Chapter 212: Team Effort
Chapter 210
Ray stared in confusion because it seemed like time slowed down in his eyes as he saw the blast smash into the beast’s head above him.
Immediately, he saw cracks appear on the perfectly skull-like armor that had previously taken him several minutes to even fracture, despite his Advanced-ranked gauntlets and monstrous strength.
The beam, which couldn’t do anything to their thin legs earlier other than destabilize them, had managed to completely crack the beast’s head.
Actually, it did more than just crack it, because in the next moment, the blast continued through and burst out the other end.
It left a gaping, hollow hole in the creature’s skull, with black blood falling down on Ray like a sudden rainstorm.
The force of the impact also sent the beast’s lifeless body hurtling through the air; it bounced across the ground for a few moments before ending in a long skid into the deepest part of the cavern.
That area had no lighting and was instead covered in a deep darkness which, for some reason, Ray was unable to see into even with his superior vision.
Turning toward the direction where the blast had originated, the Tribrid could see his best friend panting softly, but overall, a triumphant smile played on his face.
Van’s gaze drifted to the core nestled in the housing of his cannon hand.
The glow from earlier had dimmed significantly, but it still gleamed softly with residual power.
’That was a massive one. If I try to do that again, the core will become totally useless and dead. But if I decide to perform a smaller discharge, then I think I have two uses left for it before it expires,’ he calculated in his mind.
Then, a loud growl snapped his attention back up.
He saw that the last remaining beast now had its full focus on him.
Its muscles twitched, about to lunge forward for a lethal attack.
Ray caught sight of this movement.
Swiftly performing a Chinese get-up, he flipped backward and landed on his feet before glaring in the direction of the monster.
The Advanced-ranked skeletal beast immediately lunged toward Van.
’Guess I was right,’ Van mused inwardly as he stared at the predator rushing his way.
’... They are hypersensitive to sounds, and that’s how they discovered us here. They react to the loudest noise in the room.
This was why as I remained perfectly still and breathed minimally, they barely registered my presence—especially since Ray was the one making all the commotion.’
The boy paused as the beast closed the six-meter distance rapidly.
It was just two meters away before it would descend upon him and possibly rip him to shreds.
But for some reason, he wasn’t as scared as he was supposed to be.
’But the moment I made the loudest sound using my cannon blast, it forgot about Ray and is instead heading my way. Hm... interesting.’
Now, the beast was just a meter away from him, which forced the boy to point his cannon hand forward, ready to unleash another blast at close range.
He didn’t even have to, as Ray suddenly appeared in the beast’s path.
Without delay, the Tribrid sent his fist bashing into the creature’s jaws.
Due to the speed of its charge, the monster was unable to change its trajectory in time.
It delivered itself directly into Ray’s fist, which proceeded to send the beast tumbling across the ground and sliding a considerable distance away.
Digging its tail into the earth, the creature slid to a halt almost instantaneously.
Then, like a coiled spring, it rushed forward again.
Its new target? Ray!
Not like the Tribrid minded at all.
His gauntlets vanished into his inventory, and instead, a new notification appeared.
[Lunar Claws Activated]
[-15 MF]
Ray’s hands shifted into a pair of deadly claws that gleamed with lethal intent.
He shifted into a combat stance as the beast reached his position and then proceeded to leap into the air toward him with immense force.
The tail descended on him from above, but with calm precision, Ray smashed the appendage away with one of his claws.
In the same movement, he lunged forward, aiming a sharp stab toward the beast’s exposed side.
With a sudden, violent spin, the abomination sent its clawed feet lashing toward his head instead.
Quickly tilting his head to the side, he avoided the lethal strike by the skin of his teeth.
Before he could make a counterattack, the beast had already leaped away, landing several meters from the boy while snarling at him furiously.
"Oh? Don’t you want to get reunited with your family? Come on!" Ray taunted, his head tilted to the side with a defiant smirk.
He paused for a second, thinking, before shaking his head.
"Nevermind. I will come to you instead."
Bang!
A small, low bang was heard as the boy dashed forward with full speed.
It didn’t take him more than a few seconds before he leaped into the air above the creature, ready to pommel it into the ground.
The beast was prepared, its tail whipping in the boy’s direction with predatory intent.
However, Ray didn’t make an attempt to dodge the attack nor did he activate a skill to block.
In the next second, a beam burst forward from behind him.
It wasn’t as large as the previous discharge but was significantly smaller and more concentrated, smashing the tail away from Ray by a wide margin.
BAM—!
Ray smashed his fists into the beast’s head, feeling the smaller spikes ripping into his flesh, but he gritted his teeth and pushed forward through the stinging pain.
Van began stepping forward as another beam hit the front leg of the monster, causing it to buckle to the ground.
Then, in one fluid motion, Ray twirled around in time to let the tail whistle past his face.
Before the appendage could retreat too far, he yanked it back and cocked his hand backward, exposing the beast’s vulnerable red fleshy side underneath the tail in Van’s direction.
"NOW!"
BOOOM!
A much larger blast from Van shot forward.
Within a single second, the energy tore through the red fleshy part of the beast and continued onward until it shattered the creature’s head from the inside out.
The core in his cannon hand died down instantly, becoming as dull and lifeless as common glass.
The beast hit the ground with a low, heavy thud, and so did Ray, who was beginning to pant heavily; his claws receded swiftly into his hands.
Before he could even regain his composure, a notification flashed urgently in front of his face.
[Congratulations! You are now level 10]
[You have reached the requirements for an evolution.]
[Beginning evolution now.]
’Wait. Don’t I get a cou—’
[Evolution begun. Good luck]
’Fuck.’
"AAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
A searing pain rushed through his entire being, forcing him to hit the hard ground.
A thunderous scream of pure agony ripped from his throat and echoed throughout the cavern.