Book 2: Chapter 1 (4/7)

"Stupid beast, aren't you too confident? Do you have a name?”

“The name is Vedas.”

“Very well, stupid beast Vedas. Let me show you what it meant to be strong." Kain smirked as he used twenty percent of his mana pool to casted [Soul Bridge] to conjure Finwe and commanded him to attack. Arthur also casted [Soul Bridge] to conjure Arwen and commanded her to assist Finwe in fighting with the Black Panther Vedas.

Vedas didn't know Kain and Arthur had such strong creatures bound to their Conjurer Souls, but Finwe and Arwen won’t be strong enough to make him back down from this fight. Kain rushed Arthur, "What are you waiting for!? Get Sofia and leave!"

Arthur ran toward Sofia and touched her on the shoulder then casted [Warp Infusion] to switch places with the Skeleton Warrior he conjured earlier at the camp. Reappearing back at the camp, Arthur said, "Professor Lawson, please revive Sofia immediately. I don't know how long she had been dead."

Cade started chanting for the [Resurrection] spell and has it in her ready to cast list since Kain and Arthur left. She immediately casted it on Sofia to revive her. Seeing Sofia was revived, everyone sighed in relief. That means Sofia didn’t die that long because If she died for more than thirty minutes, her corpse wouldn't be able to resurrect.

Arthur screamed out loud, "We don't have time to relax! Everyone immediately leaves this location now. Kain is fighting with a Legend-tier Black Panther that uses Black Magic. It could cast [Demon Anatomy V] which means its level is at least 45. None of us will be able to fight against it. We must leave here while we still can!"

"What about Kain? Why didn't he come back here with you?" Cade asked.

"Professor Lawson, Kain had to stay and fight that magical creature to get us enough time to flee from here. The Black Panther is powerful enough to kill all of us so we needed to leave now. Kain is very tough and clever. He will figure out a way to escape."

Sofia gained back the ability to speak, she said, "I saw the Black Panther but somehow I couldn’t react or speak. I must have been hit by his [Puppeteer] spell."

Cade gave the command for all the Student Mages to follow her running toward the South direction to get out of this magical forest. Cade thought about using her firecrackers to give a signal for other professors to come to assist Kain. But after a second thought, she decided not to use it. Not because Cade hated Kain for disrespecting her, but because no other professors are Legend-tier and they are probably too far from here to be able to see her firecrackers. Arthur banished all the Thunder Eagles he conjured earlier because it won’t be able to help Kain, Finwe, and Arwen in fighting back the Black Panther.

Vedas can use Legend-tier Black Magic, which means it can cast [Puppeteer], a level 30 Black Magic spell, to control all creatures and/or humans that have weaker magical resistance. Sofia spoke earlier and confirmed the fact that Vedas could use [Puppeteer]. Even if Kain and Arthur cast [Conjure Ice Gargoyle], their Ice Gargoyles will be brainwashed and controlled by Vedas’s [Puppeteer] spell.

Arthur thought to himself, “I’m not abandoning you, Kain Almos. I know you are tough and wouldn’t be killed by that Black Panther. I will see you on the outside of this magical forest.”

All Student Mages quickly abandoned their personal belongings as soon as Cade gave the command for them to follow her. Well… except for one. The silly girl, Jaane Almos. Jaane heard Kain said Sofia was three miles to the East before he used the [Warp Infusion]. That means Kain is currently three miles to the East now. “Kain needed my help. He needed my [Stone Skin] and [Tree of Life] spells or he won’t be able to survive against a Legend-tier magical creature.” Jaane ran as fast as she could after sneaking away from other Student Mages.

Back to Kain. Every time Vedas fly in his Demon Form, he will have to fight with Finwe while continuously dodging Astral Arrows shot by Arwen using her Astral Bow. And when it lands on the ground to attack Arwen, Finwe casted [Lightning Strike] spell to harass it. Kain calmly thought about what he should do next. If Kain conjures any more creatures, it will be brainwashed and controlled by Vedas’s [Puppeteer] spell. Finwe and Arwen are strong enough to resist Vedas’s [Puppeteer] spell, but any of Kain’s other creatures would not.

Kain can’t use his Blood Magic until Arwen is dead because if not, she will let Arthur know that Kain is a Blood Mage later. Was Kain being a hero by trying to stall this Black Panther as long as possible for the Student Mages to escape from this magical forest before he could start running? Nope.

At Kain and Arthur’s current levels, their Soul-Bound Creatures won’t be able to defeat a level 45 Saint-tier magical creature regardless of how much they tried. Kain only has one Blood Ring with him, and his Second Soul has no Blood Equipment at this time. That means when Kain’s blood pool ran out, he wouldn't be able to survive against Vedas if the fight continued. However, that scenario likely wouldn’t happen. Kain knows for sure he could defeat this Black Panther using only the blood pool inside his Blood Ring. That was why Kain’s Second Soul didn’t run around in the Blood Mages Guild asking to borrow some Magical Blood Equipment. Unless there is another Legend-tier magical creature lurking nearby, Kain had no problem in defeating Vedas.

“Hmm… what should I do next?” Kain asked himself after seeing Vedas continue fighting strong. “It had been more than ten minutes already. Does this foul beast have unlimited mana or something?”

[Demon Anatomy I - V] use the caster’s mana to keep the demon’s form active. There are pros and cons to it. Pros: The caster won’t be tired while fighting in his/her demon’s form because it doesn’t use stamina. Cons: It actively drains mana every second to keep the demon’s form active.

Four minutes later, Arwen was finally exhausted and got killed by Vedas. Kain immediately activated [Infused Blood] to tap into the blood pool of his Blood Ring and then casted [Abyssal Flesh] to transform himself into a Flesh Monster.

Vedas was surprised to see this, he asked, “Blood Magic? Are you a Blood Mage?”

“Yeah beast, I am a Blood Mage. What? Don’t tell me you are going to back down now.” Kain said it like a joke to taunt Vedas because he was genuinely hoping Vedas would not back down. It would be hard to chase after a Black Panther on foot.

“I haven’t eaten Blood Mage before. I’m glad to try it out tonight.” Vedas roared then flew toward Kain to attack him using his battle axes.

“That’s more like it.” Kain was happy with Vedas’s decision and praised him for his courage.