Zenora had to now defend herself from the orc towering over her. If it were any situation, she would have triumphed, but this was close combat, which she was not suited for. She fired a set of fire barrages and fire bullets, which the Lord blocked with his large cobblestone sword. Though these swords were big, heavy, and less durable. In the hands of an orc, their immense weight made it possible to crush bones.

  A vertical swing made Zenora uneasy, and she put up a defensive barrier. This shattered on impact, causing her to lose her balance and fall. Gilly noticed the situation that Zenora was in; she took a stance similar to the finishing blow she did during the exam. Her body moved on instinct; she was equally surprised but did not hesitate to move.

  Siel had dealt several fatal blows to the knight, and the scale began to tip in his favor. The Orc no longer had support and was ranked lower than Siel. His swings flowed like water. The battle was almost over. Several sword clashes made the knight lose its posture. Seeing the chance, Siel cut his hand cleanly like a knife in butter. This was followed by its head, seen flying detached from its body.

  On that stance, Gilly dashed forward at amazing speed and performed a horizontal metaslash. The Orc Lord was split in half, and blood splattered everywhere, painting the flowered ground red, and Zenora along with it. In front of her stood Gilly, who put her sword over her shoulder, stretching out her hand to her. Zenora could not help but smile.

  Gilly had stopped to think about what just happened. She had slain a hinter class monster, and in fact, she did it in one blow. She convinced herself that the Orc had already taken a bit of damage from Siel. But still it was not enough to kill it in one slash. She glanced around to see if the others were suspicious of her, but seeing their smiling faces, she decided to bury the thought deep within her. From the moment she fought with Hilary, she could feel a change within her.

  Even Siel, who had just seen the last part of the clash, shook his head in approval. None of them thought it odd since she could rival Hilary or even damage Valmor's barrier. Zin appeared beside Zenora, patting her on the head. She was his little sister, even though they were not related by blood. She looked tired, like a vampire basking in the rain off blood.

  "Rest and wash up."

  He said and taught them how to harvest their mana crystals. Still pondering the matter, Gilly had a hint of doubt in her heart. The way her body always moved when it sensed danger was a bit bothersome to her, but she chose to keep silent for now. Now the doubt was growing as she asked the question of her true identity.

  Zenora used water magic on herself, getting rid of all blood stains, and then proceeded to use wind magic to dry herself. By the time she was done, the others had collected all the crystal from the corpses. They rested a few hours and went on their way, heading east to the beach.

  .....

  Far off, the light from the blue-tinted sun made the sand on the seashore look like blue glowing crystals. There was a large black lizard the size of a large truck basking in the sun. Reaching the end of the forest where the trees were less dense, a dark-scaled figure could now be seen rolling on the beach by the approaching party.

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  Gilly gasped in surprise; just seeing the size of the creature was intimidating.

  "That is what you will be fighting."

  Zin pointed to the lazy figure on the sand. With his hand over her shoulder, he faced her with a mischievous expression, which was the first Gilly had ever seen.

  "Since it is your test, you will be the vanguard. Siel will support, and Zenora will just do her thing."

  Gilly’s lips curled up in an unusual manner, her nervousness quite evident. Zin pushed her forward, and Siel followed closely behind.

  Gilly was worried; she only knew fire magic, and this beast was resistant to it. She pulled her sword and ran in the left direction; Siel followed suit but in the opposite direction. The creature noticed their nimble movements and jumped on its feet, giving off a bloodcurdling screech. It charged straight toward Siel, which was unexpected since Gilly was ahead.

  She felt angry seeing the Lizard ignore her. Without a second thought, she dashed forward in the direction of the lizard.

  Zenora stamped her metal staff on the floor, and a halo of white light about five meters in radius spread out from where she stood. A white, colorful magic circle spawned in front of her. The wind began to swirl, and long water bullets could be seen forming.

  Before the salamander had reached Siel, it turned its head toward Gilly and released a fire barrage. Using the dance of the wind, the AB skill is used to increase flexibility, unlike the foot of the wind, which increased speed. She was able to dodge all of the incoming attacks, though she was pushed back. Siel, seizing the opportunity, dashed forward, striking the salamander on its side. A loud clang reverberated, and Siel's sword vibrated as he jumped back a few meters.

  "He's a tough one."

  Siel also approached with a swing of his sword, but the swift turn of the salamander made him jump back. His reaction was late, and he was pushed back, just barely blocking. A series of water droplets landed on the scale, and steam could be seen rising. Staring in Zerona's direction, the salamander let out a huge fireball toward the forest.

  Zenora had already prepared a set of blue shields of light to block the impact of the fireball. The trees around her were on fire, and the earth was scorched. She circled water around her to put out all the fire while the clash was still going on. Seil had made several attempts but had not succeeded against the tough armor. His swing diverted the salamander's head as he narrowly avoided a killing blow.

  Seizing the opportunity, Gilly performed a metaslash, cutting off the salamander's tail. She had borne the full brunt of all its magic attacks, and she was pissed that it was keeping her at a distance. Zin shook his head, and Zenora could not help but conjure a large water ball spinning faster with the wind attribute. This was something people at her level could barely achieve. Using two elements without experience had its drawbacks and effects.

  The salamander was enraged and screeched loudly. This caused Gilly’s head to buzz. Seil immediately flashed forward and stabbed it; this time his sword went in. The salamander was still screaming when it noticed a large blue object heading at it at great speed. Before it could react, a hole appeared through its head through its mouth, and it fell moments later.

  Zenora had listened from the briefing and also from books. Salamanders have two weaknesses: one is inside their mouth, and the other is soft under the belly. Zin, as usual, appeared beside her, nodding his head. She wore a bright smile, which was what she had learned from Ephini. She stumbled back before she sat on the floor. Her mana pool was drained. The effect of reckless use of two elements as a second circle mage, which was equivalent to a Knight rank adventurer.

  She was only used to second-grade and barely used third-grade magic. The last skills she used were water wheel and wind swirl, two beginner third-grade magic. She was skilled, but she was a second-circle mage; her limit was peak second-grade spells for long-term casting. She was lucky because elves have the spirit blessing, which made them resistant to backlash from using spells recklessly. If it was a human, they would cough out blood the instant they attempted it.

  Zin walked towards the others as Siel could be seen struggling from a distance, trying to pull out his sword. It seemed comical; moments ago he was almost eaten by a salamander. Zenora chuckled and Gilly laughed. Zin showed Gilly how to harvest the important materials, which were the scale, tooth, talons, and its mana core. It took nearly six hours to harvest, and they all slept soundly as Zin kept watch.