CHAPTER 243: SMASHED

’W-Well...sh*t! Even my [Common]-tier spells are already this powerful?’

This was the first time Hal got to try using his trusty [Glacial Shard] and [Fireball] again after infusing them with an attribute.

While the former seemed a bit underwhelming compared to the latter, the way it pushed the Cragstalker forward despite failing to penetrate its hardy main crag told a lot about the spell’s increase in power.

On the other hand, the [Fireball]’s explosion spoke for itself.

The last thing he saw before the smokescreen blocked his vision was the sight of the earthen monster stumbling forward.

He might’ve dealt a lot more damage than he expected he would, given the Cragstalker’s dauntingly tough appearance.

Soon, the smokescreen cleared, revealing the extent of the damage his ice and flames dealt.

...Which seemed to be basically nothing...

"What?! There’s no way my attacks did nothing!"

The earthen monster was still burning, but it simply ignored the flames, crawling towards Hal in an unsettling manner once more, confirming that it was all too fine after suffering a direct hit.

’Tch!’ Hal clicked his tongue in frustration, though his fighting spirit flared.

The speed of the A-ranked monster seemed to be barely manageable even without Aethersight, at least, but its toughness, despite being known as an ambusher, was quite difficult to believe.

"Let’s see how many more you can take, then!"

Activating [Mana Flight], Hal flew up, but the Cragstalker didn’t make it easy for him.

The massive crag on its back lit up.

In the next moment, three Earthen Pillars that rose to the skies emerged, aiming to crush him at the point of collision.

The earth-elemental spells were fast, catching Hal off guard.

’Damn it!’ he cursed, slowing his ascent to avoid the Earthen Pillars, but unfortunately, the spells, too, adjusted in accordance with his movement.

He was only a second from being squished to meat paste by the time he managed to escape by casting [Knockback] on himself, ascending in a sudden burst of speed that even the Cragstalker didn’t expect.

The earthen monster was confused.

It couldn’t exactly pinpoint why, but in its brain, the monster knew that the human shouldn’t be able to cast all those types of spells.

Perhaps due to the sheer number of humans it had fought in the past, the Cragstalker could tell that something was wrong.

Nonetheless, it was a monster and not a human, and the creature’s natural combat instincts allowed it to decide which spell to use next almost instantaneously.

A massive, beige magic circle appeared above Hal, from which a colossal boulder emerged and began dropping like a meteor.

He quickly noticed it due to the huge shadow it created and the strange shifts in the strong winds blowing around him.

But even if he did, his [Blink] spell was still on cooldown for another second.

His dash-type repositioning spells also weren’t enough to cover the distance.

And so, he used the first applicable spell that came to mind: [Spatial Swap].

The idea was only to avoid the attack while letting the monster deal with its own spell.

Clearly, Hal completely missed an important point.

Finding itself suddenly beneath the Earthen Meteor it summoned, the Cragstalker was caught with its pants down, receiving the full brunt of the damage as the massive boulder crashed into it.

The earthen monster’s tough physique somehow managed to hold out.

However, the heavy crag on its back prevented it from moving, and the momentum and the weight of the Earthen Meteor left the monster helplessly free-falling at horrifying speeds.

This would test how hardy the stalking bastard truly was.

Hal’s mouth was agape, and his entire being was frozen in a mix of delight, surprise, and disbelief, thinking:

’Right...why haven’t I thought of that?’

The Cragstalker couldn’t fly, could it? Why did he even think this would be a difficult battle?

With his brows raised, Hal watched the monster plummet at great speeds, its roars growing weaker and weaker as it fell down the mountain.

Soon, a loud thud and cracking sound echoed, making Hal wince slightly.

’Ooh, sh*t...that has to be painful...’

Followed by a notification:

[Congratulations! You’ve earned 300 Chaos Points!]

As much as he wanted to go and harvest the monster’s core, he had to check how Loki was doing first.

So, Hal quickly summoned the [Spirit Sparrow] once more, making it fly towards the natural alcove.

It looked empty on the outside.

But when Hal activated the summon’s [True Sight], he was able to see through the illusion.

Loki seemed to be doing fine...

Still, Hal perched the sparrow at a nearby Skyroot Pine, watching the alcove.

He also summoned another disposable [Spirit Wolf], stationing it near the hiding spot just in case his wolf companion needed help.

While the disposable summon wouldn’t be able to provide any assistance in combat, it would at least be able to lure the opponent away from the alcove, granting another layer of protection for his beloved pup.

Hal was satisfied with this safety setup.

In the next moment, he unhesitatingly jumped down the mountain, activating [Shadow Walk] just in case, especially since the Galewing Roc terrorized the skies of the upper ridges.

He would undoubtedly die if it swooped down while he was free-falling.

With the covers of invisibility, Hal plummeted, somewhat regretting his decision as sharp winds left minor wounds all over his body, a few even scarring his handsome face.

Fortunately, he had the [Heal] spell.

The wounds would’ve resulted in a permanent scar otherwise.

Hal’s heart pounded as he fell at horrifying speeds.

This was not a good experience, and he vowed never to do it again unless absolutely necessary.

A few meters before he landed badly at the foot of the mountain, Hal activated [Glide], slowing his descent and sticking his landing.

He then proceeded to scan the area, searching for the remains of the earthen monster.

’The corpse of that Cragstalker should be somewhere around here somewh–’

He froze the moment he spotted it.

In front of him was an entire hunting party of Iberian Cliffscalers, and one of them had a core in its hands.