Chapter 28: Blood Scent and Quicksand

Landshark.

Its head resembled a shark, and its body was shaped like a lizard.

It loved the scent of blood.

Anya suddenly understood why Morning Sun Academy used Landsharks for training…

It was because of the Landshark’s natural attraction to the smell of blood.

Since the Students lacked the power to defeat a Landshark in an instant, they could only be torn apart by its relentless attacks.

And when a Landshark smelled blood, it became even more excited, attacking Students with even greater ferocity.

But if that’s the case…

Wouldn’t the Students just end up being eaten by the Landsharks?

Anya frowned, glancing at Kail, who was relaxing nearby…

This bastard Teacher… What exactly does he expect from the Students…

But now wasn’t the time to criticize the instructor…

The Landshark in front of Anya had already begun its next assault.

“Roar!!!!”

The Landshark howled, launching an even fiercer attack toward Anya.

“Tsk!!”

Already severely wounded, Anya could only desperately dodge, each evasion more difficult than the last.

Her own blood continued to flow—this couldn’t go on…

Anya frowned, looking at her bleeding wound. She tore off a strip of cloth and tied it around the injury to stop the bleeding.

But it had little effect—the wound was too deep, and blood kept spilling out uncontrollably.

“So troublesome…”

She had no time to be distracted now.

The Landshark charged at her again.

Thanks to its strong legs, the Landshark’s lunge was faster than usual.

Unable to dodge in time, Anya slid forward, passing under its hips…

“!!!”

As Anya slipped beneath the Landshark’s leg, she noticed something strange…

This was the same Landshark whose leg had been wounded by the first Student swallowed earlier…

Its leg wasn’t as tough as she’d imagined…

No wonder she could clearly see its attacking movements—the injury must have slowed it down…

A thought flashed through Anya’s mind.

She imitated the first female Student who’d been devoured, charging at the Landshark’s wounded leg.

The Landshark sensed her intent.

Having suffered once already, it wasn’t about to give Anya another chance. It raised its injured leg and kicked straight at her.

“!!!”

Anya quickly dodged, but it was all within her calculations…

Her true target wasn’t the wounded leg, but the healthy one.

She raised the longsword in her hand…

“Slash!!!”

The longsword didn’t tear into the Landshark’s flesh as she’d hoped—only a minor surface wound was left behind…

Landshark…

Its hide was even tougher than she imagined…

Anya frowned, staring at her longsword, realizing the gap in strength between herself and the Landshark…

But…

If she could make the beast bleed at all…

Then this attack worked!!!

Determination flashed in Anya’s eyes.

As she prepared to strike the Landshark a second time…

The Landshark kicked her in the abdomen, sending her rolling more than ten meters before she finally stopped.

“Ugh!!!”

It was a solid kick.

Even though Anya had dodged as much as possible, the Landshark’s foot still connected.

For a moment, Anya felt as if her insides had been turned upside down, but she gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand.

No problem…

The fiercer the Landshark fought back, the more it proved Anya’s theory.

The Landshark’s head-to-body ratio was unbalanced—if she kept attacking its legs, there must be a way to kill it.

But this longsword in her hand was too shabby—she’d have to chip away several more times before it had any real effect.

Anya nodded, enduring the pain in her arm and abdomen as she faced the Landshark.

The Landshark also realized Anya had discovered its weak spot.

It glared at her, baring its teeth…

Then…

The fin on its head moved…

“!”

Anya hadn’t noticed before.

Now that the fin moved, did it mean the attack was about to start?

But that wasn’t it…

The Landshark let out a mighty roar and then unleashed the Magic within its body…

The ground beneath the Landshark’s feet suddenly turned into Quicksand.

Then…

The Landshark dove into the Quicksand like a shark!!!

Only its upper half remained above the surface.

Cunning creature.

Anya frowned.

She’d finally found the Landshark’s weakness, and now it had buried itself to hide its legs.

Now things were troublesome…

She gripped her longsword tightly—clearly at a loss.

And as Anya hesitated…

The Landshark vanished from where it stood…

No! It hadn’t disappeared…

It was swimming underground!

She saw only half a fin above the surface—as the Landshark advanced, the ground in front became Quicksand, while the Quicksand behind returned to solid earth.

What’s more, its swimming speed was several times faster than its lunge—before Anya could react, it had already moved beneath her feet!

Crap!!

Anya leapt to dodge.

“Roar!!!”

The next moment, the Landshark burst from the Quicksand, nearly biting her.

Terrifying…

One second slower…she would’ve ended up as food for the Landshark…

The Landshark realized Anya had no way to deal with its underground movements.

It suddenly grew playful, swimming through the ground to search for more chances to strike.

Once…

Twice…

Three times…

“Huff… Huff…”

Anya’s strength was waning.

Her injured arm was losing power bit by bit.

No…if this continues…

She’d only end up eaten…

Panic overtook Anya…

In this situation, she didn’t know what to do next…

With the next attack, she might really die…

As Anya stood frozen…

She saw the Landshark swim past a tree.

A branch dropped to the ground.

Maybe it wasn’t important…

But as the branch landed on the Quicksand, it floated on the surface.

When the Landshark left, the branch sank into the ground.

“…”

Anya seemed to realize something…

The Landshark began another attack, diving underground once more.

Maybe…she could try…

Anya channeled her Magic, mustering the last of her strength, and rushed toward the Landshark.

The Landshark was a peculiar creature—its whole body could submerge, so how did it sense Anya’s exact position?

Through smell and sound…

It could predict her next move by the sound of her footsteps.

And on Quicksand…

When Anya’s blood dripped to the ground, it could catch the scent precisely.

This time…

The Landshark caught it…

Anya’s approaching footsteps.

And…

A thick, bloody scent…

You can’t run anymore…

“Roar!”

The Landshark leapt, biting down fiercely on the bloody object.

“!!!”

But what it bit wasn’t Anya…

It was…

The blood-soaked cloth tied around her arm!!!

Anya had only pretended to charge at the Landshark—she’d actually thrown the cloth as a decoy.

It was just a missed attack—not a big deal for the Landshark…

But it failed to notice a tree branch floating on the Quicksand where it had just moved…

When it leaped, the ground beneath it solidified from Quicksand to firm earth…

The branch became firmly wedged into the ground.

The Landshark…

Could only use its own Magic to turn earth into Quicksand…

It couldn’t transform other materials into Quicksand…

So…

As the Landshark lunged, it crashed hard into the tree stuck in the solidified ground.

“Roar!!!”

And Anya?

She stood at the other end of the tree, held down by the Landshark’s weight.

Like a seesaw, the tree catapulted Anya into the air.

In midair, Anya gripped her longsword, using gravity to drive it toward the Landshark’s white belly…

“Clang!”

Anya’s longsword…

Broke.

The Landshark, as a creature that roamed the earth, had thick hide and flesh—even its belly was impenetrable.

With Anya’s weapon, there was no way to pierce it…

Despair washed over Anya in an instant.

Now…she truly had no strength left…

Standing atop the Landshark’s pale stomach, she watched as it raised a sharp claw, grabbed her, and swallowed her whole.