The Scorching Venom Krait slithered out, its body flickering in the heat shimmer as it launched a hiss that sprayed forth an orange, corrosive mist. The smoke rapidly thickened, washing over the boar's front and drifting into its snout and eyes.

The monster snorted violently, agitated, pawing at its face. Its tusks scraped stone, trying to clear the irritating haze. It roared again and then charged towards the krait's position.

The boar barreled forward, exactly along the predicted charge route. Its massive bulk crashed through a series of unstable stones - triggers that Mirage had marked earlier. The first collapse happened to the left: a cluster of loose boulders rolled down from a ledge and clipped its shoulders, offsetting its balance.

The krait released more smoke. More smoke means more poison.

Then…

"Mirage, pull back!" Aston commanded through their link.

The owl retreated silently, vanishing with a glimmer as Glass Cloak activated. From above, Mirage observed, sending location data directly to Aston through their shared spiritual sense.

Hidden in the long shadow of the cliff, Umbra had slithered low in its shadowy fox form, practically invisible. As the boar slowed and snarled through the haze, Aston gave the next signal.

"Now, Umbra!"

From the cliff's shadow, tendrils rose. A black web of energy lashed and locked onto the boar's shadow.

Shadowbind!

The beast's legs froze mid-charge. It crashed down with a thud.

Umbra, then, lunged out of the shadow and bit into a crack just beneath the beast's stone-covered shoulder.

Void Fang!

Black energy surged, and a faint sigil burned into the ravager's hide. The Shadow Mark!

Genevieve moved on Aston's silent cue. She threw down a green flash just below the boar, which was given to her earlier by Yosef. Upon shattering, a windy explosion together with a knives-shaped air blast struck the belly of the monster.

The boar roared in agony. Then everything changed.

Its body began to glow a dull, angry orange. Chunks of stone and crystal cracked and fell away as its muscles bulged. Blood mixed with fury.

Territorial Fury!

"Back! Now!" Aston yelled.

The team scattered.

Mirage shot skyward. Umbra dissolved into the shadows. Sling recoiled toward Yosef, who ducked behind a fallen slab.

The Earthrend Ravager Boar slammed its tusks into the earth.

Cragbust Counter!

The ground erupted around it in a radial burst of jagged stone spires. The shockwave tore through the terrain, but none of Team 18 was caught in it.

Then… silence.

The boar stood breathing heavily, its armor cracked, limbs shaking. Slag-like sweat streamed from its flanks.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Finish it!" Aston called.

Mirage dove from the heavens, wings slicing frozen air into a shrieking blade. Icy Gale slammed across the beast's exposed neck.

Sling darted in from the mist again, latching onto the leg. It bit the beast, injecting more venom haze from the inside.

Umbra flashed behind it, another Void Fang stabbing deep.

With slowing frost, incinerating venom, and ambushes in the shadows, the Earthrend Ravager Boar fell with a final, thunderous grunt. Its body slumped to the side, shaking the ground one last time.

Aston panted, walking towards the beast's fallen frame.

Genevieve exhaled. "We… we actually did it."

Yosef gave a weak grin, sweat dripping from his brow. "Walking disaster zone, told you."

Then… Gray jumped from his shoulder. With a swipe from its claws, one of the beast's tusks fell down. The inside glows like a metallic geode, unlike its craggy outer appearance.

As Gray continually licked the inside of the tusk, Aston could feel the thickening of Gray's spiritual energy.

"That's some sharp claws. Why didn't the cat get into the action earlier?" Genevieve inquired.

Aston just shrugged, "Well, it's quite lazy. Just take what you can from the beast."

Gray ignored Aston's remarks and continued to lap inside the tusk.

One by one, the others followed. Sling slithered up to the beast's thighs and went inside the beast to get its bone marrow. Mirage pecked at the crystalline fragments on the surface. Umbra melted into the boar's dying shadow, pulling threads of energy essence from it.

Then…

Each spirit beast began to glow one after the other, like stars flickering into brilliance across the battlefield.

It began with Sling. The krait's body stiffened, scales heating with a fiery orange glow, as its slender form coiled tighter around the beast's cracked leg. Steam hissed from its fangs, and with a low, rattling tremor, its size visibly grew by a few inches.

Next was Mirage. The owl's feathers shimmered with an iridescent sheen, glinting faint blue and silver beneath the rising sunlight. A burst of frost swept from its wings as it lifted, scattering light like a prism. Its eyes turned crystalline for a brief moment before fading back.

Umbra emerged slightly from the boar's shadow. Its form rippled like a fox cloaked in darkness. Wisps of smoke gathered around it. With each padded step, shadows gathered more tightly around its limbs, its fang sharper, denser.

Lastly, Gray. The lazy cat gave a low, satisfied purr, still licking the glowing core of the tusk. Its fur bristled with glints of silver, a sharp sheen sweeping down its tail like light against metal.

Aston checked briefly his spirit beasts.

—

[Spirit Beast: Glasswing Owl]

[Type: Avian]

[Attribute: Ice]

[Genus: Bubo]

[Rank: 2-star]

[Potential: 7-star]

—

[Spirit Beast: Obsidian Claw Tiger]

[Type: Bestial]

[Attribute: Metal]

[Genus: Panthera]

[Rank: 2-star]

[Potential: Emerald Core]

—

Aston blinked. "Huh. Guess the meat is pretty potent."

Yosef chuckled, stepping closer to the massive carcass. "That wasn't just any beast. It was a 5-star one. No wonder they leveled. Even its bones have latent spirit pressure."

He jabbed his thumb toward the body. "We should take some of the good parts. The internal meat near the core organs, the heart, and the armored tendons. They're perfect for alchemy. Or turn it into high-grade spiritual cuisine."

Aston knelt beside the corpse, eyeing the thick slabs of muscle beneath the beast's cracked hide. "We'll take what we can and mark the rest. The academy might send a team to collect the full remains."

Gray jumped onto the boar's back and curled up, resting again like nothing happened.

Aston sighed, "Lazy cat is the only one who got stronger and still wants a nap."

Genevieve and Yosef chuckled as they went and tried to dismantle the boar.

Yosef was going to stick a dagger into the boar's stomach when he heard rustling from behind.

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