3. Dervish

Jake tests Enhanced Splitting Arrow, hoping it will also duplicate poison via his blood. Despite extensive attempts, he confirms the skill only clones mana arrows, not external toxins. The consolation is a large kill count and a class level to 101, with several days left before the World Congress to keep hunting.

Deeper in the forest—dominated by Tri-Lighttail Monkeys, Crushers, and Suppressors—Jake spots a new variant, the Tri-Lighttail Dervish. He observes a troop suppress and pelt a Brownhide Ursine before the Dervish carves it apart with high-speed, spinning tail-blades. As the monkeys celebrate, Jake snipes the Suppressor and a D-grade with Arcane Powershot, triggering panic, but the canopy’s barrier prevents sustained aerial bombardment.

Taking to the treetops, Jake methodically thins the troop with explosive arcane arrows and Enhanced Splitting Arrow’s clones. The Dervish counters by leaping hundreds of meters, using weight tricks to nullify impacts and avoiding direct lines of fire. Jake identifies its weakness to arcane explosions and keeps moving to deny straight approaches while resisting weight waves with disruptive mana pulses and ample mana recovery.

As multiple D-grades swarm him, Jake releases a dark, poisonous mist from his wings. Though low in damage, the poison lets Sense of the Malefic Viper track infected foes through the obscuring cloud. He continues culling the troop and drops the Crusher second-to-last.

The Dervish ambushes, slashing Jake despite a partial dodge. Jake freezes it with Gaze of the Apex Hunter, snares it in a woven net of mana strings, and detonates the net, wounding it badly. He pursues to the ground, endures increasing weight on both weapons, and again forces an opening with his Gaze. Channeling dark mana, Jake executes Descending Dark Fang, skewering the Dervish’s skull and ending the fight.

Notifications confirm class and race at level 102. Breathing but satisfied, Jake notes the troop’s collective weakness to arcane destruction, the canopy’s protective array, and his mana advantage. He climbs back into the trees and advances toward the Lighttails’ inner domain, expecting greater rewards ahead.