The Hero of Hypnosis

The manticore charged toward the group at high speeds, its paws sinking into the ground from how heavy its strides were.

"I'm buffing evreyone! [Strength] [Defence]" Nadya chanted, and a yellow glow surrounded everyone before fading away.

"That felt good! Get ready, everyone!" Sasha's shield expanded with light as she blocked a deadly strike from the Manticore.

The force of its attack was so strong that even Sasha was getting pushed back. This made sense because Party quests required at least one person of a higher rank to complete them. This meant that a Manticore was technically an S-Rank monster if fought individually.

"Nnghh! My turn!" She slammed her hammer right onto its nose, forcing the beat's front half to bend down.

Amaya took this opportunity to rush in, slashing at the Manticore's legs to immobilize it, but the moment she got close, its tail swooped around, aimed at Amaya's back.

"No, you don't!" Nadya extended her hand, placing a barrier around Amaya that protected her from the Manticore's tail.

Gwen twirled her staff around, the fireball at the top of it spinning rapidly until it became spiraling flame. "Time to burn you, bastard!" Forcefully jabbing her staff into the fire, a massive jet of flames launched toward the beast at full force.

"CAAAAAWWW!" The manticore got it, spreading its wings, and the force of it pushed some of them back. Then, after inhaling a lot of air, it blasted its own beam of flames, which clashed with Gwen's own.

"What?!"

"It can do that?!"

"Since when could manticore's breathe fire?!"

"You think I'll fall that easily?!" Gwen growled, morphing into her dragon form. "We'll rip you to shreds!" Her fire lost its heat, completely freezing over as ice blew out the mantocore's flames and froze its head.

"Nice going, Gwen!" Amayajabbed her swords into the beast's side, cutting into its thick skin.

"Fall, you bastard!" Sasha slammed her hammer onto its head, shattering the ice.

"On your left!" Kyana fired two mana-infused arrows that tore through the air.

The manticore managed to avoid one of them, using its wing as protection, but the second arrow flew directly into its eye, blinding it.

"CAW!" It roared. Then, its tail spun around, releasing hundreds of spikes that flew in all directions.

"Woah! Be careful!" Amaya shouted, parrying all of the spikes that came her way.

Sasha stood firm, blocking all of the spikes with her shield, protecting Kyana and Nadya.

Gwen created a fire magic circle in front of her, which incinerated each spike that came in contact with it.

"Hold it still!" Kyana shouted.

Nadya nodded. She placed her hand on the ground and spoke a spell. "Bind!" Blue chains sprouted from the ground, wrapping around the manticore, which kept it in place.

"Good work!" Kyana blew on her arrow. To a normal person, this looked stupid, but Kai managed to see what happened. She was using the power of a spirit, and it copied her actions, blowing on the arrow in actuality.

She fired it from her bow, aiming to the side, but the arrow moved on its own, flying right into the manticore's tail.

"I'm sick of this tail!" Amaya leaped forward, her sword wrapped in wind that vibrated at high speeds. She cleanly cut off the manticore's tail so it wouldn't use that attack again.

"Haha! Good going, Amaya!" Sasha hammered the beast in the face, and Gwen followed up with a lightning spell to its open wound.

As the monster bellowed in pain, it used this opportunity to douse everyone in a massive blanket of poison, which forced everyone to their knees.

"Arghh!"

"P-Poison!"

[Dispel] [Heal] Nadya chanted. She had protected herself with a barrier to avoid the attack.

The poison vanished, and everyone was back on their feet.

"Glad to have you on our team." Gewn thanked her.

The manticore spread its wings, then took off into the sky. It rained down poison and fire, attempting to kill all of them in one go.

"Let's finish this, girls!" Sasha's hammer glowed, and a massive blue hammer made of mana grew over the metallic one. She swung it down as hard as she could, the impact creating a loud boom sound.

But that wasn't enough to take the manticore out. Its wings fluttered, and it prepared to fly once more.

Then, Amaya zipped past it, slicing off its wings with one clean cut. "Haha! Take that sucker!"

"Paralyze!" Nadya chanted, forcing the Manticore in one place.

The sky thundered, clouds turning black as lightning lit up the sky, crackling with power. Gwen aimed her staff toward the clouds, then at the manticore. What followed was a massive lightning bolt that singed the beast and burned off all its fur.

"Move!" Kyana was charging up her most powerful attack, strengthened by nature spirits. Her bow was pulsing with mana, and her arrow was raging with the elements.

Everyone jumped out of the way, giving her a clear shot. "Focused Shot!" The arrow tore through the air, and the sheer power it gave off permanently changed the terrain.

The manticore blasted fire and poison at the arrow, but the arrow cleanly flew through it, traveling directly into the monster's body, which completely cut the beast in half and destroyed a large part of the habitat behind it.

"Wooo!"

"Let's go!"

They gave each other high-fives and celebrated their victor.

"Good job, all of you. It was cool seeing you all work together so seamlessly. It's as if you all fought side by side before." Kai complemented them, clapping his hands.

"See! We can work together with no problem! So, sex is still on the table, right?" Gwen asked, hoping he would say yes.

"Yes."

"YES!" She hugged Amaya and Sasha.

"But!"

"But? I don't like buts."

"We're not done yet. That was only ONE test. You still have nine more to go." He smirked sinisterly.

"What?!"

"Nine?"

"No way!"

"Are you kidding me?!"

"If that's what you wish, then we have no choice."

Kai placed his arm around Nadya. "See, she has the right attitude. This is a bonding exercise. Not only will this build your strength, but also build your synergy. Remember, synergy?"

"I don't wanna hear that word again," Kyana grumbled.

"Don't worry. Once this is all over, you'll thank me for this."

Suddenly, another manticore bellowed and charged toward them. Not expecting another one, it took them a bit to get back into position, but right as the manticore struck, the space around the beast shifted, and then it blew up.

"See," Kai spoke up. "Synergy." He smiled, holding up a finger that had space magic residue on it.