While Orpheus was enjoying himself elsewhere, the other students had begun exploring the Ruins in pairs but some preferred to act alone rather than in pairs to train themselves, Amber being one of them.
Because she didn’t know her partner well and wanted to train alone and above everything to be free to go on a rampage, she suggested that they should act alone until the third floor, the most dangerous floor, fortunately, her partner was weak to her charm and easily accepted and now she was alone exploring this Ruin, the Shadow ravine, its first floor.
The Shadow Ravine was in black and white, it was a forest, and inside this forest, there was a stream called the crystal stream, this stream wasn’t as limpid as the ones in the outside world. At a glance, the stream was like milk, flowing down the river course. Due to that reason, no one was able to see what was hidden beneath it. But Amber could clearly that the stream wasn’t as beautiful and harmless as it appeared. Her vampire sense was telling her this. There was something inside this stream for sure.
Suddenly, from another direction there was a rustling sound followed by the apparition of an origin beast, a bipedal beast called the Shadow Ape, standing over two meters tall with black fur all over its body, its fur shining like black crystal. It is a beast a Tier 2 origin beast (A/N: Level 5 Origin master)
Amber stooped over and stared at the Shadow Ape that was also staring at her.
She knew she couldn’t take down this beast in a normal, therefore, she used her brain and decided to use the only solution available to her at the moment.
Suddenly Amber dashed toward the rear and along the riverbank in a trail of afterimages. The instant she zoomed past, the Shadow Ape seemed to realize her movements. The Shadow Ape turned to her abruptly and upon witnessing her presence, it snapped its jaw open and let out a deafening bellow. Then, it turned decisively and started pursuing her.
“Woohhhhhhh——!”
Along with the raging snarl, the Shadow Ape metamorphosed into a formidable hurricane that charged straight at Amber. Although it was massive, its speed wasn’t slow at all. She sprinted as quickly as possible, but the Shadow Ape followed her closely. The trees that obstructed its path snapped, and the Shadow Ape showed no intention of stopping. Not only that, but the gap between her and the Ape was also closing!
‘I knew you could keep up, but well this will also work.’
Hearing the loud bellows of the Shadow Ape, Amber felt somewhat nervous. The beast might seem bulky, but its movement speed was incredibly fast. In the past, novice origin masters tried to outrun it, but to their astonishment, it caught up with them and hurled its fists, sending them to their graves, not to mention even running at the fastest speed possible.
She looked over her shoulder, only to witness the Shadow Ape continuing to pursue her ‘loyally’. Even though she knew that the Ape was a territorial creature and anyone who trespassed on its land would only head down the road to extinction, after experiencing its persistent pursuit, Amber felt her head throbbing in pain. Moreover, the Shadow Ape also had another ruthless move.
Swish!
The instant this thought cropped up in Amber’s mind, her vision dazzled. At that moment, she turned over abruptly to deviate from her original path, stamped her foot, and leaped up like a fleeing hare. At the same time, along with a flash of blinding brilliance, the Shadow Ape disappeared without a trace, only to appear next in front of her intended path in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, she had switched direction. If not, perhaps he would have walked right into the trap of the Shadow Ape!
“Roar!!!”
The Shadow Ape that completed its teleportation swung its arms furiously from above and slammed onto the ground. But it was apparent that Amber was ready to dodge this deadly attack. Without any hesitation, she zoomed past with a trail of afterimages. The Shadow Ape realized its attack had failed to hit its prey and couldn’t help but feel bewildered. But at the next moment, it let out a furious bellow, turned around, and charged at Amber.
“Ah! finally avoided it.”
Upon hearing its bellow, Amber couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief. The Shadow Ape’s most disgusting move was its ability to move through shadow.
This was a deadly skill to most ruin’s explorers, the beast was not that strong but because of this skill, it must not be underestimated.
This origin beast’s movement speed was too fast and unpredictable, people often fell short after not grasping their chances well. During the chase, she was already prepared for this move. If not, she would have ended up miserably if she were caught off guard and stopped by the Ape. It was a good thing she did much research before coming here and had encountered a similar beast during her training in that forest before arriving at the academy.
At that moment, she had arrived at the end of the stream, where a lake emanating a faint, white brilliance like a cream-filled pool ran before her eyes. The instant Amber reached the shore of the lake, she turned around, gripped her sword, and unleashed a dozen blade rays at the Shadow Ape!
“Roar!!!”
The sight of Amber not only escaping from it, but also brazenly retaliating enraged the Ape. It raised its muscular arms and hurled its fists at her. Winds blustered in the vivid, powerful force, shattering the blade rays into powder. The Ape jumped, clenched its fists, and rammed into her body
Boom!
Along with a deep, resounding crash, the Ape obliterated Amber’s body, the beast thought. The ground trembled and sank, but this wasn’t the end yet. Because at that moment, Amber showed up behind the Shadow Ape like a stealthy ghost. The moment the Ape launched its attack, she moved at an extremely high speed, thus releasing three afterimages to attract its attention, while she seized the chance to sneak behind it. The instant the Shadow Ape’s punches landed on the ground, she had already displayed her offense.
“…!”
Gazing at the Shadow Ape, Amber’s expression turned abnormally grim. She clutched the crimson sword, where dazzling radiance had coalesced and shimmered on its blade. She sprung up, penetrating the sword into the creature’s massive back.
Along with this attack, the coalesced brilliance on the blade transformed into spots of starlight that enfolded the Ape’s entirety.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
In the loud collisions, the Shadow Ape trembled and realized the source of the problem. It attempted to turn around and slam its prey into minced meat, but the moment it turned, Amber had withdrawn her right arm, gathered strength using her Blood strengthening, and unleashed a serious punch.
Boom!
The timing of this attack was exceptionally ingenious as it caught the Shadow Ape on unstable footing. Even though her strength was limited, this all-out attack shouldn’t be belittled. Due to that reason, the defenseless origin beast who suffered from the attack couldn’t maintain its balance. Its huge body couldn’t help but sway, before crumbling into the lake head-first and setting off tall currents that rushed in the stream. Amber who successfully landed this attack had no intention to seal the deal at all. After witnessing countless bubbles emerging on the surface of the lake, she displayed a subtle smile and shuttled across the forest swiftly for her getaway.
Upon realizing that its prey had escaped, the Shadow Ape was unable to restrain its anger. It rolled over, stood to its feet, and stomped toward the shore in large strides. But this time, it didn’t succeed because the peaceful water surged all of a sudden. Shortly after, a dozen, thick pitch-black tentacles broke out of the water’s surface and bound the creature! The lake started to roll, and separate, and a round-mouthed monster with countless razor-sharp teeth appeared from beneath the lake, launching an attack on the Shadow Ape and it that instant the beast understood what the little female did, she was borrowing a knife to eliminate him.