Chapter 37 37:Dungeon Trial[6]
Why was it coming for him?
What happened to Frederick and others?
And why the hell is this monster so agile when it is running through the barrage of trees?
Several questions popped into his mind.
The situation was quite absurd and unbelievable.
Let's consider the case of a monster trying to flee to protect his life but even so, out of all the places why the hell was it coming in his direction and another thing?
"Why are there no students here?"
"Is fate biased towards me in finding trouble?"
"For God's Sake, my calamity magnet seems to be even stronger than the protagonist's itself. Even after Frederick appeared early, this monster came looking for me."
Last time, he climbed onto the tree and Charles took the opportunity to attack the monster so it lost its focus on him but now he could not find anyone to use as a scapegoat.
The monster has already finished adapting to the forest. There was not even a sign of a tree falling or it stumbling along.
This means Lucas's trick to use the path of the forest to slow it down was bound to fail.
"It's odd? How did it adapt so fast or is it already used to this type of terrain?"
Lucas gritting his teeth, thought of a way to intercept this monster.
"Running away is not an option cause it would catch onto him sooner or later. If I am correct, Charles might be holding Frederick back which means Frederick will make his way here after finishing things there."
And if things went on according to Lucas's prediction then running away would lead the monster far from Frederick's reach.
So, it's better to use the terrain and stall time for him to arrive.
Lucas immediately drew his sword and kicking the ground, turned towards Steel Wolf.
"I am here."
The Steel Wolf sneered noticing Lucas's bravado and kicking its hindlimbs, it jumped over a rusty fallen trunk.
Lucas, who was waiting for this moment, whacked his hand after creating a fireball as big as possible.
BOOM!
The fireball hit the Steel Wolf's face and detonated. The Steel Wolf closed its eyes feeling severe heat covering its face which burnt its outer fur and whiskers on the face.
AWOOOOO!
The Steel Wolf staggered and fell over the ground. The momentum carried by its huge body resulted in its body rolling uncontrollably and crashing on the ground.
Lucas's eyes glowed and forming another fireball, he tossed it at Steel Wolf.
The trajectory was a bit off and it fell short however Lucas's aim was not the Steel Wolf from the beginning.
SWISH!
With a pop, the ball of fire burst on hitting the ground, spreading around crazily. The dried and broken twigs on the ground served as the best fuel and a wildfire spread around uncontrollably.
Lucas bombarded a few more fires igniting the entire area around the Steel Wolf.
Splinter exploded and a few of the shards hit him.
"It's better to get burned by fire than get bitten and torn," Lucas muttered rubbing his hands to extinguish the embers of flames on his clothes.
The Steel Wolf got up and roared in outrage.
Lucas leapt around and threw a stone at Steel Wolf which bounced off due to the collision which he anticipated beforehand.
"I wished I had a gun."
The instructors did not allow any secondary weapon for the trials and they can only use their registered primary weapon.
With serious eyes and a grim outlook, Lucas looked for anything useful while striding away seeing the Steel Wolf get up.
Lightening flashed and bolts were fired at him.
THUMP!
Electric shock coursed throughout his body and the spot behind Lucas exploded.
A bolt crackled and hit Lucas. His body coursed through a couple of trees and bounced off the ground. There was a crackling sound of wood chips collapsing one after another as he hit the trees.
"Ughhhhhhhhh!"
Lucas fell out of breath and writhed in pain. The blow transmitted to his inside. His muscles twitched with rapid spasms and his back was bloody with scorched burn marks.
"Uggghhh!"
A searing pain wriggled in his head. His vision started to become blurry.
As he turned around, he could perceive faint tremors and gnarling of teeth.
Through his musky vision, he saw the gigantic Steel Wolf running at him.
'Is this the end?'
'I am not going to die, still, it does not feel too good to get torn apart.'
'My mana reserves are low. I can't even throw a fireball as a surprise attack now.'
That's also the reason why he did not use flash steps to escape.
Lucas, who was on the verge of giving up, was suddenly struck with an absurd idea.
"I don't know if it will work but it's better to use it than regret it later."
Lucas crouched back while the Steel Wolf approached him slowly.
Drips of saliva trickled from its mouth and its eyes glowed thinking about the delicious prey.
Lucas squinted his eyes and opened the shop.
The Steel Wolf who was just a meter away sniffed, then drew heavy gasps, and just as it was about to let out a savage roar, Lucas threw a small white pill which passed through the narrow gap between its two sets of teeth and went inside.
The Steel Wolf, who was in the process of roaring suddenly stopped as if something struck its throat.
The thick fur tail that was wagging around along with its ear, drooped down suddenly. Its fierce eyes widened, turning limpid and its huge body fell to the ground.
Lucas's jaw almost dropped to the ground as he saw a strange glint in Steel Wolf's eyes
"WOOOOOW!"
"Drug.....I mean calming candy works. The candy changed a savage monster into a cute puppy."
Lucas dared not to imagine just what kind of heavenly feeling the monster was going through now.
Pushing his hands against the tree, he used it as support to get up.
"Ahhhh!"Lucas squealed and looked down.
Noticing his swollen ankle, he took a step to measure the pain only to end up limping and falling.
"Argghhhhhhhhh!"He grasped heavily.
"I need to get away. I can't risk attacking Steel Wolf. Who knows if my attack woke it up from the stupor and I am not sure about killing it in a blow. I don't want to wake up. Let's just leave."
Lucas discerned that it was best to get away. He was vulnerable and weak now. The other monsters might not be attracted due to its presence but what about the greedy humans?
If anyone notices him, they might snatch his points. Moreover, the wildfire may turn frenzy at any moment from now.
Lucas just took a few steps and heard a rumble. Turning his gaze, he found Frederick leaping over the trees making his way here.
Frederick noticed Lucas's condition and saw the Steel Wolf squatted on the ground.
Lucas wanted to motion for him to stop but it was too late as Frederick like a mad beast charged at all lightning speed.
Lightning crackled from the tip of his spear making a loud crackling sound.
The loud sound caused the Steel Wolf sitting with a heavenly expression to jolt in shock.
It shook its head and looking around it roared violently when its gaze landed on the lightning falling over his head.
The Steel Wolf attempted to gather its energy to attack but Frederick was already over it. A blue line was drawn and Frederick's spear with all its momentum dug right into the Steel Wolf.
BOOOOOM!
A fierce shock wave shook the place sweeping dirt and dust.
Strong gales hit Lucas, throwing him onto the ground and bombarding him with dirt and twigs.
With a haggard look, Lucas witnessed the scene of mass destruction while praising himself for his good judgment as the Steel Wolf reacted when felt danger and woke up from a stupor.
"Hush!"Lucas stared at the dim rays with a relaxed expression as it was over.
"Great…As expected from the protagonist. Appear at the last moment and save the day even if it's not needed."Lucas cursed upon hearing the announcement.
Finally, the four hours of soul-wrenching tension were going to be over.
A few moments later, a loud ringing bell resonated. The bracelet glows and being enveloped with blue light, Lucas's body was thrown out.
When the blue light cleared out, Lucas found himself standing outside the portal with a few others. Surprisingly there were only 14 people around him while the rest of them were standing below the stage with several injuries.
Lucas, knowing the heated drama that was about to commence, sneaked in and moved far away from the stage when everyone was looking at the leaderboard anxiously.
Beep...
The huge leaderboard over the wall flashed with a bright light and names started to appear one by one.