Eternal Master: Path to Godlike Status-Chapter 10: ENDLESS PART

Ground shook before anyone heard the loud roar.

Birds burst from the trees all at once, like the forest had lost patience with them. Branches cracked and whipped sideways.

Then a giant boar came through the tree line — two stories of black muscle, old wounds bleeding down both flanks that hadn’t slowed it even slightly.

A man with a hammer planted his feet and met the charging beast head-on.

Clang!

Impact sent him flying and dropped him in the dirt twenty feet back. He lay still for half a second — then spat blood, grabbed the hammer shaft, and hauled himself upright on sheer stubbornness.

A dark-skinned woman spun into the beast’s flank, twin axes working in short, brutal arcs, her long braid snapping behind her like a whip with each turn. Blood sheeted off both blades. She didn’t slow down to check if it was working.

"Stand up quickly, Dorn. We need to buy time for Elisa."

"Give me time to breathe, Eira!" Something in his shoulder made a sound it shouldn’t when he rolled it.

He pulled the beast’s attention and held it, turning what hits, he couldn’t absorb into openings, and she read those openings before they fully formed.

Ten meters away, a woman with orange hair in black robes embroidered with crimson laces lifted her wooden staff, a glowing red crystal fixed at its tip.

She planted her feet firmly, chanted more than fifteen syllables, before unleashing her spell.

"FIRE ORB."

A blazing sphere punched into the boar’s flank and scorched a black crater. It barely did any damage but that was fine; she only needed to mark the beast for her next attack.

"FIRE LANCE."

A line of flame shot straight for the target’s legs, and this time it didn’t just scorch—it tore through its thick muscles, searing deep enough to send the beast crashing to the ground.

"Good one!" Dorn, laughed and leaped into the air.

Hammer met the beast skull. A shockwave rolled outward in a clean ring, pushing grass flat all the way to the trees.

"My turn." Eira’s eyes lit up — literally, a cold glow spreading from her irises, and her grip tightened.

"RAPID BOOST."

Speed doubled, each step transitioning into the next, her axes finding everything soft — ears, nose, eyes, tongue — methodical and merciless, like she was dismantling it rather than killing it.

They pressed their assault, hammers, axes, and spells hitting the beast without mercy.

Soon, the boar staggered, bloodied and roaring, before finally crashing to the ground, the earth trembling under its weight.

Dorn was first to exhale. "Can’t believe the three of us killed it."

"Not three." Elisa lowered her staff. "If the others hadn’t worn it down, we’d be dead by now."

His face darkened as he stared at the bodies of their fallen comrades. Death was normal in this line of work, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

"At least their families get the share." Eira forced a smile. "They earned it."

"Yeah." Dorn nodded slowly. "You’re right."

They began gathering the corpses and started praying.

One by one, the bodies hardened into black crystal, then cracked and scattered into particles, leaving only their equipment behind.

The prayers were mostly ceremonial; crystallization happened naturally when a being died in this world. The only exceptions were beasts or exceptionally powerful individuals, whose remains resisted the process.

Once the burials were done, they turned to the beast. They cut its massive body into pieces, working carefully so nothing of value was lost.

Eira and Dorn separated the tougher muscles and organs, setting aside anything that might hold special properties, while discarding parts that had no use.

Elisa pulled out a small satchel and muttered a spell, letting a faint glow. It absorbed the carefully chosen pieces.

Finally, they tackled the most disgusting part, the stomach, to see if the beast swallowed anything valuable. They saved it for last, bracing themselves for the rancid smell.

Dorn cut through the lining, and black acid poured out, along with chunks of various objects that were not yet digested.

"Look... isn’t that a human skeleton?" Elisa’s voice cracked with astonishment.

It was intact. Completely intact.

"We hit the jackpot!" Dorn’s laughter boomed.

Loot like this would fetch far more than the entire beast. Maybe even ten Nightmare Rank beasts combined. They practically won the lottery with this discovery.

However, Elisa’s forehead creased with concern.

"How is it still intact? Humans who reach Grand Master Rank can barely resist crystallization, and even then, their bodies fall apart after a decade. Could this skeleton belong to an Emperor Rank?"

Dorn staggered back. "Emperor Rank? That’s... way above Master. We shouldn’t even be near something like that."

"Are you sure, Elisa? Not a single one’s ever been officially recorded in this region. And even if you’re right, that skeleton has to be centuries old. The boar probably dug it up and swallowed it by accident."

She nodded. "You’re right. We should be grateful. I suggest selling it to the Argent Tower."

"Then it’s settled." Dorn let out a rough laugh and lowered his hammer. " After this, I’ll find myself a wife and live a peaceful life. I’ve had enough of this dangerous job."

"Oh, it’s settled all right." Malicious laughter drifted from the bushes.

The trio raised their guards up.

Seven figures stepped out of the shadows.

Two in steel plate. Three in leather. And at the edges, two more in robes of black and red, wooden staffs in hand.