Depthless Hunger

Kai tried to keep his face neutral and was pretty sure he did a terrible job. Fhazi still had six of the members of his entourage, including the two huge men and the suspicious woman. Though he wasn't as exhausted as just after killing the Direboar, Kai was tired and nearly weaponless.

To add insult to injury, every member of the group had awakened their Class. They might not have progressed much otherwise, but he'd be facing a storm of mana if it turned into a fight.

"Do you want the monster core?" Kai asked. His pack was secured in a tree and he didn't want to turn his back to get it, but he figured negotiation was worth a shot. "Others softened up the Direboar first, so I guess it's not fully my kill."

"You really think I'll let you get away so easily?" Fhazi sneered and took a step closer.

Actually, Kai had been hoping that they would forget the exact terms of the trial: the winner was the one who killed the Direboar, not the one holding its core at the end. Losing one core would have been a fair trade for avoiding an unwinnable fight. Unfortunately, it looked like Fhazi just wanted to beat someone.

There weren't a lot of options left. Maybe he could bait Fhazi into a duel? There was no reason for him to agree, but it might appeal to his ego. Kai reached for his spiritual vision - it felt like staring directly into the sun - and checked the young noble:

Name: Fhazi Lantrian

Total Power: 8

Grandfist Novice Class: 3

Soul Level: 1

Sacred Armor: 2

>

Even Fhazi had gained a powerful-sounding Class and increased it several times. Classes really were the fastest path to power.

"Witness my power!" Fhazi raised both his fists and mana began to flow from him. It slid in smooth curves that began solidifying around his fists, forming gauntlets that looked like they were made of woven steel. Steel that began glowing red hot.

It was all impressive, and rather slow. If he hadn't been so beaten, Kai would have tried to hit Fhazi before he could finish preparing. Some people were able to use their Classes extremely quickly, like Inafay, but he'd also noted that others were slow to warm up. That would be good to remember for the future, if he had a future.

"That's enough." The quiet voice drew everyone's attention, and Kai turned just in time to see Tusquo walk into the forest.

"You again?" Fhazi whirled on him and raised his fists. "You want to settle this now?"

Kai was glad to see that Tusquo looked mostly unharmed - torn robes and a few bruises, but still able. What bothered him was the fact that Tusquo was alone. Either the other Irunians had been removed from the competition, or...

Without warning shards of ice exploded through the trees. Fhazi's group staggered, and Fhazi himself raised both over-sized gauntlets in front of him to deflect the fragments. As soon as he turned away, Tusquo drew his sword and swept it through the air. An arc of mana shot out, cutting several trees in half and sending members of Fhazi's group flying.

They might have ended the fight right then, if one of the huge goons hadn't summoned floating mana shields to block the next attacks. He was faster than he looked. Kai was ready to join in the fight when Tusquo walked up to him and grabbed his shoulder.

"Kai Granfian, you must go. We will handle this fight."

"Go?" Kai stared at him. "You don't want my help?"

"You will endanger everyone more by being here." Tusquo kept his eyes on the growing brawl and continued speaking to him in a low voice. "There is a waypoint that reveals the current state of the competition. You have the second most monster cores of any candidate, and fighting the Direboar revealed your location. I suggest you escape."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"I... thanks." Kai clapped the Irunian man on the shoulder and headed out. They were outnumbered, but their ambush seemed to have been effective, so they should be fine. Maybe they even wanted all of Fhazi's monster cores for themselves.

He was happy to let the Irunians have them. It was nice to have at least a few people in the entire monster reserve who wouldn't be hunting him down.

The small forest had been too damaged to offer any more safe hiding places, and it was likely to be everyone's target. Kai headed back out into the wasteland and looked for any defensible locations. Nothing. The sun beat down mercilessly on a mostly flat landscape.

Worse, his spiritual vision picked up several people who seemed to be moving toward him. Kai began running in an empty direction, hoping that would take him away from the greatest concentration of fighters. He winced as he ran, but his body was working well enough to move. Just a bit of pain. He could fight through pain.

Just when he started to feel confident, something slid around his ankle and he smashed into the ground.

He kicked free, even before he knew what was happening. Some kind of vine wrapped around his ankle? It must have been an attack, so he tried to scramble onward. Just in time to see an enormous hammer flying for his head.

Kai rolled to the side, barely avoiding the blow. It tore into the earth and the warrior ripped it free the next moment, nearly clipping him again. He managed to vault to his feet, only for more vines to wrap around his ankles the next second. They were thick and covered in thorns, but they hadn't yet pierced his skin.

Two opponents. He realized that even before his spiritual vision registered on a conscious level. There was a young woman in leather armor nearby, her mana snaking to the vines. The hammer was wielded by a man about the same age and roughly twice his weight. All muscle. Whoever he was, he would have towered over even Fhazi's largest thugs.

The two of them clearly wanted his monster cores, and Kai doubted he could beat them in his current state. Before they could strike, Fhazi himself came running after them. His enormous gauntlets pumping as he ran looked a bit silly, but they were still burning with mana.

"Not so fast! He's mine!" Fhazi's yell managed to draw their attention, so Kai used the chance to kick his way out of the vines.

"You're after their cores too?" Kai threw out the question as sincerely as he could. The woman turned sharply to glare at Fhazi.

"You can't fight us both," she hissed. Fhazi only raised his gauntlets, as if prepared to fight all of them.

While they all faced off, Kai began to edge away. He only got a few steps before a wall of thorn-covered vines erupted in his path. They hissed with so much mana that it emanated like steam, completely blocking off his path. The woman wasn't looking at him, but she was more than prepared.

Before he could think to go around, a burst of flames tore through the vines. Another man leapt through the gap - it was the Flamecaster from earlier. Kai felt the briefest flicker of happiness before the man's fiery eyes targeted him. Now he was trapped between four of them. All that kept him alive was the fact that the vine-user and her partner were turning to face the new threat.

"He's mine!" Fhazi yelled. "All of you get away!"

"All of you are mine." The Flamecaster grinned and his teeth glowed with inner flame.

"If you think you can-"

"Enough!" The warrior bearing the hammer slammed it down into the ground and shouted loud enough to silence all the others. "We all want the juiciest target. Don't let him turn us against each other. We defeat him first, then fight over his monster cores."

Unfortunately, the hulking warrior proved surprisingly persuasive. After a few glances, all four turned toward Kai.

What followed was an onslaught unlike anything he'd faced before. He constantly needed to retreat from bursts of flame that scorched his skin. Vines exploded from the ground to bind him at every opportunity. Worst was the hammer-wielding warrior, who was slow but deliberate. When he managed to land a blow on Kai's side, he was pretty sure that several of his ribs turned to splinters.

Fhazi was the easiest to deal with, since his charges were the most reckless. Kai managed to grab him at one point and throw him into the vine-user, which earned him a few moments of relief. But even Fhazi could hurt him if he landed a blow.

His vision was swimming too much to see any of the symbols, but he knew they had all begun to develop their Classes. In just a few days, they had already acquired this much power. Even if he had been at full strength, even if he had a weapon, even if...

Kai staggered back. Bloody, scorched, bruised, aching. He refused to fall and stared out at the four of them through bleeding eyes.

"This is senseless," the largest warrior said. "You cannot hope to beat us. Surrender before you are permanently injured."

"That's what you think." Kai raised his fists and smirked. "You haven't seen what I can do. As soon as I get a hold of even one of you, there will only be three left. Then two. Then one."

"He's completely mad," the vine-user told her partner. "Just put him out of his misery."

"Stop hiding behind those vines! Come and face me directly!"

"This is senseless," the warrior repeated, shaking his head slowly. "You cannot think you can win. Why are you still fighting?"

All Kai did was smile. He wavered on his feet, but he stayed up. The sun was hot, so hot. It had to be soon... abruptly the warrior realized and looked upward to check the sun.

Too late. The bell finally rang to mark noon, and the Hunter Trials officially ended.

Kai managed to stay on his feet until the judges started to emerge from portals, then he collapsed.