Clap clap clap

The unexpected sound caused all Barton and the others to turn around. A hooded figure had appeared behind them. Although their face was obscured by a mask, they could see a pair of glowing yellow eyes staring at them from under the hood.

“Wow! I never expected that such a small group of humans would be able to bring down my six headed hydra. Sure it was a failure since it only evolved once even after taking in my serum but still congratul-!”

At once, all three, including Dulhan who had switched back to his Dragoon Class had launched attacks at this mysterious figure. However, all they accomplished was knocking down the figure’s hood.

Under the hood was a man with blue skin and yellow glowing slitted eyes. At the sides of his head he had horns resembling those of a ram and had slightly long black hair. Although non-human races were relatively common in Leferon, Barton and the others had never seen anyone similar to this man before.

“Now, now, no need to get violent. I’m genuinely praising you. Still, I’m a busy guy so I’ll bid you adieu.”

As he said that he turned around and leapt into the forest.

“Wait!” Barton twisted his Class Crystal while running after the mysterious man. In a flash of light, his broken equipment was replaced with a red cloak and light armor with a black breastplate. On his back was a bow. This was Barton’s alternate Class, Ranger.

Rangers were hunters that could effectively move in any terrain. Although they are much weaker than Knights physically, they too are able to fight physically and with magic although they favor evasion rather than defense. However, what was most important was that Barton’s Ranger Class could move through the forest much faster than his Knight Class.

The two were moving at an incredible speed. In less than a minute, they had traveled approximately 5 kilometers.

“Can you quit following me? I’m under orders to return to base without being letting anyone know where it is.”

“I’ve got some questions for you. For starters, why did you unleash that hydra in the kingdom? What’s your goal?”

“Sorry but no spoilers. I will tell you this though. You’re the Third Prince aren’t you? Well let’s just say keep an eye out for your big brother for about a week when you get back. That way I won’t get in trouble for this fiasco since the higher ups will be coming down on the asshole in charge of that mission. It’s a win-win isn’t it?”

“Sorry but that’s not enough for me to let you go!” Barton took the bow from his back and separated it into twin swords. Then he disappeared and reappeared in back the the mysterious man, swinging his swords down. Just as his swords were about to hit though, the man disappeared.

“Teleportation by taking advantage of natural distortions in space eh? Looks like the range is about a radius of a hundred meters. Pretty interesting skill. Thanks for the demonstration although I wonder why you didn’t use it against my hydra. I’m gonna guess that it’s a skill you can only use in this form isn’t it Prince? Well it’s impossible for you to catch me anyways.”

The voice coming from behind left Barton shocked. The Teleportation ability was a trump card Barton had created for the Ranger Class and yet it was seen through so easily. Normally, only those of the Mage Class could use mana to teleport by causing distortions in space. Similar distortions occurred naturally as well but few people had noticed them and fewer knew what they were. The Ranger Class’s enhanced sense, specifically the enhanced eyes, allowed Barton to vaguely see and use these distortions but even he had trouble using it consistently as he had only recently come up with this technique.

What was more shocking was that this figure was able to figure it out and even mimic it right after seeing him use it. Recombining his swords into a bow, Barton manifested Magical Construct arrows and shot them at the man. However, the man disappeared before the arrows could hit and even Barton’s enhanced senses couldn’t find him this time.

“Remember my words young Prince. Seriously, I’m counting on you to screw up that asshole’s plans so stay on guard!”

***

When Barton returned, Medony was wearing a white robe and equipped with a long staff. A glowy white light was coming from her staff that made Barton’s body feel lighter. She was in her alternate Priests Class. Priests specialized in healing and support and in this Class, Medony was able to heal everyone much faster and much more effectively than Barton could. However, Priests have nearly no combat ability, focusing on support instead so the Berserker Class was still more useful in the battle against the hydra.

Dulhan was the first to speak. “So he got away?”

“Yeah. In any case we should probably get back to town. We can request the mayor to recover the corpse of the hydra and send it to the capital.”

Medony lowered her staff. “Don’t worry. If we see that guy again we’ll beat him into the dirt, revive him, and beat him into the dirt again.”

“Do you have any idea how much your attire is clashing with your words right now? Priests aren’t supposed to be violent you know.”

“Oh shut up, Barton. That’s just a stereotype. Besides it isn’t very knightly to be making fun of a lady now is it?”

“Since when are you a lady?”

“Well screw you too, Dulhan! I may enjoy battle but I’m still the daughter of an Earl you know! Besides I can be ladylike if I wanted to!”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”