Chapter 176: ADVANCE GODDAMMIT!

Kaelen held his blades close to his chest, ready to catch the lycan by surprise.

He might have a chance to make a run for it if he could take at least one of its eyes with him.

His grip tightened around the hilt of his sword as he mentally prepared himself for the next chain of events, when the lycan suddenly froze.

Before he could figure out what was happening, the beast corpse was sent flying with him inside, smashing into a tree trunk and making him fly out into the open.

He felt the air get knocked out of his lungs as he hit the floor, but pushed himself to jump to his feet and brace himself. He waved his sword around in the dark, trying to locate the lycan, when he heard the guttural roar in the distance.

It was gone.

This made him confused. And after a moment’s deliberation, he took the risk of activating Infinite Mana to scout what was happening ahead, only for his eyes to widen in shock and disbelief.

The candidates were all on the run for the exit, and not only was he the furthest from the hidden door, but he had been the scapegoat.

From the looks of it, the lycan was right on the tail of the buff guy, meaning he was the first to make a move. The others probably realized if they stayed put, whether the lycan caught up to him or not, it might decide to camp at the exit. The best move was to also make a move while it was distracted by the buff guy.

Shit.

Kaelen was in the most unfavorable position, far from the exit, and quickly realized standing around wouldn’t do any good. The best move was to move closer to the exit while the lycan was distracted. Even if he didn’t make it, it would be progress.

He was about to burst forward from the spot when a sharp pain tore through his leg from his ankle, letting him know that he’d sprained it during the fall.

What the hell?!

All his life, he’d never experienced a sprained ankle, even when opponents knocked him around. But now that he had lost all his abilities, it was suddenly normal to sprain an ankle from a short fall.

To hell with this shit.

He immediately navigated through his system panel and began dumping evolution points into upgrading his attributes.

[You have reached the threshold for Tier 50 Lifeforms]

[You have reached the threshold for Tier 51 Lifeforms]

[You have reached the threshold for Tier 52 Lifeforms]

[You have reached the threshold for Tier 53 Lifeforms]

[You have reached the threshold for Tier 54 Lifeforms]

[You have reached the threshold for Tier 55 Lifeforms]

...

[You have reached the threshold for Tier 60 Lifeforms]

[You have reached the threshold for Tier 61 Lifeforms]

[You have reached the threshold for Tier 62 Lifeforms]

[You have reached the threshold for Tier 63 Lifeforms]

[You have reached the threshold for Tier 64 Lifeforms]

[You have reached the threshold for Tier 65 Lifeforms]

...

[You have reached the threshold for Tier 70 Lifeforms]

[You have reached the threshold for Tier 71 Lifeforms]

[You have reached the threshold for Tier 72 Lifeforms]

[You have reached the threshold for Tier 73 Lifeforms]

[You have reached the threshold for Tier 74 Lifeforms]

[You have reached the threshold for Tier 75 Lifeforms]

"ADVANCE GODDAMMIT!"

KABOOM—!!!

***

Several figures streaked past the wilderness under the crimson moonlight.

A buff man charged towards the pillar of light in his line of sight now, but a lycan several meters tall and easily twice his size and height chased him, hot on his tail as it slowly closed the distance between them while smacking dead trees aside.

A few feet behind them on the left wing were two other figures, a short guy and an ice-blonde woman who ran at moderate speed, intentionally avoiding matching pace or overtaking the buff man and the lycan, as they ran towards the pillar of light as well.

On the right wing ahead of the other pairs was an oxblood-haired woman with an oversized backpack, who was closer to the exit and, from the looks of it, would be the first to make it there thanks to her incredible speed.

As they all made it for the exit, a sudden powerful shockwave swept across the wilderness, almost knocking them off balance and sending dust and debris flying their way in waves.

This made the burly man slow down for a moment, which the unfazed lycan took the chance to lunge forward with its deadly claws, aiming for his exposed back.

But before they could connect, the lycan suddenly felt the hair behind its neck stand on end, and it snapped its head behind only to see another figure standing right behind it with their twin blades already descending on it.

"Have a taste of your own medicine!" Kaelen roared as his blades dug deep into the lycan’s Achilles, before lodging into its bone and not advancing any further.

The lycan roared in rage and agony, missing its target completely as the burly man rolled forward to avoid the deadly claws.

Kaelen didn’t hesitate to dislodge his blades as he swiftly moved to the other exposed foot. He swept his blades, aiming for the second Achilles to completely cripple the beast, when the lycan suddenly swept its claws behind it, aiming to take him out in one clean swoop.

Kaelen had two options now. Halt his advance and retreat to safety, or go ahead with the plan while bracing himself for impact.

Why choose one when he could risk it all and do both?

Slash—

His blades streaked across the second Achilles, at the same time the claw arrived before him.

At that moment, Kaelen had to admit he might’ve miscalculated.

Just as he braced himself for impact, the claw suddenly stopped just a few inches from his face as a pair of arms grabbed it from the side. Before he could figure out who it was, the lycan was lifted off the ground and thrown over their shoulder.

Kaelen was stunned to see the burly man standing there with his black tank top soaked in sweat.

The lycan struggled to get on its feet but dropped to its knees with a powerful shriek when a vial was suddenly tossed into its mouth, and it instinctively snapped its jaw, crushing the glass and spilling its contents into its mouth.

Its eyes immediately turned bloodshot as it shrieked in pure agony and thrashed itself on the ground.

At that moment, Elyndra appeared from the side with a mischievous smile.

"What was that you fed it?" the burly man asked with a rough voice.

"It’s holy water mixed with acid to increase its effectiveness."

Kaelen’s lips twitched.

That was basically just acid.

To think the two stopped to assist in taking down the lycan. Elyndra’s intention was clear and understandable—she probably wanted to gut the lycan. But for the burly man to jump in right on time.

At that moment, the man tilted his head to look at Kaelen. "Thanks for saving my neck there."

’...Huh? I wasn’t.’

He didn’t say that out loud, though. "I should be thanking you," he said instead.

"Oh, the boss is regenerating fast," Elyndra pointed out as she leaned forward with sparkling eyes, when the burly man grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back.

"Don’t get too close. It can take your head from even that distance." Then he turned to the other two candidates who were already at the exit, but paused to watch with no intention of getting involved.

"You two gonna help or what?" he asked.

The ice-blonde woman didn’t reply but simply tilted her head to the short guy, who was silent for a moment.

They could all choose to escape safely now, but killing the lycan should come with its own benefits, both reward-wise and in attracting potential sponsors in their various parties.

He finally looked up from the lycan and shifted his indifferent gaze across Kaelen, Elyndra, and the burly man.

"It’s not so bad, I guess..."

Then he shrugged lazily.

"Let’s do it."