---
"Good start!" Fizz shouted from above. "Now aim! Try not to feed it to your face!"
John tried to track the beast as it bounded between the ferns, its scales blending with the forest floor. Every time he lined up a shot, the beast juked sideways, vanishing into a streak of green and brown. Sweat rolled down his temple.
He pushed the black hole forward. It drifted, sluggish and wobbling in panic, before the beast darted left and the sphere missed by a wide margin.
The Verdant Snapper snarled and lunged again.
John jumped back, his boots skidding in damp soil. He could feel his mana draining just to maintain the black hole orb in front of him. The sphere wanted to pull, to devour but it was slow. Too slow.
"Stop thinking like a rock!" Fizz yelled, zipping overhead. "Think like my master! Anticipate! Lead your target! Right now, you're aiming where it is, not where it's going!"
