men who were staring at her each took a step back. They all turned their heads, looking at the lady with respect and a hint of fear. She slowly stood up, trembling in anger. "Damn it, damn it, damn it…" she continued her tantrum, kicking the earth and punching the walls.

The cave shook violently, almost on the verge of collapsing, yet none of the men in the cave seemed to care or attempt to stop her. They just stood there, watching her continue until she started to calm down. The hooded person looked around and whistled. One of the men walked over to the girl slowly and asked, "Miss Izabel, what is the problem? Was the attack not successful?"

"Shut up!" she snapped, sending a fist straight into the man's face.

He was sent flying out of the cave and down the mountain. She panted heavily as she glared at the rest. They didn't flinch and just avoided eye contact—all except the hooded person. She finally calmed down and paced about, biting her nails. "Who the hell were those idiots? Where did they come from? Why were they so strong? How am I supposed to explain this? Damn it, damn it all!" Hearing her rant, the others could piece together what had happened, generally.

The hooded figure broke into a fit of laughter. The voice was a little high-pitched and sweet. She removed the hood, revealing the figure of a young woman in her early twenties. She had a pretty face, doll-like eyes, short silver hair, and a carnivore's predatory gaze.

As she wiped the tears from her eyes from laughing so hard, the one called Izabel was already boiling in anger. "Why are you here?" she said in a sharp and curt tone. "Huh… aren't you happy to see me? And after I came all this way to make sure you're fine~"

Izabel was pissed off by the response but forced herself to calm down. She had other things to worry about right now. She ignored the girl and stared at the two remaining male figures in the cave.

They both looked at each other, and the guy further back spoke first. "If strangers interfered, we can just return and report it. After all, this wasn't part of the plan." Izabel glared at him, and the guy shrank back. She took heavy steps toward him, and the guy was sent flying out of the cave. "Idiots!" she yelled as she glared at the other one, who lowered his head. "Any more bright ideas?" There was no response.

The young lady chuckled. "It looks like your plan was a disaster. Hehe, why don't you ask for my help? I'll make your problems go away, I promise~" Izabel glared at her and ignored her. "Sigh… you're such a bore. Come on, I promise I'll behave~"

"Why are you still here? If you have nothing else to say, please leave. You're just a distraction."

"Ow, that hurts, you know… sob… I came just for you~"

"Leave!"

"Sigh… fine, I'll go. But you'll regret this, you know~"

"Just go!"

The lady sighed in resignation and put on her hood. Whistling, she proceeded to exit the cave and left the same way she had come.

Izabel went back to her previous spot and sat on the ground. She stayed quiet for quite a while. The two guys who had been sent out of the cave had managed to climb back up. They dusted themselves off and went back to their positions as if nothing had happened.

It was only after a couple more minutes that she got up. "I need more information. Griff, there are two strangers in the settlement—one male and one female. Try to find out who they are. The girl's a demon, but I'm not sure what the guy is… Hmm… try to be careful. They're dangerous."

"Alright," the first guy to get punched replied. He had short white hair and a handsome face. He wore light armor with very few metal braces and carried two golden daggers on his waist. His bright golden eyes had a vertical slit. He smiled as he faded away into the shadows.

Izabel walked forward toward the entrance of the cave. It was now late in the afternoon, and the bright sunlight reflected off her golden vambraces. She had light brown hair styled in twin tails. Her oval face and soft facial features made her look like an adorable child around the age of 14. She wore skin-tight leather armor with gold-colored metal vambraces and greaves.

She had an intricate silver amulet that hung around her neck, running down to her childlike chest. It gave off a faint glow and had an ominous aura around it. She didn't carry any weapons, which was strange for her style of outfit. She jumped off the mountain, and the other three guys followed suit.

Landing elegantly, she walked off the foot of the mountain. "Blane, visit Aur. He should have some scouts all around this area. Tell him I'm willing to make an exchange if he has any useful information." Another guy, dressed similarly to the previous one, nodded. He had long black hair and green eyes. He similarly disappeared into the shadows without saying a word.

"Alright, we're heading back. I should probably report this to Father before that bitch has a chance to." She held the amulet around her neck with her right hand and recited an incantation in a low voice. A fivefold magic circle appeared underneath her. It took about ten seconds, and the two of them had disappeared from the mountain range.