Sera tidak tahu apakah dia berhasil melukai beruang itu atau tidak. Dia hanya bisa merasakan kerusakan dari stamina yang terkuras dan peningkatan detak jantungnya. Dari jauh, dia melihat kelima profesor itu sedang berbincang—sepertinya mereka memang sengaja menonton saja.
Bagi Brant dan Lu, pertarungan ini hanyalah ujian kecil. Mereka membutuhkan data, bukan intervensi.
Tapi sekarang, mereka tidak bisa bermalas-malasan lagi.
Hoooooonnnn... gggggg!
Raungan rendah dan berat menggema dari kejauhan, bergetar samar di udara. Kelima profesor menoleh bersamaan.
"Dia datang..." gumam salah satu dari mereka.
"Colossus."
Jauh di kejauhan, pemandangan itu sendiri tampak bergeser. Bahkan dari jarak hampir lima hingga enam kilometer, sudah tak salah lagi—sesuatu yang sangat besar sedang bergerak. Skala besarnya saja sudah tampak jelas dari jarak itu.
"Makhluk itu..." gumam Lu. "Apa kita sanggup menghentikannya?"
"Bintang-3 rendah," jawab Brant sambil menyeringai menggoda. "Jangan bilang kau takut."
"Apa maksudmu bintang-3 rendah?" sergah Lu. "Dengan ukuran sebesar itu, dia setara dengan beast biasa bintang-5 puncak. Dan aku tidak takut mati. Makhluk itu bisa meratakan kota sebelum kita sempat menghentikannya. Belum lagi, mereka hampir tidak bisa dijinakkan."
"Tapi kita tetap harus mencoba," kata Brant sambil meretakkan buku jarinya. "Aku selalu penasaran bagaimana perasaan Kaisar saat melawan Colossus itu. Sepertinya sekarang giliranku merasakannya."
Profesor lain angkat bicara.
"Harus kuakui, para Iblis benar-benar mengambil varian yang bagus. Ukuran sebesar itu di bintang-3 rendah? Sial. Mereka pasti masuk jauh ke alam liar."
"Pasti rank mortal... atau bahkan biasa," tambah yang lain. "Jika dia mencapai ukuran itu tanpa naik ke rank berikutnya."
Itu mendapat beberapa anggukan setuju.
"Jadi?" tanya Brant santai. "Siapa duluan?"
Dia sudah tahu jawabannya.
"Bukan aku," jawab Lu langsung.
"Kalau apiku keburu ketahuan, para Iblis mungkin tidak akan muncul," tambahnya, ekspresinya tampak bangga.
"Ck. Ck. Sombong sekali," kecap Brant. "Baiklah. Kalian bertiga—kalian duluan."
Saat dia berbicara, hembusan angin tajam menerpa udara.
Sebentar kemudian, angin menguat dengan dahsyat, mengangkat tiga profesor lainnya dari tanah dan melemparkan mereka ke depan seperti sobekan kertas menuju Colossus yang semakin mendekat.
"Mereka tidak akan berbuat apa-apa," kata Lu datar, menyilangkan tangan.
"Mungkin tidak," balas Brant tenang. "Tapi bahkan kehilangan energi dua puluh persen pun berarti banyak saat berhadapan dengan makhluk sebesar itu. Kalau dia lelah, dia akan hibernasi di tempat yang sama. Saat dia bangun, efek obatnya sudah hilang, dan dia akan menjauh dari kota, karena pada dasarnya mereka pasifis."
"Maksudku," Lu terkekeh, "kalau aku bisa dapat makanan hanya dengan duduk diam di satu tempat, aku pun akan jadi pasifis."
Vegetasi tumbuh alami di punggung Colossus. Jika dia diam, energinya dipulihkan oleh tanaman—makanan yang diberikan sebagai upeti sebagai imbalan perlindungan. Karena itu, Cragveil jarang terlihat menyerang secara aktif.
Mereka hanya bergerak saat diserang, saat Geo Resonance mereka mendeteksi harta karun penghasil energi di dekatnya, atau—seperti kasus ini—saat mereka diberi obat.
Sebagian besar waktu, Colossus tidak peduli urusan orang lain. Naga pun bisa berkeliaran di langit di atas kepalanya, dan dia tidak akan peduli selama tidak merasa terancam. Begitu pula makhluk lain menghindari memprovokasi mereka. Satu-satunya alasan manusia, elf, atau beast lain bertarung melawan Colossus adalah saat dia bergerak, dan ada pemukiman atau sarang di jalurnya.
Begitu Colossus memilih jalur, jarang berubah arah.
Dan karena distribusi berat spiritualnya hanya berfungsi di atas hutan, pemukiman apa pun di bawah kakinya akan rata. Untuk membuat perjalanannya lebih nyaman, dia akan memanipulasi bumi itu sendiri, hampir meratakan seluruh area di depannya.
"Kau pernah mencoba menjinakkan Colossus, Lu?" tanya Brant tiba-tiba.
"Belum," jawab Lu. "Kenapa tanya?"
"Tidak apa-apa," kata Brant. "Aku dengar skill mereka benar-benar 'Earth Manipulation'. Bukankah itu lebih baik daripada skill earth lainnya? Maksudku, seperti memiliki semuanya dalam satu."
"Ah," Lu menggeleng. "Itu memang mencakup semua skill earth, tapi bukan berarti penggunanya bisa menggunakan semuanya."
Dia melanjutkan, nadanya berubah menjelaskan.
"Formula dan urutan yang sudah ditentukan yang kita warisi dari beast kita membuat skill mudah diaktifkan—kita tinggal menyalurkan mana. Tapi jika kau mencoba meniru skill Earth tertentu melalui Earth Manipulation mentah, biaya mana meroket. Efeknya mungkin tidak seefektif itu, dan kau bahkan mungkin tidak mendapatkan hasil yang diinginkan."
"Selain itu, skill manipulasi butuh konsentrasi penuh. Sedikit saja lengah, skill itu langsung hancur, dan kau harus mulai dari nol—membuang mana berharga dalam prosesnya. Itu mematikan di pertarungan. Singkatnya, kecuali kau master di bidang itu, skill warisan selalu lebih baik. Kurang serbaguna, tapi jauh lebih andal. Sederhananya, skill manipulasi itu high risk, high reward. Tapi tetap saja, meskipun skill manipulasi sulit dikuasai, mereka sangat membantu saat mengubah skill warisan menjadi bentuk yang diinginkan."
Brant mengangguk. Bukan karena dia tidak tahu ini—tapi rank terdaftar Lu yang lebih tinggi memberinya akses ke informasi yang jauh lebih detail.
"Dan beast dengan skill manipulasi itu langka banget," tambah Lu sambil menghela napas. "Aku sudah mencari beast manipulasi api selama bertahun-tahun, dan belum ketemu juga."
Hoooooooonnngggg!
"Oh... Mereka membuatnya semakin marah. Sepertinya giliranku akan segera tiba," kata Brant, mengabaikan Lu, yang membuat Lu mendecak kesal.
---
A/N: Kita sudah melewati 200 GT! Terima kasih banyak!!
Tidak! Aku tidak menangis karena harus menggosok pantat untuk menulis bab ekstra, aku sangat bahagia... sungguh.(ಠ ͜ʖಠ)
Bagaimanapun, mohon maklum bahwa aku sedang menimbun 10 bab untuk diterbitkan tanggal 22, jadi bab bonus akan diunggah paling lambat akhir pekan depan!
Maaf atas keterlambatannya.(人´∀｀)
Chapter 134: Cragveil Colossus
Lily hesitated.
She didn’t want to expose all of her strength as Leo had suggested before. Nor did she want to waste excess mana forming storm clouds that would drain her reserves too quickly. After carefully sensing her remaining mana and judging it to be sufficient, she chose to wait. For now, she continued attacking with wind blades and vines, hoping to exhaust the bear until its frost ability weakened or deactivated on its own.
But Brant and Lu were focused on something else entirely. This time, Brant leaned forward, clearly more engaged.
"See?" he said with a smug tilt of his head. "I told you the brat wouldn’t allow his girl to be weak. I’ve already judged his character—cautious and smart."
Lu responded with a low grunt, irritation obvious on his face. He had lost more than a few promising candidates he could have presented to his academy’s principal.
"The beast is giving off energy close to a pseudo–3-star, and it’s nearly ten meters tall," Brant added thoughtfully. "Could it already be a royal?"
"No," Lu replied calmly. "Wood-type beasts tend to grow larger than others. But I can say this much—it’s a noble. She found herself a good one."
"The beast also seems full," Brant continued, eyes narrowing. "Which means the only thing holding it back now is element crystals."
Lu nodded in agreement, his gaze never leaving the battlefield.
But now, they couldn’t afford to laze around anymore.
Hoooooonnnn... gggggg!
A low, distant howl rolled in from a far-off direction, deep and heavy, vibrating faintly through the air. All five professors turned their heads at the same time.
"It has come..." one of them said quietly.
"The Colossus."
Far in the distance, the landscape itself seemed to be shifting. Even from nearly five to six kilometers away, it was unmistakable—something massive was moving. The sheer scale of it was apparent even at that distance.
"That thing..." Lu muttered. "Will we even be able to stop it?"
"It’s a low 3-star," Brant replied with a taunting smirk. "Don’t tell me you’re scared."
"What do you mean, low 3-star?" Lu snapped back. "With that size, it’s comparable to a peak 5-star regular beast. And it’s not that I’m scared for my life. That thing could raze the city before we even manage to stop it. Not to mention, they’re nearly non-tamable."
"But we still need to try," Brant said, cracking his knuckles. "I’ve always wondered what the Emperor felt fighting that one Colossus. Looks like now’s my chance to experience it."
Another professor spoke up.
"Have to admit, the Demons really snatched a good variant. That size at a low 3-star? Damn. They must have gone deep in the wilderlands"
"Must be mortal rank... or even ordinary," another added. "If it reached that size without advancing to the next rank."
That earned a few nods of agreement.
"So?" Brant asked casually. "Who’s going first?"
He already knew the answer.
"Not me," Lu replied immediately.
"If my flames get revealed too early, the Demons might not even show themselves," he added, his expression openly proud.
"Tsk. Tsk. Always so haughty," Brant clicked his tongue. "Fine then. You three—you go first."
As he spoke, a sharp gust of wind surged through the air.
In the next instant, the wind intensified violently, lifting the other three professors off their feet and hurling them forward like scraps of paper toward the rapidly approaching Colossus.
"They won’t do shit," Lu said flatly, crossing his arms.
"Maybe not," Brant replied calmly. "But even a twenty per cent energy loss matters when dealing with something that big. If it gets tired, it’ll hibernate in the same spot. By the time it wakes up, the drug’s effects will have worn off, and it’ll turn away from the city, since innately they’re pacifists."
"I mean," Lu chuckled, "if I could get food just by sitting in one place, even I’d become a pacifist."
Vegetation naturally grew on a Colossus’s back. If it remained stationary, its energy was replenished by the plants—food offered as tribute in exchange for protection. Because of this, Crgveil’s were rarely seen attacking actively.
They only moved when attacked, when their Geo Resonance sensed an energy-producing treasure nearby, or—as in this case—when they were drugged.
Most of the time, a Colossus minded its own business. Dragons could be tearing through the sky above its head, and it wouldn’t give a damn unless it felt threatened. Likewise, other creatures avoided provoking them. The only reason humans, elves, or other beasts ever fought a Colossus was when it moved, and a settlement or a den lay in its path.
Once a Colossus chose a path, it rarely changed course.
And since its spiritual weight distribution only functioned above forests, any settlement beneath its feet would be crushed flat. To make its journey more comfortable, it would manipulate the earth itself, nearly flattening the entire area in its way.
"Have you ever tried taming a Colossus, Lu?" Brant asked suddenly.
"No," Lu replied. "Why do you ask?"
"Nothing," Brant said. "I’ve heard their skill is literally ’Earth Manipulation.’ Wouldn’t that be better than other earth-related skills? I mean, it’s like having everything rolled into one."
"Nah," Lu shook his head. "It indeed encompasses all earth skills, but that doesn’t mean the holder can actually use all of them."
He continued, his tone turning explanatory.
"The predetermined formulas and sequences we inherit from our beasts make it easy to activate skills—we just channel mana. But if you try to replicate a specific Earth skill through raw Earth Manipulation, the mana cost skyrockets. It might not be as effective, and you might not even get the desired result."
"On top of that, manipulative skills require intense concentration. Even a tiny lapse collapses the skill entirely, and you’re forced to start from zero—wasting precious mana in the process. That’s deadly in battle. All in all, unless you’re a master in that field, inherited skills are always better. Less versatile, but far more reliable. Simply, manipulative skills are High risk, high reward. But still, even if manipulative skills are difficult to get around, they help tremendously when altering an inherited skill to the desired shape."
Brant nodded along. It wasn’t that he didn’t know this—but Lu’s higher registered rank granted him access to far more detailed information.
"And beasts with manipulation-type skills are rare as fuck," Lu added with a sigh. "I’ve been looking for a fire manipulation beast for years, and I still haven’t found one."
Hoooooooonnngggg!
"Oh... They angered it more. It looks like my turn will arrive soon." Brant said, ignoring Lu, which earned him a sharp ’tsk’
---
A/N: We have crossed 200 GTs! Thank you very much!!
No! I am not crying because I need to rub my ass off to write extra Chapters, I am very happy... really.(ಠ ͜ʖಠ)
Anyway, please understand that I am stockpiling 10 Chapters to be published on the 22nd, so the bonus Chapters will be uploaded by the end of next week!
I am really sorry for the delay.(人´∀｀)
Komentar Chapter (0)
Login buat ikut berkomentar.
Belum ada komentar di chapter ini. Jadi yang pertama!