The field stretched endlessly before them, the qi threads weaving like invisible snares among jagged rocks and brittle grass.
The light from the twin moons had faded to a dim silver; the shadows of the ridge behind them seemed to stretch unnaturally, as if Husk Field itself was watching.
Rang Rang crouched lightly on a nearby stone, her eyes scanning.
"Something doesn't feel right… I can sense subtle fluctuations,"
She murmured, her voice low, more for herself than anyone else.
Yang Yi nodded, her hands brushing over a glimmering patch of residual qi.
"The field is alive. Not in a literal sense… but it responds to presence, to energy. And someone, or something, is stirring."
Rosswell remained still, one hand resting on the glider strap, the other flexing instinctively.
The faint pulsing of qi beneath the ground tugged at his senses.
Something was approaching, and his instincts screamed caution.
"Who, what is it?"
Rang Rang whispered.
"I don't know,"
Rosswell said, calm but measured.
"But it's not a Solarian I recognize. Its energy is… primal. Aggressive, but raw and untamed."
The grass ahead shivered.
A low growl, metallic and resonant, rolled over the field like thunder in miniature.
Rosswell's eyes narrowed; his hands adjusted subtly, readying for a reaction he could not yet name.
And then it emerged.
A beast, larger than a man, hunched on jagged limbs.
Its scales shimmered with shifting colors, qi flowing visibly across its body like molten veins.
Eyes molten red, fangs glinting, claws scraping across stone.
Grrrrrr—!
Its growl deepened into a roar, echoing through Husk Field, shaking the ground beneath their feet.
"....!"
Rang Rang staggered back instinctively.
"It… it's huge!"
Mei Mei started dashing towards the ridge as she tried to check something.
"You three keep things safe here, I have to check somethin and Don't engage recklessly. Observe its movements first. Husk Field reacts; don't give it leverage."
Rosswell's gaze did not waver.
The creature's qi radiated outward in waves, each pulse affecting the subtle threads beneath their feet.
He took a single step forward.
"Hey… do you… have a plan?"
Rang Rang's voice trembled.
Rosswell's reply was quiet, precise.
"Plan is observation. Any aggression from it will be met with proportional response. Survival depends on understanding its patterns."
The beast lunged suddenly, faster than the eye could track, claws tearing through the air, qi sizzling where it struck.
Rosswell barely sidestepped, his feet finding purchase on uneven stone.
Rang Rang gasped.
"How did he ?"
Yang Yi's eyes were sharp.
"He reads energy patterns instinctively… even without full knowledge of the field. Be alert!"
The beast reared, tail whipping with force that sent small stones flying.
Rosswell pivoted, glider scraping lightly against the ground as he countered with a measured swing, barely grazing the creature's flank.
Sparks of residual qi danced where contact was made.
"Interesting…"
Rosswell muttered to himself.
"Its energy… reactive, adaptive. Not mindless."
Rang Rang shouted,
"Rosswell! Watch its left flank, it's shifting!"
Rosswell's eyes flicked, adjusting his stance, moving with a calm fluidity.
"Acknowledged. Its left side is weaker, but only marginally. Exploit pattern over brute force."
Grrrrr—!
The creature roared, rushing again.
This time, Rosswell let it approach closer, analyzing its movements.
Each strike it attempted, each claw swipe, he dodged with precise timing.
"Don't just defend, observe!"
He said quietly under his breath, almost to himself.
He noticed the faint pulsing in its qi, an almost imperceptible hesitation after each attack, a rhythm forming.
It was absorbing energy from the ground, reacting to residual qi.
That's… clever,
Rosswell thought.
So it strengthens itself through the field. I can't just outfight it, I need to outthink it.
Another swing came.
This time, Rosswell shifted, letting the strike pass, bringing his own hand into contact with the shimmering qi trails where the beast had stepped.
He felt something stir beneath him, an instinctive pull.
"Able to… absorb?"
He whispered, realization creeping in.
"So… if I can touch its energy directly…"
Rang Rang shouted behind him.
"Rosswell, move! It's getting faster!"
"Haaa..."
Rosswell took a deep breath, his focus tightening.
The beast lunged again, this time with a feint that would have caught an untrained fighter.
But Rosswell stepped lightly, pivoting, brushing his hand along the trailing qi.
A pulse of energy surged through him.
Not fully absorbed, not yet controllable, but a fragment of the beast's essence lingered in his senses.
"Interesting,"
Rosswell murmured, barely audible.
"Partial absorption… not complete, but enough to sense its intent. A companion… potential, if tamed."
Yang Yi's voice rang clear.
"Rosswell, are you?"
"Observation only,"
Rosswell interrupted softly.
"I do not yet know the outcome. Control must precede action."
The beast's roar split the air, and Rosswell finally spoke aloud, his voice calm, steady, but carrying weight.
"You fight to survive, but I fight to understand. Every movement, every strike… teaches me, teaches us. This is not just survival, it is preparation."
Rang Rang looked at him, wide-eyed.
"He's… he's insane, but… he's thinking ten moves ahead!"
Rosswell's eyes, unflinching, met the creature's, as though silently communicating.
The creature circled them, muscles rippling beneath its molten-scaled hide.
Its eyes glowed like twin coals, scanning Rosswell, Rang Rang, and Yang Yi in measured, almost intelligent calculation.
Each step it took sent faint ripples across the qi-laden ground, a subtle warning: Husk Field reacts.
Husk Field hunts.
Rosswell crouched slightly, glider strap tightening against his back.
His mind worked in fractions of seconds, observing patterns, timing, energy pulses.
"It anticipates movement,"
He muttered softly, more to himself than anyone else.
"Every attack I made… it adapts almost instantly."
Yang Yi's gaze sharpened.
"Rosswell, its qi flux is uneven. It's drawing from residual energy… but it's unstable. There, see the spike near its left shoulder?"
Rosswell's eyes flicked to the shimmering patch.
He shifted his stance subtly, leaning forward, letting his hand brush faintly over the ambient qi threads.
A spark tingled up his arm, a fragment of the creature's energy lingering in the field.
"So it's not just brute force,"
He whispered, lips barely moving.
"It feeds, grows… but exposes itself with each surge."
Rang Rang, still crouched, shook her head, slightly exasperated.
"I don't get it. You're just standing there, letting it come at you? Aren't you going to..."
"I am not reckless,"
Rosswell interrupted, voice calm, authoritative, yet quiet.
"Haste leads to mistakes. Observe. React. Exploit openings, not impulses."
The creature roared, tail smashing against a jagged stone, sending a spray of debris toward them.
Rang Rang leapt back, glider brushing the ground instinctively.
Yang Yi activated her own minor qi control to shield them.
Rosswell stayed still, letting the debris hit the qi currents he touched.
A strange vibration surged through his fingertips, raw, primal, and responsive.
His eyes narrowed.
"The Absorption…"
He murmured.
"This is the method. Touch, sense, partially draw. Not to dominate… just to understand."
Another lunge came.
The beast's claws carved air with terrifying precision.
Rosswell sidestepped almost lazily, brushing his hand against the faint glow trailing its strike.
Energy surged, fragmented, a whisper of power flickering in his veins.
He staggered slightly, then steadied himself, exhaling.
"Haa..."
"Partial absorption successful. It's incomplete… but the connection exists. I can feel its intent, its strength… its next movement."
Rang Rang's voice was sharp, cutting the tension.
"Nya~You're insane, you know that, right? You just tapped it and, what, the beast is huge! You could've died!"
Rosswell's gaze did not waver.
"Observation first. Control second. Survival requires patience, not bravado."
Yang Yi's voice, calm but urgent, added,
"Rosswell, Husk Field amplifies energy. Every strike it lands, every shift in qi… affects us. Don't let its movement dictate yours entirely. Guide it, don't react blindly."
He nodded slowly, internalizing the advice.
"Guidance, not reaction. Understood."
The beast roared again, more feral this time, swinging its massive claws with lightning speed.
Rosswell leaned into the momentum, allowing it to slide past him while brushing his hand lightly along the qi ripple left in its wake.
A sudden pulse shot through him, a connection, faint but undeniable.
"Yes… I can feel its strength… its rhythm… its weaknesses,"
He muttered.
"Rosswell, don't stop moving!"
Rang Rang called.
"If it pins you, it's over!"
He allowed a slight smirk, almost imperceptible.
"I am not stopping. I am adapting."
The beast leaped again, faster this time, claws aimed to strike decisively.
Rosswell's movements became a dance of precision, sidesteps, and micro-adjustments.
With each contact with its residual qi, he felt more, the subtle pull, the intent behind the attack.
"Every strike is teaching me,"
He said quietly.
"Every swing… every lunge… a lesson. Husk Field may be hostile, but even the wildest energy leaves a pattern."
Yang Yi's voice cut through the tense air.
"Nya~ Rosswell… are you trying to, absorb it mid-combat?"
He nodded, his focus absolute.
"Not fully. That would be dangerous. But a fragment… enough to sense its movements. Enough to survive. Enough to, understand."
The beast, sensing something, hesitated slightly, a subtle twitch, a pause before its next strike.
Rosswell recognized it instantly.
An opening.
"Careful…"
He muttered.
"Not a strike yet… wait for complete data."
Rang Rang watched, wide-eyed, whispering to Yang Yi.
"He's… calculating its every move… like he already knows what it's going to do before it does it!"
Yang Yi's lips pressed together.
"He's reading the energy, not the motion. That's why he's calm… even with amnesia, he's… instinctive."
The beast lunged again, but this time Rosswell didn't dodge immediately.
He pivoted slightly, letting his hand brush the faint glowing qi streak it left behind.
A jolt surged through him, stronger this time.
He felt the creature's raw aggression, its intent to dominate, even a hint of fear when it sensed his reaction.
"Partial connection… deeper than before,"
Rosswell whispered.
"I… can guide it, eventually. Not yet… but soon."
Grrrrr—!
The beast roared, sensing resistance, and spun, creating a whirlwind of residual qi.
Rosswell adjusted his stance, letting the energy swirl around him without striking, letting it teach him, let it show him the rhythm.
Rang Rang shouted over the roar, voice trembling with excitement and fear.
"I've never seen anyone fight like this! He's not just dodging… he's learning mid-combat Nya~"
Yang Yi added calmly,
"He's stabilizing his connection with its energy. That's… unprecedented for someone so untrained."
"Haaa..."
Rosswell exhaled, voice low but steady.
"Yes… this is survival. This is adaptation. Husk Field… does not forgive the unobservant. But it rewards the patient."
The creature's eyes narrowed, claws scraping the earth as it assessed him.
Rosswell's fingers tingled, qi fragments dancing faintly across his skin.
"Soon,"
He whispered under his breath, barely audible.
"Soon… you will understand my intent. Not as prey… not as enemy… but as potential ally. And then…"
He clenched his fist.
"…We will turn this battle into something greater."
The winds of Husk Field whipped violently, carrying the roar of the beast, the faint shimmer of residual qi, and the tense, electrifying anticipation of what was about to unfold.
Every heartbeat, every step, every breath was a countdown.
This was only the beginning.
The real fight was just starting.
And Rosswell, silent, focused, and patient, would endure it, learn from it, and slowly seize the power to absorb, control, and eventually command.