The Extra Wants Control

Lara's emerald eyes glowed bright green as they scanned the unforgiving expanse of desert sand.

It honestly was not the most hospitable environment for an elf accustomed to the forest, seems Seraphina was placing them in different scenarios.

She sighed, her lips slightly twitching.

"They put us in a desert?" she thought and she was not pleased, not one bit.

Despite the foreign and disadvantageous landscape, Lara overcame her frustration and started thinking of a solution.

The desert was a harsh environment and it was a challenge for elves.

Within her faction, a hierarchy existed, one that was similar to all factions.

Here elves, served as the leaders, their decisions guiding the group.

The faction was indeed diverse but it everyone knew that it was clearly an Elven faction, but no ine complained nor did they speak about it, why? The benefits of course. It was too much to pass up.

It was like when your boss makes you something that you question it's legality then pays you a lot of money.

What can you do but take the job and wipe your tears with the money...

Anyway, recognizing the need for swift action, Lara addressed her group, her voice clear and decisive. "An oasis," she declared, "it is a couple of miles north. That's our immediate goal."

A glimmer of hope flickered in the eyes of her surbodinates.

"Tyler," she continued, her gaze settling on her second-in-command, a elven mage with a sharp intellect, "spread the word. We move north, gathering resources and scouting for animal habitats along the way. We'll need everyone on their toes, especially the R&D department students. They have a crucial role to play in this environment."

Tyler nodded. "Understood, Lara," he replied, immediately barking out orders to those below him, who did the same to those below them.

And finally scouts were dispatched, taking to the skies on wind elemental spells.

Others were tasked with resource gathering, began combing the sands, searching for anything usable. Simce they were allowed to bring anything with them, only their weapons, they looked for any usable things.

The R&D students, the crew of inventors, engineers, architects, huddled close thinking of a way forward as they moved to the oasis, they were tasked with proposing a fort design and thry had to make a proposal considering their environment.

Here, in the harsh embrace of the desert, their unusual skills could be the difference between survival and defeat.

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With a final nod to Tyler, Lara closed her eyes.

An emerald glow enveloped her, then flickered outwards, turning her form progressively transparent.

A final whisper, "I'll be going first," and Lara vanished.

****************

A tense silence stretched between the knight and the monstrous tiger.

The air crackled with barely contained power as they stood before each other, each searching for a weakness, an opening and sizing up their opponents.

The knight, Azrael, stood looking at the beast, his face expressionless before the monster that was exuding heavy killing intent.

And the tiger before him was taller and bigger than him. Its fur was orange with scars showing its battle experience, overlapping with obsidian stripes that rippled across its massive form.

Its claws, scratched and scraped against the rocky ground so hard sending sparks flying.

The monster growled, a sound that echoed through the peaks.

In its mind, this human was a pathetic joke. It longed to crush the knight under its paw.

"A mere human," the tiger king roared, its voice a thunderclap, "acting as if his skill is equal to mine, standing and blocking my path?"

Azrael remained silent, his posture unwavering.

His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, but he showed no eagerness to draw it. He knew the first attack would determine the flow of the battle. He observed the beast silently.

" I want to step on that small face of his this instant, screw it... I can't wait any longer."

The tiger king couldn't take it anymore. It lashed out, its massive paw raised up and started to descend .

The monstrosity cleaved through the mountainside, leaving and making cracks on the mountain.

Rock and dust exploded outwards, a miniature avalanche triggered by a single swipe.

It generate heavy winds that howled om the peaks.

The monstrous king felt triumphant. But its victory was short-lived.

As the dust settled, revealing a scene of devastation, the king searched for its opponent.

Confusion clouded its eyes. The knight… was gone. No shredded remains, no blood beneath its paw, just a vacant spot where he stood moments ago.

A prickling sensation on its flank made the tiger king look down.

There, beside its paw, stood Azrael unscathed, his face emotionless. In his hand, a faintly glowing dagger hummed with restrained power.

"What… I swear I hit him?" the monster thought, its confidence shaken for the first time.

Azrael meanwhile was having different thoughs. This wasn't your average beast, it was stronger that any at its level, it seems like there was indeed a reason it was king of the mountains. For centuries it had existed had honed its instincts.

At Seven stars monster also undergo a qualitative change and become more intelligent, this monster which was at the peak of seven star and a couple of centuries old was clearly smart to the point it developed disdain and pride.

The tiger king roared in anger, a declaration of its dominance.

Sonic waves rippled outwards, carving on the mountainside. The earth trembled, and loose bolders tumbled down the peak.

Azrael, however, remained unfazed. His stance shifted ever so slightly, a subtle adjustment that spoke volumes about his battle experience as he cut through the sonic waves his face emotionless as if it was looking at something insignificant. A look that rge monster picked up on.

"That gaze..." the monstrous tiger snarled internally, its intelligence deciphering the knight's calm demeanor as utter contempt.

"As if he's looking at a bug!"it was in rage.

"I'll gouge, rip and eat those blue eyes," the tiger king roared, as it's body glowed in red aura. "I'll show you your place!"

With a powerful leap, the king propelled itself towards Azrael, a barrage of razor-sharp claws coated in a menacing red aura.

But Azrael, evaded every attack. Every swipe, every lunge, missed its mark by a hair's breadth.

Frustration etched itself onto the monster's face, its earlier confidence dimming with each failed attempt.

"Slow," Azrael's cool voice rang out, cutting through the roar of the wind, devoid of any emotion. It wasn't a boast just a simple observation.

"Don't tell me this is all you have?" His follow-up wasn't a question, but a challenge.

With a metallic clang, Azrael swung his sword.

The blade moved slow seemingly unremarkable it pulsed with a faint blue light. It was the knight's turn to go on the offensive.

The blade moved forward with grace. The monster also felt that the blade was slow and unremarkable but it's instincts told ot to dodge. So it jumped back.

The battle had entered a new phase. The human, once dismissed as a mere bug, had become a threat and the king felt it. If he didn't deal with this human knight fast his life would be in danger.

So it attacked, The mountain peaks trembled under the clash of steel and claw.

The clang of steel against monstrous flesh echoed through the mountain peaks. Azrael with his honed skills and unwavering focus,

moved around the enraged tiger king.

With every battle, every slain beast, every grueling practice session had honed his skills into a weapon of devastation. His blade, now ablaze with a golden aura, blurred as he launched a relentless offensive. Not once had Azrael used his elements, or their properties he was fighting with his skill alone.

With a mighty slash, Azrael cleaved downwards, the golden light shearing through the air and finding its mark. Blood splattered across the rocky ground.

But... a triumphant growl from the monster sent a jolt of disbelief and confusion through the knight.

He had made a cut meant to split the beast in two but, he only managed to cut the beast's claw, from between its claws all the way to its elbow where it's blade stopped.

Yet, instead of a wound being unbearable to the monster, the flesh writhed and pulsed.

Before Azrael's stunned eyes, the severed limb began to regenerate, knitting itself back together.

As the sickening realization dawned on him, the knight's worst fear materialized.

His blade, caught in the regenerating flesh, was now useless, a golden hilt embedded in the pulsating mass. A guttural growl ripped from the tiger king's throat, a sound filled with cruel amusement. "Yes...Now," it roared internally, its voice a tremor that shook the mountain, "You. Can't. Move."

The monster's tail, a whip of pure muscle, lashed out like a whip. The tail was the size of a two hands put together. And this attack was going to hit Azrael but...

In a split second, a surge of ethereal energy coursed through his body. His form dissolved, turning into a wisp of shimmering mist.

The monstrous tail passed through the wisps of smoke. But the energy behind it was enough cleave through mountain peaks.

And Azrael appeared a few feet away from the beast.

The sheer force of the attack, however, didn't dissipate harmlessly. It slammed into the adjacent peaks, cleaving through them like a hot knife through butter.

It was a clean cut... The impact sent shockwaves through the very foundation of the mountain, dispersing the clouds above and generating heavy winds as the cut peak tops slid off and fell in the valleys.

Azrael, his ethereal form reforming a safe distance away, watched the scene his face was still neutral.

The tiger king, its monstrous regeneration complete, roared in frustration as it ripped off the sword on its limb. Its eyes glowing dangerously red.

**ROARRRR**