CHAPTER 97: MASKS OFF

Lots and lots of Boars charged out of the corridors. Their hooves thundered against the polished black floor like a rolling earthquake, shaking the entire hall. They had bronze plated hides that gleamed ominously under the crimson glow of the hearthstone, and their tusks were like spears, thick, sharp, and glistening with a metallic sheen that promised a violent end to anything they struck!

They were Armored Boars.

Armored Boars were physical type demonic creatures specializing in strength, speed, and defense. Their stamina and reflexes were their greatest weakness. But in a situation like this where running away from them meant failing the trial, their weaknesses couldn’t be exploited.

They were tough because their defence were comparable to bronze rank demonic creatures. Normals skills couldn’t penetrate through their metallic hides to injure them!

"The melting point of bronze is less than 1200 degrees Celsius. In front of my dragon fire magic, their defense is nothing special. I should be able to take them out in one move," Ray thought, his eyes narrowing with calm assurance.

He raised his hand, signaling Lia to stay put. "Don’t act. I’ll handle this."

At his words, Lia nodded, "I will do as you say."

Then, without hesitation, Ray stepped forward. His chest expanded as he drew in a massive breath.

Level 1 Max Power Fire Dragon Breath!

The instant he called out the skill name in his mind, a torrent of blazing fire burst forth from his mouth. It was like a dragon’s wrath given form. With its arrival, temperature rose by many degrees, its heat so intense that the very air screeched and popped.

A lot of Armored Boars never even had a chance to scream before they were engulfed by it.

Submerged in high-temperature flames, the Armored Boars shrieked as their bronze hides began to distort. First, they glowed red, like iron fresh out of a blacksmith’s forge. Then white-hot, their metallic sheen vanishing beneath waves of blistering heat. Within heartbeats, their armored bodies softened, crumbling like melting wax under the breath of a dragon.

In mere seconds, one-third of the Armored Boars that had charged into the hall disintegrated into nothing more than a bubbling and grotesque mess. Their plated hides collapsed into molten puddles, pooling across the polished floor, while chunks of scorched flesh clung stubbornly to the metal, sizzling with every hiss. At the same time, the sickening stench of burned meat and molten bronze filled the air, clawing its way into everyone’s nostrils, making the hall reek so badly they scrunched their noses in disgust.

’My job here is done,’ Ray thought.

The rest of the Armored Boars were to be dealt with by the remaining two teams. That was their responsibility, and he had no intention of shouldering their burdens.

He glanced briefly at Lia. Carrying her in a fight or protecting her back didn’t weigh on his mind in the slightest. She wasn’t dead weight. Far from it. She was someone who had already helped broaden his horizons more than once. In her, he saw a companion who had earned her place by his side.

But as for the others? Faelar, Seliane, Marcus, and the ever mysterious Reptilia?

They were strangers. Competitors. People with their own secrets, their own goals.

They needed to earn their keep.

Ray wouldn’t step in for them. Not unless they were in dire need of help. Not unless the situation turned desperate enough to demand it. Until then, they were on their own.

*******

When the second monster wave began in earnest, Faelar and Seliane exchanged a meaningful glance across the hall.

Faelar’s lips curled into a thin, cold smile.

"Are you thinking what I am thinking?"

Seliane’s eyes glowed faintly as a murderous glint flashed in them.

"Yeah. Time to drop the act... and bare our fangs."

Faelar’s hand dipped into the pitch-black cube strapped to his waist, no larger than a palm.

It was known as the Witch’s Box.

In terms of functions, it was somewhat similar to interspatial rings. It was typically used to contain things far too dangerous, volatile, or unnatural to be placed inside interspatial rings and other ordinary storage devices.

From its depths, Faelar drew out a mirror. The object looked deceptively simple: its surface was dull and unremarkable, framed by an ornate black border. The frame, however, was covered in symbols that twisted faintly when stared at, squirming like worms. At a casual glance it might appear ordinary, even fragile, but the aura that seeped from it was cold, sinister, and oppressive enough to chill the bones of anyone standing too close.

Holding the mirror steadily, Faelar began pouring his magic power into it, causing it to undergo a change.

Its reflective surface darkened.

Once it had become pitch black like the bottom of a well, Faelar pointed it at the others.

The images of the Armored Boars reflected upon the mirror’s black surface, and the moment that happened, the Armored Boars started getting dragged towards it against their will.

They screeched, thrashed violently, and struggled in all sorts of ways, but all their efforts were in vain.

One after another, their massive bodies were wrenched free from the ground and sucked toward the mirror, pulled into it like stones sinking into tar.

They vanished from sight as the mirror literally ate them!

Muri faced the same fate when its reflection appeared in the mirror’s black surface.

In the blink of an eye, Muri found itself trapped in the dimension inside the mirror together with dozens of Armored Boars.

The Armored Boars, mindless and frenzied, hurled themselves against Muri without hesitation. In a heartbeat, Muri reshaped itself into a massive iron sphere bristling with spikes. A bunch of Armored Boars ended up paying a heavy price for their recklessness. Throwing themselves against it proved no different than marching into the maws of death.

The Armored Boars who lived backed away from Muri in panic.

"If you won’t, I will!"

With a thunderous rumble, Muri started rolling through the weird dimension inside the mirror, reducing beast after beast into broken husks. Screeches filled the air, but the slaughter was merciless and unrelenting. Each rotation of its spiked body claimed more lives, leaving crushed carcasses and torn limbs in its wake.

********

While Faelar finished trapping Muri and dozens of Armored Boars into his mirror, Seliane’s palms glowed with a cold, blue-white radiance.

Then—

FWOOOSH!

Dozens upon dozens of crackling magic missiles erupted from her hands, targeting the Reptilia, Ray, and Lia.

Ray grabbed Lia and jumped out of their way.

The Reptilia did not dodge the magic missiles like them. Sensing the incoming danger, he lashed out with his massive tail. His tail cracked through the air like a steel whip, its speed blinding.

WHIP! WHIP! WHIP!

The magic missile were all sliced apart as his tail whipped through them. The resulting explosions rippled through the air in violent bursts, yet none reached him. Dust and fire surged all around the Reptilia, but his scaled body emerged untouched, framed in the glow of fading sparks lingering in the air from the explosions of magic missiles.

His head turned slowly toward Seliane. His vertical pupils narrowed into slits, his gaze sharp as blades, as he looked at her with undisguised rage and killing intent.

"What is the meaning of this?" His voice rumbled with fury, guttural and deep, sending chills into the bones of anyone who heard. He glared at her with such ferocity that if looks alone could kill, Seliane would’ve been obliterated where she stood.

She didn’t flinch under that intense stare.

Her lips curved into a smirk as she met his gaze directly, unafraid. Her eyes, sharp as daggers, bore into his with cold amusement as she spoke to the Reptilia, "The dead need not know."

"Who are you cursing, you bitch!" The Reptilia wanted to rip her apart, but before he could turn his thoughts into reality.

SHHHK!

SHHHK!

From his blindside, Marcus’s twin swords descended in a savage arc, their edges glinting coldly in the dim crimson light of the hall as they aimed to carve the Reptilia into bloody chunks.

"Lookout!" Lia cried out.

The Reptilia, caught off guard, was too late to react to her warning.

Ray immediately made a move to intervene.

Without a second of hesitation, he tried to use his powers to stop the traitor’s plans from succeeding.

He fully expected a powerful gust of azure wind to burst forth, slam into Marcus like a battering ram, and knock him away before he could kill the Reptilia.

But what he expected never came.

The Azure Wind Skill didn’t respond to his will!

Ray’s heart skipped a beat. No matter how much intent he poured into the Azure Wind skill, no Azure Winds manifested.

Panic rising, he instantly shifted, attempting to call upon his dragon fire magic—his strongest offensive skill, one that could melt bronze and reduce monsters to ash. If the azure wind wouldn’t save the Reptilia, then his flames would.

Yet again, nothing happened, and he lost his calm.

"What the hell?"

It was as if his entire arsenal of powers had been ripped away, leaving him helpless. Ray’s eyes widened in disbelief, but by then it was already too late to try something else.

Marcus’s attack had met its mark, his swords had already bitten into the Reptilia’s flesh, cleaving him into pieces!