Divine Beast Ascension

Oli first scanned the area with his eyes along with his essence. When he noticed nothing wrong at the moment, Oli sat on a nearby stump and closed his eyes.

Normally, Oli would allow his mind to sink into the soul jade so that his body would rest as he trained his mind. But not tonight. Instead, Oli took a meditative stance but kept his essence actively scanning the nearby surroundings.

He understood that some bandit attacks may be inevitable if Johan’s fire had already given them away. So long as Oli remained ready to counterattack while appearing to be wide-open for attacks, Oli was determined to at least confront their would-be attackers to the best of his abilities. At least this would somewhat sway the element of surprise to his side and not the side of the attackers.

Night settled in as the partial moon shone down on the forest below, narrowly passing over the nearby mountainside.

But Oli remained determined. Oli kept himself ready to strike at all times, sure that any experienced bandits would eventually be able to find them for a second time before sunrise. The young man was balancing caution and tranquility as he waited for someone to take the bait and strike.

‘... Oli...’

.....

Each of Oli’s muscle’s flexed involuntarily out of startlement, even those making his hair follicles stand on end. His eyes shot open without hesitation as he entered a battle-ready stance. Yet Oli wasn’t able to find anyone in front of him.

‘Oli, is that you?’

Turning around, Oli finally found the origin of that voice. And his battle stance fell apart as his gaze changed from alert to baffled.

“V... Vloz...”

The massive leopard slowly walked forward, smiling and brandishing his fangs without a word.

“Vloz? How–”

“Oliver...”

Oli blinked, tensing up again as he heard the rustle of the tent flap. A hand soon reached out and pushed the canvas lining aside. Leon’s head and torso leaned out of the opening before stepping out entirely.

“Oliver? Where are you?” Leon quietly called out, looking every which way. “Oliver? Oliver?”

No matter where he looked, Leon wasn’t able to find the young man. And considering how on edge everyone now was, Leon took the duty of standing guard outside the tent as he waited for Oliver to likely return after watering or fertilizing some nearby plants.

Everything seemed fine as someone began to emerge from the bushes.

“Oliver, you... WHERE’S OLIVER?!” Leon’s greeting instantly shifted into a warning shout. Unable to recognize the mask-wearing man stepping into the moonlight, Leon questioned, “Who are you and what have you done with Oliver?”

Johan and Shadur dashed out of the test as more figures emerged on the edge of the clearing. They found themselves surrounded by more than a dozen bandits, mostly men.

There were a few men that Leon recognized, spotting the various thugs that had confronted him in the past. “So... You’re targeting the Practor Family?”

Before any of the largest men could respond, the masked man spoke, “Does that matter now? Surrender yourselves or die... Your choice.”

Both Johan and Leon retrieved their swords in response, two for Johan and one for Leon. Shadur also took out his natural wood staff with a small, green crystal embedded at the top already glowing from his first spell.

“Your choice...” the lead bandit sighed and shrugged, signaling for his men to attack as planned.

The first wave of bandits lunged forward. Leading was the four brawny group leaders with either spiked, brass knuckles, clubs, or war hammers. Those four were joined by a swordsman or dagger-wielding thief from each of their teams.

Leon and Johan defended the first strikes but quickly discovered them to be feints. Lucky for them, their essence seemed more steady than usual and more powerful as Johan’s spell had already boosted their strength. Johan’s second spell fell upon the bandits, making it more difficult for the bandits to control their essence.

“Where’s Oliver at?! That lazy–”

RROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRR!!!

*****

Oli wasn’t sure what to do but that didn’t matter. Before Oli could say or do anything, he was speedily carried away from the campsite and onto the mountainside. He was able to look down at the small clearing just past the treeline but unable to move or rush back.

‘If you’re Oli, speak with your thoughts...’ Vloz brought the young man closer to him, lifting him easily as his long tail was wrapped tightly around the human.

‘Vloz, let me go!’

‘So it is you–‘

‘LET ME GO!’ Oli shouted, sharing his thoughts with the familiar leopard.

‘Oli, you need to first explain–‘

“WHERE’S OLIVER?!”

Oli’s eyes glanced at the clearing as two more people rushed out of the tent and more than a dozen men started to surround the campsite. He then glared back at Vloz with absolute ferocity.

‘LET GO, OR I’LL NEVER CALL YOU UNCLE AGAIN!!!’

Startled by such a statement, Vloz loosened his grip on Oli, letting him slip through Vloz’s grip.

Oli immediately gathered essence around his body, again creating a gorilla-like shell of essence around him. On all fours, Oli raced down the mountainside as the first clang of blades rang out from the clearing. The fighting had already begun without him...

To save time, Oli chose to leap off the mountainside. His long, powerful arms latched onto the nearby tree branches as he swung toward the battle in a rage.

“RROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRR!!!”

That roar rocked the battlefield below as Oli plummeted into the fray.

Oli’s party members were no longer frightened by the roar but delighted by it, though they still fought the instinct to flinch in front of the powerful, bestial cry. The same wasn’t true for the bandits. They had heard the roar before, but never up close. Nor had they been the targets of that emboldened roar as most bandits hadn’t even witnessed Oli’s strange battle art with their own eyes.

Lakd was the bandit most comfortable in front of Oli’s roar. His gaze flinched slightly and his face looked puzzled, but Lakd acted immediately and leaped directly for the opponent he’d been eager to face.