Aldon’s group hastily rushed towards the source of the flare. In mere moments, they came across a clearing from where the flare appeared to have been fired.

To their horror, they discovered that four Dungeon Beasts known as ‘Wyrms’ had encircled the Kingdom’s troops and were wreaking havoc. The Prince, Orym, was hurriedly shouted orders and bravely led the troops in the battle. He had a look of despair as he had lost almost eighty percent of his troops within the time it took for Aldon’s group to reach them.

The Wyrms were the most dangerous Dungeon Beasts one could encounter in a jungle-type Dungeon. The green serpentine creatures were almost ten meters in height and possessed very tough scales. A row of spikes ran through their spine and protruded from their back.

The Wyrms in front of Aldon’s group possessed two small protrusions on their hideous serpent-like heads that indicated the early formation of horns. Two stripes of thin, fleshy whiskers dangled limply from beside their nostrils. It was believed to be the manifestation of their weak draconic heritage. The Human and the Elven races believed that the Wyrms were distantly related to the most legendary race of all the Dungeon Beasts, the Dragons.

Aldon sighed in relief as he realized that the Wyrms encircling the Kingdom’s troops were only around five meters in height, and hence, not full-grown adults. They seemed to possess prowess near to that of a peak Realm 5 Mage. Adult Wyrms reached around ten meters in height and could match the power level of Mages in the peak of the Realm of Conflict!

Without wasting even a moment, Aldon’s group joined the battle. Sylph and Celes each targeted a Wyrm and attacked it, drawing their attention.

A blue aura enveloped Slyph as she flash-casted a Realm 4 Water-attributed Spell, ‘Frigid Slash’ on her sword, and proceeded to strike the Wyrm she had targeted repeatedly. Though the scales of the Wyrm were tough, and the strikes barely left a scratch on them, ice began to form on the scratches due to the Spell and slowly started to spread throughout its body, freezing it.

Similarly, an ominous black aura seemed to envelop Celes as she flash-casted a Realm 5 Necromancy Spell, ‘Health Drain’ on the Wyrm she was targeting. Simultaneously, she swung her axes and repeatedly struck the Wyrm. Though Celes’ strikes with her axes barely affected it, the Wyrm began to hiss in agony as its life force was slowly being sucked out due to the Spell.

Both of the Wyrms easily broke free from their debuffs and lashed out at their aggressors with their tails, intending to blow them away. But it was in vain, as both Sylph and Celes had activated their Mana Armor and withstood the blows successfully.

Though they had endured the Wyrms’ blows, the force behind them drew some blood to their mouths. Noticing this, Kesha, who was standing a few meters away from the battle, quickly flash-casted two Realm 3 Healing Spells ‘Healing Aura’ and ‘Area Heal’ on Sylph and Celes, respectively.

Healing Aura created an aura of healing around the target and provided continuous healing support for five minutes straight. Though it was a powerful Spell, it was still considered a Realm 3 Spell because of its high inefficiency in providing proper healing. But, it was enough to bring Sylph back to her peak, as she was not seriously injured.

The same couldn’t be said about Celes as Kesha noticed that she had injured some of her internal organs when withstanding the Wyrm’s blow. That’s why she had cast Area Heal on her. It instantly healed Celes back to her peak.

This all happened within a second since Kesha had been observing the battle carefully and instantly provided support at the moment when Sylph and Celes were injured. The two jumped back to the fight at their peak and began to trade blows with the Wyrms.

Sensing that Kesha would be problematic to deal with, the Wyrms attacked her with their tail, intending to take her out first.

Aldon, who was near Kesha, easily parried the Wyrms’ attacks with Alastair. Though Kesha was a Realm 6 Mage, she specialized in Healing and couldn’t cast other attributed Spells as she did not possess dual affinities. Hence, there was a need to protect her in a battle. Aldon knew this and had not rushed into conflict, leaving the Healer unprotected. He provided protection to her, allowing her to freely cast Healing Spells on her allies, increasing their chances of survival.

Sylph and Celes, with the support from Kesha, stood their own against the Wyrms and started to break the encirclement.

Orym noticed the slight opening in the encirclement and saw that the elves from the Empire had come to their aid. Hope returned to his eyes as he shouted to his men, “The Empire’s elves have arrived to assist us! They’ve created an opening in the Wyrm’s encirclement. Let’s pull ourselves together and seize this opportunity! LET’S GO!”

Orym let out a battle cry and led his troops towards the opening. The troops barely held on, fueled by their Prince’s proclamation, and managed to hold off the other two Wyrms for long enough for them to escape the encirclement.

Free from certain death, the troops of the Kingdom cheered in ecstasy as they prepared to retreat. It would be foolish to think that they could defeat four Wyrms having the prowess of a peak Realm 5 Mage with their current strength. Even when the Empire’s elves joined the battle, they barely managed to escape the encirclement of the Wyrms. There was no chance in hell that they would be victorious against these Beasts!

Aldon, Sylph, Celes, and Kesha knew this fact as they nodded to each other and cast a glance at the Prince. Orym understood the meaning behind their glance and nodded in response.

Just when all the elves were about to abandon the confrontation with the Wyrms and retreat to safety, the ground began to shake uncontrollably, and a tremor ran through the ground, knocking everyone off balance. Even the Wyrms were no exception as they lost their bearings.

Before anyone could register what was happening, the ground in front of them cracked open, and another Wyrm emerged from the ground. This one was slightly bigger than the other Wyrms. Standing at a height around seven meters, its green, scaly body glistened vibrantly. A deep-green dot seemed to be formed incompletely between its large horns.

Aldon’s heart sank as he saw this creature. He realized that this Wyrm had stepped into adulthood and was, at least, as powerful as an early-stage Realm 6 Mage.

As all the elves held their breaths in horrified stupefaction, the bigger Wyrm seemed to be in a state of confusion. It seemed that it didn’t comprehend how it suddenly appeared in front of these elves. Glancing around, it saw its brethren lying on the ground with minor injuries.

By this time, all the elves had regained their balance. Sylph and Celes clutched their weapon tightly, ready for any surprise attacks from the Wyrms. Noticing this, the bigger Wyrm became cautious as it hissed in warning.

The two Wyrms that were earlier battling Sylph and Celes regained their balance and tried to attack them with their tails in surprise. Already prepared for such a situation, the two quickly evaded the blows and countered with their weapons. They had worn down the scales that contributed majorly to the Wyrms’ defenses, and their blows were now dealing a significant amount of damage to them.

The Wyrms hissed in agony and retaliated fiercely. Observing its brethren's plight, the bigger Wyrm began to get furious. Its yellow, reptile eyes flashed red in anger as it prepared to rush to the Wyrms’ aid.

Aldon quickly looked at the Kingdom’s elves and found out they were still occupied with the other two Wyrms and couldn’t spare any help. His mind churned rapidly as he came up with something. He made up his mind and whispered to Kesha, “I’m sorry for this!”

Aldon quickly activated his Mana Armor, flash-casted the Realm 4 Lightning-attributed Spell ‘Mirage Dash’ on himself, and rushed towards the bigger Wyrm with immense speed.

Aldon was not foolish. It never crossed his mind that he could single-handedly defeat the bigger Wyrm. He simply had one thought in his mind, ‘Buy Sylph and Celes enough time to deal with the two Wyrms.’ He knew that they would aid him with dealing with the bigger Wyrm once their hands were free.

It was already too late for everyone to retreat as Aldon realized that they couldn’t outrun the bigger Wyrm. Then the only feasible option was to defeat all of the Wyrms. He knew in his mind that what he was doing was incredibly dangerous.

Yet, Aldon shouted to the pair dealing with the Wyrms, “Hurry up!” and rearranged his Mana Armor to form a pair of gauntlets. Realizing Aldon’s intentions, Sylph and Celes increased the intensity of their attacks, aiming to finish the two Wyrms quickly.

A violet aura enveloped Alastair as Aldon flash-casted the Realm 4 Lightning-attributed Spell ‘Chain Current’ on it. Numerous arcs of lightning crackled noisily on its surface, seemingly awaiting a chance to discharge.

Just before Aldon struck the bigger Wyrm, he flash-casted the Realm 4 Earth-attributed Spell, ‘Earth Link’ on himself. It rooted his feet in the ground firmly as if he was a part of the Earth. He quickly swung Alastair down on the bigger Wyrm with immense force. The bigger Wyrm’s defenses were much tougher than the other Wyrms’, and the rebound from the strike threatened to blast Aldon away from the Wyrm.

If not for Earth Link, Aldon would have been thrown far away. He barely withstood the rebound as the arcs of lightning ran through the bigger Wyrm to the ground. Though the Wyrm barely took any damage from the electrocution, its muscles became paralyzed as a side effect of the Spell. It momentarily halted the Wyrm’s movements.

Though Aldon’s bones creaked dangerously, he successfully endured the rebound. But, soon after, he started to cough up mouthfuls of blood vigorously. Noticing this, Kesha flash-casted the Realm 4 Healing Spell, ‘Bubble Heal’ on Aldon. He quickly recovered from his injuries, and noticing that the paralyzing effect was about to end, flash-casted the Chani Current twice and repeatedly struck the Wyrm.

Aldon was once again injured, and Kesha provided assistance and healed him. Observing himself for a moment, he noticed that the mana inside his body was rapidly depleting. Remembering the Technique he discovered in the Plane of Ascension, Aldon quickly took the time when the Wyrm was still paralyzed to initiate the Technique. A small black whirlpool started to eerily twirl in front of his heart as he replenished his mana using the unnamed Technique.

Casting a glance at the Wyrm, Aldon noticed that it was about to break free from the paralysis, and prepared to flash-cast another slew of Chain Current Spells. But, unexpectedly, before he could flash-cast the Spell, the Wyrm glowed slightly and instantly broke free from its paralysis.

Immensely irritated by the insignificant attacks of Aldon, the Wyrm hissed angrily and headbutted him with immense speed. Aldon quickly shielded himself with his forearms and hoped that the Mana Armor, currently in the form of gauntlets, would withstand the power behind the headbutt. Unfortunately for him, the immense power and speed behind the headbutt easily broke through his Mana Armor as if it was paper and struck him directly. The two sharp horns of the bigger Wyrms pierced each of his forearms, and he was thrown back with immense force.

Even with Earth Link, Aldon couldn’t stand his ground and was sent flying backward with all of the bones in his arms broken by the immense force behind the Wyrm’s attack. He once again began to cough up blood. But, this time, it was mixed with some bits of his internal organs. He was seriously injured and was struggling to breathe. Not yet despairing, he placed his trust in Kesha and didn’t stop the unnamed Technique.

The instant the Wyrm’s headbutt broke through Aldon’s defenses, Kesha began to cast the Realm 6 Healing Spell, ‘Bone Reconstruction’ on him. As its name indicated, the Spell reconstructed all the target’s broken bones and healed them. Quickly after casting the Bone Reconstruction, she flash-casted the Realm 5 Healing Spell, ‘Heal Shot’, and shot the ball of concentrated healing mana formed due to the Spell towards Aldon.

The Bone Reconstruction healed Aldon’s broken bones, and the Heal Shot almost healed him completely. Though he experienced immense pain from the reconstruction of his bones, he jumped back into action and almost instantly appeared before the Wyrm. His Mirage Dash was still active, and he could move with ten times his normal speed! He flash-casted the Chain Current on Alastair and pummeled the Wyrm with it, temporarily paralyzing it as a result.

Immensely frustrated by the inconvenience caused by Aldon, the Wyrm once again headbutted him after it broke free from its paralysis. Aldon was once again severely injured. Kesha healed him promptly, and he jumped right back into stalling the Wyrm right away.

After some cycles of this, the Wyrm seemed to calm itself and discerned that the one standing at a distance was the one healing the impudent creature attacking it. Some hesitation flashed in its eyes as it struggled to make a decision. But all of its hesitations disappeared to thin air when it heard the incessant cries of anguish from the other Wyrms.

After breaking free from the paralysis, the Wyrm attempted to headbutt Aldon as it had done many times previously. Aldon had anticipated it and braced himself for the impact. But astonishingly, at the last moment, the Wyrm withdrew its head and hissed loudly. The incomplete, dark-green dot present in between its horns began to glow as it turned its head towards Kesha.

Aldon was startled by the Wyrm’s sudden change of actions and couldn’t react in time. A huge, glowing, dark-green ball of mana rapidly formed in front of the Wyrm’s head and shot towards Kesha.

Aldon quickly swiveled his head and recognized the glowing ball of mana’s target. His facial expression began to worsen as the last memory of his previous life resurfaced in his mind.

Not wanting such a thing to occur again, Aldon turned his back on the Wyrm and tried to catch up with the glowing ball of mana. But before he could rush at the glowing ball of mana, the Wyrm, with a seemingly victorious smirk in its eyes, lashed out with its tail.

The Wyrm’s tail hit squarely on Aldon’s unprotected back, and he was sent flying. The Wyrm recognized Aldon’s minute lapse in judgment and took advantage of it. Aldon’s spine was completely broken, and he crashed into a nearby tree headfirst. He was barely breathing as he faintly heard someone call his name as a warm feeling spread throughout his body.

In a few seconds, Aldon’s blurry vision vanished as he focused his eyes in the direction of Kesha. He had realized that Kesha had cast a Realm 6 Healing Spell, ‘Zone Heal’ on him and wanted to check whether she was safe.

Aldon soon found her and sighed in relief. She appeared to be unharmed, but near her, an elf was completely immersed in the glowing, dark-green ball of mana released by the Wyrm. He seemed to be screaming with great agony, but no sound was audible outside the ball of mana. Aldon quickly recognized that the elf was a soldier of the Kingdom.

Deciding to later ask Kesha what had occurred, Aldon rushed towards the bigger Wyrm, which was still at the same location as earlier. The glowing, dark-green ball of mana seemed to drain some of its stamina as it rested for a while.

The events of the Wyrm’s tail hitting Aldon and him jumping back into the battle occurred in mere seconds. Aldon was only alive due to Kesha’s quick casting speed and preparedness.

Without a care for his mana depletion, Aldon flash-casted Chain Current one atop another on Alastair and thrashed the Wyrm. The Wyrm was taken by surprise as it had assumed that the pesky attacker was surely dead. As a result, it was paralyzed once again.

Aldon knew from his previous attacks that the paralyzing effects from the Spell only lasted a second on the Wyrm. Hence, Aldon kept flash-casting Chain Current one after another to keep the Wyrm paralyzed for however long possible. This continued for about thirty seconds.

After thirty seconds, Aldon began to bleed from his orifices due to the prolonged flash-casting of the Spell. The Wyrm also was tired from this incessant annoyance, and it hissed loudly as its entire body began to glow.

A shiver ran down Aldon’s spine as he felt death looming over him. He realized that he couldn’t escape in time and decided to cast his Unique Spell, ‘Explosive Matter’, as a last resort.

But before Aldon could start to cast his Unique Spell, he realized that the sense of immense danger he felt earlier had suddenly vanished. He confusedly looked at the Wyrm, trying to figure out what it was plotting.

Aldon noticed that the glowing of the Wyrm had ceased, and a double-bladed axe was poking out of one of the Wyrm’s eyes. He was overjoyed as Celes quickly arrived in front of Aldon and spoke admiringly, “Ah! What an accomplishment, Captain! You’ve held your own for so long against a Wyrm with the prowess of an early stage Realm 6 Mage! You may rest now. We’ll take care of it!”

Celes had cast a Realm 5 Necromancy Spell ‘Blood Drain’ on her axes beforehand and thrown it at the bigger Wyrm just after slaying the Wyrm she had targeted.

Aldon noticed something as he looked up in the sky and discovered that Sylph was covered in a gale of green aura as she stood in the air, seemingly casting a Realm 5 Spell.

Though both Sylph and Celes were slightly haggard, they exuded a strong aura of strength. Celes quickly retied her axe and spoke to Aldon, “It seems that Sylph has finished casting her Spell. Let’s distance ourselves. We don’t want to get caught up in it.”

The prowess of a Spell cast hurriedly in a battle couldn’t be compared to one cast with proper preparations. Sylph had completed casting the Realm 5 Wind-attributed Spell, ‘Hell Tornado’ with proper preparations, and it was possible only due to the extra thirty seconds painfully created by Aldon. Thanking Aldon in her heart, she let loose the Spell atop the Wyrm.

A large tornado formed atop the Wyrm and enveloped it in its entirety. Painful hisses were audible from inside the tornado. The Hell Tornado also created small blades of wind that viciously pierced and slashed at the target inside it.

After a few minutes that felt like an eternity to the elves, the tornado slowly faded, revealing the situation inside it. Everyone’s heart sank low as they saw the Wyrm. Though the Wyrm was bleeding in many areas, the wounds were only superficial, and it was still in its peak condition.

The Wyrm released a deafening hiss as it noticed its brethren lying dead within a few meters from it. With a terrifying look in its yellow eyes, it glared at Sylph and Celes. The two of them gripped their weapon tightly and got ready for an intense battle to the death.

Just when Aldon was about to join them, Sylph shouted, “Rest for a while, Aldon. Recover some of the Mana you’ve depleted. Don’t be in a hurry to rush into the battle. It’s our turn to buy you time. I trust you! Come up with a plan to kill this Beast. It is absolutely impossible to kill it with our strength. Even accounting for the strength of the Kingdom’s elves, it would be nigh impossible!”

After ordering Aldon, both Sylph and Celes rushed towards the Wyrm. The Wyrm glared at them coldly as its body once again began to glow menacingly.