NOVEL NEXT Chapter 67: Partners [3]
"Aaah, it's so tiring walking on foot," Lina grumbled, while walking along the forest trail.
"Then you shouldn't have come along." Kai replied narrowing his eyes.
Lina huffed and kept walking, Hare trailing beside her.
They both were out on a new mission.
The request had come from a small farming village that was near the southern parts of the woods.
Earth Mice infestation.
The little beasts had been tunneling beneath the fields, chewing through roots, and ruining crops by the dozen.
The forest trail they followed was narrow, with thick foliage brushing against their clothes as they walked.
Sunlight filtered through the canopy in patches, painting the mossy ground in shifting patterns.
The forest was quiet—too quiet.
The deeper they went, the more the air seemed to carry a faint, musty scent of damp soil and something else… something faintly sour.
Kai's nose twitched, 'What's this?'
He thought.
Their pace was steady, boots crunching over leaves and twigs as they moved in silence.
Then—
"Aah!" Lina snapped.
Suddenly, a thin mist began to form, curling along the forest floor like living threads of smoke.
It spread unnaturally fast, swallowing the trees and softening every sound.
Kai narrowed his eyes and raised his hand.
Two magic circles formed besides him and Vex and Vael emerged from his soul space, standing beside him.
Lina's hare tensed at her side, ears perked, stance ready.
From deeper in the mist, a faint, broken sound echoed.
Waawhaa...waawhaa
It was soft, high-pitched.
Almost like a child.
They looked at each other and moved cautiously toward it, weaving between the trees, until they spotted a small, moss-covered creature curled near the roots of a tree.
It had green fur, tangled vines clanged to its back, and large, wet eyes.
It was a Mossfur Cub.
A plant-based beast, young and clearly in distress.
Lina took a cautious step forward, extending her hand.
But before she could reach it—
ROOOAAAR!
A guttural roar tore through the mist behind them, and a large shape lunged out from the trees.
Lina's breath hitched.
Kai's eyes widened.
'Mistfang Panther.'
Its smoky, patterned coat shimmered through the fog as it bared its fangs, muscles taut and ready to pounce.
In a blink, it vanished.
"Scatter!" Kai barked.
The Panther reappeared beside the Hare, claws slashing with unnatural speed.
Slash!
Skeee!
The Hare cried out, sent skidding back with a deep gash on its flank.
"HARE!"
Lina screamed, rushing to its side, trembling.
Kai gritted his teeth.
'Damn it. That thing's fast.
"Vex, Vael, let's go!"
[<Ghost steps!>]
Vex flickered into the mist.
And reappeared beside the Mistfang Panther and slashed her claws.
[<Phantom slash!>]
But the Panther dodged.
Too fast.
Skreee!
[<Falcon Sight activated!>]
Falcon shrieked above, tracking the blur of the panther's movement through the fog.
Kai activated Essence Coating, a faint ethereal white energy wrapped his limbs.
"I'll draw it. Vex, cover me. Vael, blind it if you can!" Kai barked his orders.
Then—
He dashed forward, barely catching sight of the Panther charging towards Lina again.
"Not this time!"
He hurled throwing knives.
Whiis!
Forcing the Panther to sidestep.
Vex lunged in that moment.
[<Phantom Slash!>]
But—
The Mistfang Panther countered mid-strike, slamming Vex hard into the dirt.
"Mrhhh"
The Lynx growled, injured, stealth fading.
It turned again, toward Lina and the injured Hare.
Cutting the weak links in their team.
Lina's heart pounded, she clutched her head, eyes shut.
The Hare tried to stand, trembling.
Then—
BOOM!
Wind exploded outward. The Hare's body pulsed with essence.
Its fur shimmered with condensed air.
Little wind blades surrounding its paws.
Skeee!
It roared—not a cute cry, but a sharp, whistling gust.
[<Wind Rush!>]
The Hare vanished and reappeared mid-air above the Mistfang Panther.
Before The Mistfang Panther could react—
Skreee!
[<Sonic Dive!>]
Shockwaves rippled around it, stunning it for a second.
But it was enough.
[<Wind Claw!>]
Hare slashed his paws in a crescent arc.
ROOAR!
Blood spattered.
The Mistfang Panther hissed in pain, but it wasn't done yet.
It leapt into the air with unnatural agility, slashing the Hare mid-dash.
Sending him back to the ground.
Kai sprinted in, a flash of movement.
[<Phantom Slash activated!>]
And met Panther's claws.
CLANG!
The force sent him flying.
He crashed at the trunk, coughed blood, eyes wide.
This wasn't something he could handle head-on.
"Vex! Now!"
Despite limping, Vex moved.
Activating stealth again.
From above—
[<Sonic Dive!>]
Vael struck like a bullet, slamming the Panther's back, disrupting its balance.
Roaar!
Then—
Kai used the opening, flipping behind it, slamming twin daggers into its back.
[<Essence Coating activated!>]
The Panther roared in furry, bleeding, but still moving.
It turned—but the Hare was already in motion.
[<Wind Rush!>]
Whoosh!
[<Wind Claw!>]
Wind blades tore across the Mistfang Panther's throat.
[<Phantom Slash!>]
Vex struck from behind.
[<Sonic Dive!>]
Vael hit one last time from above.
The Panther collapsed—finally—with a deadly combo.
Its body twitched once, then still.
Kai dropped to a knee, panting.
"That… was close."
The Hare limped over to Lina, who hugged it tightly, eyes glistening.
"You okay?" She asking, stroking its back, gently.
Kai looked over the carnage and clenched his fists.
"A Peak-Intermediate... But there's a huge difference in our strength."
He turned to the cub behind Lina, who was still sniffling in the grass.
"This thing better be worth it."
He sighed and got up.
The mist slowly began to clear, unveiling the quiet forest floor littered with shallow claw marks, cracked earth, and splatters of dried blood.
The air hung heavy with the lingering tension of the battle just fought.
Kai exhaled, lowering his daggers, both slick with dark beast blood.
His arm throbbed from where he took a graze earlier, but he paid it no mind.
Vex limped to his side, panting. Vael circled once overhead before gliding down to perch on Kai's head.
Kai crouched beside the Mistfang Panther's corpse.
Its fur was matte now, dull in death.
He pulled a thin knife from his belt, made a precise incision near its chest, and reached in with practiced ease.
A moment later, he held up a glowing, dark-purple Essence Core pulsing faintly with energy.
He then tapped his storage bracelet.
The panther's body dissolved into particles of light, absorbed into the spatial storage.
"Could probably get a good price," he muttered to himself.
Meanwhile, Lina knelt a little away, the Mossfur cub still hiding behind a patch of ferns, tiny vines on its body trembling.
She reached out slowly, hands open. "It's okay… We're not going to hurt you."
The cub flinched but didn't retreat further.
The Hare gave a soft trill beside her, nuzzling the cub gently.
The Mossfur sniffed, then inched closer.
Lina pulled a small piece of dried fruit from her pouch and held it out.
The cub hesitated.
Then, shuffled its tiny paws forward.
And it nibbled the fruit cautiously from her palm.
A soft glow emerged as Lina placed her other hand gently over the cub's mossy forehead, guiding her essence.
The Mossfur cub kept nibbling, unbothered by her Essence bonding with its.
When she completed the process.
The cub blinked up at her, then let out a small chime-like purr.
Kai looked over his shoulder. "You tamed it?"
Lina smiled faintly, brushing a leaf off its back. "Looks like it chose me."
Kai said, his tone laced with scarcasm, "Well if it isn't your lucky day. You got a new beast and your Hare brokethrough to Mid-Intermediate Core."
"Yeh, by almost dying at the hands of some overgrown kitty, Hmph!"
"Whatever, let's go, we still have a mission to do." He said and turned away.
"Okay," Lina beamed and followed after him, carrying the Mossfur cub in her arms, Hare trailing behind her.