Emily POV
Emily’s floated over shattered stone as she moved through the ruins.
Pale sunlight filtered through the broken ceiling overhead, casting long shadows along the fractured walls.
This was once a military outpost.
Now it was a graveyard of steel and forgotten tech.
Ten Zephyr Spirits hovered around her, barely visible, wisps of wind condensed into flickering silhouettes.
Her Champion-rank summon, the lizard-type Draghar, moved ahead with its low, reptilian growl.
To her left, towering behind her, was the Guardian Machina. It was her strongest summon and the one that had evolved the recently today.
The massive construct had once been little more than 2 meters tall, and a dual sword user.
Now, it bore the shape of a hulking war machine.
Its chest split open to reveal twin barrels—machine guns it had salvaged and fused from the ruins during an earlier exploration.
“Target ahead,” Emily whispered, hearing the information from Tirra, her ghost bird summon.
She narrowed her eyes.
In the middle of the collapsed chamber stood the monster. Eight feet tall. Gaunt body covered in carapace-like black scales. Six arms.
Its face was a long snout, split open vertically into rows of sharp, uneven teeth.
Crimson light glowed from the gaps in its joints. Its breathing came slow and deep, each inhale rattling the debris around it.
Professor Catherine watched from the shadows, sitting on a shattered balcony with her notebook in hand. She made no move to interfere.
This battle was a test for Emily. If she didn’t win, she wouldn’t be allowed to go into wilderness to hunt Champion-rank monsters.
Professor Catherine had lured a powerful monster into the city for this test.
It might be going a bit overboard, but this had to be done.
After all, it wasn’t a guarantee that Professor Catherine would always be there to protect her in the wilderness,
Emily had to fight her own battles, and win without help.
If she lost today, she wouldn’t be able to go into wilderness.
Without going there she could neither complete her daily quest of hunting Champion rank monsters, or search for ghosts to complete her Class Advancement Quest.
Emily floated one step forward and gave the signal.
“Go.”
The Zephyrs moved first. Ten wind spirits dashed like streaks of lightning, circling the monster in a spiraling formation.
Their bodies rippled, and blades of wind exploded from their paths, slicing down toward the monster’s limbs and face.
The monster didn’t even flinch.
It raised two of its arms, claws wide, and caught two of the Zephyrs mid-air.
Their forms cracked and burst apart with a shriek of wind and light. It spun its body in a sudden lurching twist, swatting two more.
Four gone in less than five seconds.
“Draghar, pin it!” Emily commanded.
The lizard-like summon leaped, landing with a forceful slam that sent cracks running through the floor.
It opened its jaws, and a blast of molten breath shot forward, drenching the monster in flames.
The creature screeched.
Before the flames could even settle, it lunged through them, straight at Draghar.
The beast moved to dodge, but it was too slow.
One claw slammed into its side, another into its neck, and a third drove into its leg.
Draghar roared in pain and collapsed under the weight of the assault.
“Genos!” Emily yelled.
The Guardian Machina stepped forward. Its metal body hissed as it shifted configuration.
Twin barrels rotated, and with a sound like tearing paper, the machine gun opened fire.
The bullets weren’t ordinary.
Genos, the Guardian Machina, had absorbed them from one of the last intact war drones in the ruins, and recreated them after learning about their structure.
They were designed to puncture armor, enchanted and layered with mana disruption. Even Emily couldn’t dodge these bullets after turning incorporeal.
The barrage hammered into the creature.
Sparks and blood burst from its shoulders and back as it reeled under the pressure.
Emily moved between the ruined columns, directing the remaining Zephyrs to target the joints.
Thin gusts of wind sliced through the battlefield, sharp enough to draw lines of blood from the monster’s exposed tendons.
She also attacked while retreating quickly if danger appeared.
For a moment, it looked like the tide was turning.
Then the creature roared and slammed all six fists into the ground.
A pulse of energy exploded outward.
Wind was shredded. Stone shattered. Draghar was thrown against a wall.
The Zephyrs scattered and three more vanished on impact.
The Guardian Machina stumbled.
Its right leg crumpled, sparks flaring at the joint.
It steadied itself, guns still firing, but the monster closed the gap in an instant.
Its claws carved a deep gouge through the machine’s chest.
The barrels bent.
Genos reeled back, caught off guard for the first time since its upgrade.
Emily raised her left hand.
Mana surged. A white ring flared into existence as she summoned two more Zephyrs.
It cost her Mana, but she didn’t care.
She couldn’t afford to lose this battle.
But what happened next made her doubt if victory was possible.
The monster moved with an unnatural rhythm as though it was evolving mid-fight, adapting to each of their tactics.
It ignored Draghar, realizing it wasn’t much of a threat, and turned its attention fully on the Guardian Machina.
“Back!” Emily shouted.
The Guardian Machina retreated half a step, but it was too late.
The monster’s upper arms clamped around its shoulders, lower arms grabbed its waist, and its middle set clawed into the barrel of the gun embedded in the Machina’s chest.
The creature yanked.
Metal groaned and bent. Sparks flew.
Then came the sound Emily didn’t want to hear, the screech of steel being torn apart.
“NO!” she shouted.
The Guardian Machina’s chest split open. Its entire front panel was ripped away. Its glowing core flickered violently, and though it wasn’t destroyed, it was no longer operational.
Genos dropped to one knee, body trembling.
That had been its trump card.
The monster threw the ruined panel aside and turned toward Emily.
She stood her ground.
“Draghar, now!”
The lizard slammed into the monster’s back with all the force it could muster. Its claws dug in.
It bit down on the creature’s shoulder, flame erupting from its jaws again.
But the monster twisted, ramming its elbow back with vicious speed.
It struck Draghar across the face, then grabbed it by the neck and slammed it down hard enough to leave a crater.
Emily gritted her teeth.
Her mana was draining fast.
The Zephyrs couldn’t do more than distract now. Draghar was injured. The Guardian Machina was down.
She was running out of cards to play.
Above, Professor Catherine continued to scribble notes. She showed no intention of intervening.
“If that is all, she is far from ready to go into wilderness,” Professor Catherine muttered to herself. “She needs better combat ability rather than just depend on her skills. Hmm, looks like I need to increase more on combat subjects during the classes.”
Emily dashed to the side, narrowly avoiding a whip of the monster’s tail. Her claws met its hide, barely scratching it.
“Just one hit,” she whispered to herself. “I just need one opening.”
The monster turned toward her now, breathing heavy but steady.
She had seconds.
Two Zephyrs dashed in, slicing wind across its face. It growled and slapped them aside, but that gave her a moment to run—just a few meters—to regroup.
Then she slipped.
Her foot caught on a piece of rubble and she stumbled forward. She had forgotten to turn incorporeal and tripped.
The monster saw the opportunity. It launched itself at her with terrifying speed.
Emily spun, but it was too fast. Its claws hit her side, lifting her off the ground.
She was flung across the chamber, crashing through a pile of broken metal and shattered weapons.
Dust filled her lungs. Her ears rang.
Everything hurt.
She coughed and pushed herself up, blood trailing from her lip.
Her hand landed on something beside her.
A sword.
If it could even be called that.
It was a broken, rusted blade, chipped at the edges, the hilt cracked and half-wrapped in ancient leather. Trash. The kind of thing she’d normally ignore or melt for materials.
Her hand moved towards it before she could think.
And the moment her fingers closed around it—
