With renewed hope and vigor, they sprinted into the mountain range, the bandits still chasing behind them while launching attacks from a distance. Fireballs whistled past, arrows tore through the air, and chunks of earth occasionally burst from the ground in an attempt to stop them.
Just as they crossed into the mountain's territory, one of the bandits shouted from behind.
"You bastards! Just hope we don't cross paths again—ever! If we do, you'll wish you were never born!"
Azrael and Ryker both turned slightly while still running and noticed that the bandits had stopped at the edge of the mountain.
They were puzzled.
They were still in the outer region of the mountain. The beasts here, though dangerous, could be dealt with relatively easily. The majority of the beasts occupying the outer region were in the Adept and Arcane planes.
So why stop now?
Regardless, they didn't slow down just because the bandits had stopped chasing. They only reduced their speed after they had traveled a considerable distance deeper into the forest.
Azrael finally slowed to a halt, chest rising and falling steadily. He looked around, trying to get a grasp of the landscape.
The atmosphere had changed noticeably. The trees were taller and thicker here, their branches weaving together overhead and blocking most of the sunlight. The terrain beneath the canopy was dim, though they could still see clearly. The air carried the scent of soil and vegetation, and distant bird calls echoed faintly between the trees.
The elemental essence in the air felt slightly thicker than outside the mountain.
The difference was almost negligible, which made sense since they were still in the outer region.
Ryker was the first to break the silence.
"Well, we got to our destination in one piece. That should count as a win."
Azrael merely looked at him without saying anything. After a moment, he spoke calmly.
"We need to find a place to rest and recover our elemental essence before doing anything else."
"Yeah, you're right," Ryker replied.
They scanned their surroundings before deciding to head west. After walking cautiously for some time, they managed to find a small cave nestled between two slanted rock formations.
Ryker was about to step into the cave when Azrael suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"How careless can you be?" Azrael said with a frown. "You didn't even check if the cave is empty or occupied by a beast before stepping in."
Ryker scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Right… that would've been bad."
He knew Azrael was right. Entering a cave in beast territory without confirming whether it was empty or marked could easily cost someone their life.
Azrael bent down and picked up two small rocks. He threw the first into the cave, not too deep—just enough to test for a reaction.
They waited but nothing happened and after a few seconds, he threw the second rock deeper inside.
It echoed faintly against the cave walls but there was still no reaction or movement within the cave.
Only then did they cautiously step inside. The cave wasn't very large, but it was spacious enough for both of them to rest comfortably. They sat cross-legged and began absorbing the elemental essence in the air, circulating it through their bodies to replenish what they had spent during their escape.
About an hour later, Azrael's eyes snapped open. The wind elemental essence within him had stabilized. His body felt lighter again.
Shortly after, Ryker's eyes opened as well. He stood and stretched his limbs.
"So… what next?" Ryker asked.
Azrael looked at him with a flat expression.
"Did you just ask me what's next? Wasn't this your plan?"
"Oh yeah… right," Ryker replied sheepishly. Even he felt the question had been stupid. He was the one who insisted on coming here.
"The main reason we came here was to train," Ryker continued, regaining some confidence. "So let's do just that. This place is packed with beasts. All we have to do is find one—one not powerful enough to kill us."
Azrael gave him a look but didn't argue.
They both stepped out of the cave, and just as they did, they immediately froze at the entrance.
About twenty meters away, partially hidden between thick tree trunks, stood a massive lizard-like beast.
It was around four meters long. Its body was low and muscular, covered in thick brown scales that looked more like layered stone than flesh. Each scale overlapped the next like natural armor plates.
This was a Rock Scaled Lizard—famed for its defense and heavy attacks. Its tail alone was known to shatter bones.
The beast slowly turned, its golden slit pupils locked onto them with vicious intent.
The lizard opened its mouth, revealing rows of sharp, jagged teeth. A low growl rumbled from its throat, vibrating through the ground itself.
Then its aura was fully unleashed.
An oppressive force crashed onto them like an invisible wave. Their bodies suddenly felt heavy and stiff, as if the air itself had thickened.
Azrael's eyes narrowed.
"Shit… it's at the 6th Stage of the Adept plane," Ryker said grimly, his face turning pale. "That's three entire stages above us. We're fucked."
Before he could say anything more, the beast moved. The earth beneath its limbs exploded as it lunged forward with terrifying force.
"Split!" Azrael shouted.
They shot in opposite directions.
The beast's massive tail swept across where they had been standing a second earlier.
BOOM!
The ground cracked from the impact. Seeing its prey escape, the beast let out an angry roar. It turned toward Ryker first.
The ground beneath Ryker trembled violently.
Suddenly, jagged earth spikes erupted upward.
"Lightning Steps!"
Ryker instinctively activated his movement technique. His body blurred in a streak of lightning as he dashed out of the attack's range. The spikes narrowly missed impaling him.
Seeing the beast focus on Ryker, Azrael decided to step in.
"Wind Blades!"
Multiple wind blades condensed around him, spinning sharply. He thrust his hand forward, sending them slicing toward the beast.
The wind blades struck, but they barely left shallow cuts.
"Damn… its scales are too hard," Azrael said through clenched teeth
.
The beast turned its attention to him.
And charged.
Azrael prepared to use his wind element to retreat, only to realize that he couldn't move.
He looked down.
His legs had been covered in hardened earth, anchoring him to the ground.
*Shit!*
There was no time to break free—the lizard was already closing the distance rapidly.
Azrael clenched his teeth and created multiple wind shields in front of him, layering them one after another.
The beast's tail slammed into the shields, breaking them one by one.
CRACK!
Each shield shattered under the force, one after another, before the tail finally slammed into him directly.
BOOM!
The force sent him flying backward, crashing through two thick trees before hitting the ground heavily.
"Azrael!" Ryker shouted.