Aren stepped past the stone arch that marked the end of the trial, but something inside his chest refused to settle. Hunter's Instinct pulsed quietly—like a faint whisper telling him the trial wasn't truly over.
Students gathered around the courtyard entrance, many collapsing in relief, others complaining loudly about their scores. None of it mattered to Aren. The world felt sharper than it had moments ago, and a faint pressure tugged at him from the forest's eastern edge.
He glanced once at the instructors. None were paying attention to him.
Good.
He slipped back into the mist.
The eastern section of the forest wasn't part of the official trial. It was rougher, darker, and far less maintained. Roots twisted across the path like coiling snakes. The air smelled old—older than anything an artificial training ground should hold.
A soft growl came from ahead.
Aren spun sideways as a wolf-mutant lunged from a shadowed bush. He stepped aside and fired at the same time; the arrow tore through the wolf's skull. It collapsed instantly.
No popup appeared.
No notification.
Just silence.
Aren moved deeper.
A monkey-beast dropped from a branch, claws flashing. Aren ducked under it and swept its legs, firing upward at the exact angle needed. The beast dropped without a sound.
His breathing never quickened.
Another shadow moved.
A deer-beast burst forward, antlers coated in bone-like armor. Aren sidestepped the charge and fired two arrows in rapid succession—one breaking its left antler, the other hitting its neck. The beast crumpled.
Warmth spread faintly inside him.
[Level Up!]
[Level 2 → Level 3]
[Free Stat Points +5]
His senses heightened instantly. The world sharpened into even clearer focus. Every rustle, every tremor, every vibration through the ground felt magnified.
The instinct inside him demanded more.
Aren obliged.
He moved deeper into the dense brush, where the trees grew thicker and the light dimmed. There were no students here. No instructors. No signs the Academy had intended this path to even exist.
Something big moved behind him.
He turned a heartbeat before the strike came.
A massive bear-mutant slammed its paw down, cracking the ground. Aren rolled to the side, firing an arrow into its elbow joint. The creature roared in pain, stumbling.
Before it could recover, Aren leapt onto a tree trunk, kicked off it, and fired another arrow directly into the beast's neck.
The bear shook once, then fell still.
Aren exhaled and kept walking.
The forest grew silent again, but not peaceful. It was the silence of something ancient watching from the dark.
A heavy pressure descended suddenly.
A shadow fell over him.
Metallic wings glinted above—
a giant bird-beast dove downward with its talons extended.
Aren sprang forward, sliding beneath it. He spun and fired quickly. The first arrow pinged off the beast's reinforced wing, but the second curved midair and pierced the sensitive joint beneath.
The bird screeched, losing control, and crashed into the ground.
Aren ran toward it, leapt onto its back, and fired one last arrow through the skull.
Again, warmth spread inside him.
Not enough to level yet—
but close.
He pressed onward.
The forest floor shifted under him.
A hulking silhouette emerged from the shadows—
a massive earthshell turtle, half-submerged in a shallow pond.
[Beast Detected: Earthshell Turtle — D Rank — Level 16]
Aren didn't hesitate. He fired at its eye. The arrow cracked the shell around the head, lodging deep. The turtle thrashed violently, the pond water sloshing, but Aren was already sprinting.
He vaulted onto the shell, ran up its rugged surface, and fired down into the gap beneath its neck. The arrow pierced straight through.
The turtle collapsed with a heavy thud.
The warmth inside him surged again—
[Level Up!]
[Level 3 → Level 4]
[Free Stat Points +5]
Aren steadied his breathing.
Level 4…
Almost there.
He could feel Level 5 just ahead of him, like a wall waiting to be broken.
He pushed further.
Two panther-beasts stalked him through the trees. Aren didn't give them a chance to pounce. He fired twice—one curved mid-flight, one straight. Both panthers fell silently.
A large fox-mutant darted from a bush. Aren kicked it aside and finished it with a quick shot.
The pressure in his chest built.
He needed a stronger opponent.
He got one.
A tiger-beast stepped into his path, stripes glowing faintly with crackling lightning energy. Its growl vibrated through the ground.
Perfect.
Aren sprinted forward. The tiger leapt, claws extended. Aren dropped low, feeling the claws slice the air above his head. He rolled under its legs, fired upward, and hit a tendon.
The tiger roared in pain, turning sharply.
Aren didn't back away. He sprinted toward it.
The tiger swung its massive paw—
Aren bent sideways, feeling the wind tear past his ear—
and he fired an arrow directly into its heart.
The beast crashed into the dirt and moved no more.
Aren slowed.
Warmth surged deeply through his body, spreading through his limbs like fire lighting inside his veins.
[Level Up!]
[Level 4 → Level 5]
[Free Stat Points +5]
Aren exhaled slowly.
Level 5.
At last.
His instincts quieted immediately, as if satisfied with the progression. The pressure that pulled him deeper into the forest finally vanished.
Aren turned and walked toward the exit.
He stepped out into the courtyard—
and the world erupted.
A deafening roar blasted through the Academy, shaking stones from the walls. The metal forest-gates bent outward like paper. Instructors shouted, students screamed, and heat rolled across the air like a furnace.
A massive silhouette stepped out of the smoke.
Black fur split by molten red cracks.
Eyes like burning coals.
Claws glowing hot enough to melt stone.
Steam hissing from its jaws.
A demonhound.
A demon.
Inside the Academy.
Its gaze swept across the courtyard—
ignoring the instructors, ignoring the walls—
Until it locked onto Aren.
And didn't look away.
[Demon Detected: Demonhound — C Rank — Level 15]
Aren's hand tightened on his bow.
A moment later, Kane appeared behind him, stopping at Aren's shoulder. He stared at the demonhound for a long moment.
His voice was little more than breath.
"…Someone sent that for you."