Ascension of the Primalist [A Tamer Class, LitRPG]

The three-finned Fishlord suddenly grabbed the blond youngster from the line of prisoners and, with its fang-like knife, sliced both of his ankle tendons. The adventurer let out a gut-wrenching scream, yet without seeming to care about the Elementalist’s reaction, the giant humanoid creature tossed him into the circle, right in front of the small Fishlord.

Seth's throat constricted, and his blood threatened to boil over. Taking slow, measured breath, he restrained himself from charging headlong and watched the grotesque scene.

The young man was still writhing in pain when the small Fishlord—clearly a trainee of some sort—lunged at him with its spear. Already crippled and in agony, the Elementalist could only feebly lift up his hand to defend himself. However, the shackles around his wrists immediately emitted a faint glow and snuffed out the aether gathering in his palm before any spell could form.

There was no honor or decency in that 'fight.' It was pure butchery disguised as training. The Fishlord mercilessly drove its spear into the defenseless youngster, circling him like a predator and striking his back repeatedly as he cried out on the ground, his screams drowned out by the rhythmic chants of the spectating Fishlords.

Then, just as Seth felt the young man would finally succumb to his injuries—now barely conscious and covered in blood—a two-finned Fishlord stepped into the circle and knelt beside him. Less than a second later, aether surged around its clawed hands, and water spurted out, enveloping the bloodied and battered adventurer with a soft glow that began closing his wounds. The young man's pained cries subsided into weak sobs, and the surrounding crowd roared with renewed vigor.

'They're using captured humans as training dummies,' Seth hissed, disgust and wrath making his guts roil as he moved closer, still under the veil of Illusionary Emptiness. 'Healing them to tear them apart again later. No wonder that man asked me to kill him.'

'Those are no arcane beasts,' Nightmare retorted, glaring at the three-finned Fishlord and the two-finned ones beside it.

Seth’s nails dug into his palms as he studied the sea of humanoid creatures—there was no way they could rescue any of the prisoners right now. They would have to abandon the man. Again. 'We’ll have to pick off the Irons one by one, until there’s only that three-finned left.'

Nightmare growled inwardly. 'That’ll take too long.'

Seth's golden eyes locked onto the three-finned Fishlord, who tossed the whining Elementalist aside. Over the past eleven days, they had slain seventeen Irons. To free these people, they’d need to quadruple that amount in the upcoming two weeks. And for that to happen, they had to lure the bastards out of the village.

'Get ready to run back to the cluster of rocks,' Seth said, drawing an arrow from his quiver and fitting it to his bowstring. 'I'll make sure they come after us. So we can ambush them.'

Nightmare stretched his legs beside him, claws digging into the wet soil. 'I like the idea. Playing the prey while being predators.'

'Exactly.'

Seth's fingers tingled and his heart pounded in his chest as he ignored the pain from his wound and took aim at the three-finned Fishlord. The giant creature had just snatched up another prisoner—a black-haired woman riddled with large scars from head to toe. Holding his breath, Seth released the arrow and flickered out of Illusionary Emptiness.

The projectile whistled through the air, crossing the distance in an instant before hitting the Fishlord's left shoulder. As expected, the Copper arrow barely grazed the creature’s green skin, leaving only a faint scratch. Seizing the occasion, Seth cast Identify.