The gates of the city loomed behind them, shrinking with every step into the wilds. The wind carried the scent of damp earth and pine, a sharp reminder that they were no longer within the safety of walls.
Shadow kept his hood low as he walked at the rear of the group, his breathing steady despite the dull ache still lodged deep in his ribs. Beside him, the gauntlets were quiet, but not silent—the faint hum of their consciousness whispered through his fingertips, restless at the scent of monsters.
Ahead, Ryn strode with easy confidence, spear slung across his back. Sera marched close to him, her bow already strung and ready, eyes sharp on the forest's edge. Lena walked in silence, but Shadow noticed her hand hovering near the charms at her belt.
And then there was Rena.
She walked as though the wilderness belonged to her, her violet hair pulled into a high tail, her steps light but filled with a quiet authority. Even in simple leather gear, she radiated strength. Every so often, her eyes flicked back toward Shadow, unreadable.
It didn't take long before the first encounter.
A low growl rippled through the underbrush. Then, from the thicket, three horned wolves emerged—larger than horses, their crimson eyes gleaming with hunger.
"Level twenty-twos," Lena murmured, her appraisal skill flickering briefly. "Fast and coordinated."
"Spread out!" Ryn barked.
The trio moved in perfect rhythm. Ryn charged first, his spear thrusting forward to draw the wolves' attention. The creatures snarled and pounced—but Sera's arrows whistled through the air, piercing into their joints and forcing them to stumble. At the same moment, Lena's hands lit with icy runes, a frost barrier slowing the wolves' advance and giving Ryn just enough of a window.
He spun his spear in a full arc, slamming its shaft into one wolf's muzzle and then stabbing forward with lethal precision. Sera's second volley finished the wounded beast, while Lena's frost magic froze the legs of another, pinning it in place for Ryn to deliver the final thrust.
The last wolf lunged, but the three shifted like cogs in a machine. Sera drew its attention with a close-range shot, Lena cast a quick burst of wind to knock it off balance, and Ryn's spear pierced its throat in one clean strike.
"Efficient," Shadow murmured. He could almost admire how natural their teamwork seemed, as though they'd been together for years, despite claiming they were only a temporary party.
But the wilderness wasn't done testing them.
Hours later, deep within a ravine, the ground shook beneath a thunderous roar. From the shadows emerged a beast nearly twice their height—a scaled ravager, level thirty-seven, its body armored in jagged plates of stone-like hide. Its tail whipped through boulders as though they were twigs, and its eyes burned with primal rage.
The trio instinctively fell back. Even Ryn's knuckles whitened around his spear.
But Rena stepped forward.
Her expression was calm, almost bored. She rolled her shoulders, adjusted her grip on her blade, and faced the monster alone.
The ravager bellowed and lunged, its claws carving through the earth. Rena moved at the last instant, her body a blur. Her sword gleamed as it cut across the beast's foreleg, slicing through armor and flesh as though neither existed.
The ravager howled, spinning to bring its tail down in a crushing arc. But Rena caught it—caught it—with one hand braced against her sword, halting the massive appendage mid-swing. Her blade shimmered faintly with mana before she twisted and carved the tail clean off.
Blood sprayed across the rocks, the beast writhing in agony. Before it could retreat, Rena leapt, her silhouette framed against the sky, and drove her blade straight down into its skull. The ravager convulsed once, twice—then went still.
Silence filled the ravine.
Even Shadow, who had seen her fight in the arena, felt his breath catch. The ease with which she dispatched the level thirty-seven monster was almost unreal. The gulf between her and himself was a canyon he couldn't yet cross.
Ryn let out a low whistle. "Remind me never to spar with you."
Sera muttered something about "monsters killing monsters," and Lena only shook her head in disbelief.
Rena sheathed her blade, her violet eyes flicking to Shadow for a moment. She said nothing, but the faintest curve of her lips suggested she knew exactly what impression she had left on him.
The group pressed deeper, encountering scaled boars with hide like stone, venomous mantises whose scythes gleamed sharper than glass, and even a lumbering rock lizard whose shell shattered under their combined assault. Each battle added to their spoils—fangs, scales, cores, bones humming with condensed mana.
By the time the sun dipped low, their packs bulged with treasures most adventurers could only dream of.
Ryn grinned, wiping sweat from his brow. "This is enough to keep a blacksmith busy for months."
Sera eyed Shadow with suspicion. "Just don't blow yourself up when you start tinkering with all this."
Lena, however, studied him differently-calm, curious. "What exactly do you plan to make?"
Shadow's gaze drifted to the gauntlets beneath his cloak. The scars across their surface seemed to shimmer faintly in the fading light, as if anticipating the feast to come.
"…A weapon that can grow," he said at last.
Rena tilted her head, smirking faintly. "Then make sure it's worth all this effort. Next time we fight, I don't plan on seeing you crawl away broken."
The group exchanged glances. For the first time since leaving the city, Shadow allowed himself a faint smile.
They had risked much. But tonight, they didn't return empty-handed. They carried the spoils of monsters—the raw essence of the wild. And for Shadow, it was more than just material.
It was the promise of rebirth.