Chapter 33: Contract Beast
A gigantic octoped burst from beneath the rocks and soil of Guru Mountain, thundering into appearance before Igor.
The tremendous commotion left the monstrous Kadi aghast, his mouth agape. In his memory, even the most violent fights and killings on Dawn Peak hadn’t reached this level of intensity!
Seizing the moment, the Dark Alchemist quickly pulled up his hood and tightened his cloak. The bright sunlight was grating on him! He scrambled onto the octoped, gripped two antennae on its flat forehead, and desperately tried to maintain his balance.
The octoped began to shift its long, segmented body, each section emitting creaking sounds. Its eight long legs constantly moved back and forth, resembling waving feelers.
"I’ll let you taste the flavor of death, you bastard!" the Dark Alchemist roared, his already ravaged face contorting further with a mixture of delight and madness.
THUMP! The octoped extended one of its foremost legs—thin, long, and tipped with a sharp hook. This sharp, slender leg struck at Igor repeatedly, but each attack missed its mark. Igor leaped and dodged, his nimble movements causing every blow to crash into the rugged, narrow mountain path, instantly turning the relatively even surface into a chaotic mess.
"Mon...Monster..." The octoped’s appearance terrified the two dimwitted brothers. The tall, lanky one and the short, stout one were already huddled together, convulsing in fear. They rolled and crawled to evade the debris sent flying by the octoped’s attacks, seemingly forgetting they had legs of their own to escape.
After numerous failed attempts, both the octoped and the Dark Alchemist perched on it grew impatient. The creature increased its speed, but to no avail. Igor’s agile evasions, dodging left and right, left the hidden Kadi completely baffled. He even began to think that the fellow who had gone down with a single blow and this person before him were not the same individual at all. With such a high level of Physique Technique, how could he have been subdued so easily before?
Of course, Igor, possessing such agile Physique Technique, was not an easy opponent to defeat. His face showed no sign of tension, only a hint of disgust and an indefinable, well, excitement.
This inexplicable excitement stemmed from Igor’s very core. After all, he aspired to be an Adventurer. How could he not be thrilled by such a rarely seen Contract Beast? The only downside was that it had been summoned by Dark Arts, which admittedly dampened his enthusiasm somewhat.