CH 8 Weren’t You The One We Said We Were Lucky? You Jinxed Us! It Was You!

As the tremor grew stronger, the pursuing Hushclaws suddenly halted. Then, they began to retreat.

“…are they afraid of the mountain collapsing on them?” he asked.

“No,” Freya replied grimly. “That’s not what happened. We just lucked out.”

She continued running.

“What do you mean?” Ren asked.

“The leader stands on the highest peak while its underlings attack. It stays there because it’s the safest spot. Anything that approaches openly gets turned to salt by the ‘gaze’,” she explained.

Ren understood how they lucked out. They had chosen a random mountain. And somehow it was the right one. When the slope began to crumble, the leader had ordered the horde to pull back. Because it was on top.

“I’m sorry. The leader is after me. You were dragged into my mess,” Freya said suddenly.

Before Ren could question her, he sensed a massive void at the peak. It was over four meters tall. The shape was monstrous even through absence. Lower body like a massive armored horse, thick exoskeleton layered over bulging muscle. Six crab-like arms sprouted from its neck. One was severed at the joint, leaving only a stump.

The leader of Hushclaws was rushing down the slope at full speed.

Freya was about to throw Ren off when Ren suddenly shouted, “Don’t throw me! Jump right!”

She did without hesitation. The leader tore past where they would have been, wind blasting against them from its speed.

Ren fired a Water Bullet.

The leader reacted instantly, smashing the projectile aside with one of its crab arms. It had learned. It believed that if water did not touch its head, it could not be suffocated.

However, Ren had no intention of holding back right now. The Water Bullet burst into droplets upon impact. Several struck the leader Hushclaw’s armored face. Ren immediately formed a new Water Bullet around its head, making it appear as if those droplets had reassembled.

The Hushclaw leader dashed forward instantly!

It knew it would die if it didn’t kill Ren!

“Run!” Ren shouted.

Freya turned and shot down the opposite side of the mountain like a bullet.

“Slow down! I can’t choke it if we get too far!” Ren yelled over the wind.

“It will squash us if we slow—”

“Jump right!” Ren cut her off sharply.

She pivoted mid-stride and leapt. A massive claw slammed down where they had been a split second earlier. The salt crunched and a crater formed.

Freya landed, rolled once, and sprang back up without losing speed. Behind them, the Hushclaw leader followed in fury.

Ren’s warnings came in quick bursts.

“Left!”

She swerved.

“Duck!”

She lowered herself so close to the ground that her chin nearly brushed it as another claw swept over them.

Two things became clear to Ren.

First, Freya’s physical stats were absurd. He had underestimated this crazy woman. She was likely brushing against the upper limits of pre–first Class Evolution physical capability. Even the Level 10 Hushclaw leader could not overtake her in pure speed and reaction.

Did she forget she was a Mechanic, and not a Martial Artist?

Second, the giant decapitated woman was behaving strangely.

Until now, it had followed a simple loop. Fire Bullet flew up. The gaze followed. The Fire Bullet turned to salt. The gaze tried to look down where the noise was coming from—from Freya and Ren.

Another Fire Bullet appeared. The gaze shifted back upward.

But now—

The gaze was just staring at the sky. It was waiting for a new fire bullet to come. It wasn’t looking down at all, even though Ren and Freya were making too much noise.

Ren felt a cold wave wash over him. The giant decapitated woman’s patterns could change!

Ren had to stop shooting Fire Bullets soon or something might happen.

“Can you kill the leader quickly? We don’t have time to wait for suffocation!” Ren called out.

“I can, but it’ll make noise!” Freya replied.

Ren glanced around. They were momentarily shielded by a massive salt pillar.

“Do it!” he said.

“Curl in!” Freya ordered suddenly.

Before he could question it, she threw him aside.

Ren barely had time to tuck his limbs. He hit the ground, bounced once, and rolled. Pain flared across his back and shoulder, but he forced himself up immediately.

Freya was already engaging the leader. The saw teeth screamed as her blade tore through invisible exoskeleton.

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Ren narrowed his eyes. She couldn’t see the leader Hushclaw. But she knew how it moved, and fought. The leader Hushclaw was attacking her like she was its mortal enemy. It wasn’t even trying to crush Ren despite him still maintaining a Water Bullet around its head. There was definitely some history between those two.

Ren didn’t have time to dwell on it. The horde of Hushclaws, no longer blocked by their leader’s rampage, rushed toward him. He steadied himself.

I can only use one spell to fight, he calculated grimly.

He could use three spells at once. However, he was using Mana Zone and Fire Bullet constantly. That left him with only one Spell to fight.

He released the charged Water Bullet at the nearest attacker. It shattered the creature’s knee. It fell. The one behind collided with it, and within seconds both were trampled by their own allies. But more came.

Ren quickly looked around. He was surrounded from all sides. A single spell wouldn’t save him. Ren made a decision. He stopped firing Fire Bullets into the sky for a moment. He created a Water Bullet in one hand and a Fire Bullet in the other, and mashed them together, creating steam and mist. He repeated the motion five times, covering the entire area around him in mist.

The gaze was still staring upward, waiting for the Fire Bullets. Freya, now fighting in an exposed position, was temporarily safe because the giant’s attention had not yet shifted downward.

The mist obstructed the view of Hushclaws. They slowed, trying to find Ren. Then—

A Fire Bullet flared and flew to the sky. The Hushclaws charged toward the launch location of the Fire Bullet. There was a figure beneath the launch location. They crushed the figure, trampling over it, believing it was Ren.

Instead of Ren, a corpse of Hushclaw appeared on the ground. Though, the Hushclaws couldn’t see that due to the mist.

Another Fire Bullet appeared further away. Again they charged. Again they trampled something unknown.

Ren, who was hiding in a safe place in the mist far away, kept changing the launch location of Fire bullets. Until now, the Hushclaws had seen Fire Bullets come out from above his head. They believed that was the case even now. But Ren was firing the Fire Bullets from top of high level Hushclaws this time! He was using Mana Zone to launch the Spell from another location!

The Hushclaws couldn’t see that due to the mist. They kept trampling their comrades!

I thought the mist wouldn’t work, since the Hushclaws seemed to know where other Hushclaws are even when they are invisible. But it looks like they can see the invisible Hushclaws due to some sort of special eyes. And since it’s an eye ability, a simple mist can block it, Ren thought.

He kept changing the Fire bullets’ launch location. He was gaining rapid EXP. These deaths were counted to be caused by him.

The battlefield descended into chaos.

Just when he was wondering how Freya’s battle was going, a notification appeared in front of him.

[Level 10 Hushclaw killed.]
[1045 days lifespan gained.]
[1000 EXP gained.]

Ren’s heart leapt.

‘She killed the leader!’ He almost smiled. ‘Now we just need to escape—’

“PREEEE. TTTTYYYYY.”