Hunt Race

The Razor Fox landed lightly on a fallen tree.

Blood dripped from the wound across its flank.

The crimson mark beneath the cut glowed faintly.

First Blood had already taken effect.

The fox tested its footing.

Its movements were slower than before.

Only slightly.

Kael frowned.

"...Maybe I shouldn't have slowed it."

His gaze never left the fox.

"I haven't learned your movement yet."

"If you slow down now..."

"...I won't see it at its best."

The Razor Fox's ears twitched.

It lowered its body.

Its golden eyes sharpened.

Then—

It moved.

Straight at him.

Fast.

Very fast.

Kael tightened his grip.

"So you're coming head-on."

At the last possible instant...

The fox planted one paw into the ground.

Its weight shifted.

Not to attack.

To change direction.

Its body snapped sideways with unbelievable precision.

Kael's eyes remained fixed on the path it had been charging.

His sword slashed through empty air.

Slash!

Pain shot across his ribs.

The fox had already appeared beside him.

It landed several meters away as if nothing had happened.

Kael looked at the shallow wound.

"..."

Again.

The fox charged from the front.

Kael refused to blink.

Closer.

Closer.

Now—

It shifted again.

Its front paw dug into the earth.

Its body folded around that single point of balance.

The charge instantly became a diagonal sprint.

Kael reacted to the original path.

Too late.

The fox was already behind him.

Its claws tore across his back before disappearing once more.

Kael steadied himself.

"No..."

"I'm looking at the wrong thing."

The Razor Fox circled him.

Waiting.

Then charged again.

This time...

Kael ignored its face.

Ignored its claws.

Ignored the direction it seemed to be running.

His eyes dropped.

Its feet.

Its balance.

Its weight.

The fox's shoulder dipped.

Its front paw pressed harder into the ground.

"There..."

The weight shifted.

Kael moved.

Not because the fox had changed direction...

But because he had seen the movement that came before it.

Whoosh!

The fox flashed past him.

Its claws missed his chest by a finger's width.

The Razor Fox skidded to a stop.

Its ears flicked.

For the first time...

It had missed.

Kael didn't attack.

His eyes remained fixed on the fox.

"So that's your trick..."

"You let your opponent believe they've already understood your path."

"Then you change it."

The Razor Fox growled.

It exploded forward again.

Mirage Step.

Again the charge looked direct.

Again the weight shifted.

Again the direction changed.

Kael copied it.

He shifted his own weight.

Too much.

His footing broke.

The fox's tail struck his shoulder.

He staggered.

"...Wrong."

Again.

The fox attacked.

Kael watched only its feet.

The shift.

The balance.

The push.

He copied it.

This time his body responded more naturally.

The fox's claws brushed past his sleeve instead of his arm.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Minutes passed.

Kael's clothes became stained with blood.

The Razor Fox's breathing grew heavier.

Neither one noticed.

The fight had become something else.

It was no longer hunter against prey.

It was teacher...

And student.

The fox launched one final charge.

Kael saw it.

Not the attack.

The weight shift.

His body moved on instinct.

One smooth adjustment.

One precise step.

The fox's claws sliced through empty air.

It landed several meters behind him.

For the first time since the battle began...

Both of them remained perfectly still.

Kael slowly looked down at his feet.

A faint smile appeared.

"...I'm starting to understand."

The Razor Fox stared back at him.

The human...

Was no longer chasing the mirage.

He had begun to see through it.

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