The air in the forest was thick with steam and the iron smell of spirit beast blood. The Steelhide Boar's body was still smoking where it had fallen, and its tusks were broken and its hide was burned.
Chen Ho cleaned the beast core and put it in a cloth bag. He tied the tusks together with vines and rolled up the hide. Nothing is wasted.
"Meat sells." Tusks make. Core proves." He said the words like a mantra, with each syllable becoming a habit.
The Phoenix sang proudly on his shoulder, puffing out its chest and flickering flames from its wings. Its feathers shone more brightly, and strength pushed at the edges of its small body.
Chen Ho said quietly, "Lv.22." "Okay." But not enough.
Hunting and Looting
The hours went by in a steady way. He followed, caught, and collected:
River frogs with shiny sacs that alchemists love.
Horned rabbits whose teeth could be made sharp like needles.
Shadow Mice whose tails got coins from calligraphers who wanted "ink with spirit."
The Phoenix grew stronger with each fight, no matter how small. Every cut and every harvest added to Chen Ho's money for the future.
Students he passed stared. Some people whispered in jealousy. Some people said the word "mutation" like it was poison.
Chen Ho didn't pay attention to them.
Attack
There were voices ahead at noon.
"Over there." He's by himself.
"Great. We can have his beast core if we kill him.
"Dean said to survive, not how." There are no rules against stripping trash.
Chen Ho's eyes got smaller. He knew them—members of small clans who had lost to him in the brackets.
Three people with knives in their hands and sneers on their faces came into view. A wolf, a scaled ape, and a hooked-beak hawk walked next to them.
The leader said, "Well, well." "The boy with the chicks." Give us your loot, and we might not break its wings.
The Phoenix hissed, and the flames licked its feathers.
Chen Ho didn't move. "Do you want it?" "Come get it."
The Battle
The wolf lunged first, snapping its jaws. The Phoenix shot forward, flames bursting out. Flame Peck burned the wolf's fur, and the wolf yelled back.
The monkey swung its fist like a hammer. Chen Ho moved to the side, and the knife flashed to cut its wrist. The beast roared, but it was distracted.
The hawk swooped down from above, its talons cutting through the air. Chen Ho snapped a strip of hide up, getting one of his claws stuck. The bird screeched and flew in a wide circle.
"Kill him!" the leader yelled, his face twisted with rage.
The Phoenix spread its wings, and Fire Feather Burst lit up, sending flames raining down in a circle. The wolf ran away, its tail on fire. The ape hit the flames that were licking its skin. The hawk couldn't dive again without losing feathers.
Chen Ho stepped forward, calm. Knife shining, eyes steady.
He said softly, "You forgot, a Phoenix doesn't fight by itself."
The Phoenix let out a loud scream and let Phoenix Cry out. The sound pierced the beasts' minds, leaving them weak and confused.
Chen Ho's knife flashed once, then twice, making shallow cuts and pushing the beasts back. He didn't have to kill. He just needed them to stop working.
The other students got scared. One said in a hiss, "It's... it's too strong!"
"Back off!"
They ran back into the woods, dragging their hurt animals with them.
The aftermath
Chen Ho bent down to pick up the dropped bags. Coins, scraps of beast hide, and herbs. He calmly tied them to his belt, as if he were counting receipts.
The Phoenix jumped back on his shoulder and sang a happy song. Its feathers got hotter and brighter.
"Lv.25," Chen Ho said softly. He ran his hand over its head. "Okay. You're getting bigger quickly.
Foreshadowing
A roar came from deeper in the forest and shook the air. Not the sound of a wolf, ape, or boar. It was older, heavier, and made the trees bend when it made a sound.
The Phoenix stopped moving, and its feathers turned gold. Its eyes grew larger and stared at the mountains that were far away.
Chen Ho's breathing stopped. Deep inside, his hidden awakenings thumped back.
Dragon...
The sound went away, but the air still shook. Another ancient beast was waiting in the Trial Beast Grounds.
And fate was bringing them together.