In the middle of the forest, Reisou stood still with his right hand raised, eyes locked fiercely on the massive tree ahead.
A strange blue sphere hovered above his palm, the air around it spinning rapidly.
He took a deep breath, then dashed forward and slammed the sphere into the tree.
The moment it hit, a blast of blue light exploded outward, leaving a massive hole in the trunk.
*Clap! *Clap!
From the side, 2B clapped twice, watching as her master finally pulled off the strange technique with a lot more control than before.
When Reisou first got the bonus reward and claimed the Rasegan, he had to use it more than ten times just to get the hang of it.
Summoning it using his energy points was the easy part. But actually landing a hit and keeping it under control? That was a whole different story.
For some reason, the wind generated by the technique made his hand shake, which only made it easier to miss the target.
So he focused on keeping his hand steady while using the Rasegan, and his brief training showed some solid results.
Now, his chance of missing had dropped by at least 70%.
Another downside of the technique was its high energy consumption since it required 30 energy points to activate.
Even though he could use the Rasegan a few times in a row without worrying about cooldowns, it was still better saved as a surprise move to catch opponents off guard.
Satisfied with his progress, Reisou took 2B and headed toward a darker part of the forest. He'd heard some strange noises from that direction earlier and figured it was probably where the Gate boss or semi-boss were hiding out.
To avoid running into other hunters scouting the area, Reisou and 2B chose to move through the trees instead of sticking to the ground.
It doubled Reisou's stamina use, but since the distance wasn't far, it was still manageable.
When they reached a dim part of the forest, lit only by a few unique glowing trees nearby, the two immediately went on high alert, scanning the area for any threats
As they moved cautiously through the eerie silence, 2B suddenly shoved Reisou to the side and leapt in the opposite direction.
Right where they had just been standing, a massive, sharp sting shot up from the ground, piercing through the dirt.
Then, slowly, the attacker came into view.
A giant scorpion, its translucent body glowing softly blue in the dim forest light, rose fully from the ground and behind it, several smaller scorpions crawled out of the hole.
"2B, handle on the smaller ones. I'll take care of the bigger one," Reisou said, gripping his lance tightly with both hands.
2B nodded briefly and rushed forward. The small scorpions, no bigger than dogs, lunged with their stings, but she dodged every attack effortlessly, striking back with deadly precision.
Reisou followed suit, leaping forward and aiming his lance straight for the head of the ice scorpion.
The monster sensed the threat and whipped its massive sting toward him.
Without hesitation, Reisou activated his Armament Haki and Enhancement, deflecting the strike with a sharp swing of his lance.
Still in midair, he swung his lance down with all his strength, driving it deep into the ice scorpion's head. The blow dealt heavy damage, but it wasn't enough to put the beast down.
The sting whipped back toward him. Reisou rolled to the side just in time, grabbed his lance, and jumped away from the scorpion's head.
He noticed the ice scorpion was furious. Its tail snapped up, the stinger glowing a fierce blue before it fired a sharp beam of icy energy straight at him.
Reisou reacted fast, sprinting to the side and diving to the ground. The icy beam blasted past him, freezing a few nearby scorpions solid in an instant.
The sight made cold sweat trickle down his back.
That thing was only a mid-tier beast, yet it could wield elemental magic better than most Elemental Hunters.
One wrong move, and he'd become an ice sculpture.
Knowing he had to act fast, Reisou rushed in again. The Ice Scorpion likely couldn't fire that beam again so soon, and he wasn't about to let the opportunity slip by.
He closed the distance and leapt, this time aiming to slice off its tail.
✫| Fury |✫
Spinning midair as he activated his skill, Reisou swung his lance with full force, slicing clean through the scorpion's tail.
Though the tail was tough and resistant, he managed to sever it.
On the ground, the tail hit with a heavy thud, and the Ice Scorpion let out a shrill screech, clearly in pain.
Reisou didn't waste the opening. Still balanced on the creature's back, he tightened his grip on the lance, gathering power for a final blow aimed right between the scorpion's head.
He sprinted across its armored back, focusing on a familiar spot—the crack he'd made earlier in its shell.
That was his target.
With a burst of speed, he closed the gap and raised his lance high, ready to drive it straight into the weakened point.
His charged-up strike drove deep into the monster's head, sinking halfway in with a loud crunch. The blow sent a violent jolt rippling through the creature's massive body.
Staggering from the pain, the Ice Scorpion stumbled around disoriented before finally collapsing and stopping its movements.
Reisou let out a relieved breath, feeling certain the semi-boss was finally dead.
[Ding!]
[Your level has increased: 23 ⇾ 24]
[1 attribute points are available to reallocate.]
Moments later, a system notification appeared, confirming his victory.
Sitting on the head of the fallen monster, Reisou glanced around and noticed 2B had wiped out all the smaller scorpions. From the pile of bodies, it looked like she'd taken down nearly a hundred of them.
'With 2B by my side, I won't have any problems entering the Gates,' he thought, smiling. Having her around made exploring the Gates feel much easier than doing it alone.
Just as Reisou was savoring his victory, the ground suddenly shook fiercely, making him jump off the Scorpion's head and rush toward 2B.
*BOOM! *BOOM! *BOOOM!
Explosions thundered all around, their echoes ripping through the air.
A path of shattered trees marked the approach of something massive hurtling straight toward them.
*HIIIIEEEKKK!
A deafening, distorted sound echoed through the darkness as a massive figure appeared, crushing everything in its way. Reisou and 2B instantly spotted the monstrous red centipede, standing nearly twenty meters tall (65 feet tall).
The Gate boss, Centipede King, appeared on its own.
Reisou stared in awe at the massive creature.
Its body was made up of dark red armored segments, and hundreds of sharp legs clicked and crawled as it moved quickly and smoothly, shaking the ground beneath it.
The Centipede King's face was shaped like a sharp triangular arrowhead, its four glowing red eyes glaring down at them with a menacing glare.
"Master, do we retreat?" 2B asked calmly, showing no sign of fear as she faced the towering monster.
"Do you think we can actually beat that thing?" he shot back, clearly troubled. As much as he hated the idea, backing off might be the smarter move.
2B thought for a moment, then gave a single, confident nod.
"We can."
Her confident reply brought a smile to Reisou's lips. Without hesitation, he raised his lance and activated his boosting abilities once again.
They charged together toward the Centipede King, eager to end the battle as quickly as possible. Reisou didn't want to risk getting caught by other hunter groups.
He figured the closest lookout was around five kilometers off, and even mid-ranked hunters would need at least fifteen minutes to reach them.
"2B, don't aim for the top—try hitting it from below," Reisou instructed.
She gave a sharp nod and took the lead, activating her dash ability. In a blur, 2B surged forward and closed the distance, appearing right in front of the Centipede King before it could even react.
With a clean, fluid swing, 2B slashed across the Centipede King's underside. But the beast sensed the strike and twisted violently, hurling its enormous body toward her like a falling wall.
The white-haired android jumped back just in time, skidding across the dirt as the ground behind her exploded under the monster's massive weight.
Dust and debris flew everywhere, but luckily, she remained unharmed.
"This is gonna be tricky," Reisou muttered as the surroundings turned gray and the whole dimension seemed to shift. It a clear sign that 2B's attack had landed.
Not wanting to fall behind, he picked up speed, his body surging forward as he prepared to strike.
Almost like it was waiting for him, the Centipede King lunged, slamming its tough, armored head forward to intercept him and block the blow.
Seeing the massive monster hurling itself at him, Reisou reacted fast—he leapt into the air and then dropped low, sliding across the Centipede King's armored back.
Below, 2B followed swiftly. Within seconds, she was amidst the hundreds of the monster's sharp legs, slicing through about twenty of them with precise, deadly strikes.
The Centipede King swung its massive head to hit her, but she dodged easily and jumped onto its back.
From her position, she spotted Reisou sprinting toward her, signaling with his left hand to focus on the monster's head.
They reached the top together, ready to attack the monster's four glowing eyes—when suddenly, it dove underground.
Both of them leapt off just in time, landing on the ground as the massive body of the Centipede King quickly disappeared beneath the earth.
Reisou and 2B stayed on high alert, eyes scanning the area. Then suddenly, the ground beneath their feet shook, throwing them slightly off balance as something massive stirred right below them.
"Tch, it's trying to pull a sneak attack," Reisou muttered, annoyed, as he quickly backed away from the spot, keeping his eyes locked on the shifting ground.
Although he called it a sneak attack, there wasn't anything subtle about it.
Especially with the Centipede King's massive size shaking the entire area like an earthquake.
In an instant, it shot up from beneath the earth, smashing everything in its path.
Seeing Reisou and 2B below, it slammed its massive body straight toward them.
Without waiting to get hit, they dodged just in time and took the opportunity to cut off some of its sharp legs as it disappeared back underground.
"2B, how much time has passed?" Reisou asked.
As an android, that kind of info probably wouldn't be a problem for her to track.
"About six minutes and forty-seven seconds," she answered right away.
"I see... we need to finish this quickly, or we'll have to retreat," he muttered, weighing their options. "2B, before it dives underground, I noticed something pulsing near its head. Let's try hitting that and see what happens."
"Understood."
With their plan set, the duo watched as the ground trembled once more. The Centipede King charged up from beneath the earth, launching the same unstoppable attack as before.
As it shot into the air and hurled its massive body toward them, Reisou, with a little help from 2B, leapt up instantly.
Charging the Rasengan in his right hand, he readied himself while 2B's white blade darkened, pulsing with energy.
He didn't know exactly what technique 2B was about to use, but judging by how her blade was reacting, it definitely wasn't going to be weak.
*HIIIIEEEKKK!
The Gate boss screamed in anger at the two small figures' boldness, daring to face its attack head-on.
2B used the shadow beneath their feet to close the distance, and the moment the monster's head swung past them, they launched a synchronized attack, aiming straight for a purple, pulsing vein throbbing near its neck.
✫| Rasengan |✫
Reisou pushed his technique deeper, breaking through the thin layer protecting the vein.
✫| Volsk |✫
2B's powerful slash cut through the now-exposed vein like it was soft tofu, spraying purple blood all over them.
When they landed on the ground, drenched in purple liquid, they watched as the Centipede King thrashed in agony, crashing into trees and smashing everything around it in a wild frenzy.
A few minutes later, its huge body finally went still, half-submerged in the dirt. Reisou dropped to the ground, catching his breath, the adrenaline slowly wearing off.
[Ding!]
[Your level has increased: 24 ⇾ 27]
[3 attribute points are available to reallocate.]
With the system notification ringing in his ear, Reisou let out a satisfied laugh and stood up from the ground.
After wiping the strange purple liquid from his forehead, he and 2B walked away from the area, putting distance between themselves and the fallen monster.
Losing another valuable monster core stung, but it was better than sticking around and getting caught by the incoming hunters.