[Second phase commences, round 6-10; The glaring thicket; Hunt down the 5 venerable beasts dwelling within these woods; Bonus objective: Also cull 10 beasts of the same species as each of the venerable beasts]

Reality once again reconstructed itself around Irwyn as he and his new companions found themselves at a clearing surrounded by thick forest from all sides. The noon sky was cloudy, making the area appeared ever dimmer without direct sunlight and in comparison to the desert they had just come from the climate was at the very least chilly.

“I am going to take the lead this time,” Arianne spoke almost smugly as she drew her bow, “Forest hunting could be considered my speciality.”

“Sorry to steal your thunder, but I know of a much faster than what you have in mind," Irwyn interjected.

"What do you mean," the knight asked, clearly lacking in imagination.

"I am a flame mage in the middle of an overgrown forest," Irwyn smiled, his hand already raised and accumulating a ball of fire larger than his head.

"It won't work," Arianne shook her head while also glaring at Irwyn with a slight frown, "This is not a normal forest. The trees are overflowing with vitality. Your magic will be dispersed by it the moment they are touched."

"Vitality is also a transformation of mana," Irwyn kept smiling as the flames left his grasp, ascending far above them, "What kind of fire mage cannot even fuel his flames by burning magic?" the sphere above them exploded in a nova, avoiding the clearing and cascading down to the trees which were immediately set on fire.

"How is that possible..." Arianne gasped, shocked and perhaps even disturbed as the flames proliferated at impossible speed, devouring everything from horizon to horizon in an instant.

"I have turned the forest's lifeblood into an incurable poison," Irwyn stared at the burning thicket. It would take hours for everything to burn down to ash completely, however, they only needed the beasts to die.

"You…," Arianne said weakly, not even looking towards Irwyn. Rather she collapsed to her knees, even dropping her bow and began to violently shake, "Not… Again…"

"What is wrong with her?" the cleric asked, rushing over. Arianne appeared as though she was going through a very serious seizure.

"You didn't burn her, did you?!" the vocal of the two knights yelled out, though tangibly frightened. Even the silent knight looked at Arianne, though he still did not speak

"Of course not!" the other mage in the group immediately came to Irwyn's defence. Despite his lack of potential, the man at the very least knew to which side he should toss his lot. Or he was just unduly trusting in people who were famous or from the North. Only time would tell.

"She is not suffering from any direct physical harm," Irwyn ignored them and found a conclusion before even the healer had the opportunity, "This is a reaction to a deep and suppressed trauma. Most likely at the very least something along the lines of her family dying in a forest fire right in front of her. Do you know any spells to soothe the mind?" he spoke about turned towards their healer.

"Not specifically," she shook her head, "but one of my abilities does as a side effect."

"Then use it," Irwyn nodded, "No point in letting her suffer. Also, make sure to not let her suffocate in case she has trouble breathing."

[Objective 1/5 complete]

[Objective 2/5 complete]

[Objective 3/5 complete]

Three notifications appeared almost simultaneously at that time, though Irwyn kept speaking: "Do whatever you can to turn her back to normal. I am going to slow down a bit so that you have time before we reach the later waves."

[Objective 4/5 complete]

Thanks to the bow, Arianne might just be slightly useful later on. Moreover, if he intended to possibly recruit her at some point, letting her see just how capable he was would vastly increase his chances considering what kind of person she appeared to be. She would never bow to a pear, only to someone far superior.

[Objective 5/5 complete; calculating]

[Phase score: Competition 120/120; Contribution 120/120; Surviving members 120/120; Bonus objectives 120/120. Final score 480/480; Next phase will initiate soon.]

No one spoke for the few moments before their world was overtaken by nothingness.

[Phase score: Completion 370/370; Contribution 290/370; Surviving members 370/370; Bonus objectives 296/370. Final score 1326/1380; Next phase will initiate soon.]

"Hell yeah!” Desir laughed, the adrenaline still surging through his veins as he stole a kiss from one of his party members, in fact, the prettiest of them, though Desir would hardly be dissuaded by looks alone. That earned him another dirty look from his only male party member. Desir would’ve invited the teen to join in, had he not been a stuck up self righteous ass with a face only a mother could love. A classical spoiled noble brat used to always getting his way, the exact kind Desir despised.

“You are amazing,” another girl commented from the side, her eyes sparkling in amazement and admiration. Tina, Desir remembered. She was some sort of sneak focused class, she was even skilled enough to almost elude Desir’s senses when she was serious, though that hardly protected her from Desir’s irresistible charm. In fact, Desir had to admit that it was a bit out of control. He did not mean to nearly enthrall the three women brought in here with him but once he got engulfed by the thrill of battle he just couldn’t help himself.

The current situation was perhaps also created in part by Desir’s decision to shred through the early waves with just his hand and claw, rather than blasting the monsters to smithereens with magic. Personally cracking the bones of mindless hordes had a thrill of its own and Desir loved thrills.

Finally, the world around him went dark just as he separated from his teammate. In the next moment, he found himself in the streets of a city of all places, though the area was uterly deserted. There were still vendor stands filled with fresh goods and wet clothes drying from the windows above him, as though the citizens simply ceased to exist in the middle of the day.

[Seventh phase commences, round 31-35; Defeat four waves of lackeys then kill the imp lord occupying the city; Bonus objective: Leave 70% or more of the city still suitable for living]

“Our first third tier is coming,” Desir whistled as he picked up an apple from a large basket beside him, biting down. Too sweet, he almost grinned, quickly throwing the apple away.

“Your claw won’t even scratch it,” the man behind him snickered.

“Lay off,” Desir shot him a glare, “There is a limit to how much I value the bonus points for an intact party. Piss me off enough and I will surrender it, slowly and with pleasure,” that was enough to shut the man up.

“I am worried,” Tina snuck up on Desir in his argument, hugging his arm before he even noticed she was beside him.

“I will be fine,” of course, Desir was not flustered, in fact, he quite enjoyed the softness laying against him, “Shredding things to pieces is fun but I have to get serious now. Here they come,” he looked up, sensing the familiar approach of his foes. With a flicker of his wrist, he fired a black bolt into one of the windows, earning a hellish squeak which was, in fact, the dying throttle of an imp. Desir could track the general direction of most monsters by the sense of smell despite surveillance not being his speciality but imps were particularly easy to find.

They were void fiends, one of the many species of monsters living almost exclusively within the void. With his demonic blood as well as peerless, baring Elizabeth, affinity for void magic, it was extraordinarily easy to track their exact location.

“You can use magic?” the man gasped, apparently thinking Desir to be some kind of berserker.

“I am a dedicated mage,” Desir sneered, gloating a bit at the man’s expression, “Tearing things to pieces is just a bit of pleasure I can afford thanks to my exceptional attributes.”

“Let’s get a move on so that we don’t destroy the town,” the last girl said, looking down the road. She was the only one who had not thrown herself at Desir. Yet. He had determined that wasn’t because she resisted Desir’s charm but rather because she was so extraordinarily shy and uptight, even being nearly enthralled was not enough to break her boundaries. Despite that, she still very clearly turned completely red whenever Desir looked in her general direction and Desir had noticed her on multiple occasions staring at his back, in particular at his intentionally tight pants.

“Good thinking,” Desir nodded, walking past her and clearly seeing her head slightly lower in his peripheral vision. He would love to help her loosen up should he get the opportunity

Damn it, why the hell are the grace periods so short?