Chapter 24: One vs Many
<Notice>
<Strenght Determined>
<Enemies will spawn based on accessed strength>
The shadow figures and beasts around Lin were now changing shape and size. They were releasing dangerous amounts of power. Lin was drenched in cold sweat instantly. He had never seen such large amounts of adversaries before, and that to ones that released that amount of power. He remained frozen on the spot as all the beasts and entities turned towards him, ready to pounce on him at any time but did not move. They just stood glaring and growling at him threateningly.
"I haven't had anyone trespass my crucible in a long time", A voice like thunder boomed across the entire land. Lin fell face flat and was buried in the ground before he could even think of reacting. His body sank almost halfway underground. The pressure from the voice alone caused all his joints to creak and ache. "That power!" he gritted his teeth.
"Have you not heard of me, or have you just decided to waltz in here even though you knew so?" the voice continued to speak. Lin struggled to lift his head and peek but couldn't even lift his head, nor could he determine where the voice was coming from. Lin had questions he wished to ask but couldn't utter a single word.
"You are merely a fourth rank, so I will give you fifth ranks to play with. I will make them slowly gnaw on your flesh as you struggle to cling to your puny life. That is my mercy to you", the voice boomed once more and went silent.
"Damn it! Aarhh!" Lin screamed and struggled to lift himself from the ground once more. The pressure pushing him down gradually lifted. "Hahahahahahahahahahaha" A loud laughter echoed across the land. Lin was not looking good at all. His face now looked as pale as a white canvas.
"Who was that guy? He doesn't seem to be joking. This beast and figures are shadows, but they are very different from those of that shadow beast I encountered. I have fought a fifth-rank beast before, but this number…", Looking around him, the shadow beasts and figures growled madly and charged Lin as wild dogs loosened from their chains.
"Where can I find this person?", the princess of the Azeria family Euphrasia Lorlei Azeria sat deep in thought. "With his unique flames, I might be able to go there and capture that thing but not before turning him into a block of ice for stealing my core. However, since the day the guards returned, I have not heard anything about him again, and none were able to locate him in the hunting territories either."
"Where exactly do I find him" Her eyes suddenly lit up as an idea popped into her head. "What if I put out a recruitment notice for fire element wielders? That way, there is a chance he will apply, and then finding him wouldn't be so difficult anymore." She was delighted. She quickly got up and left to carry out what she intended.
"I haven't condensed a weapon yet, and I'm only ranked -4. If I don't go all out from the beginning, I will surely die" Lin's expression became serious as he clenched his fists. "I have to create new techniques and skills to become much stronger. These skills will come in handy later on."
"For starters, let's try out some old ones. This is a good opportunity for testing and making new skills, though not to forget, my life is in danger right now" A mysterious smile crept on Lin's face as black lightning cackled madly about him. He was not going to reserve anything. "Just like with that shadow beast, gather lightning and release". Lin gathered enough lightning to create a ball. Without wasting any time, he tossed it into the midst of the beasts coming at him.
'AOE Lightning Attack: Lightning Stun Grenade'
As soon as it exploded, he jumped into their midst like an invisible being. He was madly punching and dodging the beasts closest to him to the best of his abilities. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't dodge an attack from a beast, resulting in a deep wound on his chest. He gritted his teeth through the pain and changed his movement style. He began to appear and then disappear like a ghost. Everywhere he stepped, he danced madly around a beast.
That was his first movement skill, <Phantasmal Flow Dance Form 1: Ghost>
Lin danced around with lightning under his feet; as though he were standing on it. With the first form of the Phantasmal Flow Dance, he manoeuvred around and attacked shadow beasts and figures around him. The pressure he felt was reduced, but that still did not lessen the power gap between himself and the horde attacking him.
In the sky above the battlefield, a wisp of black smoke with eyes and a mouth looked down at Lin, who battled the shadow beasts and figures fiercely. After observing Lin, its eyes dropped from their positions, and it exploded into a wispy fog. The fog came back together again, making it whole. "Phantasmal Flow Dance?" It exclaimed, but not loud enough for Lin to hear. It wobbled left and right as if keenly observing and said, "No, not quite. This is not the complete thing. This is just the beginning of it, the first four steps. So, he was the one whom Drak chose." It smiled creepily and announced, "Interesting. Looks like I'm not the only one who left a wisp of my will in this world. For Drak to choose him, he must be pretty talented."
The wisp looked at Lin again, and its face turned to one of concern. "Is he the one? 'That' family's atonement? If he is, then what is he doing here?"
Lightning and fire shrouded the area around Lin. He was panting heavily. By now, he hadn't killed any shadow beast or figure yet. Seeing they were too much for him, he focused on evasion while attacking from a distance. A shadowy figure struck Lin in the back as he was evading another, and before he could stabilize himself, he was bounced around like a pinball which sent him flying into the ground.
He coughed up blood as lacerations were all over his body. As he prepared to attack again, the shadows around him suddenly merged into a giant hand that punched towards the sky. A shockwave resulted from its impact and sent Lin reeling into a wall sending cracks into it. He dropped to the ground as parts of the wall cascaded over him.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone