The night was alive with sound.
At first, Kael thought it was only the crackle of the campfire and the rustle of wind through the trees. But then he saw them—eyes. Dozens of them, glimmering faintly between the shadows, weaving in and out like fireflies with hunger behind their glow.
His blood turned cold.
Serenya was still asleep, her bow lying close, one hand draped over the curve of her quiver. Kael's throat tightened. Should I wake her? Or would that give us away sooner?
The answer came in a growl. Low. Guttural. It rumbled through the clearing like thunder waiting to break.
Kael's body moved before his mind did. He grabbed the branch he had fashioned earlier, the crude weapon already slick with dried blood. His grip was weak, his knuckles pale.
"Serenya…" His voice was barely a whisper, hoarse with dread. "Wake up. Now."
She stirred, eyes snapping open with soldier-like reflex. The bow was in her hands before Kael could blink. Her gaze cut through the dark like silver knives.
She didn't ask questions. She saw the eyes too.
"Don't move," she hissed. "They're circling."
Kael swallowed hard. His heart hammered against his ribs like a war drum. He tried to steady his breathing, but every inhale felt too loud.
The howls came next. One, then another, then a chorus. A pack—hunters of the forest, answering to something primal.
Serenya's voice was calm, too calm. "Wolves. Starved ones, by the sound of it."
Kael wanted to laugh at the absurdity. Wolves. Back home, wolves were just pictures in books or documentaries on TV. Here, they were death incarnate, eyes glowing with hunger that promised no mercy.
The first shadow lunged.
Serenya's arrow flew, piercing the beast mid-leap. It yelped, collapsed, and the forest exploded with movement.
"Stay behind me!" she barked.
Kael almost snapped back—With what weapon?—but there was no time. A wolf darted in from the side, fangs flashing. Instinct screamed. Kael swung his branch with all the strength he had. The crude wood cracked against the wolf's skull, sending it sprawling.
Pain shot up his arm, but adrenaline drowned it out. Another wolf lunged, this one larger, heavier. It slammed into him, teeth snapping inches from his face. Kael shoved with raw desperation, his arms straining, the branch wedged against its jaw.
The beast's saliva dripped hot onto his skin. Its breath reeked of rot. Kael screamed, twisting, shoving, until—snap. The branch broke.
The wolf lunged again.
Kael's world slowed. He saw the teeth. He felt the fear. And then he remembered.
Death isn't the end.
The bite came swift. Pain—searing, absolute—shot through his body as the wolf's jaws crushed his throat. Blood poured hot and fast. His vision blurred. He heard Serenya shouting, arrows hissing through the night, but her voice faded.
Darkness claimed him.
---
> [Death Recorded]
Attributes increased: +10%.
Warning: Soul strain 2%.
---
Kael gasped awake, choking on air, clutching his throat—whole again, unbroken. The fire still crackled, the night still alive with growls and snarls. But the wolf that had killed him lay dead in the grass, an arrow jutting from its skull.
Serenya was still fighting. Three more wolves circled her, darting in and out, testing her defenses. Her bowstring sang, each shot precise, but sweat gleamed on her brow.
Kael staggered to his feet. Something burned in his veins, something new. His muscles felt tighter, his body sharper. Faster. Stronger.
Another wolf lunged. Kael didn't think. He moved.
This time, he grabbed a rock the size of his fist and smashed it into the beast's snout mid-leap. The crack echoed through the clearing. The wolf yelped, stumbling. Kael didn't stop—he drove the rock down again and again until the snarling ceased.
His breath came ragged, but his eyes burned.
It's real. I'm stronger.
Serenya glanced at him, surprise flickering across her face, but she said nothing. She loosed another arrow, dropping a wolf with surgical precision.
Together, they fought. She from afar, swift and cold, arrows raining like judgment. He up close, brutal and desperate, wielding rocks and broken wood like weapons forged in rage.
By the time the last wolf fell, the clearing was a graveyard of blood and fur.
Kael collapsed to his knees, chest heaving, arms trembling from exhaustion. His body screamed, but deep inside, a different fire burned. Power. Growth.
He stared at his bloodied hands, the corpse-strewn ground. His stomach churned. How many times will I have to die to keep surviving?
The system chimed again.
> [Pack Hunt Completed]
+250 Experience
Skill Unlocked: Predator's Instinct (Lv.1) – Heightened awareness in combat.
Kael's lips parted, words caught between awe and dread. Predator's Instinct.
Serenya approached, bow still in hand, her silver eyes sharp and unreadable.
"You fight like a madman," she said quietly.
Kael looked up, meeting her gaze. "I… I didn't have a choice."
"No," she agreed, kneeling beside one of the wolves. She drew her dagger, slicing into its belly with practiced ease. "But choice or not… you survived."
Kael swallowed hard, his throat tight. "Barely."
Her eyes flicked to him. For the first time, there was something softer there. Not warmth. Not kindness. But acknowledgment.
"You're not as helpless as you look," she said. "That might be the only reason you're alive right now."
She tossed him a strip of raw meat carved from the wolf's flank. "Eat. You'll need your strength."
Kael stared at it, his stomach twisting. The blood was still warm.
Is this what survival means here? To fight, to die, to eat what I kill?
He clenched his jaw, forcing himself to bite. The taste was metallic, foul, but it filled him.
As the fire dimmed and the forest fell quiet once more, Kael realized something terrifying.
It wasn't the wolves that scared him most.
It was how quickly he was adapting to this nightmare.