Vale took the first watch while Klein slept. The night passed quietly, disturbed only by the occasional grunt or distant growl of passing monsters—none of which posed any real threat.
After about three hours, they switched. Vale, eager to rest, drifted off almost instantly. But his sleep was far from peaceful. Klein, jittery and on edge, woke him at every little sound—whether it was the low rumble of something far off, the faint clatter of shifting rocks, or just his nerves playing tricks. Each time, he shook Vale awake, eyes wide, looking for help.
After what felt like the hundredth interruption, Vale finally gave up. There was no use trying to rest if he was going to be dragged back to reality every five minutes. With a weary sigh, he sat up, rubbing the exhaustion from his eyes. If his companion was going to panic at every noise, he might as well take the watch again.
He let Klein sleep for another two or three hours before deciding it was time to move. Though his rest had been short and broken, oddly enough, he felt more refreshed after staying alert than during his fitful attempts at sleep.
"Where are we going?" Klein asked groggily, stretching his arms.
"We've got a trap to set."
Before long, they were perched atop a large boulder, overlooking a narrow path below. There, invisible to any normal eye, a sequence of runes shimmered faintly—Vale's ability, Vine Bind.
Minutes stretched into hours. The pair remained silent and sharp-eyed, waiting for some unlucky creature to stumble into their snare.
Just as they began to question their choice of location, a shape emerged from the gloom, moving toward the runes.
It walked on all fours. Twin heads twitched and turned, scanning for threats—or prey. But from where they watched, the pair remained unseen. Its dark gray fur was caked in filth—or blood. Maybe both.
Vale's grip on his weapon tightened. A Fire Hound. He had fought one before, though it had been injured then. This one was different. Whole. Dangerous.
He met Klein's eyes and gave a sharp nod.
The creature took a step forward.
The instant it crossed the runes, three dark vines burst from the earth, snapping around its limbs and locking it in place.
Vale was already in the air, falling fast.
"Now!" he shouted.
Klein reacted immediately, casting a debuff that latched onto the beast without delay.
Vale landed hard, blade flashing once. In a clean, practiced motion, he sliced through its neck. The severed head hit the ground before the body even slumped.
Then came the familiar voice in his head.
[ You have slain a D-Rank Awakened Monster: Fire Hound. ]
Faster than expected.
He exhaled. He'd expected more resistance. A few exchanges, at least. But the debuff had hit harder than anticipated.
Still, the cost was steep. Even in that brief clash, half of his mana essence had been drained.
At this rate, he wouldn't last more than two fights a day. Unlike others, he couldn't restore his essence using mana crystals.
"Damn it."
"We did it!" Klein's voice snapped him out of it. The lanky student had finally clambered down from the boulder, face glowing with excitement.
"And I even got an Artifact!"
Vale turned just as shimmering particles swirled around Klein's arm. A moment later, a longbow of dark wood solidified in his grip.
"It's an Awakened weapon. And it even has a poison attribute."
Poison. Lethal if used right—less about brute force, more about slow, inevitable death. Vale's thoughts immediately turned to how they could exploit that.
He eyed Klein, who was now miming shots at invisible enemies.
"Have you ever even used a bow before?" Vale asked.
"You just pull the string and aim, right?"
Vale stared at him in silence, disappointment practically radiating off him.
They moved on. The Fire Hound's fur and meat were worth salvaging, though the process was... slow. Neither of them had done this before.
Using Klein's shortsword, Vale carefully carved into the corpse, extracting what he could. When they were finished, one last thing remained—the monster's mana crystal. Since Klein still had plenty of essence left, Vale offered it to the spark.
He extended his arm, and a dark spark flickered to life. It consumed the crystal instantly, then vanished without a trace.
Klein blinked.
"Uh... so he just eats?"
"Yeah."
"And that's it?"
"Yup."
"Oh... I see. How unique…"
Vale exhaled through his nose.
"Is he trying to get on my nerves?"
With that, he returned to the matter at hand. Staying here was risky. The scent of fresh blood was a beacon. The Demon Realm was teeming with monsters hunting for a meal.
"Let's move."
Most could smell a fresh kill from miles away. Lingering was just asking to die.
The two pressed on, scanning for another suitable trap location. Vale still had half his essence left—he couldn't afford to waste it. If he could land faster kills, maybe he could stretch it to three traps per day. That would speed up his growth.
"Maybe there," Klein said, pointing toward a narrow path that dead-ended.
Snapped out of his thoughts, Vale examined it. If they could get to high ground, the strategy could work again.
"That'll do."
Soon enough, the trap was laid.
This time, they didn't wait long. The bait—raw Fire Hound meat—sped things up. Within minutes, another monster crept into view.
Drawn straight into their trap.