Hunt Race

The journey back was slow.

Not because they wanted it to be...

But because neither of them was in any condition to move quickly.

Kael walked a few steps behind her.

Every movement sent a dull ache through his body.

His wounds had closed enough to stop the bleeding, but they were far from healed.

She glanced over her shoulder.

"You still alive?"

Kael let out a dry laugh.

"Barely."

"I'll take that as a yes."

He shook his head.

"I never thought I'd hear someone joke after killing a Silver Rank."

She smiled faintly.

"If I don't laugh now..."

"I'll probably collapse instead."

Kael couldn't argue with that.

After a few more minutes, she suddenly stopped.

"We forgot something."

Kael raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

She turned toward him.

"Our reward."

"...Reward?"

"The Silver Rank."

Kael blinked.

"You mean..."

She nodded.

"The body."

Without another word, they retraced their steps.

...

The crater remained exactly as they had left it.

Or almost.

The center of the impact had been scorched black.

Pieces of broken armor were scattered across the ground.

His weapon lay snapped in two.

But the body...

Was still there.

Kael approached cautiously.

The man who had nearly killed them now looked... ordinary.

Just another corpse.

She crouched beside him.

"Help me."

Kael frowned.

"Help you do what?"

"Search him."

He hesitated.

"You've never looted an opponent before?"

Kael scratched the back of his head.

"Not exactly."

She stared at him for a moment.

Then sighed.

"You're hopeless."

Kael ignored the comment and knelt beside her.

She began checking the Silver Rank's armor, belt, and pockets with practiced efficiency.

A few moments later...

She pulled out a dark leather pouch.

The pouch jingled.

She tossed it to Kael.

He caught it.

Opening it, his eyes widened.

Mana Stones.

Dozens of them.

Some Bronze.

Some... Silver.

Kael looked at her.

"He carried these with him?"

She nodded.

"Hunters don't always return to a city after every hunt."

"They store what they collect."

She continued searching.

From another pouch, she retrieved several folded papers.

Maps.

Coordinates.

Notes written in coded symbols.

"Hm."

"What?"

"Nothing useful to us."

She tossed them back.

Finally...

Her hand stopped on a simple silver ring.

The moment she touched it...

A faint pulse of mana spread through the air.

Her expression changed.

"This..."

Kael noticed immediately.

"What is it?"

She carefully removed the ring.

"It's a storage ring."

Kael's eyes widened.

"A storage artifact?"

She nodded slowly.

"And judging by the mana..."

"It's not a cheap one."

She held it in her palm for a few seconds before looking at him.

"Looks like we really did kill someone important."

Kael stared at the ring.

For the first time since the battle...

He realized something.

Defeating a Silver Rank didn't just mean surviving.

It meant inheriting everything the Silver Rank had left behind.

And whatever was hidden inside that ring...

Might be worth even more than the battle itself.

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