The Empyreal Gem Master

Alexander's eyes could only see the scene ahead of him, but his senses…were spread out for a mile all around as he captured everything nearby.

The dewdrops on the leaves of these large trees he could feel all around.

The moisture of the damp grass on his feet.

The tail of a green scaled…!

A tail!

His senses quickly focused on a straight path to the left of where they were- and there, .8 miles away, he could sense the outline and life force of something unique for the first time.

Ten…twenty…25 meters in sheer length alone.

Green scales that melded with the Trees and grass around it.

A head with two Serpentine eyes that shone with a green hue, and on the backside of this terrifying creature, on the verdant scales that camouflaged it in a terrifying manner…a dazzling Gem Socket could be seen.

The Ability Gems that humans obtained from Breaches.

The vast majority of them…stemmed from terrifying Beasts of Corruption like these!

The vast majority.

Not all of them did.

Alexander felt a sense of suffocation when watching such a large beast, his senses catching it opening its jaws to reveal an opening that could swallow a human being whole.

They were slowly moving towards it as Gem Master Richard who had been moving in these Jungle Grounds a great deal seemed to know its general direction well.

In his hands, wisps of tendrils of flames had begun to gather as after a while, he nodded to Gem Master Azazel and Todd who became stern- Azazel moving closer towards Alexander while Todd came closer towards Claire.

The powerful Three-Link Gem Masters who were supposed to ensure her safety guarded her from all angles as when they were a few trees away from coming face to face with the massive Emerald Tree Boa…

HU!

The hand of Gem Master Richard rose up along with his voice.

"When you come across any Beast of Corruption, you should always strike first and strike hard. Since today is a day of lessons, you all will first see how to handle one, and subsequently take care of the rest under supervision."

His rising voice of course caused a rustle of leaves ahead of them.

ROAR!

A booming Shockwave split apart the trees ahead of them as in the next moment, the unfathomably green scales of the head of the Emerald Tree Boa peered out with murderous eyes.

It didn't hold any reservation or fear at observing dozens of Gem Masters in front of it, the Gem on its back radiating a frightening light as from its opened jaws- a swirl of poisonous green light formed and shot out towards their party!

It was enough to cause some of the newly Awakened Gem Masters to stumble back, but one of the Two-Link Gem Masters holding shields buzzing with lightning jumped up- his shield held high as it came in contact with the poisonous ball of light and subsequently knocked it away.

It splashed onto a tree to the left that began to melt as soon as it was hit.

"This is still considered a Tier 1 Beast of Corruption, but there are Emerald Tree Boas that can have two Gem Sockets and yet remain as Tier 1 Beasts. A single attack from them can melt any average Gem Master who isn't prepared, but it remains a Tier 1 Beast purely because when it comes to killing it, even a veteran with a single Socket is capable of doing so."

…!

Gem Master Richard spoke as he valiantly walked towards the Emerald Tree Boa.

He had fought and killed these Beasts many times.

He knew their behaviors. He knew their movements.

He walked up until he was meters away from the slithering body of this Beast that roared towards him, its heavy tail flung out like a fast hammer from the right side as…

…!

Gem Master Richard's hands surrounded by tendrils of flames rose to intercept the heavy tail smashing towards his body, a heavy impact booming out as his feet sank into the bare earth a few inches.

But he remained immovable.

With his right hand holding the vibrating tail of the Emerald Tree Boa, his left hand rose as a spear of flames formed around it, his eyes flashing with a crimson radiance as he flung this spear out at a fast speed.

HU!

The Main Ability Gem, [Flame Spear].

The Emerald Tree Boa never got even a chance to dodge as the spear pierced its head from below- its jaws spewing out flames as a moment later, its entire head became scorched.

Its massive body that could turn the Awakened Gem Masters fearful tumbled from its high point as it smashed into the earth below, the smell of scorched meat permeating outwards as the veteran Gem Master Richard took care of this Tier 1 Beast of Corruption with relative ease!

The strength and correlation of Gem Masters to Beasts of Corruption could be made with relative ease- the number of Gem Sockets a Gem Master had often correlated to the level of Beasts of Corruption they could potentially kill.

Potentially.

Take Claire for an example.

She had Five Life Sockets, but she still had the designation of a newly Awakened Gem Master as not much time had passed for her Life Force to grow under the influence of her socketed Gems.

If she came across a Tier 5 Beast of Corruption who had 5 Life Sockets just like her, she would not even be capable of lifting a finger. Even a Tier 4 Beast with 4 Life Sockets would likely trounce the power she held currently.

But if there was a genuine Gem Master- a Veteran with Four Life Sockets or even Five whose life force and power were robust, they could face Tier 4 or 5 Beasts without an issue!

There was the factor of time needed for a Gem Master to truly represent the power of their Gem Sockets.

Of course, theoretically, one could overcome experience and time with more Sockets. But who could easily awaken to five or six Life Sockets?

Gem Master Richard finished his presentation as he looked back and spoke.

"Simple enough, yeah? After you get over your initial fear, these Emerald Tree Boas are the easiest to hunt due to their size and the fact that their defenses are not that high."

He went to the body of the Emerald Tree Boa he had killed and jumped on its back, his hands going down to yank the Gem from its Socket and placing it in a small bag beside his waist as his voice continued to ring out.

"But, you can never really hunt even these Emerald Tree Boas alone as after a single one falls…"

…!

The earth near them began to shake.

In the back, Alexander watched this whole initial battle play out with sharp eyes that rose up halfway through the battle- his senses discovering three more Emerald Tree Boas rushing out from different directions after they heard the roar of the one they faced.

These Beasts loved to draw each other as after a single one fell, three more that captured the roars of the first one appeared!

Fear tensed in the Awakened Gem Masters behind him.

But his own heart...felt steady.

It wasn't that he wasn't fearful. 

There was a sense of caution inside him no matter what.

But…it also wasn't as pronounced as others, his right hand going towards his chest as he felt his Enneagram.

With it, his mind knew that he didn't have to be fearful.

Not of these Beasts of Corruption ahead of him.

Below his feet, the grass had just begun to freeze over as the hidden strength within him was stimulated, his senses heightened for what was to come as all Gem Masters around prepared.

"Three are coming up based on these vibrations- shall the kids get a first taste?!"