From behind, Kaileen yawned, spreading wide fingers in front of her mouth. “So just how big is this place anyway?”
“Depends. If we are lucky, the pups will have chosen one of the larger caverns further up for a hunting ground and remained there.”
“If we are not lucky?”
“If they traveled down the river, what should take a day could turn into a week, and likely they would die before we even found them.”
“Are there really such monsters in this cave? I thought it was supposed to be an amateur hunting ground.”
“There are maybe a few epic monsters. Long ago, I hunted these caves quite often. But most likely, the main party up top will find the pups in one of the first larger caverns with reasonable prey for their level.”
“Do you think the pups would remain where they could so easily be found?” Kaileen ventured.
He scoffed. “They are beasts. It is not as though they are intelligent enough to comprehend a full hunting party being after them and therefore proceed with intentions of evading us! Monsters do not think like that!”
She hummed skeptically. “Yet, these beasts are supposed to be so valuable.”
They continued in silence for a short while until Tamok ventured, “So you have never hunted these caves?”
He supposed he had gotten at least some luck in being paired with Kaileen, but not because she was any sort of great warrior. She was only level 10, and though she’d earned her mask, she wasn’t as battle-tested and experienced as others. It was obvious in her footing and stance when she fought.
But underneath her armor, she was a true beauty. She had first caught Tamok’s eye at the last celebration, when she was not one of the honored warriors and therefore garbed in the usual celebratory style. The first time he saw her, dancing with the paint trailing along the curves of her body, he knew he wanted her.
Now, she was here with him, and he had an opportunity to impress her. If he played his cards well, he’d like to make her his at the celebration Valrok had promised at the end of the week.
He imagined, after some drinks, guiding her away from the firepit and to one of the upper plateaus of the Bloody Peaks, where the wind howled cold and far from the stench of the direwing caves, where the stars would shine brightly upon them.
After some thought, she answered his question. “My hunts so far have mostly been in the lower plains. Dolwan Deer.”
“Ah, that is not such a bad hunt.”
“Yes, but tedious,” she answered.
In truth, it was the go-to for those who couldn’t handle greater threats, but those hunts were still important for the tribe. Dolwan Deer had magic bones that they used for their spearheads and other equipment.
“I’ll take you on a proper hunt,” Tamok offered. “To the northern ridge, where Drake Wolves gather. That is a true hunting ground! I’ve been planning to go, but I’ve not yet gathered a party I trust to brave such an expedition.”
“Are you sure you could handle it?” she asked skeptically.
Her question deflated him slightly, but he quickly shook it off, puffing out his chest. “Of course! I’ve slain a level 20 monster just this month! Vicious, crazed, dangerous! It took three men just to keep it cornered!”
The level 20 monster he was referring to was actually just a Puffstork, a flightless bird notorious for fleeing at the slightest sign of danger and then pretending to be dead when cornered. Though this one had been unusually high-leveled, it still lacked great combat capability. But he didn’t bother to clarify those details to her.
“Impressive…” Kaileen said, rolling her eyes behind her mask.
“Yes, a lesser warrior might have frozen in fear, but I did not flinch once,” he boasted proudly.
Almighty Above. Kaileen sighed. Am I going to be stuck listening to him all week?
“After we finish this mission—and after the celebration—perhaps I’ll show you some of my techniques,” he said with a grin. “Things only seasoned hunters know.”
She didn’t bother answering his proposal, yet Tamok took her silence for awe.
Yes, of course she would be impressed. This is going to go quite well for me!
His grin widened under his mask.
However, a sound brought his attention forward, and he paused. His Breathseeker skill pricked at the edge of his senses—it was a good skill for tracking, and the main reason he was brought on this expedition into the caves. Now, it was picking up something… something close. He raised his shockpole and channeled a little more mana into it, brightening the purple glow, its light flickering along the stone walls before him.
But he didn’t see anything. Could it be a monster burrowed into the walls? If that were the case, it would be no true threat, but that didn’t seem right. His skill made him believe it was right in their path, but—
Suddenly, a shadow moved, and he didn’t register what it was until white fangs and blue eyes detached from the darkness and leapt right at him with a vicious snarl.
***
I struck before either of them could even scream.
{Crippling Bite}!
My jaws clamped down on his forearm—hard—right where he gripped the shock pole. Bone cracked like a snapping branch beneath my teeth, and a warm burst of blood filled my mouth. His scream tore through the tunnel a heartbeat later, as his pole clattered uselessly on the ground.
I kept my grip on his arm and yanked back, throwing him off balance as he tried to pull away and I brought him to the ground. He landed on his hands—hand—and knees, face to face with me and still screaming in pain and horror. I suppose suddenly breaking out of the darkness with Veil of Shadows gave a huge intimidation factor, even if he wasn’t already so pathetic.
I ripped backward, still latched onto his arm, trying to get him all the way down to expose the back of his neck. He reached for a dagger at his belt and I realized I might not have time, and that stupid mask protected his face.
I could almost see his real eyes behind the holes in his mask as I locked my gaze on him, my lips curling into a smile even as my jaws remained latched around his arm.
I let go and pivoted backward as he slashed his dagger at me, but then I immediately came forward again.
{Elemental Swipe}! Lightning Claw!
My claws scraped along his mask, but the mana made it to their ends and formed a bolt of lightning that moved fluidly around the wood that protected him, diving right into the eyeholes.
He screamed and flipped backwards, clawing at his face and ripping his mask off. “My eyes! Ah-ah-aaaaaah!”
The other human seemed at a loss for what to do. Her mask had a permanent, annoyed slant to the eyebrows and only a single large tooth that was more like a tusk poking out of the corner of its mouth. It was probably the only expression I had seen from these red masks that could be considered “cute,” but behind it, I imagined her real mouth was agape in horror. I could see it in the way her legs were shaking as she backed away, keeping her spear forward defensively.
Don’t worry, I’ll get to you soon, I thought.
First, I had to take care of this one. With him screaming and clawing at his eyes, he left his throat completely exposed.
Fool.
I went right for the easy target, silencing his screams in moments.
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Foe Eliminated - Lvl 14 Homo Sapien - Bloody Peak Tribe
Experience gained!
Level 14, huh? Only one level above me currently. Looking at the shaking female warrior, who was now blind herself without the shock pole lighting their way, I had the impression she was even lower level. If all the red masks were lower level than the ones I had killed last night, then maybe they were not the threat I once thought they were. But still, there were supposedly a lot of them, so I couldn’t get careless.
I’ll try killing this one without wasting any mana or elements, I decided.
“St-Stay back!” she stuttered, giving a testing poke into the darkness with her spear. She was panting heavily behind her mask in sheer terror.
Part of me wanted to pity her, but another part of me could never forget what they did to my family. The image of my dad, lying as a corpse among the mountains he once ruled, mutilated with spears, remained fresh in my mind. I could never forgive them for that. She was one of them. Were our positions reversed, she would show me no mercy, so I had none for her.
I growled as I shook these images from my mind and focused on the girl, charging forward. She thrust her spear, I ducked it, but she swung sideways at the last moment, giving me a shallow cut but not enough to stop me. I aimed my jaws for her leg, but she then jumped backwards and spun the shaft of her spear low, parrying my attack.
Still, I took the opportunity to grab the spear and yank backwards, ripping it from her grasp. I let it clatter on the ground beside me as she then turned and ran, panting heavily through the darkness, her arms flailing in front of her, feeling along the walls as she had no light to see by.
I gave chase, snarling on instinct, the sound echoing until it was cut by her terrified screaming.
This one was just going to be too easy, I realized.
However, this human had one more trick up her sleeve, or rather on her waist. She grabbed something and turned as she hurled it in my direction. The thing exploded right in front of my face, the bits of its shell minimally stinging my snout but leaving some kind of mist hovering in the air.
What is that? I only had a moment to wonder before the sting grew immensely, watering my eyes, and as I inhaled, it only grew worse. I growled in frustration, diving through the mist until I was on the other side of it, feeling disoriented as I pawed at my eyes, trying in vain to clear the sting.
Some kind of poison? No, it was more like pepper spray, I supposed. Or maybe onions, or a combination of the two. I forced my eyes open to see her fleeing further away from me, still screaming for help.
“M—Monster! Help! HELP!” Her shouts echoed through the tunnels. I forced myself up, knowing I had to get her before she alerted the rest of them. Though, the three we had seen in the previous cavern were probably too far away to hear her at the moment.
As I began to charge, something zipped past me—Lily!
She became horizontal as she actually ran up and across the wall to get around me. I didn’t know she could do that! It was clearly some kind of wall-running skill.
Once I was out of her way, she pivoted back to solid ground and quickly gained on the fleeing human. Still, though the human was disarmed, she was at a higher level than Lily, so I shook off my surprise and gave chase right behind my little sister.
Lily cleared the last of the distance in moments, snapping for the back of the girl’s ankles and sinking her teeth in. The girl screamed in pain and fell instantly as Lily continued to rip and pull, the girl kicking at her with her free leg. Lily bore the hits, continuing to twist at her leg. But I was right behind her for a follow-up attack.
I leapt over Lily and pounced, landing my claws on her chest plate and snapping at her face. Her arms got in the way of my teeth, her bracers protecting her flesh as she batted her hands at me and tried to push me away, but she lacked the strength to hold me back.
I continued snapping down, trying to break past her arms. My teeth found her fingers, snapping one of them and gouging open her hand.
“AAAAH! Please! PLEASE DON’T!” she pleaded.
I had once thought the same thing… When I witnessed the assault against my family—when I watched my father die!
I forced through her, aiming for her neck.
“HELP! Somebody HEeellppgaagahaaaa—”
Warm blood rushed over my tongue as I managed to work my jaws to the space between her mask and breast plate. She continued to try to push me away for only a moment before I ripped and pulled, tearing her throat wide open. Her arms finally fell limp.
Prey Eliminated - Lvl 10 Homo Sapien - Bloody Peaks Tribe
Experience gained!
I stared down at her, licking her blood off my chops. This one was only level 10, and I found satisfaction that this was the first human I’d killed that the System labeled as prey.
Her blood actually tasted a little better than other humans’ blood. I sniffed, thinking that maybe I could actually stomach eating her. But no, I wouldn’t cross that line. The part of me that was once human was less than a half-remembered dream, but it was still enough to not allow me to do such a thing.
I looked back at Lily, whose tail wagged, despite the serious gaze in her eyes. She certainly leveled up from this, maybe even twice. That meant she’d be even more effective against any other red masks we crossed. Against the stronger ones, she might not be effective in direct combat, but her skillset would at least make her a good distraction when I’d go in for the kill.
As for Grick…
I searched back, not spotting him. The coward must have run off at the first sign of trouble. But soon, I heard his pattering footsteps, then the glow of his lantern coming around a bend in the tunnel.
“Puppies okay?” he asked, cautiously scampering towards us. He looked down at the dead red mask that I still had a single paw on top of. “These strong humans. Very nasty humans. Sometimes they hunt, and Grick hides.” He nodded as if agreeing with himself. “Bad humans would hurt Grick.”
Of course, I thought. I was glad to have dealt with these two without relying too much on my elemental reserves, but we were not out of the woods yet. I doubled back to collect the box of crystals. Once I returned, I saw the girl’s mask was off, and Grick was sitting down with it, playing with the strap while Lily watched and wagged her tail.
Did he plan to take that thing with us? It was way too big for him; it could practically cover his whole body if he were to curl into a ball! No, he would certainly slow us down, so I wasn’t going to allow him to do so.
Before communicating this to him, I took a look at the face of the girl I had killed. Her eyes were still open but lifeless, and there was blood all over her. She looked young, and she was quite pretty… if you ignore the gaping hole in her neck.
Maybe I did feel a little bad. Just a little bit. But of course, even if I could feel true sympathy for a red mask, I had no choice but to kill her. She would have alerted her allies, and we would be swarmed by their full force if I allowed her to get away.
I growled at Grick, trying to tell him to put the mask down.
“It’s okay, puppy! Look! Good armor for Grick!” He had fashioned the strap into a harness, which he put over his shoulder to demonstrate. “Now go, puppies! Almost out of caves!” he insisted and led the way.
I narrowed my eyes. That would not be effective armor at all; it was too loose, and the backs of his heels hit its chin with every step. He really just wanted it as another of his random treasures, which certainly would have been a prized possession compared to a dented pot.
Still, it didn’t seem to be slowing him down, so I supposed I could allow it.
We continued through the twisting tunnels for a short distance until finally coming out into a longer passage. I saw a glow to our right and peeked into the cavern. It was the one where we had first seen the red masks, with the dead snakes still left on the floor.
That group of three would be expecting to meet up with the two we had killed at the other end… When they never arrived, they would investigate, and our approximate location would then be known…
I could defeat two red masks, maybe even three. But a dozen? Such an encounter would be hopeless for us.
“Come, puppies! This way!” Grick insisted once again, excitedly. “Down, and down, and out, then short way to human town!”
I set my eyes on Lily, and she looked back. She seemed to be picking up on my thought, and when I gave her a short chuff and gestured back into the cavern, she followed.
We were not done… And it seemed the system agreed, because I then received a new kind of message.
[Quest Offered!]
[Show them what a real hunter looks like.]
Property? Prey? Prize or possession? No! You are a Hell Hound, and those who dare to cross you have made a critical mistake! You are the alpha of this cave—an apex predator without match, and they have entered your domain. Now it’s time to show these wannabes what a real hunter looks like!
Tier 1 - Kill 7 members of the Bloody Peaks Tribe.
-Major Bonus to Stats
-Unlock a new Skill
-Minor Development Bonus
Tier 2 - Kill 14 members of the Bloody Peaks Tribe.
-Major Bonus to Stats
-Moderate experience bonus
-Moderate Development Bonus
-Unlock an EPIC evolution hint
Tier 3 - Kill all 20 members of the Bloody Peaks Tribe who are currently hunting you.
-Epic bonus to stats!
-Major experience bonus!
-Major Development bonus
-Unlock a LEGENDARY evolution hint!
Current Quest Progress: Tier 1 - 4/7
Quest time remaining: 23:59…
Would you like to continue this quest?
[Yes] < [No]
I felt my excitement growing as I read through. It seemed the System had more than one way to push me towards certain actions, but what mattered to me even more was what it told me. It gave me critical information that there were sixteen more humans in this so-called hunting party that were after us. But even more importantly, it implied I could actually pull off killing all of them.
My lips curled in a wolfy smile—I just couldn’t help myself.
If I could pull it off, I’d no doubt gain several levels, and the rewards could potentially be major game changers as well. A Legendary evolution? Hadn’t those other humans said the one who killed my father was Legendary? That meant I could truly gain the power I needed to defeat him.
Not only that, killing all of these humans meant that they couldn’t fly back for reinforcement that might actually be able to deal with me. Wherever they lived, it might be a week before anyone realized they weren’t going to make it back.
They started this hunting party under the assumption I was much weaker than I currently am, and I would only grow stronger… The so-called Bloody Peaks Tribe would continue to be in the dark about just what they were dealing with.
Succeeding here could change everything.
The answer to the question the System prompted me with was obvious.
I selected “yes.”
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