"I need to get off the ground." The thought flashed through his mind as another spike burst beneath him.

He kicked off one of the many spikes around him, nearly avoiding the attack.

Mid-air, another spike shot towards him, then a marble. It seemed his fate was sealed.

Yet his expression remained unchanged, indifferent as if he wasn’t in peril.

Before the spike or the marble could hit, he shot upwards mid-air, propelled by the steam that had returned to him.

For a moment he flew, but just for a moment.

He was far too heavy to be kept up by the pressure of the steam from a water skin.

He landed atop a branch, watching for their next move.

"What the f*ck was that?" Aren blinked in disbelief.

"Did he just fly..." the last adventurer, a water mage, gasped.

He hadn’t attacked yet, scared stiff by Alaric’s first attack, the steamed rat hound by his side, lifeless.

"He is dangerous, don’t let up!" Dune roared, his hands digging into the soil.

Several clamps of soil, hardened by his mana, shot towards Alaric. The latter jumped onto another branch; the branch he stood on moments ago reduced to nothing.

"Mother, you said he is a second resonance mage, why does he keep using a physical medium..." Alaric inquired mid-fight, catching everyone off guard.

Their eyes widened in disbelief.

To them, this was a hunt; he a bounty to be claimed.

But Alaric saw it as training. He watched their movements as a student would a demonstration, curious why they behaved as they did.

While they took it serious, he did too but in a completely different way.

"Probably because of his mana capacity," Raika answered lazily, bored by the fight.

To her a fifth resonance mage, this looked like the squabble between children.

"..." Dune gnashed his teeth, enraged by their disrespect.

What Raika said hit the nail on the head.

He had a silver mana heart, only ten days’ worth of mana.

If he used a second resonance spell, it might consume half a day’s mana per spell, as conjuring the element out of mana and manipulating it was draining. But with the medium present, he had to just manipulate it.

"Huh" Alaric staggered as the tree he stood atop began to shake.

He looked down; the soil underneath was parting, leaving the roots and de-anchoring it.

"Dune! He is dangerous..." Alaric jumped off the falling tree, his attention on Dune.

The latter teeth gnashed in rage, his earlier composure lost.

Though he used his mana sparingly, he was much more dangerous than Aren.

He had more understanding of the element than the guy who could only shoot marbles.

Mid-air, several marbles were shot towards him, but he dodged them, propelling himself with the steam swirling around him, with minimal effort.

"What type of magic is that?" Aren’s brows creased in annoyance. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

He couldn’t hit the boy.

He was called a sharpshooter, his aim precise, attacks penetrating.

With just this skill, he had killed many monsters and climbed a few towers, yet this boy was dodging them with minimal effort.

Aren didn’t let up; he shot marble after marble. Dune, though slower, hurled massive masses of soil at him. Like a wave of the sea, it enveloped him, pushing him towards the ground.

Alaric reacted quickly, surrounding himself with swirling steam.

He hit the ground; the steam cushioning his fall.

Dune, breaths labored, locked eyes with Alaric, his killing intent palpable.

He was here for the money, didn’t really have a grudge against him, but now...

Alaric had touched a sore spot by mentioning his rank and mana capacity.

Though it was a child’s curiosity, it felt like mockery in his ears.

Mockery he had endured all his life, and each time he had proven it with his skill. Today, he would show this boy not to make fun of him.

"This guy is dangerous..." Alaric clenched his fist, the steam compressing with intent.

He snapped his fingers, the ball of steam erupting with sonic pressure.

PSSSHHH!!

"No," a massive wall of earth rose before Dune.

Boom!

It blasted with the pressure of the steam, and before Dune could erect another,

PSSSHHH!!

Another blast shot forward.

The attack struck him head-on. His body convulsed, skin reddened instantly, chunks of flesh blasted by the pressure.

Dune collapsed, screaming in agony. He clutched his face, skin peeling off upon contact.

He agonized, the pain of defeat, greater than that of sizzling heat.

He couldn’t prove the boy wrong.

"It isn’t strong enough," Alaric compressed another ball of steam, ready to finish the job, but this wasn’t a one-on-one battle.

A marble flew towards him. He, who had been expecting it, propelled himself upwards, evading the stream of marble bullets.

"Marlin, what are you standing there for?" Aren shouted at the top of his lungs.

Marlin, who had been frozen stiff in fear, could only look on.

His body shook, hands hovering in front of his mouth in disbelief as he watched Dune in pain.

He was the youngest, a teen who had just recently begun adventuring.

But now, he faced a monster in the form of a child.

Alaric twisted his body mid-air, evading the marbles, not without taking a few hits. He bled, his blood mixing with the swirling steam.

"You are next..." and with a snap of his finger, he counterattacked with pressurized steam.

PSSSHHH!!

"Arrgh!" Aren let out a horrific scream as the blast of steam met his face. His face reddened under the heat, chunks of flesh blasted away by the pressure.

He fell, convulsing in pain, the blood underneath his face boiling with the sheer intensity.

"..." Alaric shot another blast at Aren, blasting a hole in his head.

Then he turned to Dune, ending his misery as well.

The last adventurer stood, the teenage boy’s pants soaked in fear.

Legs shaking uncontrollably.

He wasn’t a fighter, just a tag along.

The mission was simple: capture a seven-year-old boy.

His guardian, Raika, was said to be suffering from mana blockage.

This wasn’t even his main party; he was hired to track them with his rat hound.

"..." Alaric noticed the boy’s fear.

It was evident he hadn’t killed before; his reactions said it all.

"What are you doing, son? Finish it." Raika noticed his hesitation.

"I am sorry..."

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A/N

I want to try events like other books.

Due to our small size, let’s go with.

10 golden tickets = 1 extra Chapter.

100 power stones = 1 extra Chapter.

Goal: G: 0/10

P: 29/100