Kael had finally managed to exit the Giant Tree Forest and reached the source of the explosion sound.
As he soared through the chilling air, his gaze fell upon the nexus where the smoke billowed—a sight that immediately confirmed a brutal skirmish: A small, desperate band of humans was locked in combat with a monstrous entity. Their precarious stance was palpable, and Kael's keen eyes discerned the grim reality that several among them were already bearing wounds of significant, grievous severity.
His momentum rapidly bled out of him in the frigid air, culminating in a heavy, deliberate drop into the meadow below. This impact was seamlessly simultaneous with the activation of his Mana Reinforcement, propelling him toward the beleaguered band with explosive force. As Kael burst forward, the tall grasses parted like a turbulent sea before him, and in mere seconds, he traversed nearly two hundred meters, almost closing the distance to the distressed group.
With mere milliseconds separating him from hostile contact, Kael intended to activate his Mana Sight for a final, crucial inspection of the monstrous entity he was about to engage. Yet, just as the power surged in his eyes, a System Notification abruptly materialized before him, disrupting his focus entirely.
WARNING!!!
Physiological Limits Approached. Time Remaining Until Loss of Consciousness: 10 Seconds.
The terrifying notification only intensified Kael's realization that he had to move with an even greater, desperate haste. Moreover, the drastic shortening of his remaining time meant that he possessed the window for only one decisive, crippling strike against the formidable beast before him. And then, his reckless pursuit ended abruptly: his target stood immediately, massively before him.
Kael instantly channeled his entire, volatile mana reserve into a single, devastating strike while simultaneously reinforcing his body to its absolute breaking point. This desperate, suicidal exertion caused the countdown to collapse immediately: from nine seconds, it brutally plummeted to three, then two. Driven by the combined force of his enhanced speed and the Mana Reinforcement, Kael successfully delivered a crushing kick directly to the monster's head. The counter then hit zero. Kael instantly lost consciousness, but his last-second, impossible assault had successfully rescued the beleaguered band, who had already surrendered their final flicker of hope.
"What in the hell just happened? That bear's defenses—they simply shattered!"
"This is no time for musing, Lysa! Keep your eyes locked on the target!"
Lysa instantly drew her bowstring taut and loosed her arrow, the projectile lodging itself deep within one of the bear's eyes at the exact moment of release. The creature roared a deafening, ear-splitting bellow of pain. Seizing this critical moment of vulnerability, Jax channeled his mana to reinforce his blade, enhancing it for a final, powerful strike that instantly cleaved the monster's head clean off its neck. As the massive carcass of the bear crashed to the ground, the beleaguered group finally managed to draw a proper, steady breath.
After the group had swiftly harvested the valuable components and the Mana Crystal from the bear's corpse, they were just about to prepare their departure when their attention was suddenly drawn by a small crater slightly farther away—evidence of a significant impact. Jax immediately dashed toward the crater, only to find a man, his back slumped against the shattered earth, his body completely drenched in blood. This man was none other than Kael.