She is far enough now.

Alex jumped into his shadow and streaked forward with the sole goal of killing the monster, which wasn’t supposed to be here.

Monster or Mana/Aura Beasts stayed at the middle or the outermost layer because they were the nearest to the mana crystal clusters, but for some odd reason, a monster had appeared within the innermost layer.

First, a half spirit and now a monster. What the hell happened to the original plot?

He stepped out of his shadows and walked closer to a tree.

Some distance away from him was the monster.

[Thunder Lionet]

[Type: Monster]

[Rank: Bronze V]

[Level: 15 (E)]

[Affinity: Thunder]

Unlike mana beasts and spirits, monsters didn’t leave behind an affinity gem because their affinity wasn’t actually complete; instead, it was a corrupted one.

Madness didn’t just strip them of their intelligence, but of everything, turning their elemental affinity into something mad.

The monster’s fur and mane were deep red like blood, and its eyes were bloodshot, and deep behind them was endless madness, which made it kill anything on the spot.

"What will I obtain if I devour it?" Alex wondered and called out Velcrean from his inventory.

Red and blue sparks crackled in his right hand into the shape of a sword before taking the form of Velcrean.

Velcrean gleamed faintly as he channeled his mana as though pouring water from a jug into a glass.

Heh.

He smirked and mumbled, "No matter how many times I do this, the feeling is just amazing."

Mana coursed into his legs, and he dashed toward Thunder Lionet with Velcrean raised above his head.

The gleaming blade brightened the forest, drowned in the darkness of impending night, and the monster instantly noticed him.

Purple thunder crackled around its tail as it swung it toward Alex like a whip.

The air split apart as the tail cracked toward him.

"Shit!" Alex cursed and moved Velcrean before the attack, shielding himself from its devastating force.

The impact still managed to throw him back. His shoes scraped the ground as he came to a halt.

"ARHHHHH!" Thunder Lionet roared furiously and lunged at Alex with its obsidian claws and bloodied fangs, ready to tear him apart.

"Nope," Alex mumbled as he stepped into his shadow and slithered away.

"Grrr?" The monster let out a confused noise as it crashed into a thick tree and rolled onto the ground.

Seizing the opportunity, Alex appeared beside its head and brought down Velcrean with a wide grin.

However, just as Velcrean was about to sever its horrid head from its body, Thunder Lionet growled, and purple thunder rolled out of its body and crashed into Alex.

Alex felt tens of tremors running throughout his body at the same time.

His grip on Velcrean loosened, his legs buckled as smoke escaped from his mouth, and his eyes rolled back.

The monster rolled to its side and stood up on its feet.

"Grr!" It growled maddeningly and leapt forward with its monstrous maw wide open.

At the same time, the purple thunder, which was breaking him from inside, reached his mana pool, and just as it was about to enter it, a heavy surge of mana flooded Alex’s body, instantly destroying the thunder and waking him up.

Alex’s eyes regained their glimmer and opened wide as a gigantic maw filled his vision.

Warning bells rang in his mind as though a train’s horn, and he muttered, "Perfect Shield!"

Four translucent yellow shields with honeycomb patterns appeared on all his sides.

However, even though they were created by the ambient mana, their defensive capabilities were still dependent on the Player.

Thunder Lionet crashed into one of the shields with purple thunder rolling across its body, and as the two collided, the shield fell apart into fragments.

The monster stumbled backward, blood seeped from the corners of Alex’s lips, and he cursed inwardly, Fuck! Only if it didn’t have a dangerous element like thunder.

Within an instant, another shield moved and took the former’s place.

Alex, too, breathed a sigh of relief and tightened his grip on Velcrean.

Thunder Lionet shook its head and gnarled furiously before sprinting toward him with purple thunder crackling around its body.

I have to stay away from that thunder, he remarked inwardly, and jumped into his shadow.

The monster’s feet dug into the ground as it came to a stop and looked around with a tilted head.

Even though it’s mad, it still has some intelligence. Alex noted as he slithered closer to the monster and jumped out with Velcrean, gleaming with his mana.

Velcrean’s razor-sharp blade cut into its abdomen, and as it was about to retaliate with its purple thunder, Alex stored Velcrean in his inventory and stepped into his shadow.

"Grr!" Thunder Lionet growled and looked around with vigilant eyes, but no matter how vigilant it could be, there was nothing a being could do to hide from the shadows.

After all, only a single shadow had sinned existence without being cast by anything or anyone.

Some time later, Alex stepped out of the shadow, plunged Velcrean at the bottom of its rear left thigh, and once again entered into his shadow.

He continued to do so, and once the beast’s mana pool was completely depleted and the ground was pooled with its blood, Alex appeared a couple of steps away from it and muttered with an ecstatic grin, "Come, you wretch."

Thunder Lionet stumbled forward and let out a furious roar that shook the nearby trees and the ground before it lunged forward.

Alex’s grin widened even further as he raised Velcrean and poured all of his mana into it.

"Let’s end this!" He stepped forward and brought down the sword, cutting through the monster in a single, powerful strike.

[Kill: Thunder Lionet (Bronze V) (E)]

[Experience: +50]

[Evo Points: +50]

The two halves of the lion fell to the side, and blood spurted out of them like crimson fountains.

"Nope," Alex muttered as he stepped away from the blood rain.