Catastrophe I

Gem Master Richard bellowed out as two flaming spears appeared in both his hands, and Gem Master Todd held his lightning bow tightly as he looked back toward Claire.

"Lady Claire."

As much as this was an Expedition for all newly Awakened Gem Masters who were brave enough to seek to join the ranks of Gem Masters, it was mainly an Expedition to introduce the future Five-Link Gem Master to Beasts of Corruption.

Claire's rigid figure heard the voice of Gem Master Todd, her eyes facing forward and seemingly frozen, but a moment later…

Alexander's hand came to land on her shoulder as her figure became less rigid.

She turned to look towards him as he nodded, almost as if reminding her to remember his words.

Claire's eyes then became firm as a moment later, crackles of lightning began to buzz around her.

HUUM!

Her blue eyes gained an even deeper shade of blue.

Behind her back, wings of Lightning formed that looked reminiscent of those her father had when he flew in the day she Awakened her Five-Link Gem Sockets!

The same Gem Recipe as her father.

Lightning King.

Main Ability Gem, [Body of Lightning].

And unlike her father who only had three Support Ability Gems aiding him, she had four!

Along with the formation of her blue wings of Lightning, five floating balls of lightning coalesced around her as they buzzed with interminable brilliance- their light even causing some of the weaker Awakened Gem Masters behind them to squint as at this time…

ROAR!

Three massive Emerald Tree Boas arrived in the clearing.

Gem Masters had shields ready to reinforce as Gem Master Azazel and Todd were already in front of Alexander and Claire, ready to move at any point.

But in the next moment, as if receiving guidance- three of the five bundles of concentrated lightning around Claire shot out to an Emerald Tree Boa each.

Fast.

This was the only word that could be used to describe what happened next as even Alexander was only able to follow the trajectory of the bundles of lightning with his senses.

In the middle of their roars, before they could unleash any attacks...the concentrated bundles of pure lightning smashed into the heads of the three Emerald Tree Boas at speeds they couldn't even react to!

BOP!

The unique explosive sounds rang out simultaneously as chunks of meat and blood rained from the skies.

The heads of the three massive Emerald Tree Boas were blown to smithereens at the moment of their entry as the scene left many speechless.

The damage of her single bundle of concentrated lightning was far more potent than even the spear that Gem Master Richard had thrown out, and the speed was something that no Two-Link or Three-Link Gem Master could follow!

"Haha!"

Amidst everyone's shock, Gem Master Richard laughed boisterously as he clapped.

"Now that…is an upcoming Five-Link Gem Master!"

Undeniable power.

With additional support from a Gem even her father couldn't use, she had something none of them didn't.

At this stage, her damage output and survivability may already be nearing a weak Four-Link Gem Master.

Maybe a tenth of the power that her father, Branch Leader Axel, or Branch Leader Julius held- without any of their battle experience added in.

Maybe.

She seemed just as shocked as everyone else as she controlled her breathing while turning to look at Alexander.

Almost as if to confirm whether she had truly done that!

She only saw his smile, which caused her heart to calm down even more, her fears lessening somewhat as she looked ahead.

It was at this moment that behind her, the dozens of newly Awakened Gem Masters came to a realization that caused their eyes to brim with confidence.

They were in a Tier 1 Breach with only Tier 2 and Tier 1 Beasts of Corruption. 

Accompanying them were multiple Three-Link Gem Masters who regularly fought against Tier 3 Beasts, and they also had a young Five-Link Gem Master in their Expedition!

Of all the Awakened Expeditions that had occurred in the past, this had to be the safest one that ever occurred.

The tall trees around them and the endless jungle that followed did not seem that menacing anymore.

With so many powerful Gem Masters around them, their safety was assured as they could simply focus on getting experience on how to handle Beasts of Corruption themselves.

Nothing could possibly go wrong.

—

The goal of the Awakening Expedition was to become familiar with Beasts of Corruption and gain the combat sense to face them.

So any time the Expedition came across an Emerald Tree Boa…

"Damian, join the fray!"

A newly Awakened Gem Master was sent forward to go against the Tier 1 Beast that was already surrounded by others.

From the ranks behind them, over a dozen had already gotten the chance to fight against an Emerald Tree Boa under the protection of the veteran Gem Masters here.

The person with the most takedowns so far, though, remained Claire Asmodeus.

ROAR!

Another Emerald Tree Boa crashed the nearby trees in front of it and came into the messy clearing where a few dead bodies of its brethren lay dead, Gem Master Todd turning towards Claire who retained her wings of Lightning.

"Lady Claire, you can finish this one off. With it, we should have largely cleared this region of Emerald Tree Boas."

They had been moving across the jungle for the last hour.

They were at least 30 miles in at this point, the thick foliage of trees being even more radiant.

Claire had gotten used to things at this point as the moment these words were uttered by Gem Master Todd, another concentrated ball of lightning formed above her and quickly smashed into the thick head of the Emerald Tree Boa- taking it down in a single shot once more!

With every kill, her confidence grew. 

She turned towards Alexander beside her as he gave her thumbs up, their small exchanges causing annoyance in the eyes of others as at the same time, the other Awakened Gem Masters cut through the scales of the last Emerald Tree Boa and laid it to rest.

"Alright, that's the last of them…take the time to rest as after this, we will head towards the region of the Eight Eyed Tarantulas. Whoever hasn't gotten a chance to enter combat yet will take priority!"

The voice of Gem Master Richard echoed out as he placed his hand on the bare green earth and closed his eyes- confirming no other vibrations or even the smallest movements.

At this time, the figure of Gem Master Azazel walked toward Alexander and Claire as he spoke to them with a smile.

"Young Master Alex, you've sat back this whole time and given Lady Claire the limelight. How about we have you participate against the Eight Eyed Tarantulas and clear up any misconceptions others may have about you?"

…!