Return Of The Strongest Player

The students were divided into groups of three or more, after which there were a few outliers. They quickly dissolved into the other groups, and the hunt officially began. Ms. Gomez instructed them to bring back the carcasses of any extra beasts they hunted.

However, their main goal remained the same…

To hunt the Invisible Venom Lizard.

Usually, the task would be handed off to second or third-year students at Arcadia Academy, but many students predicted it was due to a lack of manpower at such a time. Also, second and third-year students were few in number, considering a lot of students entered Heaven's Spire after their first year.

Currently, the rays of dawn shone upon the forest. This provided the students until dusk to finish their hunt.

"Art, do you want to join our group?" Evan asked, approaching the crimson-eyed man. However, he sneered at Jake, who stood beside Arthur. Jake, feeling Evan's glare, backed off with a blank expression.

Arthur glanced at Jake, who nodded silently. Then, the former nodded towards Evan.

"Yeah," said Arthur, successfully joining Evan, Caroline, and Gary's group. A few minutes passed, and they began their hunt.

*

Crunch! Crunch!

As the four students walked forward, their feet crushed branches and/or insects. They paid no mind to the noise, continuing to venture forward while on an alert to detect any approaching beasts.

At one point, beasts developed the ability to sense and utilize mana, so it was best to approach them cautiously, even if one was experienced.

As for Arthur's group, they approached the problem in an organized format. Arthur walked on the left, while Gary walked on the right. Evan and Caroline continued in the back and forward positions respectively.

They formed a diamond-shape while venturing with an empty, tilted square in the middle.

Suddenly, Gary sensed an approaching presence from the East. He stomped on the ground twice to alert the others of his finding.

"East?" Evan inquired, observing the direction with cautious eyes. As Gary nodded, everyone brandished their weapons while slowing their steps. Eventually, their footsteps were nigh inaudible.

Despite being inexperienced, the party was quite knowledgeable about such situations, and approached them with care.

"It's here!" Gary announced, backing away quickly. The nearby ground shook, and several trees fell along with it. From behind the cloak that was the forest's greenery, an enormous behemoth bared its fangs.

The beast was the size of an elephant with a loose trunk and two tusks that emerged from its mouth. But its body, unlike that of an elephant, was a lot more defined and muscular, which made the beast sturdy.

Thick fur covered its body, and an undecipherable expression clouded its face.

"A megathirio elephant," announced Caroline, backing away from the beast's approach. "Specializes in strength, weaker in the speed department. Incredibly durable but weak near its trunk, which he can't control too well. Also, its center of balance is easy to disturb. But it has an affinity to Earth type spells."

Boom! Boom!

Its every step crushed the ground beneath, and the soil adjusted to accommodate the elephant. With a single movement of its head, blocks of soil rose from the ground, levitating beside its massive body.

"What is it doing?" Evan inquired, scrutinizing the levitating boulders. If it had meant to attack, it would not have suspended the boulders in the air beside him. "It's not attacking…"

"It wants us to leave," said Caroline, staring into the beast's eyes. She then retrieved a book from the bag strapped to her waist. "It's the ruler of this area, and doesn't take kindly to visitors. Although, he's not completely hostile, either."

"All right, so we just have to leave…"

Swoosh!

Before Evan could complete his words, Arthur and Gary shot forward with their weapons clutched tightly between their fingers.

Trumpet! Trumpet!

The elephant's roars emerged from the opening in its trunk, and the boulders beside it shot towards Arthur and Gary. With swift motions, the two avoided the attack before leaping towards the elephant.

Arthur used [Mana Step] to accelerate his movement, while Gary used a similar skill.

The crimson-eyed man hacked at the elephant's feet, causing several cuts to appear on its thick, meaty skin. The muscular man, on the other hand, focused on the beast's trunk, attempting to close the distance using a movement skill.

Since the elephant's trunk was its weakness, it was obvious to target it.

However, Arthur's strategy was also correct. To disturb its fragile center of balance, attacking the feet was optimal.

"Dumbasses, I tell you," Evan sighed before glancing at Caroline. "What're you going to do?"

"I'm not fighting," replied Caroline flatly. However, mana oozed from her body, and she stuffed her book into her bag. "But I can help a bit. I haven't tried out blessings in a while, so I can strengthen your abilities."

"Mine?" Evan asked, tilting his head as a playful smile blossomed on his face. "As in, me specifically? Carol, are you developing a crush on me?"

"Say one more word and I'll curse you, instead."

Evan burst into laughter as he shot forward.

"Gary, switch positions," Arthur shouted, rushing towards the elephant's trunk. The crimson-eyed man wielded a longsword, while Gary wielded a halberd. It only made sense for the latter to hack away at a tougher material.

The muscular man glanced at Arthur before nodding. Gritting his teeth, he landed softly on the ground by distributing the force. He then began hacking away at the elephant's massive feet, instilling much deeper cuts.

All of the elephant's attacks were missing, which angered the beast.

With a mighty trumpet, the beast summoned a massive amount of mana from the atmosphere before condensing it into a sphere. It then borrowed the properties of the Earth affinity to create a boulder using that mana.

Then, taking advantage of the fact that the boulder's source of creation was mana, it split the boulder into several, tiny pieces before propelling them into the air above.

Then, the beast swirled around to expose its assailants to his attack…

The Earth Rain.