Hunt Race

Kael moved deeper into the eastern forest with his sword drawn, his steps becoming slower as the trees grew closer together.

The faint mana he had sensed earlier was still there.

Barely noticeable.

It didn't feel like the overwhelming presence of a powerful beast.

If anything, it felt strangely controlled.

Kael stopped beside another tree and examined the marks carved into its bark.

The same cuts.

Three short lines followed by a longer one.

He had seen the pattern several times since entering the forest.

"They were leaving markers."

Kael followed the trail.

The marks eventually led him toward a small clearing.

He stopped at the edge.

There was a camp.

Or what remained of one.

Three bedrolls had been abandoned beneath the trees. A small fire pit sat in the center, the ashes cold and scattered by the wind.

Kael stepped into the clearing.

His eyes moved across the ground.

Three sets of footprints.

Exactly as the report had described.

He crouched beside the fire pit and touched the ashes.

Cold.

But not old.

"They were here."

Kael stood and examined the surrounding area.

One of the bedrolls had been torn open.

Another had been thrown several meters away.

The third was untouched.

Kael's expression became serious.

If a beast had attacked the camp, there should have been more obvious signs.

Claw marks.

Blood.

Broken trees.

Instead, the clearing was almost clean.

Too clean.

Kael slowly walked toward the edge of the camp.

Then he noticed something beneath one of the bedrolls.

A small metal badge.

He picked it up.

A Hunter's guild insignia.

Kael turned it over.

Blood had dried across one side.

His fingers tightened around it.

"So something happened here."

He looked around again.

There were no bodies.

No obvious tracks leading away.

Nothing.

Kael closed his eyes.

He focused on the sensation Darius had taught him to notice.

Mana.

At first, he felt only his own.

Then the forest around him.

The trees.

The ground.

The faint traces of life moving through the undergrowth.

Kael breathed slowly.

There.

A faint disturbance.

Not ahead.

Below.

His eyes opened.

Kael looked down.

"Below us?"

He stepped toward the center of the clearing.

The sensation disappeared.

Kael moved left.

Nothing.

He moved right.

The faint pressure returned.

Kael crouched and placed his palm against the ground.

Nothing.

Then he noticed the soil.

It was slightly different from the surrounding earth.

Loose.

Recently disturbed.

Kael stood.

He slowly drew his sword back.

The blade's tip touched the ground.

He pushed.

The soil gave way.

Kael frowned.

He struck again.

This time, the ground cracked.

A hollow sound came from beneath it.

Kael's expression changed.

"There is something underneath."

He stepped back and swung his sword downward.

The blade tore through the soil.

CRACK!

A section of earth collapsed.

A dark opening appeared beneath the clearing.

Kael stared into it.

A tunnel.

Not natural.

The walls were reinforced with roots and wooden supports.

Someone had built it.

Kael sheathed his sword.

Then he crouched beside the opening and examined the edge.

Fresh scratches.

Something had been dragged through here.

Kael noticed a faint trail of blood leading into the darkness.

His eyes narrowed.

"The missing Hunters."

He looked into the tunnel.

For a moment, he considered returning to the guild.

Then he remembered the mission.

Locate the Hunters.

Determine what happened.

Kael lowered himself into the opening.

The moment his feet touched the tunnel floor, the sensation returned.

Mana.

Stronger now.

Kael stopped.

The presence wasn't coming from behind him.

It was deeper inside.

He took a slow breath.

The tunnel was narrow, forcing him to move sideways in some places.

The wooden supports creaked above him.

Kael continued.

After several minutes, he found another sign.

A piece of torn cloth.

He picked it up.

Hunter equipment.

Then another.

And another.

The trail continued.

Kael's grip tightened around his sword.

Suddenly, he heard something.

A faint sound.

Metal scraping against stone.

Kael froze.

The sound came again.

Scrape.

Pause.

Scrape.

Someone was moving ahead.

Kael lowered his breathing and stepped forward.

The tunnel opened slightly.

A faint light appeared in the distance.

Kael moved toward it.

As he reached the opening, he stopped.

Beyond it was a large underground chamber.

And inside the chamber...

Three figures were hanging from the ceiling.

Kael's eyes narrowed.

The missing Hunters.

They were alive.

Barely.

Their bodies were covered in wounds, their weapons lying broken on the ground beneath them.

But that wasn't what made Kael stop.

Something else was standing in the center of the chamber.

A large creature.

It was feeding from a pool of dark blood beneath the hanging Hunters.

Kael's hand tightened around his sword.

The creature slowly lifted its head.

Its eyes met his.

And the faint mana Kael had been sensing throughout the forest suddenly surged.

The entire chamber trembled.

Kael's expression became serious.

"So you're the one."

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