After finishing, Kreweir pulled something resembling black powder from inside his robe and sprinkled it on his legs. Suddenly, his height seemed to stretch upward — but looking closely, he hadn't actually grown taller. Instead, a ring of black fluff had sprouted from the soles of his shoes, lifting him up off the ground.
Buoyed by that ring of black fluff, Kreweir's speed surged dramatically. In just a few leaps, he vanished into the jungle, moving even faster than Lannuo.
"Seeds of Swift Grass? So that's what Kreweir keeps for escaping with his life — but the aftereffects of those seeds are no joke!"
Leilin muttered to himself, then glanced at the two girls beside him. "I know this sounds a bit awkward, but we should all split up!"
"Since we chose to go out adventuring, we have to be ready to die. To be honest, the fact that you managed to hang on behind those two guys already surprised us quite a bit!"
Ni Lan said as she pulled out a green potion vial and smashed it against the ground. A green hurricane suddenly erupted, wrapping around Ni Lan and Lilisite.
"See you back at the academy!" Enveloped by the green wind, the two girls vanished from Leilin's sight in an instant.
"Everyone's got their trump cards, huh?" Leilin smiled, shifted his feet, and disappeared into the forest.
In the blink of an eye, the five-person team had scattered in every direction, each person using whatever they had to flee the scene.
Leilin kept moving without pause, trees on both sides rushing past him in reverse.
"The Mountain Tyrant Bear has tremendous attack power but only average speed. Among the five of us, Kreweir used Swift Grass, Lilisite and Ni Lan used acceleration potions, and I have Knight-level physical strength — none of us are lacking in speed. Only Lannuo, who fled first, is the slowest and in the most danger. Without some trump card, he'll probably die there."
"With Lannuo buying time, I should be able to leave the Mountain Tyrant Bear's hunting range. Better not use this potion yet!"
As an Apothecary, Leilin couldn't exactly sell in bulk, but he had still managed to set aside a modest fortune. Naturally, he had prepared several life-saving trump cards before daring to venture out for training.
Every step Leilin took landed perfectly. Each movement seemed to sync seamlessly with the forest — not a single branch or vine stood in his way. His motions flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and running water, and his speed was actually on par with Kreweir, who had used Swift Grass.
"ROAR!!!" A thunderous roar erupted from ahead.
A dark shadow suddenly appeared before Leilin, accompanied by a massive bear claw swiping down.
"Impossible! How did it get ahead of me? Couldn't even Lannuo draw it away?!"
Leilin's heart lurched with shock. His body reacted on instinct as he drew his Cross Sword and slashed.
Clang!!! Leilin felt an enormous force surge through the Cross Sword. Using that momentum, he twisted his body out of the claw's range, but the Cross Sword slipped from his grip and went flying.
BOOM!!!
Without a moment's hesitation, Leilin hurled a fiery-red potion at the Mountain Tyrant Bear.
The instant the vial shattered, a burst of crimson flames erupted and engulfed the Mountain Tyrant Bear.
Leilin didn't even glance back at the scene. He turned his head and kept running.
"The Explosive Potion has great power — comparable to an ordinary Zero-level Spell — but against a Mountain Tyrant Bear with its thick hide and rough skin, it still falls a bit short."
"ROAR!!!" The Mountain Tyrant Bear's roar sounded from behind, growing closer and closer to Leilin.
Leilin glanced back and his eyes nearly bulged out of his skull: "This is impossible!"
He could see that the Mountain Tyrant Bear only had some charring on its head — the rest of its body was completely undamaged. The Explosive Potion from just now had done virtually nothing except make the Mountain Tyrant Bear even more frenzied.
And that massive, bloated body seemed as light as a feather, not the slightest impediment to its speed, as it pursued Leilin relentlessly.
"Chip! Scan!"
Leilin issued the command, but after a long wait, no response from the Chip came — only faint, garbled static.
"Chip! Chip!" Leilin called out again, but to no avail.
"Damn it, what the hell is going on?"
Leilin's face contorted. The Chip was his greatest trump card in this world, and the sudden loss of it nearly drove him mad.
WHAM! The Mountain Tyrant Bear caught up to Leilin once more, swiping out with its massive paw as if swatting a fly.
"Shadow Hand!" Leilin rapidly chanted the incantation, and a black hand emerged from the great bear's shadow, seizing the bear's paw in a firm grip.
The great bear roared continuously but could not break free from the Shadow Hand for the time being.
Seizing the opportunity, Leilin scrambled away. "Shadow Hand's effect only lasts a few seconds! I have to move fast!"
Leilin fled the scene in a sorry state.
"Damn it!" This was far from the first time Leilin had cursed. "What the hell is going on — a Mountain Tyrant Bear that's impossibly strong, and it's this fast too!"
The grass on both sides of the black forest was flattened by the gusting wind, and the occasional cry of insects could be heard.
"I finally got away — for now!" Leilin ran for over ten minutes before he dared to glance back. The dark jungle loomed behind him like a monstrous maw, ready to swallow him whole.
"Caw! Caw!!!" Just as Leilin let out a breath of relief, the harsh cawing of crows rang out from the sky again.
Leilin looked up — red-eyed crows, several sizes larger than the ones from before! A full three of them! The moment they spotted Leilin, they dove straight down at him.