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“Ugh!”
A long gash appeared on her leg, grazed by the Drake’s tail. But she was fortunate that was all.
Because the vine that took the tail’s hit instead of her was sliced off like paper.
But without time to rest assured, the Drake immediately raised its forefoot to attack Ayla.
Ayla knew it instinctively.
That she couldn’t avoid that attack in her current state.
Just as Ayla squeezed her eyes shut, imagining the impact that would follow.
Clang!
When she opened her eyes at the sharp cracking sound, she saw Felix miraculously blocking her path.
He turned around and shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice cracking.
“Run!”
Ayla quickly backed away.
She knew that staying here to help Felix would only be a hindrance.
Ayla, clutching the herb pouch in her arms, ran with all her might towards the backpack she had left some distance away.
Felix was seized by a deep sense of displeasure he had never felt before.
He couldn’t even understand why he felt so bad.
Even while fighting the Drake, his gaze didn’t leave Ayla’s injured leg.
He was furious.
‘That damn lizard.’
Ayla had come here to get the ingredients for the Temporary Cure.
So it was his fault that she was hurt.
He had received a great price for protecting her, yet he had made such a mistake from the start.
Felix looked up at the Monsters in front of him with a burning gaze.
He wanted to defeat the Drake right away. But Felix knew it wouldn’t be easy.
‘Can I win?’
He didn’t feel as confident as when he sparred with Kadin.
That was because the Drake was a level of Monsters that even decent knights couldn’t handle alone.
Besides, his distrust of himself was like a daily routine.
‘But there’s no other way anyway.’
It wasn’t a matter of whether he could or couldn’t.
Because if he didn’t defeat the Drake now, Ayla would be in danger.
Clang!
As soon as he thought that, he began to move at a speed he had never imagined before.
Clang!
There was a loud noise that couldn’t be imagined as the sword and the Monsters’s skin collided. Felix’s arm twitched slightly.
The Drake’s strength was enormous.
If he hadn’t supported his body with Mana, he would probably have been slammed into the ground.
He wrapped Mana around his arm to avoid being pushed back by the Drake’s strength.
Then he tried to stab the sword into its neck.
Clang!
But not even a scratch was made on its skin.
The Drake’s entire body felt as hard as if it were covered in armor.
‘Superior Magical Creature are Superior Magical Creature for a reason.’
Then, the tips he had learned at the academy when dealing with Monsters flashed through Felix’s mind.
“Most of the students here are at the basic stage of feeling Mana. What will happen if you encounter a Superior Magical Creature?”
It was difficult to deal with Superior Magical Creature with the level of just starting to feel Mana.
Even if you reached the level of being able to put Mana into objects as well as your body, like Kadin Rate.
At least you had to be at the level of Sword Expert, who could manifest Aura in the sword, to pierce the skin of Monsters protected by Mana.
“In most cases, you will probably die without being able to beat it. Because you won’t even be able to scratch the Superior Magical Creature’s hard outer skin. But it’s not invincible either. What can you do to push it to the limit at your level?”
The instructor continued sternly.
“Aim for the parts that are not protected by skin.”
Felix recalled what the sword instructor had said and scanned the Drake’s body.
Then he found a part where his attack could work.
‘The only places my attack can work are the eyes, inside the mouth, and the soles of the feet.’
Soon, Felix’s sword aimed sharply at the Drake’s eyes.
Kyak!
But the Drake raised its arm to block his attack. All he managed to cut was the sole of its foot.
“Isn’t it too much of a cheat if something so big is also fast?”
Superior Magical Creature were even intelligent.
The Drake immediately noticed where Felix was aiming.
That’s why it didn’t open its mouth easily, and instead used its arms to put pressure on Felix.
It was trying not to expose its weaknesses to Felix as much as possible.
Clang!
The limited attack range made the already difficult Drake even more challenging.
‘At this rate, either Ayla or I will become that thing’s meal.’
Felix gritted his teeth.
He remembered what the instructor had said next.
“Of course, even if you struggle like that, you won’t be able to beat the Superior Magical Creature. Because the places not protected by skin are not vital points that can kill it in one blow.”
‘I still need to be able to put Aura into the sword.’
That was the best way to deal with the Drake. Even if he couldn’t defeat it, he had to at least stop it.
But was that really possible?
Ayla’s injured leg came into Felix’s view. If he backed down here, Ayla would be in danger.
‘I have to do it.’
There was no time to worry, dwelling on pessimistic thoughts as before.
This was something he had to do.
‘I can do it.’
As he concentrated, he felt like time was slowing down. He could even feel the wind brushing against his skin clearly.
In the meantime, he had grown fast enough as he began to feel Mana.
This was because his potential, which had been suppressed until now, had exploded.
‘The level that would have been achieved if I had felt Mana normally.’
Was that level really only this much?
Felix swung his sword.
Whoosh-!
The sword moved along the trajectory he wanted.
Clang-!
But again, the sword was blocked by the Drake’s skin.
‘I want to break through.’
He felt frustrated.
Before awakening to Mana, he had honed his talent and physical abilities through constant effort.
And after he began to feel Mana, the efforts he had made until now began to shine.
He thought the same was true at this moment.
If he believed in himself, he felt like the things he wanted to do would come true.
He felt like he could break through that thick skin and make a wound.
Clang!
The moment he swung his sword again with anger, Felix’s eyes widened.
Kyaak-!
The Drake let out a huge scream. His sword had pierced the Drake’s skin and made a wound.
And at the end of his sword… a blue light was emitting a subtle glow.
Felix stared at the light as if possessed.
It was clearly the Aura that all knights wanted to manifest.
Ayla, who was watching this scene from afar, also noticed the situation and was shocked.
‘To put Aura into the sword this quickly.’
It was almost embarrassing that she had been worried about him getting hurt until just now.
Felix had instantly reached the level of Sword Expert, which could be said to be the previous stage of Sword Master.
But even if he had become a Sword Expert, he was still only at the beginner level.
Even after manifesting Aura, he needed to build up his skill.
‘He probably won’t be able to kill Superior Magical Creature with his current skills.’
He had damaged the surface and inflicted damage, but his level still seemed insufficient to defeat the awakened Drake.
Ayla hurriedly took out a Magical potion from her bag.
She had prepared something separately in case of the worst possible situation.
‘Found it.’
She approached and threw the Magical potion behind the Drake’s back.
Smash!
The Magical potion broke, and the Drake roared loudly.
Kaaak!
“Ayla?”
“Felix, it will be easier to attack now!”
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