Novice's Graveyard

The three of them entered Novice's Graveyard, and they began to explore it. The trees towering over them blocked the sunlight that was supposed to enter inside. The Jungle was dark, but there were some places from which the sunlight peeked through. The rays of sunshine that hit their skin were refreshing for them in the dark place. Lucas was looking around, keeping his guard up.

Novice's Graveyard was a jungle that was filled with Basic and Intermediate Level Beasts. Sometimes, Advanced Level Beasts may pop up, and that was why every guild that sent their new members here to train, sends a few casual adventurers. But that wasn't a worry for them, as Kate and Sam had a lot of experience in hunting beasts.

The Jungle was moist and the humidity made Lucas sweat bucket. Just as he was about his next step, he heard a noise. "It sounds like a monkey", he thought. Kate and Sam were laid back, and they didn't do anything. They just stepped back, allowing Lucas to take leadership on this expedition. He then heard swinging, and a monkey as large as him landed in front of him with a thud.

The monkey had white fur, and the end of its tail had a ball attached to it. Its belly and face were rose pink, and it stood on its two legs. It looked at Lucas and smiled. Lucas used his [Inspect] skill on it.

[Basic Tier Beast: Flurry White Ape]

[Although it may look friendly, do not be fooled. Once it sees anyone, its thirst to test its strength will be ignited. Unless it admits defeat or dies, the ape will keep fighting. Weak against Mana-based attacks. Resilient to physical attacks]

After he saw that, Lucas smiled. "Now my spirit has been fired up. Let me see if I can break through its physical form, using my physical strength", he thought. He took his stance, and the ape lunged at him, opening its mouth wide. "Hey, that's cheating", said Lucas as he sidestepped the lunge.

The ape was infuriated. Lucas didn't want to test out his Magic. He wanted to know how much he had improved physically. He was impressed at his improvement. "The response speed is much faster than before. And I haven't begun to use my Aura yet", he thought. Sam and Kate, on the other hand, were impressed.

"He has improved again. And his battle sense has heightened", commented Sam. Kate nodded her head. "But that is not enough. Right now, he is not concentrating on his surroundings. If he loses focus on it, he might end up in trouble", she said. Sam shrugged his shoulders. "One must learn to adapt to his situation. And I think he is doing a good job at it. Look", he said as he pointed at Lucas.

He was still dodging around when he scrunched up his face. "I sense two more coming from behind and my right. I don't know how long it will take for them to reach here", he thought and began to plan a strategy in his mind. After dodging another strike from the ape, he slid underneath its left arm and struck its back, pushing it forward a little.

The ape became furious, and it hit its chest with both of its fists. "Well, now that it's angry, I have to finish this quick", he thought. He quickly jumped up and placed a nick with his heel and connected it with his left eye. "I guess these places are still vulnerable", he thought. He then jumped to the next eye and made it go blind. Blood began to flow from its eyes, and the ape's movements were sloppy.

"See? Didn't lose sight of his surroundings", said Sam. The other two apes came into the fray, and Lucas began to dance around them as he blinded the both of them the same way he blinded the first ape. All three of them were blind, and Lucas just stood there, looking for its weak spot. "How can I kill them without a weapon? It seems like I have to gain more experience", he thought.

"Channel your Aura through your nerves and into your eyes. This might help", came Sam's voice from the side. "Why the eyes? Oh yes, the optic nerve", he thought and began to channel his Aura. As soon as it reached the eyes, his view changed. He could see the skeleton of the ape, and he saw its heart on the left side of its chest. "That bone looks tough to break, but, what about the center part?", he thought.

He then jumped and made a punch straight to the center of the ribs, and came a snap. "The place with the least muscle is the weak spot. Although all the other places are resilient, these places are less resilient", he thought. After another two punches, the ribs began to crack. "Alright, now pierce them", he thought as he saw the bones right above the heart crack.

He timed a punch and placed it straight to its heart. The broken bones pierced the heart internally, killing the beast. Lucas followed this with the other two and killed them. After killing them, a notification showed up.

[You have killed a Basic Tier Beast, EXP +150]

[First time to kill a Furry White Ape, EXP +500]

[You have killed a Basic Tier Beast, EXP +150]

[You have killed a Basic Tier Beast, EXP +150]

"So, I do get EXP for killing these beasts. That's good. Let's keep them beasts coming", he thought. He then heard a roar from afar. "Is that a horde?', he thought as the ground he stood on began to rumble. He looked at Kate and Sam. "Can I get a weapon?', he asked. Kate handed him her sword.

Her sword was shiny silver with a black hilt. In the middle of the blade, a compartment was visible. And the sharp side of the blade, was blood-red, making it look menacing. Lucas swung it twice to get the rhythm correct and he took his stance. He then used the [Inspect] on it.

[Advanced Tier Weapon - Harbinger Of Death]

[Active Skill: For every kill, the compartment gets filled by five percent. Currently at forty-five percent]

[Combat Skill: Cry Of The Souls - Increase Strength by 150% for the next ten minutes]

"That's a very unusual skill. One hundred and fifty percent increase? Who is the blacksmith?', he thought as he saw an ape in his view. "No time to think. Got to go on a killing spree", he thought. The first ape he saw fell to his blade in one stab. He stabbed it straight through the middle of its chest and turned it to the side to pierce its heart, killing it instantly.

"One down, and I don't know how many to go", he thought as he saw at least a dozen apes. He channeled his aura into his eyes again and looked for any other weak spot. "The neck is too thick, I can't cut it. I don't want to be parrying all those moves too. I'm also going to get surrounded soon. I have to find a way out of this, and fast", he thought.

"Hunting Beasts is identical to chess. You have to see through your enemy's weaknesses and exploit them. If you can't find any, then create one. Patience is the key to victory", he remembered. "I can't find any because I'm in haste. Patience", he thought and began to calm down.

He looked at the ape began to study. "The joints, they seem to have less reinforcement. Maybe, if I could use it to my advantage, I can turn this in my favor. The only problem is that they are the armpits and the back of their knees", he thought. "Let's do this. It's all in", he thought as he dashed towards one of the apes running towards him.

The ape saw him and threw a wide punch towards his face. Lucas avoided it narrowly, and he slashed right behind its knees. "Not deep enough. I thought that strength was enough", he thought. The ape roared and it fell on one knee. "It's working", he thought and he began to slash its other leg, making it unable to stand. The other apes that saw this, were shocked.

They began to attack him simultaneously, giving him less room to maneuver. "Looks like I'm going to have to jump out", he thought as he activated his [Aura Jump], and escaped that predicament. They turned around and rushed at him blindly, and Lucas took this chance to slay them.

He slid and slashed, spraying blood over the ground as he passed by an ape. There were a total of twenty-four apes that had come for him in that horde. He didn't kill them yet, He just made them immobile. "That's some great thinking he has", commented Sam on the sidelines. Kate nodded her head in appreciation.

After making all the apes fall, Lucas stood there panting. Although he had awakened and had extra stamina, fighting for a long time drained him of his mental strength. "I have to improve so that I do not get tired easily. A moment of weakness is a moment of death", he said to himself.

Kate and Sam walked up to him. "You did well. We didn't expect you to take on this many beasts on your own. Now how will you kill them? Their skin is very tough" said Sam. Lucas looked at the beasts that were lying on the ground, unable to get up. "Let me cut all four of their nerves. Then they would bleed out and die. But that is not effective", he pondered deeply. "Why did the neck have to be so damn tough?", he cursed out loud.

Kate took out a dagger from her boots and gave it to Lucas. "This is a King-tier Dagger. This might help in slicing the skin open easily", she said. It looked like just an ordinary dagger. He went and sliced open the flesh on the back, revealing the hearts. He began to stab them one by one, killing them. Another notification popped up.

[You have Levelled Up!]