The morning mist hung heavy over the forest like drifting silk.Sunlight barely touched the ground, breaking through the trees in thin silver lines. The air smelled of wet bark and spirit moss, faintly glowing underfoot.
Students moved in groups, their flux weapons shining with soft blue light. This was the Outer Circle the safest part of the Wild Region, where low-grade beasts roamed. But even here, danger waited behind every tree.
Rin walked at the edge of his group, spear in hand, steps light and quiet. The forest felt alive in a way the academy never did whispering leaves, flowing energy, and unseen eyes watching from the dark.
Instructor Kael led from the front, scanning the surroundings with calm focus. "Stay close," he said. "Outer Circle beasts are weak but fast. Don't lose sight of your group."
Sana walked behind him, her short blade drawn. Her eyes darted everywhere curious, but nervous."Feels strange," she whispered. "Like the air's breathing."
Rin glanced at her, then back to the forest. He didn't answer. Words were still hard for him. Instead, his focus stretched outward listening, feeling. Beneath the ground, faint ripples of energy moved.
[Environmental Flux Detected. Density: Moderate. Source: Wild Lifeforms.]
The System's voice murmured inside his mind, clear and calm.
"Observe pattern fluctuations. Local flux is mixed with organic life signatures. Recommend scanning during combat."
Rin nodded slightly to himself.
The First Beasts
A low rustle echoed from the bushes ahead.Kael raised his hand. "Positions."
The students spread out, forming a loose circle. Flux energy shimmered around their weapons.A moment later, three small shapes burst from the undergrowth wolf-like creatures with scaled skin and glowing red eyes.
"Lesser scalehounds," Kael said. "Grade-1 beasts. Good for first kills."
The hounds growled, tails flicking, their bodies tensed to leap.One student shouted and charged forward with a sword glowing blue. The creature dodged fast, faster than expected but the next strike from another student caught its flank. A crack of energy burst through the air, and the hound fell, dissolving into faint dust.
The students cheered softly.One by one, they took down the remaining beasts, the air filling with the smell of burnt scales and wild flux.
But when the beasts vanished, the ground was empty. Nothing remained no crystals, no cores.
Sana frowned. "Teacher… shouldn't they drop cores?"
Kael shook his head. "Not all beasts carry them. Only those whose flux has reached a stable resonance usually higher grade."
The excitement faded a little.They continued deeper.
The Empty Hunt
Hours passed. The forest grew darker as they moved further in. Thick vines hung from ancient trees, and the sound of flowing water echoed somewhere nearby.
They killed more small beasts spirit foxes, horned boars, winged serpents but every time, the result was the same. No cores. Only faint traces of energy that quickly faded away.
By afternoon, most students were tired. Their crystals dimmed, and flux levels dropped.
Kael finally stopped near a clearing. "Rest here. Refill your flux and stay sharp. The deeper we go, the higher the chance of finding a true core beast."
Students sat down on rocks and roots, uncorking their flux bottles or pressing crystals to their palms. Blue light flowed through their bodies again.
Rin sat a bit apart, leaning against a fallen log. His body felt fine strong and steady from his earlier body cultivation. He didn't need to rest like the others. But the energy around them… it still bothered him.
"Artificial flux input detected," the System said."Energy frequency misaligned with natural rhythm. Result: efficiency loss 28%."
Rin thought for a moment, eyes half-closed. Missing something…
The System hummed softly, almost thoughtful.
"Perhaps. Continue observation."
A Strange Find
Not long after they started walking again, Kael raised his hand. "Stop."
The air ahead shimmered. From behind a moss-covered tree, a new beast stepped out larger than the previous ones, its fur striped with faint gold lines of flux. It was shaped like a cat, but its eyes glowed with eerie blue fire.
"Flux Panther," Kael said. "Grade-2. Good this one should carry a core."
He nodded to the group. "Team formation. Surround it. Don't let it flee."
The students obeyed, spreading carefully. Rin moved with them, spear in hand.The panther growled, its body low, energy gathering under its paws. Then it leaped faster than lightning.
A blast of flux energy followed as it struck one of the front students. The shield flickered but held.Kael's voice was sharp. "Attack now!"
Flux light flared from every direction. Blades and spears struck, the air filled with blue sparks. Rin moved among them, calm and silent. The System guided each motion.
"Opponent strength calculated. Weak point: left shoulder, two inches below crest."
Rin twisted, his spear flashing like a streak of light. The point struck the spot exactly the beast roared in pain.Moments later, Kael finished it with a powerful flux slash that split the air.
The panther fell, fading slowly but this time, something remained.A small orb of deep amber light rolled across the ground, glowing softly.
"A monster core!" someone shouted.
The Core
The group gathered around it, excited.Kael bent down, inspecting it closely. "Good. Grade-2 core, stable structure. Useful for refining or cultivation."
He turned to the group. "No one touch it yet. I'll send it to the academy for"
Rin raised his hand slightly. "T-Teacher… may I… see?"His words were broken, slow. He still struggled to speak fluently.
Kael blinked in mild surprise. "You, Rin? You want to examine it?"
Rin nodded. "Just… look. Little."
Kael hesitated, then shrugged. "Fine. Be careful. Don't absorb it it could burn your channels."
Rin stepped forward. The small core pulsed in his palm warm, vibrant, and alive.At that moment, the System's voice whispered sharply.
"Unknown energy signature detected. Permission to analyze?"
Yes, Rin thought.
"Analyzing sample… Composition: natural flux energy merged with chaotic resonance. Source: beast evolution process.""Potential application: hybrid refinement model. Warning unstable if absorbed directly."
A small circle of golden light flickered across the core, unseen by anyone else.The System spoke again, softer now.
"Sample refinement… 3% extracted. Data stored. Pattern recognized."
The core's glow dimmed for a second, then returned to normal. No one noticed the change except Rin.
He looked down, feeling the faint echo of the core's energy brush against his own. It was warm, wild, and strangely familiar like the rhythm he had felt deep in the forest soil.
"Flux… different," he whispered.
Kael turned. "Different? What do you mean?"
Rin struggled for words. "This… one… feels… alive."
Kael studied him for a moment, then smiled faintly. "Good instinct. Natural flux is alive untamed. That's why we use refined crystals instead. The academy teaches order, not chaos."
He stood up, taking the core carefully. "Still, you have a good sense. Remember that."
Rin nodded, lowering his eyes but inside, the System's voice hummed again.
"Confirmed: artificial refinement removes natural resonance. Efficiency loss up to 30%. Hypothesis academy's flux crystals intentionally suppressed."
Rin's pulse quickened. Suppressed? Why?
The System didn't answer. Only silence, followed by one soft statement.
"Continue gathering cores. I will need more data."
End of the Day
The group returned to camp at sunset. The sky burned orange through the tall trees, and spirit fireflies drifted above the ground. The air was peaceful again, but Rin's mind wasn't.
He sat near the campfire later that night, quiet among the chatter.His fingers still tingled faintly where the core had touched them.
Natural flux chaotic yet whole.Refined flux clean but empty.
Two sides of the same power… but one felt real.
He looked toward the forest again.Somewhere out there, deeper than the Outer Circle, beasts carried stronger cores stronger flux. And the System wanted them.
He didn't know why, but a part of him wanted the same.