Chương 8: Chapter 7: First Hunt

As Seth made his way toward the Wicked Forest, he ran a hand over his potion pouch, the fletching of his arrows, and his hunting knife—double-checking that everything was where it should be. He'd read enough from his father's encyclopedia to know that the outskirts weren't too dangerous, and as long as he didn't wander too deep, he shouldn't encounter wolves or any of the stronger arcane beasts like the Cerberus from last night. Even so, his heart raced a little.

He had avoided this place for years, ever since that desperate afternoon when he tried to find valuable herbs to pay for his mother's treatment. He hadn't even made it deep enough to find anything before a bird had swooped down, unleashing a torrent of flame with a single flap of its wings. He had escaped with severe burns and a vow never to return. But fear was a luxury he couldn't afford anymore. That's the only way to have a real chance, he told himself. I have to do this.

Arthuri was nearly a day's walk away, and with the selection starting Saturday morning, he only had two days to get stronger. Quickening his pace, he shoved aside the last doubts in his mind, when he suddenly froze, his breath catching and mouth falling open in awe. The border of the Wicked Forest loomed just a few feet ahead, and the sight was breathtaking. The trees stood tall and mighty, dark brown bark looking as solid as steel.

Their large branches stretched toward the sky while their dense green leaves shielded everything below from the sun. They weren't just bigger—they were more alive, more vibrant than any trees he had seen before. He cast Identify on one of them. Oaktree Resource Tier: Copper Grade: Common So imposing and yet still Common, Seth thought before pulling his jacket's hood over his head. There was too much on his to-do-list for him to stand there and admire nature's beauty.

With a deep breath, he stepped over the invisible boundary of the Wicked Forest; almost instantly a gentle warmth flooded into him, as if the forest itself was welcoming him, embracing him like an old friend. Dropping into a crouch, he slunk forward among the bushes, his hands pushing branches aside while trying to avoid making any sound. He inched forward, his senses attuned to the surroundings, his gaze sweeping the shadows for any signs of danger.

Every few steps, he paused, his ears straining to pick up any sound that could hint the presence of a beast— arcane or not. But each time the forest remained entirely silent, without even a single chirp or growl. For nearly half an hour, the only sound around was the muted crunch of dry leaves beneath his boot and the soft rustle of the bushes' branches as he passed by. Should I go deeper? Seth wondered as he approached a broad clearing.

Resting on his haunches, he was weighing the pros and the cons when a soft purr made his pulse spike. Seth's hand quickly reached for his bow, and at the same time he slid behind a massive tree, going through all the felines he had seen in the encyclopedia. The moment he stuck his head out to scan the area, a silver-furred creature emerged from the undergrowth on the far side of the clearing. It was a wildcat—an unnaturally large and intimidating wildcat.

It stood about two feet tall and had upper canines stretching down like twin daggers, sharp enough to easily pierce through his flesh. Seth filled Identify's grooves with aether, and channeled the spell. The beast suddenly paused, and its eyes seemed to move toward him. Seth's heart skipped a beat as he quickly spun behind the tree to hide. Damn it! Of course they can feel that! At least the feline's information was still in the corner of his vision.

Silver Wildcat Potential: Copper Tier Rank: 3 (Low-Copper) Affinity: - Strength: 6 Arcane Power: 2 Toughness: 2 Well Capacity: 1 Agility: 13 Regeneration: 4 All its attributes were quite low except the Agility—but he couldn't afford to underestimate it. The wildcat hadn't been listed in his father's encyclopedia, so he had no way to know the spells it might possess and how they would alter the fight. I'll run if they're too powerful.

Seth snagged an arrow from the quiver and nocked it onto his bowstring as he slowly peeked from behind the tree. The wildcat was still in the same spot, lying in the shadow of a bush, its sleek silver fur shimmering in the filtered sunlight. The sight brought back memories of his encounter with the hare—and how disastrously that had turned out. This time will be different, Seth thought while infusing a thin stream of aether into his arm's muscles. I'm stronger, and this beast is weaker.

Eyes on the target, he drew his bowstring back in a smooth, silent motion that had become second nature over the years of hunting. The feline stretched out its neck, its ear perking up as if it sensed something amiss on instinct. Too late. Seth's arrow left his bow with a sharp twang, slicing through the air with tremendous speed and striking the wildcat right between its ears. The beast jerked, then crumpled backwards, the arrow half buried in its skull—its death was instant.

His heart hammering, Seth cautiously approached the fallen feline, doubts swirling in his mind. If hunting here was that simple, the Wicked Forest would be overrun with hunters—Wielders or non-Wielders—all vying to make a fortune. But as he neared the wildcat's corpse, the crimson puddle beneath and the wooden shaft lodged firmly in its head dispelled all uncertainty. I killed an arcane beast. Drawing his knife, Seth smiled and sliced through the feline's fur from the neck to belly.

He recalled Sericar's warning about trying to salvage the hide for makeshift armor. The Wandering Merchant had explained that the creature's supernatural durability wasn't inherent to the flesh itself. It was anchored by a crystal of condensed aether in the chest—the beaststone. Without that thing, the residual aether in the fur, hide, and claws faded within hours of death, rendering the carcass no better than one of a normal prey. Which also explained why the beaststone was the true hunting prize.

In any other nation, the high value of these stones would likely spawn a massive hunting industry. But not in Kastal. Here, the king and the noble Houses actively discouraged commoners and nobles alike from hunting arcane beasts, to avoid losing future workforce. Seth peeled back the layer of muscles and cracked the ribs apart to expose its inner chest. Scrutinizing the inside, he spotted a tiny gem nestled amidst the blood vessels near to the beast's heart.

It glinted softly like a pearl and its gray hue stood out from the surrounding flesh. The grin on Seth's face widened as he carefully plucked the precious stone out and cast Identify—he had done it. Beaststone (Silver Wildcat) The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Resource Tier: Copper Rank: 3 Affinity: - Seth slipped the stone into his potion pouch, already thinking about the coins it would earn him.

I'll see what it sells for at Arthuri this— A faint rustling abruptly cut his thoughts short. As he snapped his head up, a chill of dread slithered down his spine. Three sets of yellow eyes glowed in the shadow, staring at him from within the thin bushes. The beasts hadn't yet emerged from behind the leaves, but he could easily see them. They had matching gray fur and sharp, menacing claws jolting out from their paws. Drool dripped from their maws as they bared their large teeth. Boreal wolves.

Seth whirled around and burst into a sprint; he weaved through the trees, leapt over roots and ducked under low-hanging branches while trying to recall everything he had read about them. Hunt in packs. High Agility and Strength. Most can use Crippling Fear and Wind Dash. Best to keep them at a distance. None of that information was useful right now. Movement flashed in his peripheral vision. He glanced left. With a snarl, one of the wolves pounced at him, jaws wide open and ready to tear his head off.

Seth dove to the ground, and the beast's maw snapped shut inches above him. As he scrambled to his feet, his hand instinctively reached for his potion pouch—but stopped. No! Not for some wolves! Seth gritted his teeth and whipped out his knife instead. I don't need to take down all three of them. One should be enough. The others will get scared and flee... hopefully. The wolf behind him growled, slowly circling him. Seth's heart pounded in his ears, but he forced himself to focus.

He had faced ordinary gray wolves before, and he knew this dance well. They tested for weakness. They distracted the prey. Then they struck. He looked left and right, searching for the others. They were nowhere to be seen. Yet. The beast now in front of him kept its distance, staring at him with a hungry gleam in its eyes.

"Where are your friends hiding—" Suddenly, another Boreal Wolf sprang out from the underbrush to his left and charged with blinding speed—speed that gave him no time to think, only to move. As the beast leapt for his neck, Seth's body came alive. Something warm and feral exploded from in his chest and pushed aether violently into the barely carved grooves in his legs, flooding both his muscles and his nerves. In a flash, he then spun out of the way and drove his knife into the beast's side, ripping it open.

The wolf tumbled to the ground with a yelp of pain. Without hesitation, Seth poured aether into his arm and pounced atop it, repeatedly stabbing the beast's neck. Blood spurted with each thrust, and in seconds the fierce yowls died off while the wolf fell motionless to the ground. Panting, Seth pushed himself up while glancing around. Before he could spot the other wolves, a bone-chilling wave washed over him, raising every hair of his body and freezing him in place.

His knife slipped from his grip, the blade clattering to the ground a second later. An overwhelming sense of danger—no, of certain death—paralyzed him from head to toe. The dread was so intense and so powerful, it felt unnatural, as if it was forced upon him. Leaves rustled behind Seth, and he summoned all his strength to break free from grasping fear, screaming at his muscles to move. Finally, he managed to turn his head—just enough to see what was coming at him. A wide-open maw.

He froze in panic, certain he was about to die, when suddenly, time seemed to stop. An intense heat erupted again in his chest, but this time he realized what it was. His core. The small orb beside his Well pulsed like a second heart, sending torrents of fierce and mysterious energy storming through his body. It filled him, instantly freed his mind from Crippling Fear, and left only one thing in control: pure instinct.

Without any hesitation, Seth rammed his arm deep into the wolf's mouth, wedging his leather bracer between the beast's jaws to keep them from snapping shut like he did with the Cerberus. Gritting his teeth against the pressure threatening to crush his arm, he quickly snatched an arrow from his quiver and drove it straight into the wolf's yellow eye. The beast yelped in pain and released his arm while staggering back.

Leaving it no time to catch its breath, Seth snatched his bow and nocked another arrow—aether surged into his arm. But the moment he pulled the bowstring, his core's instincts screamed again. Right. The third wolf rushed out from behind a tree with abnormal speed, leaves nearby swirling around its large body as if an invisible force was pulling them. Seth immediately switched his aim and loosed his arrow toward the new threat. But the beast easily sidestepped without altering his path thanks to its spell.

Seth's body responded on its own and nocked a second arrow as he dashed toward the wolf, aether furiously sliding through his leg's grooves to reach the muscles and nerves. The moment the Boreal Wolf pounced, jaws aimed at his throat, Seth jumped to the side, twisted mid-air, and released his arrow. The projectile struck true and embedded itself deep in the beast's upper leg.

The moment he hit the ground, Seth snatched another arrow and let it fly again while grinning; he didn't understand what was happening, and he didn't need to. Everything was so easy. He felt stronger, faster—and alive. As if for the first time in his life, he was finally tracing his Path. Howling in rage, the wolf jerked its head to the side and dodged the arrow. Then, with a loud snarl, it charged and pounced, ready to tear through Seth's shoulder. But Seth had already seen it coming.

Before the fangs could reach flesh, Seth pivoted and slammed his aether-infused fist into the wolf's muzzle, sending the beast stumbling backward. He then followed through with a swift kick to the head, bones cracking under the force of the blow. As the wolf slumped to the ground, Seth stepped on its throat and pinned it down before raising his arm up, an arrow clenched in his palm. Ready to drive it into the beast's heart, Seth abruptly stopped at the sensation of his core throbbing again.

He tried to turn, but this time it was too late. An intense pain seared through his left arm—the other wolf, the arrow still lodged in its eye, had sunk its large teeth in his bicep and was now trying to rip it apart.

"Argh! Fucking hell!" Seth swung his arrow down toward the beast's head, but the wooden shaft snapped when it hit the bone. Gritting his teeth, he whisked another one from his quiver and this time rammed it into the wolf's neck. The beast yelped, but held on, grinding its teeth deeper into his flesh. Driven by the extreme pain, Seth nearly emptied his Well and forced most of his remaining aether into his arm.

With a wild, ear-splitting scream, he then grabbed another arrow and drove it straight into the beast's skull. The tip only penetrated a few inches, but it was enough to reach the wolf's brain and end its life, the beast instantly collapsing to the ground. Panting, Seth turned back his attention to the remaining wolf under his boot. It was still writhing, but its attempts to escape were now sluggish and lacking real effort—probably due to the blood loss… or the resigned acceptance of its fate.

Regardless, Seth wasted no time and thrust an arrow into the beast's head from underneath, killing it on the spot. Swaying from the aether-deprived dizziness, Seth quickly pushed himself up and tore a strip of the white shirt under his leather jacket. He then wrapped it around the gushing wound on his arm, tightening it until it hurt. The wolf had missed the major blood vessels, but the wound was still pretty bad. I don't think it's going to close on its own.

For a moment, his gaze flicked back and forth between the track he had come from and the lifeless bodies of the Boreal Wolves. He had nearly died in that fight. Could he really leave without claiming his well-deserved rewards? Fuck it, he cursed inwardly, picking up his hunting knife a few steps aways. As he crouched and sliced open the chest of the two closest corpses, every movement sent a sharp pain jolting through his arm. But the promising coins from the beaststones made it bearable.

After plucking out the two grey crystals, he turned toward the last corpse—then froze as a low growl and the sound of footsteps echoed from ahead. Shit! Seth grabbed his bow and nocked an arrow, quickly inspecting his Well. Sixty percent. He frowned. For some reason, he was regenerating aether faster than he'd grown used to—but now wasn't the time to think about that. The thuds were getting closer.

The moment Seth pulled his bowstring and channeled aether, a searing pain lanced through his left arm, like dozens of needles piercing his flesh. Clenching his jaw, he kept drawing the string back even as blood oozed through his makeshift bandage. With his injury, he would only have one shot. He couldn't afford to miss. The dense underbrush across the clearing rustled and two beasts burst out—one chasing the other.

Seth immediately recognized the pursuer, another Boreal Wolf, then his eyes narrowed while moving on the tiny creature running at the front. Its black fur was thick and glossy, covering its body in a sleek coat that seemed to swallow the light around it. Despite its small size, its disproportionately large head and muzzle gave it a fierce, almost menacing appearance. It was a juvenile version of an arcane beast he had seen in his father's encyclopedia: a direwolf pup.

Let's take out the greater threat, Seth thought, wincing as he aimed at the Boreal Wolf. The bowstring creaked from the excessive tension, and his vision began to blur the moment he approached his Well's bottom. Taking a deep breath, he released the arrow. The projectile soared across the clearing just as the Boreal wolf lunged forward to bite the pup, and plunged into the pursuer' open maw, striking the back of its throat.

The gray-and-white-furred beast collapsed, crashing to the ground, the arrowhead jutting out from its skull. Seth's legs buckled, and he staggered toward the nearest tree as the black direwolf pup fled and disappeared into the dense vegetation. You're welcome, Seth thought, letting himself fall behind the large trunk while trying to hide himself among the bushes. The pain, pulsing in sync with his heartbeat, would make it impossible to hold his knife or cut properly.

There was no way he could retrieve the beaststones from the first wolf he had killed or the most recent one. They would have to wait. With slow and steady breaths, Seth reached into his potion pouch and pulled out one of the red vials. After uncorking it, he downed its content in one gulp, feeling the warm liquid slide down his throat. He then looked down at his trembling hand while waiting for the potion to take effect and cast Identify.

Seth Class: Primalist Rank: 5 (Low-Copper) Subclass: - Core: Feral Instinct Strength: 11 Arcane Power: 5 Toughness: 8 Well Capacity: 6 Agility: 11 Regeneration: 9 Spells: - Link [??? 〜??? (???)] - Identify [Copper〜Common (Refined)] - Quick Step [Copper〜Common (Crude)] An enormous weight was instantly lifted off Seth's shoulders as he went through the numbers in the corner of his vision. Every single one of his attributes had jumped by one or two points—all of that in less than two hours.

Seth's focus then moved to the third spell on his list. Quick Step. Examining his legs and Well, he found out that the grooves he had been slowly carving had somehow deepened drastically—enough for Identify to now recognize them as a spell. It was a Crude-graded one, sure, but still a spell. But how? It doesn't make any— Seth's thoughts abruptly paused as he recalled the surge of energy from his core violently pushing aether through the grooves when facing the pack of wolves.

It was certainly the reason behind the impressive deepening of the furrows—on top of everything else. The ability to react without conscious thought, to feel the flow and heat of the battle, to fight with enhanced instincts like a wild beast. For the first time ever outside of his fight with the Cerberus, he had felt truly alive, finally carving out his own Path in this world. That core was far too complex, and powerful, to just serve as a tool for Link.

The mysterious energy it had released felt like a distant part of himself he had never known existed—a part that had awoken when he had nearly died during the trial. And now, it wanted him to push beyond his limits. To get stronger. A tired smile spread on Seth's face as he closed his eyes, completely worn out.