The two of them rode on Dragon Rhino's back.
The broad armor and heavy shield gave Lu Cang a great deal of reassurance.
Trand was unlike the fat man from yesterday. He was a much more seasoned middle-aged man.
Though Lu Cang couldn't see his physique beneath the armor, the hard lines of his face suggested that he had a strong, muscular build.
Level 3 was already a watershed.
He'd heard that most class-changers in the world never made it past Level 3.
Going from Level 3 to Level 4 was a threshold.
Ordinary people found it difficult to cross.
That was why Level 2 adventurers were often young people around twenty.
Level 3 adventurers, on the other hand, ranged in age from their twenties to their fifties or sixties...
[Wind-Chasing Shadow Beast—Elemental Mutation] Third-tier lord-class monster. During the investigation, it was highly suspected to be a Special Species. The report said that when the observer investigated it from a distance, it noticed their presence and pursued them. They nearly lost their life. This information also showed that its senses were extremely sharp and its tracking range was very long. [Observer] was a non-combat class. Observers excelled at watching targets from afar, spotting hidden traps, finding invisible units, and identifying enemies' weaknesses and openings. It was said that Observers above Level 5 could even pinpoint someone's exact location from thousands of miles away.
To make it easier to see what was happening outside, the carriage windows were large and bright.
"Everlight" lit up.
The forest's shadows were swept away.
"We're close."
Maizer hadn't seen the enemy, but he could sense its presence.
The wind was restless, stirring the trees. In this terrain, trees surrounded them on all sides.
Boom—
Dragon Rhino smashed straight through the trees and charged in a straight line!
Taking a winding route would leave them vulnerable to attack!
Whoosh!
"It's here!"
Lu Cang sensed the elements stirring!
Boom!
Before he could even turn his eyes toward it,
a thick wall had already risen from the earth!
Rumble!
Three layers of thick walls sprang up beside them in an instant! A moment later, the impact of something crashing into the earthen barriers reached them!
Bang!
The first wall was covered in countless fine cracks!
So fast!
He hadn't even seen the enemy's movements yet!
And it had already launched an attack!
If he hadn't been so sensitive to the elements, it might really have gotten the first strike in.
But that attack had finally revealed its position.
A magic-type attack—"Shadow Slash."
Whoosh!
Lu Cang sensed a dense wave of Dark Element slashing toward them!
Bang!
But the two incoming slashes struck the barrier Lu Cang had created in midair.
"Hardened Barrier (LV: 188)"
Two muffled thuds rang out against the barrier.
Neither slash had any effect at all.
"Extreme Speed Ice Shuttle."
"Lightning Flash."
"Silent Wind Swarm."
"Wind Blast."
"Emergent Charge Pillar."
"Poison Vine Strike."
Ice streaked forward with a long trail, piercing through layers of trees.
Crackle—
Boom!
Lightning Flash streaked past again and again!
Beneath Dragon Rhino, shadows spread—
"Sunken Shadow Swamp (Second Tier) (LV: 152)—vast range, merges with shadows, sinks targets, spreads rapidly, causes them to sink quickly, and makes them stick fast."
Charge Pillars crashed about in every direction!
A storm, carrying the Silent Wind Swarm, erupted in an instant!
Boom!
More than ten spells burst forth simultaneously, instantly toppling the dense forest to their side!
The Wind-Chasing Shadow Beast, which had been hiding among the trees, was exposed to Lu Cang's view.
It was incredibly fast, and its body was a shifting black shadow.
Its form looked like transparent wind mixed with murky darkness. As it raced, it was like a stream of flowing black air.
Between the gaps in the trees, it was almost impossible to make out.
But...
The moment Lu Cang blasted apart and pulverized the entire swath of forest,
the monster was left with nowhere to hide!
Almost as soon as it sensed the threat,
it turned into a streak of black wind and shot toward Lu Cang!
"You've got to be kidding me."
Loth's eyes widened.
Before this, whenever Lu Cang had instantly killed a third-tier lord-class monster, he'd used only two or three spells. For a Level 2 mage, that was already astonishing.
But what the hell were all those spells he'd unleashed in that instant?
Hey!
You just blew away the entire forest!
Was this really the strength of a Level 2 mage?
Had everything he'd shown before been just the tip of the iceberg? No way...
Loth was stunned.
Even as she reeled from the shock, she was already preparing to face the enemy.
"Protect!"
Ding—
A thin veil of light appeared around Lu Cang.
[Protection Spell (LV: 2)]
A third-tier healer's Protection Spell.
Healers were different from mages. They had quite a few spells that required no incantation.
They could release them instantly, but then had to wait for them to recover.
That was right... they were skills with cooldowns that could be stored and used multiple times.
Trand had already twisted around, putting himself between Lu Cang and the monster, facing it head-on.
Lu Cang narrowed his eyes slightly.
This monster had undergone an elemental mutation.
It had lost its physical body and become an Elemental Body.
Physical attacks without an elemental attribute would have almost no effect on an Elemental Body.
But an Elemental Body would take heavy damage from an elemental attack that countered its attribute.
Lu Cang's "Holy Light Cross" should be enough to seriously wound it.
Or his second-tier "Light Piercing Spear" should work exceptionally well, too.
But as he looked at Trand standing in front of him,
an idea came to Lu Cang.
He wanted to see how they fought.
He'd spent so much money hiring them, yet he'd never seen them in battle.
He'd only hired them for insurance, but he might need them for some time afterward.
He should at least see how well they could protect him.
Having to hire new people every time would be troublesome. Fighting alongside people he knew was safer than teaming up with strangers.
Bang!
The boss turned into a stream of black wind and stabbed toward them like a piercing spear!
But before it could reach Lu Cang, it crashed into an invisible barrier with a bang!
"Hardened Barrier (LV: 188)"
The barrier erupted with a thunderous boom.
That attack hadn't broken through his Hardened Barrier.
Lu Cang could tell that the monster was fast and good at hiding its movements, but its damage was low.
Bang!
The boss abruptly bounced backward, like a ball of black wind, then immediately charged toward Lu Cang again!
Trand roared, "Your enemy is me!"
At that moment,
Lu Cang felt a powerful aura burst from Trand!
Then he sensed something like hatred rising from the man.
"Combat Art: Hate Taunt."
So he had a taunt, too.
Lu Cang leaped backward, jumping straight off Dragon Rhino!
Before he could land, a massive ice shuttle formed beneath his feet.
Szzzt—
The ice froze his feet in place.
Standing on the ice shuttle, Lu Cang kept pace with Dragon Rhino and managed to fly this way.
Before you continue