Chapter 11: Adventurers (2)

The group stood in front of the ship, darkness encroaching on the outside. They were so close to capturing the blood leopard; capturing it would bring them out of their debt, and even add some profit on top of that. They just needed to capture it.

"Aurora, are you sure that blood leopard is here?" the leader asked once more.

Aurora nodded fiercely; she could feel the creature's mana coming in waves from the cave ahead.

"Yes, it's there. This could be its lair—its mana is all over the place," she said.

The leader nodded as he unshackled his shield from his back, holding it in front of him. He signalled the group, and they moved forward, entering the ship. The corridors were dark; the ship's interior had been infested with foliage. Vines and other plants grew along the walls, floors, and ceiling of the ship, making it lose its once-shiny lustre.

They slowly moved through the corridor, each person circulating mana to their eyes, granting them night vision in the dark corridors.

"Is it just me, or do you guys also feel like you're being watched?" the male twin asked.

The group remained silent, unwilling to accept that fact. They continued forward as the corridor opened up to a large hall. In the middle, a large platform stood, but unlike the rest of the surroundings, there was no vegetation growing on it. It remained pristine. The group was fascinated by this.

The silence was broken by a cry right below the platform. The group swerved their heads, weapons drawn, expecting danger, but there was none. Below the platform lay a bundle of sticks and dried grass, arranged to form a nest. There, in the nest, lay four small cubs—black fur with a red stripe running along their backs.

Blood leopard cubs.

The leader's eyes glinted with greed; this was a huge find. The cubs would sell for a huge amount in the market.

"Are those what I think they are?" the healer asked.

"Yes, Sona, yes they are," the female swordmaster replied.

"We're going to make a killing," Aurora said in joy.

But as they went to grab their prize, a figure materialized in front of them. A blood leopard. It growled fiercely at the intruders. Its body was covered in slick black fur, a single red stripe running across its back, glowing a fiendish red light. Its claws and eyes matched, also glinting red. But not all was well—across its body, cuts and gashes could be seen, purple blood slowly seeping from them. One of its eyes was closed, as a gash covered it, the same purple blood trickling down. It was wounded.

The group recognized the beast; after all, they were the ones who had injured it. This was the beast they were originally supposed to kill. They drew their weapons, aiming at it.

"Be careful—an injured beast is the most dangerous," Arnold, the group leader, shouted.

"I'll draw its attention; you guys focus on bringing it down," he shouted once more. The group nodded as they split up. Kenny and Anny, the two twin sword masters, split and moved to the side, aiming to pincer-attack it from both sides. Aurora circulated mana to her staff, ready to fire a spell at a moment's notice. Eve, the healer, stepped back, raising her staff as an orange light spread from it, circulating to the group, granting them a buff.

But they weren't the only things in the hall. On the platform, an orb lay invisible to the group and the beast, a single red eye opening, watching the battle keenly.

Arnold took his sword, slamming it onto his shield.

"Come at me, you little shit," he said as an orange glow radiated from him.

The beast turned, facing Arnold. It focused solely on him, ignoring the others. The taunt was successful. With a roar, it lunged at Arnold, claws outspread, ready to tear into him.

Arnold lifted his shield as the beast slammed into him, a flurry of attacks from the creature being absorbed by the shield. With a grunt, he pushed the creature back, disrupting its balance. The twins didn't let this opportunity go to waste; they rushed the beast, swords hung low, blue mana covering their bodies.

"Sword blitz," they whispered simultaneously.

Their bodies turned to blue afterimages as they appeared at the creature's side, swords ready to slice through the beast's sides. But the leopard reacted faster. It jumped into the air, dodging the twins' slash, and turned to face them. Mana radiated as the stripe on its back glowed even brighter. It opened its mouth, a red pulse forming, aiming at the twins.

"SHIELD BASH!" Arnold shouted as he launched himself at the beast, knocking it into a nearby wall, interrupting its skill and briefly stunning it.

Aurora didn't miss this opportunity.

"Fireball barrage," she said.

Nine fireballs appeared beside her, their heat intense. She pointed her staff toward the beast, and they obeyed her command, speeding through the air and successfully colliding with the beast. A fiery explosion occurred, engulfing the beast in flames.

The beast roared in great pain as it jumped out of the fire, its fur singed, raw burned flesh visible. It gazed at Aurora, ready to attack. But the group wasn't going to give it room to attack. Kenny appeared at its side.

"Sword slash," he uttered, swinging his blade.

The blade glowed a bright blue, shimmering with untold power. The beast was too slow to react; the blade connected with flesh, cleanly severing the beast's left back leg. With a roar, the beast turned, its paw raised high in the sky, ready to crush Kenny.

"Blindness," Sona said.

The beast stopped its attack as the spell blinded it. Anny appeared in front of the now-blinded beast, her sword glowing golden.

"SIX-STAR SWORD ART: THIRD STAR: STAR PIERCER," she shouted.

The sword impaled the beast right in the chest, a wave of energy traveling through its body, rupturing its heart and coming out the other side. The beast roared in pain before falling to the side, dead.

Anny slumped to the ground, wheezing; that attack had cost her all her mana.

"Good job, Anny. Didn't know you already reached third-star level," Arnold said, running and patting her on the back.

Anny smiled at the praise, turning to stare at Kenny smugly, who was frowning. The group rushed to the leopard's corpse, each congratulating Anny.

But the group's battle was far from done. On the altar, the orb's red eye glowed even brighter. Interesting, it thought to itself.