Chapter 9

"Awoo!" It almost sounded like a wolf but Bryan quickly dismissed the thought as what was approaching them was clearly humanoid. And very large.

"It must have been lured by the smell of the meat." Bryan muttered. He was well aware of the dangers of grilling in a forest and was fully prepared for the consequences.

'But don't you think this is a bit too much?' Bryan could sense the pressure from the ether the beast has as it lumbered into view.

A Golden Ape. It's strength was typically around the range of Tier 9 Rare to Tier 7 Elite. Because of its heavy defence and strong offence, multiple beast tamers of the same rank or one of a higher rank was usually required to subdue it.

'This one... It should be a Tier 2 Elite.' After training with Agnes, he and Carl had just barely managed to cross into the rank of Elite. And this was mostly thanks to Bryan's expertise in beasts and Carl's strong bloodline.

"Rarrrr!" The ape pounded it's charts as it howled and slammed its fists into the earth.

"Carl!" Bryan yelled and leaped up and was followed by his tamed beast and he slid onto the back of Carl who had expanded to the max.

'If I remember correctly, this beasts element should be metal.'. Bryan watched as countless spikes shot out of the ground. If they had remained there even a second longer, they would have been ran through.

The spikes that shot out were gleaming gold but on a closer inspection, they had no physical substance and was formed completely from ether.

'It runs ether through earth allowing for attacks of a longer range. Interesting.' Bryan's eyes gleamed as two balls of flames formed in his palms and he threw them towards the ape just as he landed.

"BOOM!" An explosion shook the air shaking leaves off the trees as some of them caught fire. It was very flashy but Bryan frowned as he knew no damage had been done.

'The explosions were too one-sided for it to have worked.' Like it was rebounded, the explosion was mostly concentrated in the direction it was thrown from.

To prove it, another earsplitting how rend the air as the ape charged forward Aran incredible speed.

Bryan knew that if he was even grazed by the wind, it would prove fatal. Which was why he decided to change directions.

Carl howled as he leapt to the side and Bryan opened his hands as fire ether began gathering in his palms.

Bryan concentrated the flames and as their colour changes to a bright blue, he smashed them together and directed the attack at the ape.

'I call this move, Blue Blood Sun.' The name was... unique but nobody was there to question it.

"Grahh!" The beast let out another how, this time, one of pain as the flames liked its golden fur and turned it to black.

"So an attack of that intensity can harm it." Bryan muttered as he put distance between them and the rampaging ape and he began his analysis.

The attack was strong and flashy but the cost was the ether depletion. Just that attack alone had taken twelve percent out of Carl's tank.

'Judging from its current condition, I'll need at least, another four well placed ones to do it in. No, this won't work.' Bryan frowned until he remembered the ace up his sleeve and leaped off Carl.

"We're doing that move." He nodded at the beast and borrowed one quarter of Carl's ether to strengthen his body.

"Time for some close combat." Bryan grinned as a scythe made from blue flames formed in the air and landed in his hand.

....

"RAAAWRRR!" The ape pounded it's legs against the ground and shot into the air, coming down on Bryan with enough force to shatter boulders.

Of course, Bryan wasn't going to stay there and catch it like a fool. He leaped to the side and as the ape touched the ground, metallic spikes formed from ether emerged from the ground and reached towards the sky.

Bryan twisted his body into an unnatural position and successfully avoided all the spikes.

"Not bad." He muttered and wrapped his left feet around the tip of a spike and pulled himself into the air.

"And a whoosh!" He swung the scythe and sent a deadly slice of fire towards the ape that penetrated its fur and seared its body.

"Too shallow." Bryan formed as he saw that the flesh had already started to wriggle, signifying that it has already tarted healing.

Strong defence, strong offence and strong vitality. The only area the beast known as the Golden Ape was lacking was agility and that it could solve with overwhelming brute strength. But...

"It's a bad matchup with me." Fire was one of the natural weaknesses of metal. Provided with enough time, Bryan was sure he could wear down the ape's defences.

'But I'd like to end it quick.' Bryan looked over at Carl and nodded.

"Ten more seconds. Time to fight for my reward." All of that happened in just a few seconds and Bryan landed softly on the ground.

The ape sensed its for had landed and it smashed the earth and shot forward like a cannonball.

Bryan grinned and rushed at the beast. He was not planning on engaging in a contest of strength and instead, agility.

Right before colliding, Bryan fell to the floor and slipped past the ape and arrived behind it. Turning over, he turned the scythe into a spear and threw it with all his might.

"HAA!" With his shout, the spear sank into the ape's shoulder and exploded, blasting both of them backwards.

Bryan tumbled across the floor and flipped into a standing position. The ape, however was not as lucky and eat a face full of dirt.

"Five more seconds left!" Bryan yelled and ran towards the ape with all his might and a red sword fell into his hands. Bryan leaped into the air with his new weapon and swung the sword down at the beast.

"GAH!" The ape roared and met the strike with its fist and pushed Bryan backwards. In the contest of strength, the ape had come out on top.

"That was a nice punch." Bryan wiped the blood that had leaked out from his mouth from biting his lips too hard.

"But my main goal was always buying time which I managed to succeed." Cake, who was mostly absent was looking at the ape with a white flame so hot any being in its path could feel the threat of death. And so could the ape.

"Skill - Fire Breath."

In a small portion of the forest where the entrance test was being carried out a small portion shone with light almost as blinding as the sun. Though it was only for a short moment.