Kael moved through the dense forest, keeping his pace steady but cautious. The wound in his thigh made every step a careful calculation—one wrong move, one misplaced footfall, and he risked the pain flaring up again. As he continued to walk he adjusted his steps, favoring his uninjured leg while keeping his movements smooth. The pain was duller now than it had been yesterday, but it still throbbed with every step, a constant reminder of how close he had come to being gutted in his sleep. But all of this was secondary. His priority right now was for him to get back to his tree house.

  Kael scanned the towering trees around him, noting how the forest was still as thick as it had been when he first ventured out from the cave. He had been careful, but that didn’t stop him from making a mistake. And it just so happened that he had made one.

  At some point in his trek, the terrain became unfamiliar. He frowned, his brows furrowing as he stopped in place, scanning his surroundings. The problem wasn’t immediately obvious—everything still looked the same as before, the same towering trees, the same tangled roots and glowing veins. But something felt… off.

  He turned slightly, looking back the way he had come. No clear landmark stood out, no obvious sign that he had strayed off his path. But deep down, he knew—he had gotten lost.

  “Shit.”

  He exhaled sharply through his nose, frustration creeping into his chest. He had been so focused on moving carefully, on avoiding putting too much strain on his leg as he tried to get back, that he hadn’t noticed when he veered off course. And in a forest this thick, this wild, a single mistake could lead to an hour of wasted time.

  Kael took a slow breath, forcing himself to stay calm. Frustration wouldn’t fix anything. He needed to think.

  Alright… retrace your steps.

  He turned in a slow circle, noting the way the trees twisted around each other, the thick roots creating natural pathways. He tried to remember which way he had come from, but without a solid landmark, everything blurred together.

  Annoyance flared up, but he pushed it down. He had to be methodical. He knew the river was further down, running parallel to his original route. If he could find it again, he could follow it toward familiar ground.

  Keeping that in mind, Kael started moving again, this time more deliberately. He backtracked, moving slowly through the underbrush, pausing every few steps to reassess his direction. Minutes stretched as he weaved between trees, navigating around thick patches of roots and overgrown foliage.

  Then, finally, he heard it—the faint, distant rush of flowing water. Relief surged through him.

  Kael moved toward the sound, breaking through a particularly thick patch of undergrowth before finally stepping out onto the riverbank. The sight of the familiar stream, glistening under the light that managed to filter through the trees, brought a small sense of satisfaction.

  “At least I’ve got some damn sense of direction,” he muttered under his breath. If he had been completely lost, he would’ve been screwed.

  He took a moment to check his surroundings, ensuring there were no immediate threats before continuing forward. He followed the river downstream, moving through the forest’s edge where the foliage was slightly less tangled. The further he went, the more familiar the landscape became.

  Then, movement.

  Kael froze, ducking low behind a thick tree trunk.

  Through the gaps in the trees, he spotted them—five Gloomkin, skulking through the forest. They weren’t moving in any specific formation, just weaving through the underbrush with that same hunched, predatory posture. Their dark, grayish skin blended well with the shadows, but Kael had seen them enough times now to recognize them instantly.

  They were searching for something.

  His jaw tightened. He wasn’t in the mood to fight them. Not now. He needed to see what had happened to his treehouse first. He wouldn't start picking fights before seeing to that matter first.

  Kael remained still, watching as the group passed by, their chittering voices low, guttural. He had learned that Gloomkin could speak in some crude way, but he had no way of knowing what they were saying. Even so, their tone suggested they were irritated, as if whatever they were looking for had eluded them.

  After a few minutes, they disappeared into the forest, moving in the opposite direction from where Kael needed to go. He waited a little longer before rising from his hiding spot, keeping his steps quiet as he resumed his approach.

  The terrain grew more and more familiar. Kael arrived to the clearing recognizing small landmarks—the fallen log he had once used for cover, the twisted tree roots near the river where he had first seen his reflection in the water. He was close now.

  His cooking station came into view not long afther. The small traces of stones and dirt being piled on top of something, crudly hidden. It was exactly how he had left it.

  A nagging feeling settled in his gut, a weight pressing down on his chest. Kael pushed forward, deeper into the forest. The further he went, the more his unease grew. More Gloomkin. Not just a few this time, but several. He spotted them in small groups, patrolling, moving with purpose. They weren’t aimless. They were looking for something—or someone.

  Kael kept to the shadows, avoiding them as best he could. He had no interest in being forced to engage them. Not yet. He needed to see his treehouse first, needed to confirm what had happened. Then, finally, he was close.

  Kael pressed himself against the rough bark of a thick tree, his breath controlled, and steady. He could hear them now—noises, low chittering sounds carrying through the still air.

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  He knew what he was about to see, but that didn’t make it any easier.

  Slowly, carefully, he peeked out from behind the familiar tree. Confronting his worries.

  The Gloomkin were beneath his treehouse—or what was left of it. Wooden planks littered the forest floor, scattered in jagged, broken pieces. Parts of the structure were still partially intact, hanging at odd angles from the thick tree above. But the damage was clear. His home—his shelter in this unknown world—was destroyed.

  Kael’s grip tightened around the bark of the tree. He saw Gloomkin moving through the wreckage, some picking up pieces of wood and carrying them off, likely to be repurposed for their own needs.

  His jaw clenched. Anger simmered beneath the surface, hot and steady. For a long moment, he just watched, his muscles coiled, his breath measured. A part of him wanted to rush in, to rip through them one by one, to make them pay. But he knew better.

  He was outnumbered by a lot, and he was still injured. Charging in now when there were several more groups close to this area would only end badly. And dying being outnumbered wouldn’t do him any good.

  Kael started retreating from the scene. His treehouse was gone. There was nothing left for him here now.

  Kael continued to back away slowly, keeping his movements controlled. The last thing he needed was to make a careless mistake, to snap a twig or brush against a loose branch, and alert the Gloomkin to his presence.

  His mind raced, his heartbeat steady but forceful. His home was gone.

  For over a week, that tree house had been his sanctuary, the one place where he could rest without constant fear of being torn apart by the creatures that roamed this forest at night when he was sleeping. It had been crude, but it had been his. Now it was nothing but broken planks and scattered debris, pillaged by the same creatures that had been trying to kill him.

  He wanted to act. He wanted to do something—to kill, to repay the favor. But he wouldn’t. Not yet. Revenge would come later.

  Right now, his focus had to be on survival. And hope that nothing found the cave and made it its home. Kael took another step back, then another, retreating further into the thicker underbrush.

  The farther he got from the remains of his treehouse, the lighter his footsteps became, his body adjusting naturally to the rhythm of movement. His mind remained sharp, his focus split between keeping quiet and analyzing his next move.

  Thanks to that Kael was able to pick up on it. After walking a good distance from the tree house, he heard a faint sound—a rustling, followed by the soft chittering and guttural clicks of Gloomkin's speech. Kael’s body tensed as he froze mid-step, his ears honing in on the source. It was close. Too close. Shit.

  He turned his head slightly, his eyes scanning the foliage around him. A group of Gloomkin were moving through the trees, barely ten feet away from where he was standing.

  His body shifted as he lowered himself slightly, pressing against the trunk of a nearby tree. It was another group patrolling the area.

  The more Kael looked at the amount of Gloomkin around his previous home, the more he concluded that his treehouse wasn’t just looted—it was claimed. They knew someone had been living there. They knew about him. And they were looking for him to come back.

  The thought annoyed him, but he shoved it aside. He needed to act, he was far enough for there to be distance between the patrols.

  The Gloomkin moved in a loose formation—four of them, all hunched low. They had jagged stone blades tied to wooden shafts, and an equally crude spear. Looking at them, the prompt showed they weren’t high-level. He could take them.

  His hands flexed at his sides, his muscles coiling, preparing for movement. His Essence had regenerated, though he had no weapon. But he didn’t need one. These things were weak. He had grown stronger. He would take out his frustration on them since he couldn't with the ones scavenging his home. Make them regret being born.

  Kael moved.

  The first Gloomkin barely had time to react before Kael was upon it. He lunged forward, closing the distance in a single step, pain flared in his leg but he ignored it and twisted his body as his fist slammed into its throat. A wet, crunching sound followed as the creature gurgled, its air cut off instantly. It stumbled backward, clawing at its neck, but Kael was already turning to the next.

  The second creature shrieked, its jagged stone knife slicing through the air toward him. Kael sidestepped, his hand snapping up to grab its wrist, twisting hard. The creature let out a strangled cry as the knife dropped from its grasp, its arm bending at an unnatural angle.

  Kael didn’t let go.

  He twisted further, then jerked downward, slamming the creature face-first into a jagged root. A sickening crack followed as its skull fractured against the hardened wood.

  [Experience Gained: 10 EXP]

  [Experience Gained: 10 EXP]

  The other two finally reacted. One charged, spear aimed directly for his chest. Kael moved faster.

  He sidestepped the thrust, catching the shaft of the spear under his arm before ripping it from the Gloomkin’s grasp. With a single smooth motion, he spun the weapon around and drove the jagged tip straight into its stomach, shoving it deep. The creature let out a gurgling scream before collapsing, twitching violently as its blackened blood seeped into the earth.

  [Experience Gained: 14 EXP]

  The last one turned to run. Kael wasn’t having that.

  His body moved on instinct. He surged forward, his leg screaming in protest, but he ignored it. He reached out, grabbing the Gloomkin by the back of its neck, his fingers curling around its thin, wiry flesh.

  Then, with a single, brutal motion, he yanked it back—and slammed it onto the ground, his knee driving into its chest to pin it down. The creature wheezed, struggling weakly beneath him, its black, beady eyes wide with panic.

  Kael didn’t hesitate. His fingers tightened.

  One twist—

  A sickening snap—

  And it was over. Silence returned to the forest.

  Kael let out a sigh. He looked down at the four lifeless bodies around him, his jaw tightening. The fight had been quick. They hadn’t even put up much of a challenge.

  Kael rolled his shoulders before stepping away from the corpses. They weren’t worth his time. Their levels had been low—3s and a 4. The amount of exp they gave mirroring that fact. Kael barely reacted. The experience gained was pathetic compared to what the Stalker had given him.

  He ignored the notification and then turned his focus back to leaving the area. He had wasted enough time here. He needed to move. He resumed his trek back toward the cave, but not in a straight line.

  He moved carefully, changing his path frequently, doubling back, weaving through different sections of the forest to throw off any potential trackers. He wasn’t going to make it easy for them.

  Whenever possible, he parkoured through the trees, using the roots and stones to maneuver through the terrain without leaving a trail on the ground. The less direct evidence of his movement, the better. Even if this part of the trip annoyed his thigh.

  As he moved, his thoughts churned. Yes, losing the treehouse was a major setback. But… maybe he could use this. The Gloomkin had no idea where he actually was now. They only knew where he had been.

  A small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. This wasn’t entirely a loss. If they thought he was still here, he could reinforce that idea, and hunt them around the area, it would be a long trek back and forth from the cave but it was worth it. And he could dwindle their numbers even more, without worrying of them finding him.

  The cave would be his new home. And from there, he would make them regret setting foot in his territory. With that thought in mind, Kael pressed forward, heading back into the depths of the forest, his plan slowly taking shape.