Sixteen humans to kill, and twenty-four hours to do it. If I could pull it off, multiple evolution paths would open up to me, not including the Whisperfang Juvenile path that I just needed one more development stage to obtain.

  It was always nice to have options, wasn’t it? Not to mention one was legendary, though it was possible that even after having it hinted at, it would be some time before I could unlock it.

  Still, it was nice to have goals, and I knew I shouldn’t count my chickens before they were hatched, either.

  Those last two humans were pathetic, but that didn’t mean all of them would be that way. I’d have to be careful of how I burned through my Mana and Stamina as well. Though I had a quick way to refill my Elemental Reserves, refilling Mana required eating and therefore extra hunting, so it wasn’t like it could be a free-for-all with spells.

  I also had my sister to rely on. I looked back to see her following just a pace behind me.

  She had probably fallen far behind me in levels, but completing this quest would do wonders for her as well, simply from the experience points alone. But levels meant nothing if she were to be fatally injured, so I knew we had to be careful.

  I wondered if she was also getting quests and achievements the way I was. My assumption was yes, though she probably didn’t interpret the System the same way I could.

  For the time being, before we caught up to the three red masks we were aware of, I decided to check my status screen. There was another big day of fighting ahead of us, and I had to approach it strategically.

  Name: ???

  Race: Hell Hound

  Level: 13

  Path: Arcane Nightstalker

  Stage: 4

  Body Development: 5%

  Vitals

  Health: 400 / 430

  Mana: 490 / 545

  Stamina: 350 / 392

  Attributes

  Strength: 83 (+27)

  Dexterity: 98 (+32)

  Vigor: 86 (+30)

  Sense: 131 (+38)

  Attunement: 109 (+40)

  Active Skills

  Crippling Bite LVL 2

  Target limbs and snap bone to weaken your target and affect their mobility.

  Veil of Shadows LVL 1

  Conceal yourself in darkness, muffling your footsteps and obscuring your outline. Breaking the veil with an attack moderately increases damage based on Strength and Dexterity.

  Elemental Absorption Lvl 2

  You can harness mana from the world around you and from attacks. When absorbing elements defensively, success will depend on your level and resistances.

  Elemental Swipe Lvl 1

  Channel a single specific element into your claws for a melee attack infused with the element of your choosing

  Elemental Cocktail Lvl 1

  Combine as many elements as you want to cast a variety of different spells

  Pulse Sense LVL 3 (inactive)

  Marrow Sense LVL 1 (inactive)

  Passive Skills

  Enhanced Smell LVL 3

  Basic Fighting LVL 4

  Night Vision LVL 2

  Poison Resist LVL 1

  Lightning Resistance LVL 1

  Elemental Mastery Lvl 1

  Traits

  Elemental Attunement Lvl 1

  You have improved attunement with the elements, increasing your capacity to harness and store elements, whether through consumption or by other means

  Moon Harvester Lvl 1

  Under direct moonlight, the potency of your spells is improved, and magic-related mana costs are reduced

  Predator’s Focus LVL 3

  Bonus damage when attacking from stealth or targeting unaware enemies.

  Camouflage LVL 3

  Bonus to stealth when not moving.

  Night Hunter LVL 2

  Improved camouflage in addition to improved strength and dexterity scaling at night.

  Pack Bond LVL 3

  -You gain experience from anything killed by a member of your pack during a hunt in which you are involved.

  -You and your packmates regenerate mana and health 5% faster while resting together, the bonus stacking an additional 5% for every nearby pack member.

  -You and your packmates now take moderately reduced damage while hunting together!

  My stats had truly skyrocketed since the last time I checked. My power was snowballing out of control at this point. Multiple level-ups and achievements in a short time could do that, I supposed.

  Development was only at 5%, which was disappointing, but it was fair since I had evolved only about a day ago. Besides, the quest would help that along.

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  The Moon Harvester trait had only gotten use against the red mask named Geirna so far. It wouldn’t be very useful as long as we remained underground… unless…

  Actually, the skylight cavern. If there was a place to go all out with my magic, it would be there when the moonlight came through the ceiling. Reduced mana cost and increased spell potency could make me unstoppable. If there was a time to go all out, it would be there.

  I considered luring some red masks to that cavern if the opportunity arose.

  Other than that, narrow tunnels were a great place to keep things one-on-one as it was with those last two humans. It also made escape all but impossible for them, as I was so much faster.

  To think, when they came here, they thought they were the hunters.

  “P-Puppies. That’s the wrong way,” Grick said as he paddled up behind us. “Human town this way.”

  Sorry, Grick, but the plan changed.

  I gave him a soft, acknowledging growl, but he insisted. He pushed ahead of Lily, then got in front of me. The mask was still strapped to his back as he blocked my path. “This bad way. More red mask humans. More dangerous than other humans.”

  I used my paw to push him aside and showed my teeth, communicating that the red masks were exactly what I was after.

  Grick let Lily walk past him as he put a fist under his chin and thought it over. “Kill humans? Loot humans for lovelies?” he muttered. His ears twitched, then perked practically straight up. “Ooooh,” he whispered.

  Of course, if he could understand things in a way that benefited him, he would go along with it. Not that he was much use to us at this point. Actually, he would be more of a liability than anything at this point, but since Lily seemed to like him, I didn’t want to upset her by chasing him off. Besides, if we did get lost, he knew these caves far better than us.

  Soon, I heard voices ahead, and I set down our box of crystals and then let out a low chuff to tell them to get ready. Lily tensed instantly, getting that calm focus in her eyes. Grick backed away so that he would stay away from the fighting and keep his lantern from giving us away. I prowled forward slowly as the tunnel widened slightly, and soon I saw the purple glow of the red masks’ shock sticks.

  “What’s taking them so long?” one said. “This is the right tunnel, isn’t it?”

  They waited by the narrow, branching tunnel that we had killed their allies inside of just a short time ago. There was the laughing mask, the angry mask, and a stoic mask.

  “Don’t tell me they got lost,” said laughy.

  “Probably fooling around back there,” angry mask grumbled.

  “Bah, as if Kaileen would fall for that fool’s boasting,” laughy retorted.

  The stoic mask was the only one not holding a shock pole. He leaned against the cave wall with arms folded and didn’t seem to join in the banter until he pointed and said, “One of you go see what’s taking them so long. That tunnel isn’t well used, so perhaps there is another opening that we didn’t know about, and they got lost.”

  Perfect, I thought.

  The two others looked at each other. Laughy put his hands behind his head. “You didn’t get any kills in the last cavern, so you go.”

  “But I led the attack, so you go.”

  “I saved you from getting poisoned by that snake! We were this close to wasting a healing potion because of you,” he shot back.

  Stoic growled, then pushed angry mask, probably just because he was closer. “You go. And be quick about it. It’s bad enough we are stuck scouring these pathetic caves without wasting more time.”

  I eyed that one carefully. He was bigger than the other two, with thicker muscles, and his demeanor and the way he talked to them hinted that he might be the strongest of the three.

  Angry mask scoffed, but obeyed. He muttered some insult so low that I wasn’t sure Stoic even heard him, and I probably wouldn’t have either if my Sense stat wasn’t so high.

  Lily shimmied closer, belly low, and came right to my side. Her ears were perked and she held a serious gaze, waiting for me to make the first move.

  We would wait a few minutes. That way, the one who was leaving might not hear the fighting once it started, and would just barely be coming upon his slain allies.

  Laughy let out a yawn and leaned casually against the wall opposite Stoic. There was enough room in this part of the tunnel that they would have decent ability to maneuver around each other, but that would also be good for Lily. I also considered that they likely had healing potions, so I had to be careful not to allow them to be used. Even if managing to heal mid-fight wasn’t enough for them to win, I’d still have to spend more mana and stamina, and take more risk of one of us getting hurt. Not only that, we could have Grick loot the healing potions once we were done for a quick heal later without having to take time searching for Healing Shrooms. Plus, now that my HP was growing so high, it would practically take a bellyful of the chalky stuff to heal me completely if I were to need it. A healing potion would be much more effective if we found ourselves in a bad spot.

  Two minutes passed, and I eyed the laughing mask, who lazily yawned once again. He would be the easier of the two to kill. Could Penaclysm one-shot him? It had been a nearly fatal attack against the Earth Tyrant, though I had gotten it right inside its mouth. Still, it was worth a shot. This tunnel was also wide enough that I didn’t worry too much about its explosive power causing a cave-in.

  I nudged Lily to get back and crawled forward a little. Preparing my spell, light particles coursed through my fur and down to my paws. The shallow light caught laughy’s eyes, as he turned his gaze to me, but didn’t react much, probably not registering what it was. That is, until I lurched upwards and slashed both paws forward.

  “H-Hey, there’s a—”

  {Elemental Cocktail}! Penaclysm!

  The rainbow spear formed, then shot its beam down the tunnel, lighting the cave walls instantly. It was too fast for him to even finish his sentence before it hit him center mass and detonated. The explosion threw him backward like a ragdoll, smashing him into the tunnel wall with a crunch, his mask visibly split down the middle.

  Stoic reached for his weapons on instinct, pulling a shock pole into one hand and a sword into the other, then he ran right at us. But laughy, despite his shocked movements, was getting back up and reaching for something.

  I barked at Lily to finish him off while I would take care of the other one, and the two of us bolted towards the enemy, Lily pulling ahead in front of me. I didn’t realize until now she actually was faster than me.

  Stoic tried an underhand swing of his blade, but his aim was completely thrown off when she suddenly ran up the wall and slipped past his side like a speedy arrow. I wouldn’t give him a chance to attempt to attack her again.

  I lunged, aiming for his arm holding the shock pole.

  Registering me as the most immediate threat, Stoic hopped backwards and swung the pole down. It connected with me, but I bore the pain as I went for his leg.

  {Crippling Bite}!

  But as I twisted, I instantly felt that something was wrong. It wasn’t just the electricity flowing through me, but biting his leg was like sinking my teeth into a tree trunk.

  I realized I had to abandon the attack and quickly reversed my direction, getting away from the shock pole and just narrowly avoiding his blade. But he didn’t give me time to recover; he was chasing me.

  Damn human! I growled in frustration, still feeling the clenching, staticky feeling deep in my gut. It was slowing me down, but I still had enough speed to outrun him.

  I heard another scream and knew Lily, at least, had found her mark. If the scream wasn’t enough—

  Foe Eliminated - Lvl 12 Homo Sapien - Bloody Peaks Tribe

  Experience gained!

  I flicked the screen away instantly; I didn’t need the distraction right now. But I did feel a bubble of pride for my sister, though my attack certainly made the kill much easier for her.

  Having gained some distance, I spun around and took a defensive stance, low to the ground, fangs bared in threat. Stoic slowed down, lifting both weapons and eyeing me carefully. Behind him, I saw Lily on the prowl, assessing her target for an opening, but she was keeping her distance. She knew better than to go right in, because he glanced back just enough to take note of her as well.

  It was a tense standoff. He shuffled towards me carefully, slowly, while periodically glancing back to Lily.

  “Both rare Paths, huh…” he growled through his teeth. “And those levels make no damn sense.”

  He could see things about us, just like Genzo and even Geirna. Though, I was fairly certain Genzo could see much more than either of the two red masks. Even if it was the same skill that provided such information, Genzo’s was probably a higher level.

  He suddenly charged at me. No time for another Penaclysm.

  I lifted my paw and raked it across the cave wall.

  {Elemental Swipe!} Terra Claw!

  A brown glow rippled up my foreleg—heavier, denser than fire or lightning—and when my claws met stone, the mana surged outward, kicking up shards of rock as if something beneath the wall had punched through from the other side. The chunks broke free and pelted him, slowing down his advance and blocking his sight as he put an arm up to defend himself. Taking multiple hits of rock sent him staggering, and I charged forward under my own attack.

  But where do I hit now? Crippling Bite did nothing to his leg. Maybe I should try his knee?

  It was worth a shot.

  He swept his blade at me, I dodged, then aimed a little higher this time, latching my jaws to his knee.

  {Crippling Bite!}

  I twisted and pulled, but once again felt no give. No indication I was just a good shake from snapping bone.

  Lily followed up my attack, biting the back of his ankle, but he just kicked backwards, throwing her off him, then he was jabbing his shock pole at me.

  I tried to retreat, but felt the burn of electricity course through my back, this time causing my legs to give out as I clumsily tried to correct my footing.

  His blade was swinging down on me—

  But he shouted in panic as three Lilies suddenly leaped up at him. He messily changed the direction of his blade to go after the one aiming her jaws for his neck, but it passed right through, and that Lily, along with a second, disappeared in a puff of smoke. The third, however, managed to bite onto his arm holding the shock pole. She growled viciously as she dangled by her teeth.

  Stoic’s growl, however, was more one of annoyance than anything as he crushed her against the cave wall with his forearm.

  She let out a yip and tried to let go, but the human abandoned his shock pole to instead grab her by the scruff, and in one swift motion he stabbed his sword at her.

  I was already on the move. I jumped at the back of his arm, sinking my teeth into the unprotected back side of his arm—but not fast enough.

  Lily let out a yelp of pain. I felt panic flare through my heart, but as he lost his grip on her and she fell to the ground, she was at least healthy enough to scamper off out of danger. I couldn’t get a good look at her wound, but hoped I’d at least slowed the attack enough to prevent a more serious injury.

  I attempted to retreat, but this time Stoic’s boot found my side as I was kicked and thrown into the cave wall. I once again scrambled my paws at the ground to break into a run, then pivoted my butt forward just as the blade came down on me. I barely avoided it, feeling the razor edge break skin, but not much else.

  I barked at Lily to retreat, and the two of us began running. I could smell her blood, but based on how she was moving I didn’t think the injury was too serious.

  Stoic was chasing us down the tunnel once again, now shouting, “Get back here! I’ll cut off your damn heads and mount them on my wall!”

  This guy was no joke. He was definitely stronger than Geirna. What level was he? Had I made a terrible mistake attacking him? What was worse was that he was chasing us towards the river, towards those series of twisting tunnels Grick had guided us through. If we didn’t make a wrong turn and hit a dead end, we still might run into more red masks by the river.

  “Come on! Why are you running!” he laughed, his boots still stomping heavily as he chased after us.

  No, I couldn’t give up yet, and we couldn’t waste all our stamina simply running. He was strong but not invincible. When I bit the back of his arm I felt my teeth sink into his flesh, and I had tasted his blood. My Terra Claw had hurt him as well.

  I doubted he could take a head-on shot from Penaclysm, either. We just needed to retreat for now until I had enough time to pull it off.

  But even though we were gaining on him, we were not doing so fast enough, and soon we made it to the tight, twisting tunnels where getting a clean shot with Penaclysm would be all but impossible.

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