Continuing into the forest, Cass and luna decided to stop and eat. Out of his [Box] Cass summoned 2 bread rolls, 2 bowls of hot soup, and some preserved fish.
'I am still amazed everytime you do that. I know it is magic, but, for something physical to just appear out of nowhere, it still shoakc some to see it!'
'I know. It isn't a battle skill. I can't fight with it, but it is like having a storage ring built into my magic system. Time moves much slower inside, so if we put hot soup in it in the morning, it is still warm when we take it out for lunch!'
Cass had already told his woman about his dual affinity and composite skill. She agreed that until he can join a magic tower, which is honor-bound to protect its disciples, she would tell nobody.
After finishing a meal which could not normally be enjoyed inside of a forest, the pair continued their journey through the trees. Luna soon spoke without turning her head towards the man at her side.
'We are being tracked by star beasts. They must have smelled our lunch and come to investigate. I can identify the scent of 4 of them. The same type of beast as before.
I don't expect they will be too much of a hassle for you to deal with, but I will stay close just in case I am needed.' Cass recalled his spears from [Box], and with that, Luna dashed off straight ahead, leaving Cass walking alone. As soon as the beasts noticed that Luna had disappeared, they attacked.
Cass took a defensive stance, and noticed that two of the beasts were charging straight towards him, while the other 2 had split up to try and flank. The trees blocked his line of sight, and not wanting to get caught by a sneal attack, he decided the only thing to do is to reduce the number of enemies.
He started running at the two who were charging him down, they did not deviate from their straightforward charge, allowing Cass to release the spear in his off hand with a throw. This time he did not use any mana, just his own body. It was more than sufficient.
The spear flew towards the charging beast, penetrated it's snout, and pinned it's head to the floor. The beast, stopped dead during its brainless attack, died with a mouthful of purple blood.
[Slain 1-star beast - 10 points]
Cass charged down the other beast, and when it leapt into the air, Cass thrust his remaining spear forward, penetrating its skull. It fell to the floor limp.
[Slain 1-star beast - 10 points]
The other two beasts came charging from opposite sides of him, trying to catch him in a pincer formation. Cass sent a 15 mana [Thunderball] at the beast to his right, and dashed over to retrieve his thrown spear.
The beast took the ball of energy in the face. Its body turning stiff because of the electricity while charging full force, it slammed into the floor head first and fell unconscious.
Cass turned to face the final remaining conscious beast with his spears, dispatching it in short order when it tried to jump for his face. The unconscious beast which had taken the [Thunderball] had its throat slit.
[Slain 1-star beast - 10 points]
[Slain 1-star beast - 10 points]
'Do they always attack people the same way? By jumping and trying to bite?'
Luna, who had been watching while squatting on a nearby tree branch, jumped down and walked towards Cass. 'Exactly correct. They hunt in packs, so they can use pack tactics, but other than surrounding you, they can't really do any more than charging and jumping.'
The 4 beasts were unceremoniously skinned and stripped of their meat. It all went into Cass's box. He could feel through instinct that despite having the remains and meat of 7 beasts, his spears, and pills inside, it still had almost half its capacity remaining.
7/10 beasts down, 3 to go.
Cass and Luna continued tracking the footprints and excrement of more star beasts. Their journey led them to a large tree with what appeared to be a hole burrowing underneath its roots. 'I smell beasts inside, but they are different to the ones from before. I don't recognise this smell.'
Unable to enter himself, Cass decided that luring them out was the best way to get to them. He used some of the meat from the previously hunted one-star beast and laid it not far from the hole. He climbed onto the roots of the tree, and waited.
30 seconds later, a medium-sized star beast which looked like a red-haired ape poked its head out from under the tree, followed by a second close behind. The two beasts strolled over to the lump of meat on the floor, each trying to eat it from either end.
The ensuing tug of war that followed, lasted all of 5 seconds before Cass jumped from his place on top of the tree roots, and impaled both of the fighting beasts through their skulls. He twisted the spears, cracking the craniums of the already dead beasts, and pulled them out of the beasts' heads. He gave his spears a shake to clean off the blood.
[Slain 1-star beast - 10 points]
[Slain 1-star beast - 10 points]
A deafening roar echoed out from underneath the tree, as a creature which could only be described as a red-haired gorilla, and one of it's smaller counterparts, emerged from the hole. Cass took his stance, ready to fight.
-Luna POV-
From my vantage point near the tree Cass had been standing on, I could clearly see the way he descended upon the two beasts fighting over the meat. They didn't stand a chance
My Cass was too much for them. He has really impressed me today. His days hunting game before adulthood have helped him out a lot. I was just thinking about how I haven't needed to step in at all during this hunting trip, when that red-haired abomination came out from under the tree.
It was a 2-star beast. My blood ran cold. Cass is still an early-stage Neophyte, a 2-star beast is too much for him to handle alone. The smaller red-haired beast charged at Cass, but he dealth with it no problem, he then turned his attention to the 2-star beast beating its chest like a drum before it charges.
I made my decision and joined the fight, That's why I am here, to clear out the larger threats so he can grow stronger without being ruined. I released my aura, and activated my skill [power up (2)]. I gained some system points when I killed the 2 star beast on Cass's birthday, and used them to upgrade the skill.
With the beast still focused on Cass, I leapt from the root base of the tree, and slammed my closed fist into the back of the Apes head. It did not appreciate it. The moment I hit it, it turned to face me. I immediately had to step back to avoid it's swinging appendage.
It turned to face me, completely ignoring Cass behind it. That was its fatal mistake. It roared in pain and turned around again, and this time I could see that Cass's speak was embedded in its back. He had used the opportunity that it turned to face me to launch a throwing attack.
He hadn't hesitated for even one second. Most combatants would think twice about doing something like that, opting instead to hide or get distance. But not my Cass. My Cass pressed his advantage like a true hunter. I really must reward him later tonight. I will have to think of something special.
The spear was embedded in the perfect location, even if the beast wanted to, it wouldn't have been able to pull it back out, it couldn't reach if it tried. Enraged by Cass's spear it once again directed its attention towards him, so this time I took advantage. I dashed in and used [Open palm strike] with a good amount of mana on the base of the spear, it penetrated so far that my fingers brushed against the creature's fur.
It started wheezing and groaning. I knew it was on its last legs, so I created some distance, waiting for it to fall by itself, but that never happened. As soon as I circled around slightly, Cass saw I was out of harm's way and launched his remaining spear at the beast. This time, I know he used mana. It hit the beast where a human would have their heart, and penetrated very deeply.
The beast was basically dead already. But then it fell forward on top of the spear that was half protruding from its chest. I had only landed 2 hits on the beast; Cass had done the rest. My man, the early-stage neophyte, could end the life of a 2-star beast as long as I could redirect its attention.
I knew his arm must have been hurting after using mana to make the throw, so after stripping the beast for parts and meat, we decided it would be best to make our way home. Hunt completed.