Chapter 391: Locked In Part 2

The third Common Beast was called a Mistveil Eel.

It was a long, serpentine creature with translucent skin and pale silver markings running along its body. Its eyes were almost impossible to see, and its body seemed to blur whenever it moved through the water.

The Mistveil Eel’s speciality was its ability to release a thick, silvery mist that concealed its movements and distorted the perception of anyone caught inside it. Ethan could still sense the creature’s mana, but the mist made it difficult to determine its exact position.

It also possessed an electric bite.

The beast would disappear into the mist, circle its target, and then strike with enough voltage to numb muscles and disrupt mana circulation.

Ethan had nearly been caught twice.

But even more troubling than its method of attack was its immunity to Storm’s attacks, which they had become reliant on. It simply charged the creature further, which it then used to attack Wolfy, who was acting as their tank.

Ethan’s blood ran cold as his Fenrir let out a howl of pain.

"Back off!"

Wolfy growled but obeyed, retreating toward a rocky platform.

Ethan’s flames intensified.

He couldn’t afford to let the fight drag on.

But rather than unsummoning his Lightning Dragonfly, he instructed it to continue.

While its attacks were futile and strengthened their foe, it also revealed its position. Storm flew higher, releasing a series of lightning attacks across the mist-covered water. The electricity spread through the fog and ocean, illuminating the Mistveil Eel’s outline whenever it moved.

It gave Ethan a target.

He used Flare Drive to rush through the mist, following the flashes of electricity. The Mistveil Eel burst towards him to strike, but Ethan caught the giant beast with both hands and forced it away from his torso.

The creature’s skin was cold and slippery, but that wasn’t what concerned Ethan.

ZAP!

Electricity exploded through its body.

Ethan’s entire body seized as an insane amount of current surged through him. The eel had been charging itself with Storm’s attacks, storing the dispersed lightning inside its body. The amount of electricity would have killed most Titled dozens of times over.

Be it because of his unnaturally durable body or because he had acquired a Lightning Dragonfly and some of its abilities lingered in his body, he wasn’t.

But that didn’t make it any less painful.

"Aaaarrrgggghhh!"

Ethan let out a strained wail through clenched teeth, but refused to release it.

"You’re not going anywhere!"

He channelled more and more mana into his hands.

Flames erupted across his palms, shifting from bright orange to an intense white-hot glow, just like the attack that had incinerated the Golden Flutterer. The Mistveil Eel thrashed violently as the scorching flames spread across its body.

Ethan held on.

The creature’s flesh began to blister and blacken.

As glossy and flame-resistant as the beast was, there was only so much heat that it could handle. And within seconds, its body went limp, and he heard that satisfying notification he had been waiting for.

{Beast Eliminated!}

Ethan threw the giant eel aside before immediately rushing to Wolfy’s side.

The Fenrir’s injuries were worse than he’d initially realised. The creature’s bite had torn deeply into his shoulder, leaving blood soaking through his fur while patches of it were badly scorched by the extreme electricity.

Wolfy tried to stand, but his injured leg buckled.

"Easy."

He placed a hand on Wolfy’s shoulder.

’Beast Mend.’

Blue light spread through the wound.

The torn flesh began knitting together almost immediately, the bleeding stopped, and the damaged muscle rapidly restored itself. Wolfy remained still until the worst of the injury had disappeared.

Then Ethan tossed the defeated eel toward him.

"Go on. Eat."

Wolfy’s eyes brightened.

He immediately began tearing into the beast, with Storm zooming over to join in on the action.

Ethan watched for a moment before checking the injury again.

Within minutes, Wolfy’s wounds had recovered significantly.

He sighed in relief.

"You’re fine."

He patted the Fenrir’s side.

"Just a little crispy."

Wolfy gave him an unimpressed look.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. You did great."

Storm’s body crackled with electricity, somewhat jealous despite its attitude.

"You too, haha."

Then, after recovering his mana and giving his beasts some time to rest, Ethan prepared to set off again.

But this time the beast came to him.

And the fourth and final creature he came across was an Elite Beast, and it had been even more powerful...

-

The Elite Beast was known as an Abyssal Maelwyrm.

Ethan first noticed it because the surrounding water had begun moving in the wrong direction.

The ocean pulled away from a distant island, forming a vast depression before rushing back with enough force to send waves crashing over the surrounding platforms. Something enormous moved beneath the surface, its presence spreading through the water like a crushing weight against Ethan’s chest.

Then it emerged.

The Abyssal Maelwyrm was a colossal aquatic beast resembling a cross between a whale, a sea serpent, and an ancient armoured reptile. Its body stretched for dozens of metres, covered in dark, overlapping plates that looked like pieces of a shipwreck fused together. Long fins extended from its sides, each ending in jagged, bone-like edges, while a crown of curved horns surrounded its skull.

Its mouth opened vertically, revealing rows of glowing blue teeth.

The creature’s speciality was water pressure.

It could compress the ocean around its body into crushing barriers, fire jets of water capable of piercing stone, and create localised whirlpools strong enough to drag entire chunks of land beneath the surface.

Its mana signature placed it at B Rank, but its insane stats put it at essentially A Rank.

{Elite Beast Status}

{Race: Abyssal Maelwyrm

Growth Stage: Prime

Beast Rank: B+

Strength: 75

Speed: 45

Stamina: 57

MP: 69/69}

’Of course it’s practically a fucking boss.’

The fight nearly killed him.

Ethan began by sending Wolfy into the water, but the Abyssal Maelwyrm immediately created a pressure wave that threw the Fenrir backwards. Wolfy recovered quickly and swam through the turbulence, but even his strength wasn’t enough to approach the creature directly.

Storm was more effective.

His lightning attacks dispersed through the water, but the Maelwyrm was simply too large to avoid the currents entirely. Every strike caused its enormous body to jerk, while Storm’s ability to attack from above forced the beast to divide its attention.

Still, the lightning wasn’t enough.

The Maelwyrm opened its mouth and released a concentrated blast of water, striking the giant dragonfly and sending it tumbling through the air.

"Storm!"

The Lightning Dragonfly recovered, but Ethan knew he couldn’t keep relying on him.

The real problem was the water vapour.

Every time Ethan approached the surface, the Maelwyrm’s pressure attacks disrupted his flames. Spark’s fire was powerful, but it was poorly suited for fighting in an ocean, especially against such a beast. The water vapour suppressed his flames, scattered his attacks, and forced him to spend more mana simply maintaining his position above the waves.

Ethan was strongest on the small plots of land.

The Abyssal Maelwyrm was strongest everywhere else.

’To beat this thing, I got to fight more carefully.’

And that was exactly what he planned to do, though doing so was much easier said than done...