The battle continued and Adam sidestepped and let her momentum carry through.

He then lightly tapped his finger forward, there was a small distortion that appeared at her flank.

There was a shockwave that burst outward.

Arlen was able to block it just in time, she slides backwards across the stone floor.

The guild members that stopped to watch were filled with surprise.

Veyra's lips were curving upward just slightly, as her eyes were observing closely.

'He's not just gifted and his control is exceptional for someone who just awakened recently.' She thought to herself.

Arlen straightened herself, she was brushing off the dust that was in her arm. "Not bad, rookie."

"I wasn't even going all out," Adam replied confidently.

Arlen just grinned widely. "Well neither was I."

She then thrust both her palms forward, golden flames were spiraling outward like they were twin serpents.

The ground was cracking under the intense heat, Adam just raised his hand calmly, as mana was gathering in front of him.

That's when a faint translucent layer started to form, space began to warp, and the flames just vanished into a pocket dimension before it exploded harmlessly just high above the courtyard.

The guild members who were watching gasped.

"He redirected her attack!" Someone shouted.

Veyra then finally raised her hand. "Okay, that's enough."

That's when both of them instantly stopped, the tension started to fade from the air.

Arlen was lightly breathing, her eyes were still gleaming with excitement. "Tch. Well you're better than I expected. Guess those rumors about you weren't being exaggerated huh?"

Adam just smiled faintly, pride was evident in his tone. "Well, I'll just take that as a compliment."

Veyra approached them, her arms were folded, she was assessing him carefully. "That was excellent control, that was well balanced output, and also a stable reaction time. It seems that your clearly more advanced that what your current rank suggests."

That's when Veyra handed with a small silver badge, this was his guild insignia. "Consider this as your official confirmation. You're officially now a full member of Astral Blades. And with this performance, your eligible for a silver rank promotion very soon."

Arlen gave him a soft whistle. "Your moving fast already, huh?"

Veyra's expression them softened slightly. "Well keep horning that control. But the higher you climb, the closer you'll come to drawing attention of dangerous eyes, Adam."

Adam nodded, feeling the weight of her words. But he was still confident he can handle himself.

"That has already happened guild master and you know it, but I'll take your words to heart."

Veyra nodded. "Good."

She then reached out to her pockets and took out a small orb and gave it to him.

"Well now this is your first mission, it has all the relevant information." She said.

"A mission right after joining huh, well it's a good chance to earn some credits." He said to himself.

"Good luck rookie." Arlen said with a big smile as she walked away from the training hall.

Adam just nodded and looked at the small orb on his hand the hand the mission details.

{Mission: Outer God Cult Extermination}

{Location: Southern Forest}

"Killing cultists huh?" Adam said while walking out the guild building. "Well, let's get this started then."

He then received a system notification as well.

[Mission Issued: Outer God Cult Extermination]

Rewards: ???

"I guess this is official." He said with a grin.

The forest beyond the southern ridge was quiet, a little too quiet.

The Ebonveil's canopy was towering high, it had twisted trees that was blocking out the sun, it left only streaks of silver light that was breaking through it.

Adam was moving silently beneath them, his hand rested casually in his sword's hilt. There was a faint hum of mana that was in air telling him he was drawing close to his target.

He was walking around for hours and that's when his instincts started to scream.

Something felt wrong, the mana was getting heavy and thick, it was corrupted.

The runes that were on the nearby trees was glowing with a faint purple, as if it was whispering alien words.

"Found you," he muttered to himself, his eyes narrowed.

That's when the ground cracked open.

Five figured emerged as they were cloaked in black robes, their bodies being warped by an unseen energy, their auras being at the peak of C rank.

That's when one of them stepped forward, his face was covered in a bone mask.

"Only one man? The guild doesn't take us seriously," he hissed. "Well it's convenient anyways, you'll make a fitting sacrifice."

Adam just shrugged off their words, as his mana started to surge.

"You can try."

The cultists lunged at him, wind and air was crashing through the clearing.

Adam didn't falter, his dragon instincts flaring and his pride was surging.

He let out a small growl and steam came out his mouth and he let out a blast of mana like a firing torrent.

[Dragon Breath]

With just one blast two of the cultists fell down dead, their bodies were vaporized leaving nothing behind.

The others saw this and were roaring in rage, they summoned writhing tendrils made of darkness from the ground.

But before Adam could act—A shadow was flickering behind him.

SWOOSH!

A dagger was whistling through the air, it was aimed for his throat.

CLANG!

Adam didn't move, sparks started to fly as the dagger just grazed his scales.

[Partial Transformation]

That's when his eyes snapped towards the trees, and there were six masked figures who stood there and he instantly knew that they were assassins.

"This again." Adam said with a sigh, his voice was cold. "Assassins and cultists in just one day just Great."

The assassin's didn't answer however and acted instantly.

Three were going towards him, and the other three went for the cultists, they were cutting everything that was in their way.

But their main focus was on Adam.

Hidden in a faraway royal chamber, Prince Cedric sat and was flickering a crystal orb, his lips curling into a faint sneer. "Let's see you survive this, you'll pay the price for humiliating me 'commoner.'"

Back to the forest, the battle was now pure chaos.

Adam was dashing in-between attack, parrying blows that were bolts of lightning, and dodging earth spikes as the cultists and assassins alike were turning the area into a war zone.

A wind enhanced dagger cut his cheek, but it healed instantly. Adam clicked his tongue, he was annoyed.

The then slammed his foot down, the space was rippling outward, distorting the ground.

The very distortion ripped the two assassins apart in an instant.

The other survivors hesitated. Their eyes were wide when they saw Adam glowing faintly, obsidian scales started to form along his arm and his neck.

"What's with this mana!?" One of the assassins gasped.

The leader of the group of cultists stumbled back, he was trembling. "No human should have this kind of energy... that's—"

But he didn't get to finish his words. Adam's aura started to erupt, it was suffocating, and had a regal pressure that crushed everything that was within fifty meters.

The air was burning with primal power.

His dragonic eyes started to glow with a piercing gold. "You wanted to kill him.." he said softly, his voice cold. "Now be prepared to die as well."

One of the nearest assassins tried to flee, but Adam's figure vanished.

In a blur of movement, with just a single strike, the assassin's body hit the ground, it was lifeless.

One of the cultists tried to summon reinforcements, that when Adam's wings flapped, it sent a shockwave that shredded their ritual circle.

Adam was unstoppable at this moment.

In just a few moments, there was since all over the battlefield.

Just one cultist remained, he was crawling weakly across the ground, as blood was staining the grass.

That's when a clutched a glowing sigil in his hand, he was whispering in a trembling voice.

"The... dragon gods heir... lives..."

The sigil just pulsed once, it sent a wave of energy through space, and Adam's sword came down, ending him right then.

That's when the glow faded.

Adam just exhaled, his aura now calm. His scales receded, and his wings and tail faded back into mana.

He looked at the carnage, the were dead assassins, cultists and a forest that was carved apart by magic.

[Mission Complete: Outer God Cult Extermination]

[Rewards: +2'000Xp, +100 SP]

[Emergency Mission Completed: Survive The Assassins]

[Rewards: +1'500Xp, +10 SP]

Adam just frowned not bothering to check the system message.

"New assassins huh, I guess someone really wants to kill me."

He then turned towards the forest path and he left, leaving the corpses behind.

Back in the capital, Cedric's crystal orb flickered out and his expression twisted to that of frustration.

"He's still alive," he spat, he gripped the armrest of his chair. "Your becoming a problem, Adam."

His shadow advisor who was kneeling besides him talked. "Shall I prepare a more... better and reliable method, my prince?"

Cedric just smirked coldly. "Yeah. But this time, make sure he doesn't survive."