Birth Of The Crafts-God

'Now.'

After monitoring the battle for a while, Lucas attacked at the very first opportunity he had when the Jaburian had just dodged an attack from the desolate ape, leaving behind an opening. Discover hidden content at empire

*Boom*

The vestige released a loud noise, but by the time the sound had reverberated, the projectile was already before its target. It was too late for the Jaburian to dodge, and it only barely managed to flinch its body before the projectile —an energy bullet— penetrated right through its flesh and gouged out a large wound.

The wound was so large that it almost severed the Jaburian into two. Its body was barely intact as it lay on the floor, inhaling and exhaling heavily through each motion.

After the first shot, Lucas didn't stop and reloaded right away, this time aiming for the desolate ape.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The latter was stunned by both the noise and the attack, and barely responded in time for the next shot.

*Boom*

The second projectile was shot out of the cannon of the vestige, but as it was a rushed shot, both its power and speed couldn't compare to the previous one. This resulted in the desolate ape having enough time to react at just the last second, tilting its body to the side.

The projectile grazed the monster, but it took with it a significant portion of flesh which caused the desolate ape to cry out loudly. However, compared to the Jaburian, one could say it was let off easily. The latter laid flat on the ground, incapable of propping itself up, whereas the desolate ape could still stand.

"Hmm, letting you go like this would be such a waste."

Lucas, who had already stored the vestige back into his inventory, walked out of his hideout.

"With that injury and the previous wounds, you should be around what? The third level? Maybe the second? That's just your strength though. I can't say much about your reflexes and movement. Regardless, you should be the perfect sparring partner."

Lucas was planning on taking it on alone without using the Bronze cards.

Thanks to his physical training and intense vestige-smithing, Lucas was at the peak of the Bodey Strengthening stage long ago. During this period, he had managed to forcefully surpass that level in terms of raw physicality. This was all thanks to a secret technique he knew off, but said secret technique could only enable him reach the second level of the Apertures Opening stage in terms of physicality at most.

At the moment, Lucas' body could compare to that of a second level Apertures Opening stage stellar practitioner. However, this was merely limited to muscle strength. Without stellar energy, he couldn't display the boost in strength nor could he truly take on a second level Apertures Opening stage stellar practitioner without using his vestiges.

But for this battle, Lucas wasn't felt he didn't need stellar energy. The desolate ape was already much weaker than its basd form, which shouldn't be a problem for him.

. . .

A few minutes later, the brawny large figure of the desolate ape fell to the ground with a resounding boon, sending dust into the air.

Lucas stood opposite it, panting lightly as he flexed his arms. The battle was over, but despite his calm composure, it wasn't an easy one. Even with the severe injuries it bore, the desolate ape was a thorny opponent that had almost got to Lucas a couple of times. In the end, he focused on worsening its injuries rather than making new ones, which resulted in Lucas coming out on top.

Turning his attention to the Jaburian that he had left unattended, Lucas realised that it had died due to blood loss, which wasn't a surprise.

With the two monsters now dead, Lucas walked towards the cave in the face of the cliff. He could still see the small figure shivering within.

"Oi, come out." Lucas stood before the cliff and called out.

A whimper sounded from the cave and the silhouette appeared to have moved backwards. However, the cave was shallow and the figure had already occupied whatever space was left.

"If you keep remaining there, more monsters will come and you'll die. Come with me, I'll find somewhere safe for you."

Seeing no reaction still, Lucas sighed.

'Why do I have to be a nice guy?'

He then jumped and grabbed onto the cliff, before climbing towards the cliff. The cave was around ten metres off the ground —roughly the same height as a three storey building— so it didn't take Lucas long to get to.

He stared inside the cave and finally got a good look at the silhouette. It was a little girl with silver hair, who looked to be around seven years old based on her height. However, Lucas couldn't confirm that as she showed clear signs of malnutrition.

"Hey, little girl. What are you doing here?"

The girl didn't answer him, instead staring frightfully at Lucas.

The latter sighed before extending his arm and seizing her.

"Ahh, ah!!!"

The little girl was shocked and screamed, but Lucas ignored her as he jumped down from the cave and landed on the floor.

"Don't, don't hurt me."

"I wouldn't hurt you kid, so stop making a fuss." Lucas said as he brought the girl down.

"Who are you? Where are you from? And your parents, where are they?"

The girl froze after the bombardment, but suddenly bent her head low and shivered.

"My parents... they're gone."

Lucas went silent. Although he had somewhat guessed this, he also had some other ideas in mind. However, reality turned out to be the worst possible option. The little girl was an orphan, and most likely a victim of a desolate beast attack, just like the people Lucas had encountered a couple days back.

"A little kid like yourself shouldn't be out this far. There are a lot of dangerous monsters like the ones you just saw. If you remain on your own for any longer, you might end up dead. So tell me, which settlement did you come from and what's your name?"

"Name, settlement?" The girl was confused.

"I, I don't know."