Time to Get Grinding [Last Part]

THUD!

Ethan plopped onto the ground and panted heavily, his chest heaving with exhaustion. About four hours had already passed by and he had just finished yet another grueling battle with a pack of level 3 creeping wolves. The beasts had put up a good fight, but Ethan's mage skills had ultimately come in clutch, giving him the upper hand in the scuffle.

Although a majority of his skills were currently locked and couldn't be used until he stepped into the Arcana Stage, there were a few skills Ethan could use even at his current stage. Among his recently earned abilities, three of them in particular stood out to him:

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{SKILLS}

• Nature's Balm:

- Type: Supportive

- Element: Nature

- Effect: Restores 10 HP to the caster

- Cooldown: 30 seconds

- Description: A minor self-healing ability that harnesses the power of nature to mend wounds.

• Blitzer Dash:

- Type: Enhancement

- Element: Wind

- Effect: Increases the caster's speed by 20% for 10 seconds

- Cooldown: 20 seconds

- Description: A swift and agile ability that uses wind to enhance the caster's movement speed.

• Terra Strike:

- Type: Enhancement

- Element: Earth

- Effect: Hardens a part of the body, making it as hard as rock. Deals explosive damage with the next strike.

- Cooldown: 30 seconds

- Description: An offensive ability that uses earth to harden the caster's body, allowing for a powerful counterattack.

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"Thankfully I acquired this new skill set. I would have definitely been in a lot of trouble otherwise." Ethan muttered to himself as he cast healing magic on the minor wounds he had received during the fight.

As he caught his breath, he surveyed the aftermath of the battle. A dozen wolves lay motionless at his feet, their bodies bloody and battered. The Creeping wolves had a been a little more difficult to handle compared to the goblins Ethan had fought earlier. The wolves were more coordinated and cunning, their attacks precise and fierce.

Unfortunately for the poor wolves, Ethan already had some experience fighting against multiple enemies at once. Only the Alpha of the wolf pack, which was at the fourth level of the Vitalis Stage, had posed any real threat to him.

Ethan smiled to himself, feeling proud of his progress. He had learned three new skills in total after choosing the mage profession, and had already leveled up to level 5 in just a few hours. Additionally, Ethan had also gained a lot of beast cores, which he decided he would sell once he finally arrived in Aurumville.

Ethan got to his feet and dusted himself off. "Things are finally starting to look up. I should probably stop hunting for now though."

The sun had already set and night was starting to fall. Since he was already exhausted and hunting during the night didn't sound like such a good idea, Ethan decided to look for a place to rest for the night.

°

Somewhere in the middle of the Caliginia woods, a young boy and girl ran haphazardly through the trees. The two panted heavily for breath as they desperately tried to escape their pursuers who were hot on the trail.

The boy glanced over his shoulder, looking at his sister. "Just a little further, Ava. We've almost lost them."

The girl, Ava couldn't spare any time to reply to her brother as all her focus was on running as fast as she could. She knew very well that if they were captured by the people chasing after them, they would meet a fate worse than death. Just as the duo came to a small creek and were about to cross it, three men appeared standing on the other side.

Seeing this, the boy immediately grabbed Ava's hand and tried to run elsewhere but the men that had been chasing behind them had finally caught up. They were surrounded!

One of the chasers, a burley looking man with a long unkept beard, glared at the young boy in distain. "You damn brats better be carrying some really good stuff on you for making us run all the way into the middle of the woods at this hour."

One of the bearded man's comrades chuckled and patted his shoulder. "Don't be like that, Butcher. Even if they don't have any valuables on them, we could always just ransom them."

The two siblings' faces paled a bit and their bodies stiffened up at the man's suggestion, making the rest of the men burst into laughter. Their mocking laughter fell on the duo's ears like the cackles of wild beasts.

The boy gritted his teeth in anger. "I have a few low grade beasts cores with me. I'll hand all of them over as long as you promise to let us go."

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

The men laughed even harder after hearing the young boy's words. Even Butcher, who seemed to be the boss of the group, chuckled at the boy's naive and senseless words.

"What made you think that you had the right to negotiate, boy?" asked Butcher. "The moment you stepped onto our turf was the moment your valuables, your measly beast cores and your pathetic little lives became ours for the taking."

Ava flinched at the burley man's harsh words and gripped the back of the young boy's shirt. "Caleb..."

"Everything's fine, Ava.", Caleb assured her, his eyes burning with defiance despite their hopeless situation. "I won't let these filthy thugs hurt you!"

Butcher sneered. "Damn brat. Is that how you're supposed to treat your elders? Were you never disciplined in your home?"

"Don't worry, boss.", one of Butcher's lackeys stepped forward. "I'll take care of them for you."

Butcher simply nodded. "Don't rough them up too much. Just a little 'discipline'."

Caleb immediately pushed Ava to stand behind him and balled his small fists, ready to fight. This sight caused more laughter among the men, making them eager to watch the rest of the show.

Unfortunately for them, their moment of eager anticipation was short lived.

Just as the lackey was about to reach out and grab Caleb, a single figure dropped from one of the tree branches above them. The lackey eyes widened in surprise but it was already too late to defend himself.

SLASH!

THUD!

In one swift motion, the figure slashed it's dagger and severed the lackey's head from his body. Ava, and even Caleb, took a step back in surprise, not expecting anyone to come to their rescue.

"Y-you bastard!" roared Butcher in anger as he glared hatefully at the person who had killed one of his subordinates. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Ethan swung his dagger to his side, splattering blood onto the ground. His silver eyes flashed coldly, radiating with obvious killing intent as he glared back at Butcher. "I came to clear out some pests."

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A/N: Hey guys! I'm so sorry about the late upload. I had some personal affairs to attend to but hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Shout out to Elsuika for leaving the first review of the novel! I really appreciate the kind words will definitely keep providing you with quality content.

Have a good one!