Ascension of the Primalist [A Tamer Class, LitRPG]

Seth dashed toward the Earth Elemental in front of him while Colossus slammed into the two on the right. Flanking them from the side, Nightmare unleashed Mantle of Terror and the oppressive wave of bloodlust surged outward, washing over the trio of golem-like creatures. The direwolf followed with a concussive howl focused on the Elemental Colossus was already engaging. The creature's stone form shuddered as the scorpion began to strike with his tails and pincers.

For the past few clashes, Seth and Nightmare had switched up their approach. They no longer struck the same target—not because the tactic was flawed, but because it wasn't necessary anymore. Splitting up simply made clearing enemies faster.

Seth poured aether through the grooves of Huntbound Rush, and the dark blades of Dusk Scythes surged forth on his forearms. Just as he was about to reach the Elemental in front of him, a blur of motion erupted from his left. Colossus whipped his tails forward, the barbed tips glistening with venom as they struck the enemy with blinding speed.

'Thanks, Colossus!' Seth exclaimed.

A volley of rock spikes shot from the ground before the Earth Elemental and hurtled toward Seth. He slipped between them with fluid precision, never breaking stride, then launched himself forward and carved into the creature's chest with his Dusk Scythes. Each cut tore through the stone as if it were soft clay, sending chunks of granite flying. The creature let out a pained screech and slammed its fists down, forcing Seth to use Shadow Step and reappear a dozen feet away.

On the other side of the chaotic melee, Nightmare tore through his own target. The shadow coming from his maw was no longer the superficial cloud of smoke that it had once been—it was now a focused stream of corrosive energy that plunged deep and ate the Elemental from within. In less than a few seconds, he'd severed one of the golem's hovering limbs, which crashed to the ground with a heavy thud. The moment the creature turned to retaliate, Colossus's taunt rippled out, forcing it to turn back and hammer the scorpion's impenetrable shell uselessly while giving the direwolf even more time to attack it from behind.

As he lunged forward again, Seth wove through his own Elemental's clumsy punches before plunging his blades of condensed shadow into its chest and ripping from side to side. Even if it was a Low-Iron beast with impressive Toughness, the combined effects of Nightmare's aura and Colossus's new venom had lowered its defenses so extensively it had taken Seth no more than seven strikes to turn the creature into a heap of lifeless stones.

Nightmare finished off his opponent a second later, tearing its head from its torso with a vicious bite and letting the body crumble onto the cave's floor. Without pausing, he and Seth both converged on the last Elemental, which was still striking Colossus. As expected, the creature didn't stand a chance, and it joined the others in the afterlife before Colossus's taunt had even expired.

Seth knelt to retrieve the three beaststones—even if he knew Colossus wouldn't want them because of their low Ranks and the meager attributes they would provide—and stuffed them into his pockets, which were starting to feel heavy. Thanks to the continued distortion field, he still couldn't use his Endless Pouch.

The Molten Titan they had escaped from two days prior was probably the source—the thing's powerful aura likely radiated from several floors down onto them. And yet, Colossus and Nightmare kept insisting on going in that direction because it was where the Earth aether was the most dense.

Seth cast Intermediate Identify on Colossus, both to look at the scorpion's attributes and Colossus's new spell once more.