Chapter 197: Jahrakal The Claw Beast
"What is it now?" Kim started to sweat as he stepped back from me.
I didn't blame him for reacting like that. Ever since we found out he was capable of using some of the cards from our system, he had basically turned into our lab rat. And honestly, it was great. The Bond System was far beyond what we expected. Kim had basically become the third user of the Limitless Bond system, although in a limited way.
And today was the last test we wanted to try.
"Don't worry, Kim. This is a challenge card. We'll be fighting a monster and we'll face it together," I reassured him.
The monster I selected from the [Colosseum of Might] deck was [Jahrakal, The Claw Beast].
"Alan, make sure you choose a common-rank monster, okay? Don't make the same mistake we did before," Bob suddenly said.
"What do you mean by 'we'?" I narrowed my eyes at him. Bob was the one who chose the monsters we fought before. Of course, we still remembered getting beaten flat by Gazelle and Bakuul. That's why this time we went for a common one.
And I just hoped it wouldn't be a pushover like the others.
I activated the card, and we were instantly teleported to the familiar colosseum. It was still as gloomy as before, with floating blue flames scattered across the sky, illuminating the battlefield.
"Where are we?! Did we just teleport?" Kim was shocked as he turned his head and looking at the surroundings. Ever since he met me and Bob, he had been surprised countless times.
Bob and I looked around, searching for our target.
"Kraaku! Kraaku!"
A sound heard from in front of us. From the darkness, the silhouette of a creature emerged from the mist. I squinted my eyes, trying to get a clearer look at the beast we were about to face.
And then we saw it.
The monster was about the same size as us, around 1.7 meters tall, standing on two legs. It had black fur and a face resembling an armadillo, with bright brown eyes devoid of pupils. Its legs were bent, with large muscles at its hips. But its most prominent feature was the massive claws protruding from its hands. They glowed faintly in the dark, and with just one glance, I knew they were extremely sharp.
I immediately equipped my gear, same as Bob.
"What formation are we using, Bob?" I asked.
"Let's go with Formation B!" Bob replied.
"Got it!"
Since Kim joined our party, we had come up with tactics depending on different situations. We created three formations: A, B, and C. Formation A was the one we had used many times before, formerly known as Gun and Slash. We then added two more formations, and now we were about to test the second one.
"Wait a minute! Let me check what I need to do in this formation first," Kim suddenly said as he pulled out his notebook and tried to read his notes. He was still not familiar with tactical combat.
"What are you doing reading in front of an enemy?!" Bob shouted.
"Kraaak! Kraaaku!"
Suddenly, Jahrakal burst forward at high speed and charged toward us. It had no intention of letting Kim finish reading.
"Evade!" I shouted as I jumped to my right. Bob leapt to the other side. Kim, however, stumbled and fell to the ground with his notebook slipping from his hand.
Jahrakal turned toward Kim and raised its claw, ready to pierce him. Kim twisted his body and screamed.
"Help me!"
"Iron Spike Bullet!"
Jahrakal was struck by several bullets and jumped back. Bob and I quickly moved beside Kim.
"I told you many times, focus during a fight! One second of hesitation and your life is gone," I said to him.
Kim nodded vigorously.
"Now let's go and beat this bastard!" Bob licked his lips.
I switched to the Veil Mage class and immediately cast Invisible on all of us. This was Formation B's tactic, an ambush-style method focused on eliminating the enemy through stealth.
While invisible, Bob and I rushed toward Jahrakal, who was turning its head left and right searching for its prey.
Formation B was perfect against enemies that relied solely on vision. But it still had a weakness. Invisible could hide our bodies, but not our scent. Therefore, this skill was weak against enemies with a strong sense of smell. Luckily, Jahrakal didn't seem to have a sharp nose.
Bob and I quickly moved to its sides and launched our attacks.
Suddenly, Jahrakal felt a sharp pain on its back as blood gushed out. Then another strike hit its leg.
"Kraaku! Kraaku!" It screamed in a high-pitched voice.
It swung its claws wildly in all directions, hoping to hit us. But Bob and I were already a few metres away. After a few moments, it stopped its frantic attacks.
"Let's go again," I whispered to Bob. The invisibility only lasted for one minute, and it consumed a lot of mana, especially when cast on multiple people. I needed to finish this quickly.
"Go!" Bob followed.
We charged again. I readied my Indra for the Arc Burst Combo, while Bob prepared to unleash his Windpiercer Routine.
Just one second before our attacks connected, Jahrakal did something unexpected.
It quickly crouched and dug into the ground before vanishing beneath it. Our attacks struck nothing but air.
"Where the hell did it go?!"
"It went underground!" Kim said.
The invisibility wore off. I scanned the area while Bob lay flat on the ground and pressed his ear against it.
"Do you hear anything?" I asked. Kim leaned in, also curious.
"Hmmm…" Bob closed his eyes, trying to focus. For a few seconds, he stayed still. Then suddenly, his eyes widened.
"It's coming up!" he shouted.
We immediately jumped away, and just as he said, Jahrakal burst out from the ground. Debris and broken stones scattered in all directions. We covered our faces from the impact.
The next moment, Jahrakal charged straight at me and swung its claw.
Ping!
I blocked it with Indra and sparks lit up the area.
"Ascending Slash!" Bob swung his Gaia Sword.
But once again, his attack missed. Jahrakal dug back into the ground.
"This bastard! It's playing dirty!" Bob scowled.
Looks like this wouldn't be as easy as we thought.