Grace was a peculiar existence.
That is what Alice ultimately decided. Though this statement has long since lingered at the back of her head for a little while now, Alice could firmly believe it now.
Ambition... The driving force behind his newfound determination. It was ambition all along. Though that could be discerned by anyone.
Anyone could see - in his steps - that he was drawn towards something.
In his gaze, he looked into the future rather in the present. He moved like a slime, slithering into each altercation and emerging victorious... in some ways.
Fascinating.
That peculiar existence - Grace - was a fascinating one.
"Alice," Grace muttered. Her eyes turned to the boy next to her and saw his whole body tensed up, freezing up like a cube of ice. His eyes were direct, piercing even the sharpest of metal. Calculative. Determined.
That is when she knew--
Something was beginning to lurk in the shadow.
For Grace, he began to rapidly swing his head from one end to the other. His eyes analyzed his surroundings with intensity, his azure orbs glowing under the shining light of the sun.
Enhanced vision and the ability to see even in the darkest parts of the world.
"Nothing..."
There was nothing surrounding them.
Swish!
He was wrong. Behind him, something rough grappled his body, clutching his torso whole. It was rough and rigid, pressing and grazing his body.
What grabbed him--
A tree!
Alice was quick to act, unsheathing her sword from her scabbard and quickly wrapped it around with a column of beautiful fire. The flickering flames danced as she held the blade tightly, swinging it upwards. An arc of fire and sharpness pierced the tendrils of wood that clutch Grace tightly.
Now free, Grace backed away.
"Careful," Alice told. "It's a 2-star." She analyzed with her identifier glasses that Grace had given her upfront.
"A Slumbering Tree," Grace muttered. "A baby one at that." Usually, adult Slumbering Trees were on average a 3-star in difficulty. Which would be too much for them to handle by themselves.
However, if it's a 2-star--
Their chances were not bad at all!
"No need to hold back," Grace told Alice. "Go all in!" In the next beat of their heart, they leapt forward. Their feet left the grass below, and now they soared a bit off the ground as the Slumbering Tree awaited for their arrival.
Fundamentally, they weren't a difficult mana beast. Due to their nature being similar to that of a Venus flytrap, they don't have much offensive power aside from surprise attacks. Nor do they offer any movement. Moreover, due to it being made of wood, fire was its mortal enemy.
Swoosh!
"Fire ball!" From the palm of her hand, two fire balls were unleashed consecutively. Below, the Slumbering Tree erected many tendrils of earth in order to shield itself from the incoming flames.
BAM!
Clashing, a combustion of flames split away. Smoke flew towards all direction, disrupting Alice's perception of the field. She did not dive in, instead waited. Her body still and relaxed as her eyes analyzed for any suspicious movement.
But nothing came.
Her questions gained answers once the smoke cleared away and saw Grace leap upwards, avoiding various strikes of roots that pierced the air. Grace briefly glanced at Alice, nodding his head.
Before landing back down to the ground, Grace thrusted his hand out, summoning four daggers of light that glimmered brilliantly underneath the world. Shimmering, they disappeared as quickly as he summoned them.
The tendrils were cut, pieces falling.
The Slumbering Tree had no mouth and could not scream.
However, one could definitely tell that it was in absolute agony. in retaliation, the ground right below Grace erupted with another tendril. Sharp. Fast. Deadly. All three culminated into something that could behead Grace instantly.
But it's not enough.
Unsheathing the sword at his hip, Grace focused his mana around the blade. And, with a single swing, a swift light of blue exited the confines of the blade. A rush of mana, a direct arc of power flew downward, splitting the tendril in two.
Landing softly, Grace looked above.
Flinging herself from a nearby tree, Alice appeared from above, her body shining radiantly as she held the hilt of her blade with both hands. On the blade, her aptitude for imbuing mana into her blade shone brilliantly.
Flicker!
The flames danced once again. Holding it overhead, her obsidian eyes piercing through the air and even further into the poor Slumbering Tree. She did not waste another breath muttering a word.
Alice simply swung the blade.
Power pulsated through the air.
Grace watched as a wave of fire flew down, swiftly cutting the poor Slumbering Tree in two within the next few beats of their heart.
Swoooshhh!
The fire swayed beautifully as flames quickly wrapped around the Slumbering Tree. Again, it had no voice and could not scream. But its pain--it was evident and loud.
The flames chewed on the Slumbering Tree before it eventually consumed it fully, leaving only ash in its wake. It was an unfortunate end for a baby Slumbering Tree.
But its executioners had no word to say about what they just executed.
It was, after all, an enemy that threatened their life.
As the smell of ash reached their nose, Grace walked up to Alice.
"Let's move out. Can't stand the smell."
Alice nodded her head, inclined to agreeing with the sentiment that the smell was a terrible one. However, she took one last look of the Slumbering Tree before sighing.
"That Slumbering Tree appearing--there'll be more mana beasts from now on?"
Grace stopped and paused.
"Yes," Grace nodding, confirming. "We will absolutely see more of them from now on." They walked and walked, soon encountering more mana beasts.
They varied--many of them being baby Slumbering Trees. Some were 1-star birds that flew beautifully into the air. In order to defeat a multitude of them, they maintained a steady pace.
Unrelenting.
Calculative.
But swift.
Though... things might be much more harrowing than they would have originally imagined.
Fwoom!
A tendril flew forward, piercing the air. Grace flung himself over to the right, landing safely as the root of another Slumbering Tree narrowly missed.
Alice narrowed her eyes, readying her body.
"2-stars," she told Grace. "But the mana it exudes--it's close to achieving 3-stars. Definitely the strongest one yet." Grace nodded his head. This would mark it as the strongest mana beast they had faced yet.
But...
Unsheathing his iron blade, it glimmered under the sun. Behind him, two daggers of light appeared. They glowed a violent azure but maintained a gentle hum.
"This is nothing," Grace muttered.
Breakthroughs were arbitrary. The finish line between each Grade differed greatly from person to person. And it is up to the person themselves - submerging themselves into battle, victory, and their skillsets - that allows for them to advance.
And right now--
Grace was on the verge of another one. Underneath the rays of sunlight, echoing and casting shadows, Grace felt his body hum one with his techniques.
Swiftly, Grace and Alice dove in.