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Chapter 7 - Arcane

Gard impaled his blade into the ground while gripping it with both wrists. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and focused on channeling his mana right through his body.

Gul lunged at Benoit at high speed and shouted, "Megane!" He held his blade taut.

Benoit blocked himself with his shield, and Gul bounced off it, gaining more speed, Gul lunges at the monster targeting its torso.

"R-right away!" she held her staff tightly, then declared, "Scorch Suppress!" Nullifying the heat aura overlaying the Kaiju's body temporarily.

While flying mid-air at high speed, "Vibrant En Grande..." Gul muttered, targeting the monster's torso with a surprise thrust, vibrating the hit area into submission.

Imra, mid-air, quickly followed up with another strike aiming at the Kaiju's eye. "Wasp Needles," she mumbled, a flickering storm of dual dagger stabs in the eye that felt like being stung dozens of times at once.

The Kaiju quickly regenerated from the vibrations of the blade and let out a roar, launching Gul and Imra back onto the ground, hitting the ruined buildings.

"Apex Sunder!!!" Baudin unleashed a sundering vertical slash that covered improbable distances. Mana exhaustion was slowly taking a toll on him.

The slash pierced through the monster's skin, but he simply regenerated, leaving the attack useless.

One of the soldiers spoke, holding his weapon. "Fuck this bullshit! How long will it take for the reinforcements to arrive?!" He held his electric plasma gun firmly while trying to shoot the monster.

Another soldier, holding a plasma gun tautly with his right wrist, spoke in a disbelief tone. "Oi oi oi, our attacks have no effect!"

A few meters away from Gard, Verene spoke. "Arcane... I'm finally witnessing it for the first time..." Her voice and eyes filled with anticipation as she held her staff firmly.

Abruptly, one of the soldiers beside her spoke in a curious tone. "What's an Arcane?"

Verene stared at him. "Haven't heard of it?" The soldier shook his head in response.

A dark-skinned elf female wearing a coat, with 'Sergeant Major' written on its back, as the wind blew through it, walked past them and spoke.

"An Arcane is the peak of an individual's mana; some adventurers rarely possess more than one of them."

The soldier's eyes widened; he didn't expect the Sergeant Major to be here.

"Master Zen... H-how are you here?" His voice was filled with shock. "I though you were in a dungeon—"

Verene nodded her head "They manifest and let their mana flow inside their body."

She added,

"Their abilities are amplified and their unique attacks have a high chance to hit its target. It's kinda like the ultimate skill in a video game!"

Her arms crossed. "It's a powerful, rare technique that only Grade lll sorcerers and below have mastered."

Zen stopped in her tracks, her eyes lock at the monster.

"That's why multiple guilds from different countries are always looking for those who have already become proficient with it, offering them millions of dollars, forcing them to join."

She rested her left wrist on her hips.

"Their ranks will immediately be promoted to Mid-S Rank and potentially Z-Rank if they win the tournament that takes place every year."

"Anyway." She shook her head and let out a deep breath.

"The reinforcements should arrive in 6 more minutes. Just hold on, everyone!" Zen shouted.

One of the soldiers complained, "6 more minutes?!" he spoke in an expressive tone.

"Our ass is getting destroyed by that Godzilla! It's because you guys are too—"

Zen interrupted, speaking in a stern, cold voice. "Shut up."

At the same time, she kicked him in the groin.

The soldier's face went red with agony as he fell on his knee. "That fucking hurts—! Dammit!" he muttered.

He slammed the ground with his right wrist in pain, while his friend giggled in the background, whimpering, "Deserve."

Back to Gard's point of view.

— Flashback —

The earlier interaction flashes through Gard's mind: "So what's your plan?" Gard asked Imra.

"I would like to make a plea... use your Arcane, and then the rest of us will handle the monster as soon as it is weakened." She then rested her wrist on her waist.

She added, "That is the only way to beat that massive monster. So I'm asking you right now... Are you willing to take my request?"

Verene, who was healing Gard, interrupted the interaction with the remark,

"Hey! Are you crazy? Don't you understand that using an Arcane has a high chance of taking the user's life, right?! Especially since he's not even one of those Z-Rankers..." Her voice had a mix of worry.

"I know that, I'm not that dumb." She then turned her head back to Gard. "That's why I'm going to ask you personally once again." Her eyes were serious.

She then added, "Are you willing to do it?" asking him once more as she crossed her arms.

"Gard's the only one who has a high burst power form of an Arcane, so I guess he'll be the best choice..." Lucien murmured, as Ivy seated on his shoulder.

"Geez... Of course I do." Gard smiled. "If it means saving someone's life..." He then proceeded to stand up, fully healed from Verene's spell.

Verene then let out a whine. "Gard..." she mumbled, as she lowered her arms.

— Back to the present —

"Spectral Ricochet," Ives then releases another shot of an arrow.

Followed by Regis, spell, "Gale Prism Lock!" A massive prism wind cube surrounding the Kaiju, which imprisons and reflects bow shots with sonic rebounds.

The arrow bounces between the barrier at high speed, refracting and gaining power with each strike.

However... once again the Kaiju seemed to take no apparent damage, as it just let out another roar, destroying the barrier with a wind.

The air surrounding Gard swirled and intensified as a light blue mana emanated from his body.

"I'll show you what humanity is capable of," he muttered in a cool tone. "Arcane..." He slowly opened his eyes, raised his sword, then smiled.

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