"Orange, huh? An awakened demon jackal. Then you must be the leader of this pack," Shin asked, cracking his knuckles.
The jackal growled in response. It began circling Shin, sizing him up.
What's up with everything sizing me up?
Shin stood unfazed, not even batting an eye as his back remained turned to the creature lurking behind him.
Shin yawned. The demon jackal walked up in front of him and tried staring him down as a form of intimidation.
Shin seemed unbothered by the creature's attempt and just stood there nonchalantly.
The beast grew irritated by this and lunged at Shin, who flawlessly evaded. The beast became even more agitated.
It lunged again, ferociously swiping at him. Shin continued to evade effortlessly, leaving the beast swiping at air.
Shin yawned as he observed the beast frantically trying to hit him.
As time went by, Shin started dodging faster and faster, the beast's claws slicing through the air with ungodly speed.
Well, one thing's for sure... the demon jackal is faster than the Brire bear, which is going to be a problem because I was betting on my speed.
The beast's attacks grew faster, giving Shin almost no chance to escape or counterattack. Its swipes were so swift that slash marks formed on nearby trees.
Ooh. Seems like you're in trouble now, Shin.
Bael jumped from tree to tree to avoid collateral damage but stayed close enough to witness the battle.
Shin continued dodging frantically. The beast then reeled back one of its paws and swiped hard at him.
He leaned back onto the ground as huge claw marks made of wind decimated the trees behind him.
Shin took the opportunity to jump back, but the beast was fast. Before he could react, huge claws were mere inches from his face.
Cling
The sound of claws hitting glass rang out. The beast jumped back, puzzled by what had occurred.
Shin quickly put his hand on his face and felt a cold glass surface hugging it. His mask had appeared just in the nick of time.
Saved by the mask.
Bael sighed as he leaned back on the branch, continuing to watch Shin.
The awakened demon jackal observed Shin once more. Its chest piece glowed bright green, as did the pieces on its hind legs.
Shin quickly got up and readied himself. The beast lunged at him with unprecedented speed.
It managed to catch Shin off guard and slashed him right through his chest. Shin reacted quickly and caught the beast's paw.
The mask on Shin's face vanished back into his skin, revealing his grinning face.
Gotcha.
Shin tightened his grip with his robotic arm and placed his right hand on the awakened demon jackal's chest.
"Dark Magic: Tier 3: Void Strike," a black orb formed from his hand and began pulling the creature's flesh.
It ripped the awakened demon jackal's body apart as it got sucked into the attack. Shin forcefully shrunk the orb as it tried to expand.
"Repulsion!" The orb shot out a blast at its chest, blowing its body in two. Shin remained holding its head as the body fell.
Shin panted, slightly out of breath. Bael quickly jumped down and dispatched the remaining dormant demon jackals.
"Very productive training," Bael said sarcastically as he stabbed the remaining demon jackal.
He walked over to the bush and retrieved their bags. Shin plopped onto the ground.
"Super productive (pants), 'cause now (pants) I can (pants) use that spell (pants) with less mana," Shin managed between gasps of air.
Bael looked at Shin with pity.
"Let's hope Satel can actually fix your mana problem," he said.
Shin got up, and the pair continued walking through the forest.