Chapter 56: General level Hell hound

[Three solider-soldier level Flame hounds detected!]

Seeing this Lucien's facial expression changed from gloomy to fearful. He was about to warn the others but then he saw three bright lights shooting towards them!

"Get back!" Lucien screamed as he flew past the Hex and Brian.

"Tier 2 magic wind path!" Lucien growled as threw his hand forward creating what looked like a wind tunnel behind him, leading deep into the forest.

The wind tunnel, made space for only one fireball to enter while the remaining two were diverted by the spell.

[-10mp]

[Mana: 20/50]

[Shadow paw activated]

"Follow the path, I will catch up to you guys soon" Lucien said he took a bold step forward, and with his hands coated in darkness aura, Lucien struck the human-sized fireball heading his way.

Boom!

[-5hp]

"…" Lucien felt like his palm was set ablaze as the impact forced him to retreat by two steps.

"WOW" Brian and Hex muttered while gazing at Lucien's broad back and his fluttering silver hair. They couldn't help but notice the glowing devil beats tattoo on his back glow as more darkness aura gathered around his palm.

At this point, the duo realized that Lucien was far stronger than them and for some reason, they felt like he was shrouded in mystery!

He really does know some tier two spells!

How the hell is he able to use the darkness element when his two elements are lightning and wing?

Has he been hiding his true power?

No! That is not possible, no one can hide their magic from the affinity testing orb!

Pushing the thought aside, Brian and Hex ran towards the opposite side of the tunnel, saying the same words to Lucien as they left.

"Don't die…"

DING

[Quest completed…]

[Your teammates have acknowledged your strength and have subconsciously accepted you as their leader… Well done!]

[+500exp]

Seeing this Lucien was stunned because he had already forgotten he was given this mission the very first day the team was created.

"I don't plan on dying any time soon!" Lucien replied to his fleeing teammates as he began taking bold steps towards the three soldier realm flame hounds.

Hearing this Brian and Hex shot him a final glance before they kept running again…

ROAR!

ROAR!

ROAR!

The three flame hounds growled before sprinting forward. These magic beasts had thick orange fur with yellow stripes all over their huge bodies. These beasts were as big as a full-grown lion and their tails, claws, and fangs were completely made of fire.

"Come!" Lucien growled as he dashed forward as well!

Whoosh!

While dashing forward he was met by three fireballs but even then he showed no signs of fear!

"Hayai-Ken second form; Wind steps!" Lucien growled as his body movements changed.

Whoosh!

From afar it looked like he was performing some sort of ancient dance while walking on his toes but no one could deny the effectiveness of his actions. He moved so freely and swiftly, barely dodging all three fireballs but even then he looked calm!

[Wind creek dagger summoned!]

"Charge! Roar!"

Lucien wasted no time in activating the lighting spell of his magic weapon, after which he activated the wind creek spell as well. His body turned into a silver light as it shot towards the flame hounds.

Bang!

[-3hp]

"Argh!" Lucien gritted his teeth in pain as he and one of the flame hounds collided, forcing it to retreat but leaving his hands bleeding

[WARNING!!!]

[Blazing Wheel activated!]

"What?" Lucien was yet to recover but then he was forced to see two massive wheels of flame twice his size descending on him.

"Kill me? Impossible!" Lucien growled viciously.

[Shadow Cloak activated]

[Shadow Hop activated!]

Upon receiving these two notifications, Lucien was covered by a cloak of darkness after which he sank into the ground and vanished.

BOOM!

The two flame wheels hit the ground, revealing two angered flame hounds who seem to have lost their prey!

[Shadow hop!]

Whoosh!

Lucien jumped out of the shadow of the third flame hound, piercing its stomach with his hands with was replaced with the claws of the black devil!

"Shadow paw…" Lucien muttered as the darkness aura surged into the body of the magic beast causing it to stagger while it wailed in pain.

Whoosh!

Lucien's figure sank back into the shadow as he repeated these actions on the other two confused magic beasts and when he was done Lucien proceeded to resurface a few meters away from the three injured soldier-level magic beasts. He felt a bit dizzy and his vision was a bit blurry. Without anyone telling him, Lucien already assumed this happened because he used the system's abilities for too long!

[Shadow steal activated!]

DING!

[+3% Beast assimilation progress]

[30mp recovered]

[Hosts has stolen the shadows of three soldier-level magic beasts… The host has completely recovered from his previous injuries]

[+5 mana points]

[+5 health points]

DING!

[Host: Lucien]

[Race: Beast-man]

[Realm: 2nd sky of the Human realm]

[Charisma: 20]

[Hp: 35/35]

[Mana: 55/55]

[Condition: Healthy]

[Exp: 670]

___________________________________________________

Whoosh!

Reaching the end of the wind tunnel, Hex and Brian couldn't help but turn back when they noticed that the wind tunnel was already closing. Thanks to the tier two spell, it prevented the other lesser magic beasts from following them.

Lucien was much stronger than they expected. He seemed confident when he asked them to leave but they couldn't help but worry.

"Where are you looking?"

[Shadow mark skill activated]

[Shadow hop skill activated]

Lucien's voice echoed from Brian's shadow and slowly he emerged from it. His eyes were pitch black just like that of the devil beast and behind him was the faint figure of the devil beast standing gallantly behind him.

"What are you?" Hex and Brian said in unison as they took two steps back but their shadows didn't move from its location until he was done emerging.

"What am I? I am Lucien…" Lucien answered casually before walking past them.

Remembering that the magic beasts were still behind they hastily followed Lucien.

"The soldier-level magic beasts are injured… they are the leaders of the packs so the weaker beasts under them won't pursue us…" Lucien had no intentions of running and spending his energy recklessly.

"Why do you think the empire was invaded?… why do you think they remained hidden in the empire for so long?... They were after an artifact that wields a power called beast assimilation… which allows the user to claim the power of any magic beasts he kills… I ended up getting it…" Lucien tried to explain without revealing the system and more about it.

Listening to him, they soon realized that the abilities Lucien just showcased belong to the black devil magic beast, making it even more convincing.

"I guess the emperor decided to keep this a secret for a reason…" Hex said but it sounded more like a question.

"Yes… only the emperor and Instructor Han know about this" Lucien said.

With that said the others remained silent. They silently agreed to keep this power a secret but this couldn't make them wonder how powerful Lucien would become with the power he has now. Once he kills a thousand magic beasts doesn't that mean he will have the powers of a thousand magic beasts?

Surprisingly, none of them felt afraid of Lucien's potential because they all considered him a friend and not an enemy.

After twenty minutes or so they exited the forest and found themselves at the foot of the northern hill.

Lucien was about to take a step forward but he realized something. He noticed that the system was yet to reward him for surviving the encounter with the three soldier-level magic beasts, meaning that the mission was not yet over!

"I am sure they weakened flame hounds won't be able to follow me" Lucien muttered thoughtfully as he noticed the mission was far from over. Brian and Hex gazed at him, lost in confusion as they watched him pace around.

Suddenly…

Rumble!!!

Lucien, Brian, and Hex stiffened as they felt the air tremble under the aura of the magic beast standing behind them. It was at least two meters tall with blazing red eyes and a stench of death hovering all over it. Hiding with the darkness Lucien, Brian and Hex could only see its eyes that were pinned on them, leaving them with no choice but to shudder in fear.

"Fuck my life… This is a general-level magic beast! The Legendary Hell hound…" He muttered timidly.

"Something is wrong! How is it possible that a general level beast is here… it should be strong enough to wipe out the entire fresher class!" Hex said with a blank look on his face.

As someone who strongly believed in the cruel but effective system set up by his family, he knew it was possible for them to let a few soldier level magic beasts to roam free in the beginner section but he was a hundred percent sure that the academy had nothing to do with the general level beast gazing down at them right now!