Hunt Race

After registering the mission...

Kael and Leon left the Hunter Association together.

Neither of them spoke for a while.

The morning streets were already crowded.

Merchants arranged their goods.

Carriages rolled through the city gates.

Hunters hurried toward their own missions.

Only after they left the city did Leon finally break the silence.

"So..."

"You always this quiet?"

Kael glanced at him.

"I don't talk much."

Leon laughed.

"I noticed."

He rested his spear on his shoulder.

"This is actually my first time teaming up with someone I don't know."

Kael looked at him.

"I thought you said you've been Bronze for six months."

"I have."

Leon nodded.

"But I usually hunt with my old team."

"What happened?"

Leon scratched the back of his head.

"One's recovering from an injury."

"The other two accepted a long-term escort mission."

"So..."

He shrugged.

"Here I am."

Kael nodded.

That explained it.

After another few minutes...

Leon spoke again.

"What weapon do you use?"

"A sword."

"I figured."

Leon smiled.

"I'm more comfortable keeping beasts at a distance."

"My spear gives me the reach."

Kael looked at the weapon on Leon's back.

The shaft showed countless scratches.

The spearhead had been sharpened repeatedly.

It wasn't decorative.

It had seen plenty of battles.

Leon noticed his gaze.

"This one?"

He lightly patted the spear.

"My father made it."

"I've used it since becoming a hunter."

Kael simply nodded.

No more questions followed.

...

By noon...

The city walls had disappeared behind them.

The road gradually gave way to dense woodland.

Leon stopped.

"We're close."

He crouched beside a set of tracks pressed into the soil.

"Wolves."

Kael knelt beside him.

Three distinct sets of paw prints.

Large.

Fresh.

"They passed through here recently."

Leon stood.

"They hunt as a pack."

"If one appears..."

"The other two won't be far away."

Kael drew his sword.

Leon lowered his spear.

Neither spoke again.

The forest became eerily quiet.

Only the sound of rustling leaves accompanied their footsteps.

Then...

A low growl echoed between the trees.

Kael immediately stopped.

Leon slowly raised a hand.

"Don't move."

Another growl answered from deeper within the forest.

Then...

A third.

The two hunters exchanged a glance.

Three directions.

"They've surrounded us."

Leon tightened his grip on his spear.

"They're smarter than ordinary wolves."

Kael slowly shifted his footing.

His breathing remained calm.

The bushes rustled.

A pair of emerald eyes appeared in the shadows.

Then another.

And another.

Three Shadow Wolves emerged from the undergrowth.

Unlike ordinary wolves...

Their fur was almost completely black.

Only faint silver markings ran along their backs.

They didn't charge.

They watched.

Patiently.

Waiting for one mistake.

Leon smiled.

"Looks like they're welcoming us."

Kael's grip tightened around his sword.

His first Bronze Rank mission...

Had finally begun.

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