Ethan lowered his guard slightly but remained cautious as he slowly approached the large nest to look for clues about the whereabouts of the wyvern.The wyvern's nest itself was quite large, with a diameter of over ten meters, but aside from the three massive eggs—each nearly three meters in size—it was fairly empty.Ethan casually jumped into the nest and walked directly toward the three eggs.There was no doubt that these oversized eggs were the offspring of the wyvern; no other beast would choose such a place—high atop a mountain peak—to nest.
After a moment, his blood began to boil at the sight of the eggs. An overwhelming rage surged within him, and a subtle thirst for blood emerged.If I kill them now, before they hatch, they won't be able to cause any harm in the future, and no one else will have to suffer…?!With an intense gaze, he stared at the three eggs and clenched his hand into a fist.
Ethan stood frozen in the nest, raised his sword, and prepared to strike. But instead of delivering the blow, he stopped—and an overwhelming sadness washed over him.
He simply couldn't do it. These defenseless, unborn beings—who might someday become a threat—didn't seem to deserve such a fate, much less to be held responsible for the actions of another.
"But if I do this, I'm no better than that monster who thoughtlessly kills innocents and lays waste to cities!"
As Ethan struggled internally and finally decided not to give in to cruelty like the mindless magical beasts, choosing instead to show mercy, he belatedly sensed a powerful aura approaching through his expanded magical awareness.But lost in thought and boiling emotions, he realized the presence too late—and was completely blindsided.
As soon as he perceived it, Ethan quickly turned and immediately raised his sword, ready for confrontation.
The presence revealed itself as a large, intimidating beast with wings, a long tail, and two hind legs. It had already closed the distance and now swung its sharp claws at the intruder standing in its nest.
ROAR!The wyvern let out a furious roar as it launched a fierce and deadly attack on the Awakened.
At the last possible second, Ethan managed to move his sword and barely blocked the beast's claws.However, the impact was so powerful that the sheer force of the strike hurled him—sword and all—out of the nest.
Ethan was thrown so far and so fast by the blow that he nearly flew off the mountain summit. But by skillfully twisting in midair and jamming his sword into the mountainside, he barely managed to save himself from falling.
Damn! I got careless and let down my guard in enemy territory!He quickly realized his mistake and began focusing on the situation.
With surprising ease, he found a foothold in the mountainside and leapt upward, simultaneously pulling his sword from the rock.It was as if he weighed nothing—like a leaf in the wind—as he soared back up to the summit and briefly spotted the wyvern in its nest from the air.
But just as he reappeared at the peak, the wyvern also moved again. After checking the wellbeing of its eggs, it spread its wings with clear hostility and bared its fangs, asserting its dominance.
With a powerful beat of its wings, the wyvern rose several meters into the air and opened its jaws.Ethan, who had landed calmly a little to the side of the nest, met the wyvern's next attack head-on.
Suddenly, without warning, a wave of flames burst from the wyvern's mouth and rushed toward him.
"Hmph." Ethan remained calm and only scoffed, as if he had expected such a direct and destructive move."You really think this warm breeze is going to hurt me?"He tightened his grip on the massive sword with both hands, raised it, and prepared to strike.
At the same time, magical power flared from Ethan, and his eyes lit up.As he prepared his swing, he simultaneously concentrated his mana around the wide blade of his sword, activating one of the abilities he had awakened:
Howling Mountain Cleaver!
A tremendous wave of energy erupted the moment his sword came down in a vertical slash, colliding with the wyvern's flame breath.The clash of forces created a violent gust that blew in all directions, making Ethan's clothes flap wildly.
In the end, the result was clear.Both attacks had canceled each other out and left not even a scratch on the ground.
But as soon as the flames and the wave of energy vanished, Ethan charged forward.With a powerful leap, he launched himself like a cannonball toward his foe, quickly closing the distance and striking as soon as he was in range.
The wyvern, despite the sudden attack, reacted surprisingly quickly and countered with its sharp claws.Blade and claw clashed with a metallic clang, like steel striking steel, as the two fought for dominance.
Ethan didn't back down. He quickly poured in more strength, overcame the resistance, and with overwhelming power, struck one of the wyvern's fangs clean off.
ROAR!!!With a furious roar and wide eyes, the wyvern lamented its loss. But it didn't falter—it immediately launched another attack with both claws at once.
Having just landed on the ground after the brief clash, and now facing a devastating follow-up, Ethan leapt to the side and narrowly dodged the claws.But the wyvern wasn't done.
It puffed up its cheeks again, preparing to unleash another devastating fire blast and incinerate its enemy.
Damn, this is different!Ethan immediately sensed the danger of this new attack and the surge of the wyvern's magical power.It seemed the monster intended to amplify its natural fire-breathing ability with mana to unleash an even more destructive assault.
Realizing this, Ethan pulled back to put distance between them—but no matter how far he went, he knew he couldn't dodge this one.
Shit, is it already time for me to use "it"?
At the edge of the cliff, he stopped and faced the wyvern, which now hovered high in the air, flapping its wings and glaring down at him with burning eyes and bulging cheeks.
"Fine. Show me what you've got. Huu~"Ethan exhaled deeply and began circulating mana through his body at a faster pace.His muscles and veins bulged, and steam began rising from his body, as if he had turned into a boiling kettle.
This was his second ability:Blood Frenzy!
With this ability, Ethan was able to accelerate his blood circulation and push his physical strength to its absolute limit.However, it came at a cost—it heavily taxed his body the longer he maintained it.
When Ethan awakened, he had gained two surprisingly simple abilities.But that didn't mean they were weak or inferior. On the contrary—these two abilities were perfectly suited to him and ideal for hunting his chosen prey and fulfilling his vow of vengeance.
Abilities designed to deliver massive destructive force against hordes of enemies and enable him to endure intense, heated battles—they were perfect for Ethan, who had sworn himself to fight magical beasts and especially the wyvern.
High in the sky, the magical beast flapped its wide wings and finally unleashed its attack—a massive fire breath.As expected, this time the breath was dozens of times stronger, far more intense, hotter, and infused with raw magical power.
Even as it opened its jaws and released the flames, the sheer heat began to melt the ground and rock nearby.The fiery wave turned the once cool and windy mountain peak into a volcanic hellscape.
Ethan, in his Blood Frenzy state, with steam rising from his body like a boiling pot, tightened his grip on his sword and sharpened his focus.His breathing calmed as mana flared from within him, gathering in his core and empowering him.
This is dangerous.He recognized the overwhelming threat contained in the wyvern's incoming assault.But he stood firm. He raised his sword and concentrated all his strength into the swing—and while in Blood Frenzy, activated his other ability again.
Howling Mountain Cleaver!
With the swing of his massive broadsword and boiling magical energy, Ethan unleashed the most powerful attack of his life.But the strain of channeling such force, combined with the intense burden of using both abilities at once, was too much. His arms' bones shattered, and blood splattered everywhere.
Yet he didn't falter. He clenched his teeth, stayed upright, and completed the attack—releasing an unprecedentedly massive wave of energy straight into the wyvern's fire breath.
"Hm~ That looks pretty dangerous," Asher murmured to himself as he watched the battle unfold atop the mountain summit.
Did I overestimate him?He observed the fight more closely, particularly Ethan's current state.During training—while disguised as Siegfried—he had told Ethan never to use both abilities at once, at least not until he reached A-Rank, as it would put too much strain on his body and cause harm.
No, it was the right call. But that thing… it has surprising potential and has already reached B+ Rank.As his gaze fell on the wyvern, which had grown to over ten meters in the past few years, he narrowed his eyes.
If it hadn't left its nest so often and had instead calmly continued gathering mana, it might already have reached A-Rank.He continued watching for a moment longer, then made a decision.
"Alright. At this rate, it'll be hard for him to win—so I'll let the seed bloom early, even if it dulls his potential a bit."
With a casual wave of his hand, Asher unlocked a seal he had previously planted inside Ethan.At the same time, a golden light appeared on the fighter's chest—though Ethan himself, fully focused on the fight, didn't seem to notice it.
As the energy wave from Ethan's sword clashed with the wyvern's fiery breath, a massive explosion erupted—both attacks canceled each other out once again.
Haah~ Haah~ Haah~Ethan panted heavily, nearly dropping his sword.From the sheer exertion, every bone in his arms had been broken. Blood poured from every opening of his body—he was completely exhausted and spent.
W-what's going on…?And yet, despite all the fatigue and pain, he remained standing—and stayed conscious.But this wasn't because of his strong willpower or his abilities.
When he looked at his broken arms, he suddenly felt an unfamiliar energy surge through his body—healing his injuries.This mysterious power burst forth from within and began to stabilize his fragile body.It quickly healed all his wounds—both internal and external—and even seemed to not only restore his strength but push him beyond his limits.