98 The Beast of Legend (2)

The Salamander.

These days it's connected to the scarcely found Wild Beast, but its origins go far before today, in the days of mythology. Not much is known of Salamanders because of them being rarely recorded, however, it is suspected by mythologists that they were the creation of either Hephaestus or Hestia, with more fall toward Hestia. Most notably though, in the few ancient accounts given of Salamanders, they are referred to as "legendary beasts" something that can't compare to the modern-day "Salamander".

But most of the world believes mythology to be the wild imagination of a time before theirs, so much of it is taken with a grain of salt. Even so, people still decided to give sub-classes to the Salamander Beast, as it did change appearances rapidly through its cultivation cycle. If it is a Salamander from Dirt Class or Stone Class, then it is a Lesser Salamander. If it is in Coal Class or Iron Class, it is a Salamander. And if it falls into Gold Class, it is labeled as a Greater Salamander.

This one, luckily, was only a 2nd Coal Class Salamander. The difference between Coal Class and Iron Class for Wild Beasts is very intense, but it's even more crazy when applied to a Rare Wild Beast as such. The difference would be so immense, that I'm not even sure the Sect Leader could stop it from destroying the sect if it so wished. But fortunately, it was still in the 2nd half of Coal Class. Not to undermine its strength at such a stage though, in fact, I was lucky that I was able to recognize the Wild Beast quickly enough before it activated its Magic Art.

Normally the Salamander takes the form of a small, slimy, red amphibian. But when it's under attack or feels like attacking, it'll transform into its true form using Magic Arts. People aren't sure of how it transforms, but scholars have guessed that it's a type of Gigantification. So it's been called "Salamandification". This process requires a lot of energy though, and the result of that energy being used is the explosion we just experienced... However, that was only a taste of its power.

I took a deep breath and said under my breath, "This is gonna suck."

Thump.

Iusus was close enough to hear me and asked me with panic in her eyes, "Wait, wait, wait. So you know what that thing is right? A Salamander? What even is it?"

I turned to her and said, "Apparently, the one we're looking at right now at least, is the descendent of an ancient legendary beast... In short, it's a 2nd half Coal Class Wild Beast and a Rare one at that. This sucker will be much more difficult than The Bamboo Bear."

Thump.

Iusus looked at me with wide eyes, "Don't tell me you plan to kill it? That thing?! Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?! I know you are some bigshot who killed The Bamboo Bear, but I bet you my Duranian that the kill you got was situational. Otherwise, there would be no way a Dirt Class could kill a 2nd half Coal Class Wild Beast."

I could feel the corners of my lips raising, "Well guess what? I'm not Dirt Class anymore."

Thump.

Iusus rubbed her temples to try and soothe the anger she was currently feeling, but wasn't able to as she barked at me, "What's wrong with you?! There is no way you'll be able to beat that thing! You'll just get yourself killed and leave the people who love you behind sad and alone!- Ah-"

Capcis, who was now standing up like the rest of us, put her hand on Iusus' shoulder before shaking her head. She then faced me and asked me with resolve, "Quis, how can I help you beat this thing?"

My smile only grew more wild and twisted as I said, "Finally a question I like."

Thump.

Iusus took Capcis' hand off of her shoulder and scolded her, "Capcis! You're seriously going to go along with this?! Do you have a death wish as well or something?"

In response, Capcis only slowly shook her head, "No Iusus. I trust Quis. If he thinks he can beat the Salamander, then he can. And even if he doesn't fully know that he can, but he still has to, then I trust him enough to follow him. That's what... friends are for. I know that Quis would do the same for me, so it's only fair that I help him in tough spots as well."

At first, Iusus seemed to want to refute Capcis' words, but she soon caught her tongue. She looked at the ground, then the Salamander, then back to me as she gave a rueful sigh, "Alright then fine! I'll help you beat this thing, but just so you know, at the first sign of death, I'm booking it." She walked up to me and Capcis, "What's the plan?"

Thump.

I turned to both Iusus and Capcis before quickly coming up with roles for both of them and calmly explained, "The Salamander is a Fire Branch type Wild Beast, so it's going to have a strong offense and it could even have some healing methods. The Salamander itself attacks with its entire body. Sometimes it'll use its arms and legs, sometimes it'll bite at you, and sometimes it'll tail whip you; it's even been recorded that it's rolled over people. But the main thing to watch out for is the magma it builds in its mouth. If any of us, me included, touch that lava, we'll be burnt to a crisp."

I saw that the Salamander was moving its head around now, seemingly searching for something, so I hurried up my speech, "So here's what we'll do. I'm the best here at close-quarters, fast-paced combat, so I'll take the lead. Iusus, there will be times when I probably slip up, so when that happens I want you to launch a sneak attack and grab its attention. And finally Capcis. I've heard from the old man that you know a thing or two about magic circles. Do you think you could draw a big one of these where we're standing?"

I passed a scroll to Capcis and she unfurled it before saying, "I think... Yes, I'll just be able to. But I'll need some time... twenty minutes at least."

Thump.

I nodded my head, "That's fine, I should be able to stall for that long. How about you Iusus, are you going to be able to handle this?"

She raised her eyebrow at me and said confidently, a contrast from herself a couple of moments ago, "Of course I do. Let's take down this thing!"

I nodded my head at her and took a look at the Salamander. It's condensed face stared right back at me. I took a deep breath, yet I just couldn't get rid of it. But to be fair, nothing ever has. This gut-wrenching feel in the air. The tension thinning to a shred before the two sides clash. Pushing past what I thought my limits were.

Thump.

Fighting those much stronger than me and coming out on top. Feeling the adrenalin rush that comes from being hurt. The taste of blood as it splashes into your mouth. Knowing that every move you make could be your last, but still being forced to make it.

Thump, thump, thump.

The heat of the battle.

Thump-thump-thump-thump.

I can never get rid of the pure anticipation I feel...

Thump! Thump! Thump!

When fighting something stronger than me!

I thumped my chest a couple of times, freaking out Capcis and Iusus before yelling out loud with a maniac's smile on my face, "Get ready guys, it's about to begin."

Before they responded I activated my magic circles and placed Genesis Liquid into my legs before running forward with incredible speed. It was at this point that the Salamander narrowed into eyes onto me before roaring at me and crawling forward. It wasn't long until we met, but I knew my limits, it would be foolish to fight this thing head-on. I jumped above the lizard and decided this was the best time to give it a test run.

I displaced my Bed Crossbow Bolt Fruit into my stomach and once the thing dissolved into me, it got to work. I pulled back my arm, getting a clicking sound three times while falling to the lizard's back. Just before I reached it's back, I let my arm loose, and the giant bolt left my arm hitting the lizard's back. Unfortunately for me, all I got out of it was a slight scratch on its scaley exterior.

I was expecting such an outcome, but I had to make sure of it, and I was prepared to pay the price. I strengthened my entire body with the use of my still-glowing magic circles while attempting to jump off of the lizard's back. As I was mid-air though, out of the corner of my vision I could see a blurry red flash. I formed myself into a ball just in time before the tail struck me down, allowing me to spread the impact across my entire body. But I wasn't able to do the same before striking the ground.

I hit the ground so hard that the bolt I fired earlier was sucked back into me without me having to do a thing. I acknowledged that this was probably the second hardest I'd ever hit the ground, before using a healing Fruit. It would probably be better for me to save healing for life-or-death injuries, but I knew that if I wanted a chance of beating this thing, I needed to be in the best shape possible. Why should I save the Fruits to save myself from death when I can constantly keep myself out of that situation?

After healing myself, I jumped off of the ground with my legs, causing my body, still in a lying down position, to be sent backward, toward the crater made by the lizard. Just after I moved, the lizard's tail whipped at where I had just been, causing me to feel relief in my decision. While in midair, I turn my body from a horizontal position to a vertical one and put my velocity to a stop by dragging my heels on the ground.

Once I finally stopped moving, I found myself in the middle of the crater. I centered my vision onto the lizard who had just turned around and was glaring at me. It was quite unfortunate how Medisma decided to go about attracting a high Class Wild Beast to me. Instead of it being a signal like I thought it would be, it was actually a rare Fire Branch Material. "Send it up into the sky to get something's attention," the letter said. But that also meant that I had the smell of the material on me, so this Wild Beast wouldn't stop bothering me until I defeated it.

Speaking of which, the situation was looking grim in that aspect. My Bed Crossbow Bolt Fruit is supposed to be so strong that even Inadere commented that it could beat almost every other Stone Class Fruit in attacking power, and if used correctly, then it would be almost unstoppable. But that "unstoppable force" was unable to even dent the Salamander's shell-like scales. I suppose if raw power wouldn't work, then I would have to rely on technique and strategy. I said to Capcis that I would just stall it, but for the magic circle I gave her to work, the lizard would have to be injured a little bit. I had to hurt it.

But before I could do that, I had to dodge its next move. The Salamander unhinged its doll-like jaw, exposing the pool of magma inside of it. After it did this, it rushed right at me, spilling lava out of both sides of its mouth. This was a move that I had to dodge or else I would be toasted to death. I looked around me, trying to come up with a way out, but no matter what I thought of, it would be too slow. Just then, with lazar-like precision, a sharpened twig was sent into the eyeball of the lizard. For most lizards, there were three huge weak points, the eyes, the asshole, and the belly. And this was no exception.

The lizard roared out in pain, causing lava to fly over my way, but I was able to quickly run out of the affected area. The lizard took a second to claw the twig out of its eye, and once it did, instead of going wild as I expected it would, the beast simply reached into its mouth and took out a handful of lava. It took this handful that dripped from the gaps in its fist and dripped it into its eyeball. Once the lava made contact, instead of burning the eye as it would mine, once the lava fell, it was as good as new.

Great. Amazing offensive capabilities and healing ones as well. I guess that's a legendary beast for you, even in a weaker, more common form, it'll still rock your world. The Wild Beast then turned to me, and by the anger it was emitting, I could tell it thought that I was the one who injured it. I wasn't, but it was still better than the Wild Beast going after Iusus suddenly. And it wasn't like the Lizard was completely wrong, because I was sure that I was about to injure it. I already have figured out the strengths, and most importantly the weaknesses of the lizard, so now it was my turn to play hunter.

A wayward smile grew on my face as I prepared myself.

And after I took a deep breath...

I activated my Martial Art.