Towering trees cast long, dark shadows, their dull colors forming a somber canvas. One that was unexpectedly brought to life by patches of vibrant, unfamiliar flora. I had never seen plants like these before. Then again, I had spent most of my previous life surrounded by concrete towers and crowded sidewalks, lost in the forest of skyscrapers and glass.
Roy, with his high perception and scouting instincts, led the group from the front. The party moved in a diamond formation, each corner held by a scout responsible for monitoring their designated sector. At the center were the damage dealers, or rather, the Velmoryns, who looked like mages.
I watched them closely, studying every move. I had never been in a real battle before, and the games I'd played or the books I'd read couldn't compare to the real thing. So I focused, trying not to miss a single detail.
My earlier skepticism was beginning to fade. The Velmoryns were clearly experienced. They even had silent signals worked out. None of them had spoken a single word since entering the forest. The scouts made low throat sounds, like animals, to signal that their sectors were still safe. Roy's signals were more complex. His vocal cues didn't just confirm safety, they also issued commands.
From what I could tell, one long chirp meant to keep moving. A short, sharp one meant stop and wait. It was fascinating to watch, and before I realized it, I was fully immersed. So much so that I forgot to check for nearby threats.
That's when Roy let out two quick signals.
Instantly, the formation changed, but not in a chaotic way - they moved slowly but methodically. The scouts, once spread wide, moved toward Roy with bows drawn. Those in the center began chanting spells under their breath, their hands already glowing with mana.
I was curious, so I willed for the Window to focus on Roy.
He was crouched low in a thicket, gripping the bow I had created tightly in his right hand. I followed his gaze and spotted the target.
It looked like a cat - if a cat were larger than a lion, that is. Its fur was pitch black with a slightly shimmering golden runes. The tips of its ears were glowing faintly yellow, blood stained its jaws, and long fangs jutted out from beneath curled, slightly open lips. It stood over a fallen deer-like creature, each bite carving deep into the carcass.
Is this thing really strong enough to require the entire party?
It was majestic, no doubt, but I wasn't exactly impressed. Even if it was larger than a lion, the Velmoryns were easily half a size larger than regular humans. With Roy's stats and his bow's flame-imbuing perk, I figured one or two good shots should've been enough.
Roy slowly rose from the bush, pulling back the bowstring and taking aim. As he poured mana into the weapon, it glowed a deep crimson, and others beside him followed suit, preparing their own attacks.
But then I noticed something I hadn't expected.
A dark, shadowy mark appeared above the beast's neck, hovering just above the skin like a floating sigil.
Must be one of Roy's skills, I thought and quickly used Guidance to check.
[Shadowmark – Basic]
Applies an invisible mark to a chosen target within line of sight. The mark cannot be seen, sensed, or removed, and remains active as long as the target stays within a 1km radius. Only one target can be marked at a time.
So he's marking the creature in case it tries to escape.
I watched with interest as Roy readied his bow, steadying his breath. No hesitation, no tension in his fingers. Just a smooth, practiced motion. My very first creation, crafted with divine essence, was about to be tested against living flesh.
He loosed the arrow.
It sliced through the air with a sharp whistle, a streak of intent too fast to track with the naked eye. The other Velmoryn scouts followed in unison, their bows thudding softly in the dark.
The beast reacted the moment the arrows neared. Muscles rippled under its sleek hide. It twisted with impressive speed, blurring to the side in an attempt to dodge. Almost graceful. Almost fast enough.
But Roy's arrow was faster.
It landed just below the shoulder, embedding deep. A dull thud, then a flare. The wound ignited a heartbeat later, sending a sharp crack of force through the creature's flesh. The explosion wasn't massive, just enough to tear muscle and rattle bone, but it left the beast stumbling, blood already soaking its side.
It turned sharply, its golden eyes locked on the Velmoryns who had dared interrupt its kill. A deep, guttural growl rolled through the clearing as it crouched low to pounce.
But suddenly the runes appeared.
The intricate glyphs shimmered beneath its paws. I didn't know what they meant, or if they meant anything at all. But I saw the effect.
The beast faltered. Its legs buckled ever so slightly. That was all Roy needed.
The second arrow was already on its way. It struck just above the eye. And the impact of another flare cracked the skull like overripe fruit.
The beast crumpled mid-growl. No thrashing, no final cry. Just a heavy collapse into the bloodied grass.
Without wasting a moment, Roy surged forward. He slung the bow over his back and drew a medium-sized curved blade, sprinting toward the corpse. In one swift motion, he beheaded the creature. Thick dark blue blood splashed across the forest ground.
"Ninali, hurry. Extract the essence before its power fades." Roy called out.
A female mage stepped forward from the group. Ninali had cold silver eyes and a brutal scar running down her right cheek. Her expression was focused as she quickly approached the corpse. The moment she reached it, crimson runes began to appear in the air, forming a circular diagram in front of her.
Then, a dark green aura leaked from the beast's body, drifting toward the diagram. It passed through the glowing circle and slowly condensed into a gelatinous mass that formed on Ninali's open palm.
It took a while for the aura to stop flowing, but when it did, the final result was still that same disgusting, dark green, slime-like substance.
"What is it?" Roy asked, clearly excited.
"It's a Lesser Dexterity Essence. We got lucky. It's rare for a Tharuun to yield lesser essence. This is a first for me," Ninali said, smiling faintly as she offered it to him with a respectful bow.
"Thank you, but keep it. We shall divide everything once we return." Roy accepted her gesture but waved it off. "I had hoped for Agility. Too few creatures have it and fewer can be slain."
He didn't seem satisfied with the outcome, which I found a bit odd. For someone who specialized in ranged combat, Dexterity should've been more valuable than Agility. Unless he had plans to improve his close-quarters capabilities.
Then, without another word, Roy turned back toward the beast, which was apparently called Tharuun, and knelt beside the body, offering a quiet prayer to me.
After the prayer, the mages inscribed several sigils onto Tharuun's body, the glowing crimson runes now covering it completely.
Then, the party quickly returned to their formation and continued the hunt.
They kept circling the outskirts of the tribe's territory, carefully avoiding the deeper parts of the forest, which made perfect sense, considering how powerful the creatures dwelling there were.
Over time, they managed to hunt down seven more beasts. One of them was a deer-like creature they carried back with them, while the others were left behind after using the same extraction method Ninali had performed earlier.
Guidance didn't provide any answers this time, so I had to rely on my own deduction and a little eavesdropping to figure out more about this strange skill.
It turned out to be a Velmoryn-specific ability, and apparently, only one member of a hunting party was allowed to use it during each expedition.
Out of the six beasts they used Extraction on – I didn't know if that was the official name of the skill, but that's what I called it – only three yielded essences. All of them were Faint Essences, each no larger than a fingernail.
One boosted Perception, one boosted Agility, and the last one boosted Constitution.
When the Constitution Essence appeared, the reaction was immediate. They practically shouted in excitement.
It didn't take a mind-reader to understand how rare and valuable Constitution Essences were for the Velmoryns. And when Roy claimed it for Vivien and their unborn child, several party members made angry faces and exchanged whispers. I could practically taste the envy and jealousy swirling through the group.
Still, the hunt was going far smoother than I had anticipated.
There were hardly any creatures strong enough to threaten them, and those that could have were either avoided entirely or passed by without even noticing the fifteen Velmoryns crouched silently in the undergrowth, all thanks to Roy's sharp perception and excellent leadership.
By the time they decided to return, the sun was already setting.
The forest, where sunlight barely even reached through the towering, dense trees, was growing darker by the minute. But to my surprise, everything changed once the sun finally disappeared beyond the horizon.
Slowly, one by one, the plants and strange creatures around them began to glow, illuminating the forest in soft, eerie colors. It was even brighter now than it had been during the day.
Despite the dull, measured state of my emotions, I couldn't help but admire the beauty of the night forest - the plants shining in different, vibrant colors, the glowing small animals and insects. Everything was strangely beautiful and alive.
But as my initial excitement faded, I noticed how tense and cautious the Velmoryns had become.
It was clear that while the forest was beautiful at night, it was also far more dangerous, and the proof of that came almost immediately.
Roy's warning signals were drowned out by dozens of disturbing sounds as faint cyan lights began to close in.
The creatures that stepped out of the dark were grotesque - runes glowing faintly across their hairless skin, long limbs twitching as they moved. Their mouths hung open, dripping with saliva, like some twisted mix between rats and dogs. Wrong in all the ways that mattered.
This time, the Velmoryns didn't split apart. They drew closer instead, shoulder to shoulder, forming a tight line. The mages pulsed with magic, the air around them shimmering as they focused on preparing their spells.
Roy and the scouts didn't aim for weak points anymore. They just kept firing, one arrow after another, trying to hold the line. It was clear from the start that only Roy's arrows were doing real damage. The rest barely slowed the creatures down.
Some of the beasts fell, but not enough. Not even close.
"Hurry up! We must scare them off!" Roy called out to the mages, urgency slipping into his voice.
They were trying. I could see the strain on their faces, the way their heads shook slightly as they formed their runes. Then one of them gasped and dropped.
He hit the ground hard, body twisting, convulsing like he'd been struck by lightning.
What the hell happened?
Nothing had touched him. No beast had gotten through. It didn't make sense.
I tried to reason it out, and the only explanation that made sense was magic backlash or running out of mana. Maybe he had messed up the chant or lost control of the spell he was weaving, causing the magic to turn inward, like a gun exploding in the shooter's hands.
Things were starting to spiral. I considered stepping in for a moment, but quickly decided against it.
If this hunt had shown me anything, it was that I'd been wrong about the Velmoryns. They weren't perfect, but they could fight. And if I really wanted to help them grow stronger, I needed to see where they struggled.
I'd step in if Roy was in real danger. The others... as long as at least half survived, I could work with that.
One of the beasts had slipped through, too quiet, too fast. No one noticed until it was already close, its eyes locked onto a target.
It had chosen Ninali.
Maybe it sensed her focus, the way she stayed still, completely immersed in her spellwork. To the beast, she must've looked like easy prey.
It pounced, aiming straight for her throat.
But it never made it.
Roy's blade came from the side, silent, sharp, and fast. It caught the creature mid-leap, slicing clean through its neck. The head flew one way, the body another, hitting the dirt with a heavy thud.
Ninali didn't even flinch.
She opened her eyes right then, completely unaware that she'd almost died.
Her spell was ready.
Velmoryn magic wasn't like the elemental spells I was used to seeing in games. No fireballs or icicles. Just runes and glowing lines of crimson light, like what Aria had shown before.
The crimson energy swept through the beasts, lifting several of them off the ground. Their bodies jerked violently, skin turning pale and dry as if something was being pulled out of them.
Then they screamed.
A high, piercing sound that cut straight through the noise of the fight. It made my skin crawl. Even the other creatures flinched, thrown off by the sudden death of their packmates.
Their bodies twisted into tight, broken shapes - spikes of bone jutting out, blood pooling underneath.
It worked. The rest of the creatures hesitated.
Just for a moment.
Then they kept coming.
Still, it was enough. The other mages had finished their Spells. Magic overwhelmed the battlefield, and the forest lit up in bursts of red and gold.
Pools of blue blood spread everywhere, and the cries of the dying creatures echoed through the forest like a twisted chorus.
"We need to hurry!" Roy shouted, already sprinting forward. "Varnikeths' cries shall draw worse things to us!"
The others followed closely behind him, but soon, Roy stopped abruptly, his expression darkening.
"It's too late."
**
A/N-
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