The mammoth's glowing form pressed against the chamber wall, its rear now shielded. Its eyes swept over the group, its trunk swaying menacingly as it prepared to defend itself.
Victor was the first to speak. "We can't let it stay like this. We need to draw it out or find a way to break its stance."
Lily, nodded in agreement. "I can keep it distracted from one side. If it's focused on me, you might be able to slip in on the other side and go for that injured rear leg again."
"I'll stay ready in case it decides to charge again. Walter, you back me up. Sam and AJ, be ready for anything." Ethan added.
The group exchanged quick nods, their movements coordinated. They had started to learn each other's strengths and weaknesses, and trusted each other to play their part.
Lily stepped forward, positioning herself to the mammoth's left side. She drew back her bowstring. With a sharp exhale, she released the arrow, followed quickly by two more.
The arrows whistled through the air, each one striking the mammoth's thick hide. The creature groaned in frustration, its trunk lashing out toward Lily in a show of anger.
The mammoth's attention was now firmly on Lily, its eyes tracking her movements. It shifted its position, preparing to attack her, but in doing so, it exposed its injured rear leg.
Victor, moving like a shadow, darted in from the mammoth's right side. His dagger gleamed as he struck at the injured leg.
The mammoth was now greatly favouring that leg shifting its weight off of it as much as possible. The group could see the strain, the mana surging through it was keeping it together, but the injuries were taking their toll.
Ethan moved forward, his weapon at the ready. Lily shot a few more arrows, drawing it attention once again. Ethan then quickly closed the distance and struck at its front leg.
The mammoth tuned its head towards him, its trunk striking out, Lily continued her barrage of arrows but the mammoth wasn't going to let Ethan get away with it.
The mammoth followed him, ignoring its injuries momentarily, as it swung. Ethan wasn't able to dodge, its trunk smacked him in the side causing him to tumble to the ground.
After dealing with Ethan the mammoth turned to Lily. She became the target of its rage as it charged towards her as fast as it could manage.
She turned and sprinted, her bow slung over her shoulder as she focused on staying ahead of the charging beast. The ground shook beneath the mammoth's weight, its tusks gleaming as it closed the distance.
Sam and AJ were doing their best to pull the mammoth's attention away from her but it was no use. It had lost any semblance of self control by now, the pain clouding its judgment.
The rest of the group gave chase, Walter's attacks focused on its already injured legs. Ethan was back on his feet, his side was sore but he was ok, all things considered.
He caught up with the mammoth, it was already slowing down. Ethan and Victor positioned themselves to strike at its one remaining uninjured leg.
They struck one after the other, causing the mammoths movements to falter, the accumulating injuries had quickly become too much for it to ignore.
Victor darted forward, his dagger flashing as he aimed for the mammoth's front leg. His blade struck the thick hide, but he wasn't able to put enough strength behind the attack to draw blood.
The mammoth suddenly and violently twisted, swinging its trunk toward Victor, to his surprise.
He attempted to dodge, but the trunk got his side, the force of the blow sending him flying backward.
Sam, who wasn't far behind, reacted quickly, catching Victor mid-air. The impact sent both of them tumbling to the ground, but Sam managed to cushion the fall.
The mammoth stopped chasing after Lily, letting out yet another loud cry. Its form pulsed with mana, its tusks raised defensively as it prepared for its last stand.
Ethan impatiently charged forward, wanting to end things quickly. The mammoth's tusks intercepted the blow, the force of the impact pushing him back a few steps.
Lily was positioned a short distance away, firing another arrow, but the mammoth pulled back, dodging the arrow.
The creature was exhausted, its movements slower, but it was still dangerous. Its attention was locked on Ethan, its trunk prepared to strike at any moment.
Ethan gritted his teeth, his muscles straining as he prepared for another attack.
With a roar of his own, Ethan moved in, his axe raised. The mammoth swung its tusks, but Ethan paused, causing the attack to fall short. He raised the axe up above his head and brought it down on the mammoth's head, the blade striking with a resounding crack.
Its massive body momentarily paused before it crumpled to the ground, its glow dimming as life drained from its body.
---
Only the heavy breathing of the group could be heard as they stood still for a moment. They didn't pay attention to the mammoth's corpse, fully expecting it to vanish like all the other ones had.
But this time was different, its body didn't disintegrate and disappear into thin air. Instead, it remained intact, a testament to their hard-fought victory.
A blue screen appeared in front of them, its glowing text congratulating them on their success.
You have fought well. Your prize is the mammoth's remains—you may recover whatever may be of use. You are also awarded 24 hours on this floor before needing to leave the tower.
The group's attention however, was elsewhere. They rushed over to Victor and Sam, their expressions filled with concern.
Victor was lying down, clutching his side, his face pale. Sam, though shaken, appeared mostly fine aside from some mild bruising.
"I'm fine," Victor said through gritted teeth, his voice strained. "Just a graze. Nothing serious."
Sam shook his head. "You took a hard hit there. We'll figure out how badly you're hurt in a moment. Don't move around too much."
Walter knelt beside Victor, his hands already moving to inspect the injury.
Ethan, still catching his breath, grinned despite the exhaustion. "We did it. We actually did it. That thing was a monster, but we brought it down."
The blue screen flickered, displaying a countdown for their remaining time. They had conquered the Tower of Trials
It was tough, they sustained injuries, they had seen some gruesome sights, but they had pulled through it all, managing to survive the ordeal.
Walter and Sam checked out Victor, checking for any obvious internal injuries. After ensuring Victor was stable and resting comfortably, the group took a moment to actually catch their breath.
The adrenaline from the fight was settling and exhaustion was beginning to set in. The rest floor's calming hum and the soft glow of the crystals provided a soothing backdrop as they sat quietly.
It didn't take long for Ethan's restlessness to get the better of him. He stood up, stretching his arms and cracking his knuckles. "Enough sitting around. We've got a mammoth to process. Those tusks aren't going to harvest themselves."
Sam, who had been leaning against the wall, nodded in agreement. "There's a lot of valuable materials here, and we don't want to waste any of it. Let's get to it."
Victor, still lying down but slowly looking better after the healing salve was applied, raised a hand. "You lot can take care of that."
Lily stood up, brushing herself off. "I'll help. We don't need to worry too much about damaging it since we're going to let our slimy friend absorb it anyway."
Walter nodded. "Let's start with the tusks, then move on to the hide and fur. If there's a mana core, it'll probably be in the chest area. We'll save that for last."
The group gathered around the mammoth's massive body, their tools at the ready. Ethan and Sam took charge of the tusks, using their weapons to not so carefully remove them.
The tusks were enormous, each one curving like a sword and gleaming with a faint sheen. They were heavy, but they managed to detach them without too much trouble.
Next, they turned their attention to the mammoth's thick fur and hide. Lily and Walter worked together, using their AJ provided knives to skin the creature.
The fur was matted and tough, but it was also incredibly durable—perfect for making clothes.
The hide beneath was even tougher, its surface scarred and weathered from countless battles. It would take some effort to process, but the group knew it would be worth it.
They piled up the removed parts, letting AJ slowly absorb them in his own time.
Finally, they reached the chest cavity. Ethan and Sam worked together, and as they dug deeper, they found it—the prize they had been hoping for: a mana core.
The core was unlike anything they had seen before. Whilst the Ravager's core had been the size of a walnut, this one was as large as a tennis ball, its surface shimmering with a deep, pulsating light. The group stared at it in awe, their excitement palpable.
"That's way bigger than the Ravager's," Ethan his voice filled with a mix of disbelief and excitement.
Sam nodded. "It's a significant upgrade. It also means we can experiment more freely with the Ravager core."
Lily carefully extracted the core, holding it up for everyone to see. "It's beautiful," she said barely above a whisper. "We should to be careful with it. This much mana could be dangerous."
The group spent the next few hours processing the mammoth's remains. They carefully harvested every usable part, even if AJ was going to absorb everything in the end it would be good practice.
By the time they were done, they had a small mountain of resources: the tusks, the thick fur and hide, plenty of meat, and the mana core.
It was more than they had ever collected from a single creature, and the group couldn't help but feel good about it.
As AJ continued absorbing their new spoils, the blue screen flickered again, reminding them of their remaining time on the rest floor—20 hours left.