Night was soon upon us. The light from the ceiling turned redder with the setting sun, and soon it was nearly pitch black inside the cavern. With nightfall, all the Direwings that had been lingering about swooped up to the ceiling and found something to hang from, where they folded their wings over their bodies and presumably went to sleep. Still no red masks, however.

  I would really like our next fight to take place here in this cavern once the moon came out. I could only hope we would get so lucky.

  I led Lily and Grick forward, prowling through the greenery and staying low. I was looking for a good vantage point where we could keep our eyes on most of the cavern, but most importantly, the tunnel up the slope where the red masks were most likely to come from if they made an appearance. At the same time, I needed somewhere that was well hidden. Lily and Grick could hide well in the blanket of darkness, but they didn’t have the camouflaging ability that made me all but impossible to see.

  I selected an area with plenty of large boulders, a bit out from the river shore, and hunkered down. Lily’s stomach let out a growl, and she looked at me with a soft whimper, apparently asking about the potential of going for a quick hunt.

  I shook my head and huffed. She would have to be satisfied with the Direwing from earlier, and once we were finished here, perhaps we could hunt one of the Direwings innocently sleeping in this cavern. I could probably knock one down with some magic. Or… to save on magic, we could use Grick as bait. He was small enough that one of those flying-lion-bat things would consider him prey.

  The pitch black let up a little, and soon a very soft glow filled the cavern as the moon came out. It was still very dark in here, but instead of total blackness, someone without Night Vision should still be able to at least make out silhouettes of anything close or distinct enough.

  Finally, the waiting paid off, and I heard voices echoing from above. I focused my sight on the tunnel and saw the purple glow of their shock poles, and then five red masks came out. I strained my ear to listen, but I didn’t have to strain too hard as one of them shouted into the cavern.

  “We’ve returned! Anyone else here yet?” They paused to listen, but no response came.

  Another scoffed. “They should have easily had the lower cavern cleared by now. What could be taking them so long?”

  “Maybe they found the pups after all and had to take some time to chase them.”

  There was an uneasy silence amongst their group that was broken by one suggesting, “Should we head lower and search for them?”

  “If you wish to do so, then knock yourself out. I’d prefer to set up camp.”

  “No,” said one who seemed to have some authority. “We stick together. There is something in these caverns strong enough to kill a level 17 Earth Tyrant.”

  “What if whatever did it had already gotten to them?”

  “Silence, fool! Surely, the monster that fought the Earth Tyrant resides deeper in that very same cavern. We had to crawl on our hands and knees to even get to that area, so the beast was likely too large to leave.”

  So, they found the arcane cavern as well, huh? They still haven’t put together that it was one of the supposedly helpless pups they were after that had done it.

  “Then what the hell could have killed Geirna and Roshka, then!? This is madness! We ought to abandon the mission and—”

  “Enough!” the leader shouted. “We are twenty strong and know these caves! Have you turned into a child? You act as if this is your first hunt!” There were a few grumbles of dissatisfaction, but nobody argued. “We set up camp and wait for the lower team to report back. Then tomorrow, we split our forces ten each, and head down the river and down into the Earth Tyrant’s domain. If we still haven’t found the pups or the Almighty Forsaken thing that killed Geirna and Roshka, THEN we will return to the bloody peaks and report our failure!” He sighed and said in a softer tone. “I suspect the pups have already been killed by whatever new monster has entered these caves… but whatever it is, it is not something even three of our weakest shouldn’t be able to deal with.”

  I felt great satisfaction hearing all of this, how completely in the dark they were about what was really going on, but also the fear in their voices. They were trying to sound tough, but it was obvious that they knew something wasn’t right and were starting to get nervous.

  They made their way down the slope, then gathered around at a clear area of the cavern, some of them scattering and searching the ground for something. I climbed on top of a rock to get a better view and realized they were gathering kindling to start a fire.

  Two had broken off from the group together and came closer to me, so I silently crawled down from the rock and checked that Lily and Grick were still well hidden. I then crawled a little closer to the two and listened.

  “Rakul is leading us to our deaths,” one said quietly. “I say we stick a spear in him and leave.”

  “Have you gone mad,” the other hissed in a loud whisper. “You know we would face consequences for doing such a thing.”

  “Something is wrong here. I am not the only one who thinks it. The vale is angry, and it is looking for revenge. There are plenty of others who agree after seeing what happened to Geirna and Roshka.”

  I got a better look at one of them and saw him rubbing some kind of bone charm in his hand. His mask had a wide open mouth lined with pointy teeth, and I could see his chin in the mouth hole.

  “What are you suggesting exactly? Don’t tell me you believe dark spirits are about.”

  He ran ahead of the other, putting his hands up as if preparing for a debate.

  “Think about it! It wasn’t just Geirna and Roshka. The three that had originally gone into the forest to search for the pup Valrok dropped never made it back either. Yet, that very same pup was found alive and well, along with the other pup that had gone missing. We felled a god, but that is not all—a god with a family. We’ve hunted this vale for ages, but now it is angry. Something is protecting them. Something is killing our tribesmen and protecting the pups. That damn three-headed beast has at the very least left behind a curse and—”

  “They were killed by something with teeth and claws, and as Rakul said, Geirna had injured it. That means it can bleed. And anything that can bleed can be killed,” the second man said firmly, then turned away.

  “Mark my words. Something ancient stalks these caves now. And it is watching us,” the one clutching the bone charm said, then turned away as well, leaving him alone.

  Well, I don’t know about something ancient, I am indeed still a pup, but you’re half right.

  I continued prowling after the one with the bone charm, who eventually looked back at the rest of his group, who were now working on the beginnings of a fire. There was a sudden screech—one of those mouse things—that echoed through the cave. A red mask then hollered, “Ha! I got me some dinner!”

  “Then quit boasting and find more!” another hollered back. The leader, Rakul, maybe. “And you, put that drink away. We didn’t come all the way out here to get drunk!”

  There were a couple of dissatisfied murmurs, but nobody seemed to argue.

  Meanwhile, I continued to stalk the one with the bone charm, who looked back towards the camp they were building once more before setting down the bundle of kindling he had gathered. He then dropped to his knees and clasped the charm between both hands as he bowed his head in prayer.

  “Almighty Above, protect this hunt,” he whispered. “Shield our blades, blind the eyes of whatever stalks us in the dark, and guide our hands true. Let us return to the peaks with our honor intact and our brothers alive.” His grip tightened around the bone charm. “And if we have truly angered the vale… then show us how we might atone.”

  I saw the soft glow of the moonlight upon my claws. The red mask continued muttering prayers, his head bowed and his neck exposed. We had enough distance from the other red masks that this seemed like a good opportunity to take one down, then retreat into the blanket of darkness. If I could pick off another and use Intimidate to paralyze more, we could easily take down all five. The only real concern would be if one retreated on their Direwing… but I suspected Intimidate could also paralyze the mounts.

  I did a quick check of my vitals, wanting to know just how much the Moon Harvester skill reduced my mana costs.

  Vitals

  Health: 350 / 480

  Mana: 220 / 615

  Stamina: 190 / 436

  With that, I activated {Veil of Shadows} and stalked closer.

  One step… two…

  I was extra careful not to make a sound as the red mask continued to murmur prayers.

  “I can only beg your forgiveness if my tribe has offended your will, and I swear to—”

  SWEAR TO ME!

  I lunged, sinking my teeth into the back of his neck before ending his prayer in a surprised gasp that barely turned into a final plea.

  “ALMIGHT—SKKAAAAHAAAA!”

  Prey Eliminated - Lvl 13 Homo Sapien - Bloody Peaks Tribe

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Experience gained!

  “What was that?” I heard another red mask shout in alarm.

  “Molren? What is it?” another yelled for his now dead tribesman.

  I grabbed “Molren” by his leg and began dragging him away. Several shock poles were lit into torches as they started prowling forward cautiously.

  “Molren! Answer me!”

  I dragged his body under some greenery nearby, hiding the body just to increase their confusion, then retreated back to Grick and Lily. Grick was clutching himself behind a rock, peeking out cautiously but keeping himself as small as possible. Lily, however, had her hackles raised and teeth bared, an intense look in her eyes to show she was ready.

  “He was right here,” the one who had originally been talking to Molran said. “He was kneeling right here! What’s happened to him?”

  The one who was away from the group hunting called across the cavern. “What’s going on over there!?”

  Guess you’re going to be lucky number two, I thought, and started heading right for him.

  On the way, I did a quick check of my vitals to see that only fifteen mana was missing—Moon Harvest cut my mana costs by half!

  Above, the Direwings were thrown into a frenzy, zipping through the air and screeching in alarmed panic.

  I spotted the stray hunter. Lily was right at my side and charged right for him. He lifted his torch, surely seeing the two Hell Hounds coming right for him now. “Over here!” he screamed. “Help!”

  Lily used her speed to surge ahead of me and split into three, each pivoting and pouncing at him from different directions. He raised his weapons to attack, failing to hit the real Lily, and then I was in the air, lunging at him.

  If his allies could see him at all from the other side of the cavern, he soon disappeared to the cavern floor as my shadowy form overtook him.

  He screamed as I tore at his wrist, forcing the shock pole from his hand. His other hand abandoned the spear as it was no good at such close range, and he tried desperately to push me off. He screamed as I tore his fingers and took lunges at his neck. Lily went for his legs, finding unarmored sections of his thighs to tear and rip into. The two of us snarled viciously as we mutilated him. He flailed and thrashed, tried to scoot away, every movement desperate and reactionary. Until finally, my teeth found their way under his mask, and I ripped his throat out.

  Prey Eliminated - Lvl 13 Homo Sapien - Bloody Peaks Tribe

  Experience gained!

  When the remaining three red masks arrived, they spread out around us, the glow of their shock poles lighting the area.

  They saw us two Hell Hounds standing over the corpse of their slain tribesmen, each with hackles raised and blood dripping from our maws.

  “I-It’s the Hell Hounds!”

  “Levels 14 and 11!? That’s impossible!”

  “Focus!” Rakul snarled, poising his spear, and the other two did as well as they continued to spread out, circling us from all sides. “They are still outnumbered! Keep your wits and subdue them. We’re taking them alive.”

  “Take them alive? They’ve killed—”

  “And they’ll regret it,” Rakul snarled. “We’ll make them pay for what they’ve done before turning them over to Valrok, then they’ll be shipped off to their new hell in the fighting pits!”

  I bared my fangs at the mention of the fighting pits again. Supposedly, that’s where my mother had been sent, and possibly more of my siblings.

  Thanks for making this easy for me. I could never feel bad about murdering your people!

  I locked eyes with one red mask whose posture was more defensive than aggressive—I could see his fear.

  And you’re the perfect target.

  I used {Intimidate}, letting out a roar that echoed through the caverns, causing the Direwings to screech in terror as the human froze.

  The other two charged at us, one going for Lily, but she was innocently sitting on her haunches, waiting for such a poor attack.

  But I focused on my own kill, leaping away from Rakul’s spear and sinking my teeth into the frozen human’s neck. I ripped out a chunk of flesh from his throat as he fell with me, then I pivoted around and dodged another swipe of Rakul’s spear.

  No kill notification for that one yet, but he’d bleed out soon enough.

  Rakul’s last remaining tribesman screamed as Lily must have gotten him, but Rakul himself continued to swipe and stab at me with a flurry of attacks. I struggled to find an opening to counterattack and was on my back paw against this one—he seemed far more skilled than the others.

  I heard a loud whimper and my eyes shot to Lily as I saw her get knocked away by the other’s shock pole.

  Hey! Don’t hurt my sister! I thought with pure fury as I doubled back to get some distance from Rakul, then began to arc my path, my paws digging into the cave floor as I circled back to assist Lily.

  “Watch out!” Rakul warned.

  {Elemental Swipe}! Flaming Claw!

  Red and yellow flames circled up my limb as I leaped up and swiped at the red mask who just shocked Lily. My claw scratched into his chest armor, but then a blast of fire erupted. He was thrown backwards, off his feet. I prepared to charge forward to finish him, but Lily recovered just in time to let out a warning bark.

  I pivoted mid-stride, tucking my body and spinning away from Rakul’s spear, but it managed to graze across my flank.

  Fine, then—YOU!

  As soon as my hind paws found purchase, I raked a front paw across the ground.

  {Elemental Swipe!} Terra Claw!

  Spikes of earth shot up in a wave in front of me, peppering Rakul with a flurry of hits. It wasn’t enough to take him off his feet, but it stopped his attack and put him on the defensive.

  Lily, meanwhile, split into clones and went after the other red mask as he was beginning to recover from my last attack.

  “Damn it! Just kill them!” Rakul shouted, apparently finally realizing they didn’t have the luxury of taking prisoners—they’d need everything they had just to survive, not that I was going to let that happen anyway!

  I ducked under the next thrust, felt a second skim the fur along my back, barely cutting me, then I twisted sideways as he swept the butt of the shaft at my head. The strike clipped my jaw hard enough to rattle my teeth and send a flash of white through my vision.

  I backed off a few paces, circling. Rakul mirrored me, always keeping the spear between us, never overcommitting now that he had seen what a single hit from my claws could do. He had learned that lesson very quickly from Lily’s target, who was currently being torn apart by three copies of my sister, but I knew that was likely the last of her mana.

  But she made the best of it, goading him into swinging wildly at illusions, and every time he did, the real Lily darted in and ripped another strip of meat from his legs or arms. His screams were getting hoarse.

  Out of nowhere—

  Prey Eliminated - Lvl 12 Homo Sapien - Bloody Peaks Tribe

  Experience gained!

  I dodged another thrust of Rakul’s spear, then glanced over to Lily. She was still fighting the other one, so that must have been from the one I had bitten earlier, finally bleeding out.

  But wait, doesn’t that mean—

  Several system screens popped up in front of my vision, and I blindly dodged backwards as Rakul’s spear tore through one of the incorporeal screens.

  [Show them what a real hunter looks like!]

  Tier 2 complete!

  -Major Bonus to Stats

  -Moderate experience bonus

  -Major Development Bonus

  -Unlock an EPIC evolution hint

  The very tip of the spear nicked just above my eye; it wasn’t an incredibly deep cut, but enough to send blood gushing out and partially blinding me.

  Bad timing, System! Or rather, why did he have to wait until NOW to die!?

  I visually swiped away one message after another as I retreated backwards, just trying to get them out of my sight. But as soon as those were clear—

  You have leveled up!

  You are now level 15!

  +5 Vigor

  +6 Strength

  +7 Dexterity

  +9 Attunement

  +8 Sense

  Damn it, enough already!

  I swiped that one away as well, just in time to see the spear darting towards me. I didn’t have time to dodge completely, though I tried at the last moment, the spear racked across my side with a deep cut—not enough to put me down, but this one was definitely a serious injury!

  I had to retreat and get my barings down. But, then I heard Lily let out another pained yelp. I saw the other red mask jam his shock pole into her side, but I was too busy dealing with Rakul to help!

  You have unlocked an EPIC evolution hint!

  Would you like to view it now?

  [Yes] < [No]

  No damn it! NO! Not right now!

  That message disappeared with my mental command. But I had already given up on an offensive stance and had turned tail to run. I glanced back to reorient myself against my opponent, but I didn’t see him charging at me as I expected; he was—

  There was a blur of motion above me. He had just jumped incredibly high, and now it was coming right at me! Was that a skill?

  No time to dodge, or to channel an elemental cocktail, I used the skill I thought would be fastest.

  {Elemental Swipe}! Lightning Claw!

  A bolt of lightning shot from claw—it was going to be a direct hit.

  But it only took a heart-stopping moment to realize I had chosen wrong.

  He met the bolt of lightning spear first, and the arc of white light didn’t travel up his pole but seemed to be absorbed around the spearhead. Rakul pulled his spear back just before he touched the ground, then swiped it forward again. The spinning lightning then reformed a bolt at the tip of his spear and shot right at me.

  Lightning reversal!? Are you kidding me!

  Though I didn’t have time to lament the sheer injustice of him having such a skill, as the bolt struck me point-blank in the face, throwing me back.

  I skidded across the ground, temporarily blinded, my head spinning. The shocking feeling coursed through my body, tensing my limbs. I had resistance to electricity, but my recovery wasn’t instant…

  Just as I tried to get my limbs moving, I howled in pain. His spear stabbed deep into my stomach, just under my ribcage. I tried to pull away, but then he twisted, the incredible pain sapping the movement from my body, and I let out another howl.

  He didn’t dig it in deeper or pull it back for a finishing blow. He just held it there, breathing heavily, his mask staring down at me with a taunting sneer.

  “I got the other one,” his partner said, walking over and holding a limp Lily by her scruff, a dagger held up to her throat. “Should I kill it?”

  Lily! No! I whimpered as I made eye contact with my sister, her lids heavy and defeated as she stared back. I tried to move, but Rakul twisted the spear again, once again immobilizing me and causing me to howl in pain.

  “No…” he said, with a current of darkness in his voice. “Death is far too easy on them now. Let’s complete the mission we came here for…”

  My head fell limp against the ground. It was over. I lost…

  Then, almost as if to taunt me, the System popped another message in front of my face, partially buried in the ground.

  [You have reached 100% development and

  All prerequisites of an evolution pat

  Select a Path from the evolution tab if

  Evolutions were not instant. It would take at least a few crucial moments that he was not going to allow me. Even so, evolving wouldn’t heal me, and I wouldn’t have time to understand whatever new skills I’d gain or how they might get me out of this.

  It was like a cruel joke. I felt like the System betrayed me—it just had to distract me with all that crap while I was doing everything I could to deal with this guy!

  “Grab a shock pole and some rope,” Rakul ordered, keeping his spear in me, making sure I wouldn’t move.

  I flicked the System screens away and couldn’t help remembering that red mask who had been praying. When they spoke of the Almighty, were they talking about the System? And had the System answered his prayers by distracting me in the middle of a fight?

  No, it was probably just bad timing with that other guy dying.

  Then, something caught my eye. There was a rather large boulder beside me, and something was moving on it. I saw a red mask peak out from on top of the rock… but I couldn’t make sense of it. Was there another I hadn’t noticed before? And why did he seem to be sneaking around? No, it wasn’t a person, the mask was just… floating…

  But then, I saw scrawny green limbs from behind it, the thin legs positioned in a crouch, then shook as the mask stood up—

  Grick!?

  He had turned that mask he’d been wearing on his back around, but there was something else. His arms were heaving something up above his head—a large rock that I was impressed he could even lift.

  “Eeeeerrrrrg,” Grick growled as he used all his strength to deadlift the stone.

  Rakul’s mask tilted left and right, having heard the sound but clearly had no idea where it was coming from until—

  “Don’t hurt puppy!” Grick screamed and hurled the rock down at him.