Extra's Descent

It was dusk.

The sun was about to set.

The sky above turned a mix of purple and orange. The paths were narrow and almost hard to see.

The forest came into view. And as the darkness grew, the forest became quiet.

Once again, Brandon started recalling the memories of that night.

Ba… Thump! Ba… Thump!

His heartbeat quickened and the air suddenly felt a little colder than usual.

He…

He was going to be fine.

Coming to Everglade was to prove that he was fine.

Yes.

He composed himself.

"Hoo."

Taking a deep breath, Brandon blankly stared at the trees in front of him.

Heading into the forest, he kept his guard up and his eyes peeled for any sudden movement.

After a while, he made it further into the forest. Not once had he ever kept his guard down.

"Hurrrr—"

And a subtle growl resounded in the air. One that he was all too familiar with.

Rustle. Rustle…!

The bushes rustled. Shortly after, several figures emerged.

Their sizes vary. From a small pup, to one as big as a lion.

"Hurrr—"

Their mouths were left agape as saliva dripped down.

Their sharp fangs became visible, baring against Brandon.

"Mana Beasts…"

The origins of the Mana Beasts were unknown.

The only thing that everyone agreed with was that they started appearing well over 432 years ago.

Whoever coined the term was unknown as well. Just that, everyone started calling them Mana Beasts.

A creature with no thinking capacity.

"Hraaaa…!"

The smaller beasts lunged themselves at Brandon.

Moving his fingers around, threads extended from his fingertips and coiled around like a snake.

Spurt—!

The threads pierced through the air, immediately skewering the beasts.

[You have slain a Mana Beast!]

[+40 EXP]

.

.

At that, the smaller Mana Beasts laid lifelessly on the ground.

But as soon as they died, the larger beasts jumped Brandon from all sides.

"Hraaaa…!"

Maneuvering the threads with his hands, the threads rippled and danced in the air.

Spu… Spurt!

Several threads skewered the beasts with each thread impaling them and piercing out their other side.

The threads met the other point and stopped at the trees.

The Mana Beasts hung in the air, motionless. Fine thin threads pierced behind them as they limply hang.

Brandon then flexed his fingers.

As he did that, the threads began tightening.

Spurt!

Blood splattered in the air, and the light from the beasts' eyes faded.

Drip… Drip!

Mana Beasts hanged, as blood slowly dripped from the threads

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!...

Cutting the threads off, several Beasts fell to the ground, lifeless.

[+40 EXP]

[+40 EXP]

.

.

Just like that, he had successfully slain a horde of Mana Beasts single handedly.

Opening and closing his palms, Brandon muttered to himself.

"This…"

He nodded.

"I could get addicted to this."

Unlike last time, he was now able to maneuver eight threads at once.

Each thread was sharp, and as soon as it made contact with the Beasts, they would start slowing down.

It was one of the effects of the [Curse] affinity. It would slowly drain the energy of anything that it made contact with.

And it was being proven as even more Beasts lunged themselves at Brandon.

Dodging each bite, Brandon's fingers elegantly danced as each thread rippled and coiled around.

Spurt— Spurt——!

A similar scene occurred with several Beasts hanging suspended in the air.

"Hurrrr—"

Pulling one of the threads down with his finger, a growling sound echoed in the air and blood seeped down from the Beasts.

[+40 EXP]

[+40 EXP]

.

.

Making his way further into the forest the sun had already set. The moon was out as Brandon basked in its light.

The Mirage Mask's blue rune marks color glowed even brighter under the moonlight.

Looking around, there were several scorch marks etched on the ground and on the trees that surrounded him.

"Hoo…"

Brandon composed himself.

"This place…"

It was 'that' place.

In the far corner, wooden planks with burn marks piled themselves on top of each other.

"Hoo…"

It was the cabin.

He looked down at his hands. They were trembling slightly.

Holding his wrist with his other hand, he tried to stop the trembling.

The air was even cooler than earlier and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

"Hoo…"

Closing his eyes, he continued composing himself.

He was fine.

He had to be.

That much was certain.

This persisted until he had managed to calm himself down.

"Hurrrr—"

His attention was alerted as a growling sound rang in the air.

Rustle… Rustle…

The bushes rustled, and once again, several beasts emerged from them.

Looking ahead, Brandon stepped one foot forward and squinted his eyes.

There was one more he needed to do.

It was the final step.

He had to take it.

"Hoo… Hoo…"

Closing his eyes, Brandon started channeling his mana on his palms.

A low ember started materializing from his palms.

"Hoo…"

Voooosh—!

Flames ignited and crawled around his arm.

Opening his eyes, the Mana Beasts were close.

It…

It wasn't the same as last time.

He could still feel like his body was trembling slightly.

Step—

But he was able to step forward.

The next step.

It was a significant progress.

"I'm fine."

He was.

Voooosh——!

Waving his hand, a torrent of flames crackled and cascaded themselves as it headed towards the Mana Beasts.

"Hraaaa…!"

The Beasts rushed towards him, only to find themselves engulfed in flames.

A wall of flames instantly emerged and towered, separating himself from the Beasts.

Wooosh—!

Lunging his body forward, he emerged from the depths of the flames and appeared in front of the Beasts.

Forcefully crossing his arms, the flames rippled in the air and engulfed the Mana Beasts.

Voosh– Voosh— Voooosh——!

Unable to do a thing, the Beasts continued burning down from their flesh, down to their bones.

This persisted until they were left into nothing but ashes.

"Hoo…"

The flames dissipated as he took calming breaths.

The commotion must have alerted the Beasts that resided in the forest as several figures emerged from all sides.

He stared at the sky once again as the Beasts began to inch closer.

Until…

Vooosh—!

[You have slain a Mana Beast!]

[You have slain a Mana Beast!]

[You have slain a Mana Beast!]

[You have slain a Mana Beast!]

.

.

[You have leveled up!]

[You have unlocked the Nature affinity!]

***

A week had passed since then.

The news of the forest's current situation made big waves in Everglade.

It was a significant progress. Now rankers could solely focus on dealing with Wraith Beasts.

It was unknown how it actually happened and who had done it.

But whoever the person is, was a blessing for the citizens.

A group of rankers tried to subjugate and control the first parts of the forest.

As soon as they did, the sight that greeted them were several lifeless Mana Beasts on the ground.

Heading deeper, scorched marks etched itself with piles of ashes scattered on the ground.

But amidst the bustling tavern, a man stood behind the counter.

Wiping a wooden mug, his lips curled up into a smile.

"Jack the Ripper."

He muttered under his breath.

"I may have been inactive for years. But I know talent when I see one."

John Smith.

One of the highest ranked individuals within the Twilight Syndicate.

It was an alias he had always used in the underworld.

Contorting his expressions, he set the mug down on the table.

"I'll be expecting your calls soon."

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