บท 23: Against the Shadow Lynx!

-----

Noah and Iris had decided to use their Skills immediately, showcasing their true strength to their party members, which Noah had already planned that would be joining their side soon enough as Dhampirs or Ghouls.

"That's… Amazing, those nails simply sliced through that monster…!" said Arthur in shock.

"Strong…" muttered Jon, seemingly admiring Noah's crimson claws, which slowly disappeared from his hands.

"Arthur-sama, are you okay?" asked Timassa, ignoring what was happening and checking if Arthur had received any damage or something else.

"Y-Yes, I am okay, Timassa… But… Iris, Noah… Are those really your Skills?" asked Arthur impressed.

"It's all thanks to Noah… He has given me the power to do this," said Iris.

"The… power?" asked Arthur.

"I have awakened my Ability recently. However, it is a secret for now," said Noah.

"I-I see… Well, that's a relief, I am glad that we can have more people to rely on," said Arthur with a mild smile, although he was left intrigued about what kind of power Noah truly had.

After all, he was deemed useless and completely powerless, however, now he seemed to have become a completely different person, especially because of the strong aura he emanated.

Iris was also rather 'useless' and even insulted by most of the class as a 'pig' due to her smaller and slightly chubby complexion, she wasn't really fat at all, but due to her wide hips and her belly, she was called by those that hated her appearance, such as Adamantine.

Was that Noah really the same 'Useless Noah'?

And was that Iris really the same 'Pig Iris'?

Timassa seemed to have grown wary of Noah and Iris, although they had saved Arthur and Jon's lives, they emanated a powerful presence that made her instinctively feel like they were up to no good.

Jon, in the other case, did not fear them at all, in fact, he was slowly growing strangely fascinated.

It was as if something on Noah made him want to follow him, some kind of essence within his existence.

As the party continued walking through the Dungeon, the Blood Progenitor, who had been watching things over in silence, spoke to Noah.

"You have already shown them your Skills… Are you sure about that? What if they tell the teachers and other students and end up making many people grow interested or suspicious about you? Such things might end up making your plans be difficult to accomplish," said the Blood Progenitor.

"I know. But it is not like I am letting them go. I will find an opportunity to convert all three into Dhampirs by my bite or Ghouls by Iris' bite," said Noah, mentally communicating with the Blood Progenitor.

"Hm, well, it seems that you have a plan, do you?" asked the Blood Progenitor.

"Nothing too complicated. But I am guessing already that based on how this whole test works… that other students might come to steal our Cores," said Noah.

"What? Oh, you mean…?" muttered the Blood Progenitor.

"So you realized. Indeed, this whole test seems to be built like this. I don't know if it is really intentional or not. But there is no way that each party would be able to gather 20 Cores each in 7 hours, there is a limit of how many monsters spawn on a Dungeon through these hours after all. Sooner or later, students will begin to attack each other to steal Cores, and most likely, as we are considered to be very weak, we will fall into their primary target…" said Noah to the Blood Progenitor.

"Heh. This world is really filled with scum… I like it," said the Blood Progenitor.

"The scum is everywhere, even in the teachers, they must have intentionally done it like this, so they can also get to test which students are truly qualified to fight against other hunters, which are often seen as more valuable for obvious reasons. After all, this world is dominated by enormous organizations that fight against each other constantly through the Sectors. What they want the most is not someone that can kill monsters (as everyone with a power can), but those with the talent to fight against other humans with powers," said Noah.

"You've figured a lot on your own…" said the Blood Progenitor.

"Not really, as a useless human, I studied a lot of how this world worked in my vast free time in between bullying and classes," said Noah.

As the party continued their trip, Noah decided to check Iris's progress through her status panel, as she noticed him glancing at her, she flushed a bit.

[Iris]

[Bloodline: Dhampir (Awakening)]

[Vitality: 26]

[Mind: 27]

[Force: 27]

[Skill(s): [Demon Phantom Fox: 31 (C)], [Dhampir: - (S)], [Undying Body: (A)], [Subordinate's Loyalty: - (A)], [Poisonous Black Nails: 43 (D)], [Lesser Blood Manipulation: 27 (E)], [Rage Mode: 14 (D)], [Telepathy: 5 (D)]

Much like Noah, Iris had also hunted a few Goblins on her own yesterday and had mange dot increase her stats by a bit, although not as much as Noah.

She had also gotten the Telepathy Skill, which she used to chat with Noah without speaking a word.

"Noah-sama, are you looking at my status? I've grown a bit more…" she said with a slight proudness.

"I can see that. Although this is not enough, let's make sure to hunt any monster we come across in here, you need to grow stronger," said Noah rather expressionlessly.

"Sure thing!" said Iris.

"GRRAAOOH…!"

Suddenly, the party was startled by the roar of a giant feline!

A large, two meters tall shadow emerged from within the trees, leaping towards Jon!

Flash!

"T-That's a Shadow Lynx!" said Arthur, pointing at it as Jon was startled by the fierce emerald eyes of the monster!

The mass of shadows then revealed large paws filled with sharp claws, pointing them towards Jon!

"Ah!" cried Jon in surprise, falling into the ground and being left at the mercy of the beast!

"Blood Blade," said Noah, as he summoned his Blood Sphere, taking a chunk of blood from it and shaping it as a blade of crystalized blood in less than a second!

Flash!

Arthur, Timassa, and Jon were left in disbelief as Noah suddenly summoned such a powerful long-ranged attack!

Slash!

The blade penetrated right through the Shadow Lynx, slashing through its flesh and throwing the beast to the sides, saving Jon's life!

"GRRAAAOOH…!"

The beast, however, seemed to have a large vitality, as it quickly stood up and fiercely leaped to the nearest target, its mouth was salivating, it seemed to be incredibly hungry, completely disregarding the wound on its back!

Flash!

"Bolt Arrow!" said Timassa, conjuring her Skill and launching it towards the Shadow Lynx, as the powerful lightning impacted the feline creature with a loud explosion!

Boom!

"GROOARR…!"

However, the Shadow Lynx completely tanked the hit, leaping right towards Arthur, as Timassa was not able to protect him with her shield this time!

"It's rather strong…" said Noah, appearing right beside the Shadow Lynx as he unleashed a barrage of slashing attacks towards the beast, throwing it through the air!

Clash!

"GRRAAOOH…!"

The creature quickly stood up, breathing heavily, as Iris emerged right beside it without it noticing in time!

"GRAAAH!"

Roaring like a beast herself, Iris shrouded her body with her Demon Phantom Fox and Rage Mode Skills, enhancing her Attribute Values and raining the monster with her slashing and poisonous nail attacks!

Slash! Slash! Slash!

"GROAR!"

The Shadow Lynx leaped out after taking some serious damage, trying to run away!

"You're not going anywhere!" said Noah maliciously, firing a large Blood Spear towards the beast's torso, impaling it as it tried to escape!

Clash!

"GRROAARR…!"

Poof!

The creature released a small agonizing shriek before disappearing into black smoke, leaving some Cores behind.

"A-Amazing…" muttered Arthur, even Timassa had begun to see Noah differently as well.

"Well, things haven't ended yet, it seems that we got some more unwanted visits," said Noah, pointing at a pair of larger Shadow Lynxes who emerged from the bush!

-----