The sun was sinking low, stretching the horizon with long, bleeding streaks of crimson and gold. Kai dragged himself along the old dirt path, every step heavy, every breath sharp and cool in his chest. His body still ached from the fight with the Shadowfang Wolf, but beneath the exhaustion was a fragile, unfamiliar thread of pride. He had survived. He had faced down a beast, unlocked a power he didn't know he possessed, and had lived to see another sunset.
"I'm not the same as I was…" he muttered under his breath, a weak, tired smile touching his lips. He lifted his hand, concentrating for a moment. A faint, pearlescent shimmer of light, the essence of his shield magic, coated his palm before fading. It was weak, pathetic even, but it was his. "I can defend myself. I can actually survive."
The words gave him a flicker of hope, but the world around him seemed to whisper a different story. The tall grass hissed in the evening wind, no longer sounding like a gentle rustle but like a thousand hushed warnings. The shadows cast by the gnarled trees lengthened, twisting across the path like grasping claws. The woods ahead, which he had to pass through to follow the path, seemed thicker, darker, and for the first time, the trail that had appeared so conveniently on his first day felt less like a guide and more like a trap, leading him exactly where something—or someone—wanted him to go.
His pride began to curdle into a familiar, prickling paranoia.
Kai's ears pricked at a sound—not the wind, but the deliberate crunch of something heavy-footed moving through the undergrowth. His steps slowed to a halt. His heart, which had been beating with a steady, tired rhythm, began to pound a frantic, panicked drum against his ribs. He scanned the tree line nervously, his grip tightening on the jagged rock he still carried, every muscle in his body taut, waiting.
Then, it emerged.
A wolf.
Its fur was the color of soot, and its eyes glowed like hot coals. Wisps of smoke curled from its nostrils with every breath, and the ground around its paws seemed scorched and dry. As Kai's eyes locked onto the creature, a new, unfamiliar panel flickered into his vision, overlaying the beast.
[Name: Shadowfang Pyre Hound][Level: 4][Health: 2000/2000][Stamina: 1800/1800][Mana: 800/800][Magic Type: Fire][Status: Mana Bound (Controlled)]
Kai's blood ran cold. Level 4. Magic Type: Fire. This wasn't just a stronger version of the wolf he'd fought before; this was a magic caster. Its mana pool was double his own. The words Mana Bound (Controlled) confirmed his deepest fear: this wasn't just a beast; it was a weapon pointed directly at him.
The creature stalked forward, its paws leaving faintly smoking prints on the dirt path. It wasn't snarling like a normal predator; its glowing red gaze was locked on him with uncanny focus, as if awaiting a command.
Kai stumbled back, raising his trembling arms. "Not again…" he whispered, his voice catching. He frantically tried to draw on his power, to will his shield—his only magic—to come forth. He knew it wouldn't be enough, but it was all he had.
The Pyre Hound opened its maw, but instead of a howl, a ball of crackling flame began to form.
With a panicked yell, Kai poured every ounce of his focus into his defense. "Barrier!" A weak, wavering shield of light shimmered into existence just as the wolf launched the fireball. The fiery projectile slammed into the barrier with a deafening hiss. The shield held for a split second, glowing intensely, before shattering like glass. The residual heat washed over Kai, singeing his clothes and sending him sprawling backward into the dirt. His mana was almost completely gone in that single exchange.
He scrambled to his feet, his mind reeling. The jagged rock in his hand felt utterly useless. What good was a rock against fire?
The wolf prepared to launch another attack. Kai was defenseless, his mana pool flashing a critical red in his mind. He was completely outmatched.
This is it… I'm done… The wolf's fangs were bared, another orb of fire gathering in its throat, ready to incinerate him.
But then, just as the beast was about to strike, a streak of brilliant azure light sliced through the dim air with a high-pitched shing.
The fireball dissolved in a burst of steam as the projectile, a dagger glowing with a chilling, frosty aura, embedded itself deep in the Pyre Hound's shoulder. The beast howled, a sound of shock and pain, stumbling to the side. From the deepening shadows of the trees, a figure stepped out—a girl, her short silver hair catching the last rays of the dying sun. Her stance was calm but sharp, her body poised with the fluid grace of a true fighter. She held another identical dagger in her hand, its edge shimmering with the same potent, icy energy.
"You're reckless," she said flatly, her eyes narrowing as she kept her weapon raised. Her voice was firm and steady, the tone of someone who had done this many times before.
Kai blinked up at her, dazed and confused, the world still spinning. "Who… who are you?"
The girl didn't answer immediately. She flicked her wrist, and the dagger embedded in the wolf shimmered brightly, then dissolved into motes of blue light, reappearing instantly in her free hand with a soft, magical chime. The wolf snarled weakly, its leg smoking where the ice-infused blade had struck, and bolted into the shadows, vanishing into the darkness.
Only then did she lower her weapons. "That hound wasn't hunting you for food," she said finally, her voice low but certain as she walked closer. "It was sent. Someone is tracking you."
Her words struck Kai like a physical blow, confirming the terrifying status he had seen moments before. "Sent? I saw it on my system… it said 'Controlled'…"
Before he could finish, Iris's calm voice rippled into his mind, sharper than usual, almost urgent: She's right. This isn't random. The creature's mana was being supplied by an external source to fuel its fire magic. Someone knows you're here, Kai. And they want you alive… or dead.
Kai froze, his breath caught in his throat. His mind reeled. Someone was hunting him with magic-wielding beasts.
The girl studied him silently, her expression unreadable. Finally, she sheathed her daggers and turned her back to him. "If you want to survive, you need to be stronger. Your defensive magic is crude. Against a real opponent, it won't last a second. You've already drawn attention, and that attention will get you killed if you keep walking around blind."
Kai pushed himself shakily to his feet, his legs trembling from both exhaustion and shock. "Wait—at least tell me who you are."
She glanced over her shoulder, her silver hair glinting in the fading light. "Elara."
The name lingered in the air like a secret.
Kai swallowed, his pulse still racing. "Elara… why help me?"
Her gaze hardened again. "Because if you fall here, the wrong people win. And I won't let that happen."
Before Kai could ask another question, she melted back into the trees, her form swallowed by the shadows as if she had never been there at all.
Silence pressed in once more, heavier and more menacing than before, broken only by Kai's own ragged breathing. He stared after her, his mind a storm of questions. Who was she? How did she know about him? And who was hunting him?
Iris's voice returned, softer now, a cautious whisper. Be careful, Kai. Her skill with water or ice magic is advanced. She moves like a trained assassin. People like that are never simple allies. Trust no one completely… not even her.
Kai sank to the ground, his body aching, his mind spinning. He had survived again, but the gap in power was terrifyingly clear. His shield magic, the only power he had, felt like a flimsy wooden buckler against a cannon. He wasn't just being hunted by monsters; he was being hunted by people who could create them.
And his only defense was a shield that could barely stop a single fireball.