Zyra instantly squeezed her eyes shut, her whole-body trembling. I’m done for. It’s really over.
Those Salamanders were well known for their smelling abilities. Humans who had them as half-life beasts were recruited by powerful clans to join their hunting teams. Guilds and academies offered high prices to entice them into joining.
The possibility of that beast finding her was 100%.
"Beauty!" she screamed in her head, completely discarding her pride. "Listen to me, I don’t care if my debt doubles, triples, or quadruples, you have to help me right now, or your Host is going to become a corpse! And who knows what will become of you. You need me just like I need you do give me at least three hours of time in the beast domain."
Beauty did a graceful, mid-air twirl. [Ding! Emergency crisis protocol detected. Request for help approved.Low-tier concealment method granted. No extra time in the beast domain allocated. Initiating another system loan.]
A short, round, candle suddenly materialized directly into Zyra’s trembling hands.
Zyra blinked down at it, utterly dumbfounded. "A candle? Seriously? It doesn’t look like it can do anything to help my situation. I need to hide in the beast domain!"
Before the system could reply, a thick, odorless white smoke began to billow out of the unlit wick at a rapid rate, quickly wrapping around Zyra like a thick blanket.
[Host, this burner is called the Veil of White Shadows. The smoke bends all earthly light waves around the user’s body, rendering you completely invisible to the naked eye and all tracking equipment. Furthermore, your footsteps and heartbeat are temporarily muffled.
However, this high-tier artifact consumes an immense amount of energy, so it burns out quickly. It can only be recharged with points which you are lacking. Use wisely.]
Zyra didn’t dare move at all. She thought of her three points that she had been saving and decided to use them all if it came down to saving herself.
She peeked through the narrow opening of the rock. The Stone Salamander was already on the move, tugging its chain and leading the excited group of hunters straight toward her exact hiding place.
"Everyone, scan the area properly! Let us split up! Some head up and others keep those wild monsters that are coming towards us at bay." Shouted Sheila Blue.
Fungus, Garon’s right hand man approached, pointing at the tracking device in his hands. "According to the tracking data from the cliff above, the target fell somewhere right around this area. I will go further and search for proof in the rocks. Her bag could have fallen here while her dead body sleeps elsewhere."
Sheila put her hand over her eyes. "She is a trained Soul maiden; her fighting skills were among the best in her generation. I don’t believe she is dead."
Kinn Davos placed both hands to his withered brown belt, he sneered and kicked a loose pebble away. "The beasts here don’t care if she was a Soul maiden with some tricks up her sleeve. There is no way she survived an attack from this ape or tortoise or something else equal in strength.
At this point, we’re probably just looking for evidence of her death. A mangled arm, a severed leg, a piece of her skull... anything we can bring back to prove she’s dead or eaten by hungry beasts. There is absolutely no way a little girl survived a fall from that cliff into a land full of mutated beasts."
General Garon scoffed, his heavy boots crunching on the gravel just inches away from Zyra’s hiding spot. "The windstorm could also have carried her miles away from here. In one piece or many little pieces. Probably threw her clothes everywhere too. We could be chasing our tails for days."
The hope they had when the hunt started went down, little by little. The group finally reached the crevice.
Zyra held her breath, her eyes wide with terror.
General Garon released the Stone Salamander, and the ugly reptile slithered around the opening, head too big to fit inside. It sniffed the air, hissing and snapping at the air. But its eyes saw nothing but empty space, not even the trembling squirrel was in sight.
Zyra too was trembling so hard she thought her bones would rattle like her teeth. She looked down at the candle in her hands. The wax was melting at an alarming rate, dripping a hot liquid into her hands, but she didn’t dare make a sound.
Better to be scalded by wax than be taken back alive.
Outside the crack, Sheila Blue frowned, looking at the frantic reptile with deep confusion. Her drone had also taken a look inside, and it was an empty dark cave. "What is wrong with that stupid lizard? Why is it spinning in circles? Garon, your beast is confused. I do not have time for this."
A smaller, agile hunter squeezed his way into the narrow crevice, almost bumping his shoulder right against Zyra’s invisible arm.
She nearly died of a heart attack on the spot.
The small hunter looked around the empty cave and crawled back to the surface. "There’s nothing in here, General. It’s totally clear. Maybe she was here at some point, but she is now long gone."
"Let’s get out of here!" another hunter shouted from the back.
The mumbled, turning their backs on the crevice to disperse across the clearing.
Suddenly, Sheila’s walkie-talkie that was sitting on her belt made some static. "I found the wreckage of the armored car she stole, turn around. I think we are searching for pieces of the girl. Nobody could have survived this."
"Move out!" General Garon barked.
The group instantly abandoned the rock formation, sprinting off toward the vehicle wreckage. No sooner had the last hunter vanished into the treeline than the candle let out a final, pathetic smoke and died completely. The white smoke vanished. She and the squirrel were visible again.
"System give me another candle. I can’t remain here. What if they return and decide to camp here?"
[You must be loved by the banks on this world.]
She clenched her jaw. Yes, the bank had loved her because she was a future Soul maiden. They had even booked her to endorse them after she awakened her bloodline. It had nothing to do with debt accumulation.
Another candle appeared in her hands. She knelt and put it in her pocket. The squirrel jumped onto her back, as if it could tell what she planned to do next.
Zyra slid down the rocks, letting out a massive, shaky sigh of relief as she landed on the ground. She looked back one last time, eyes meeting those of the restless salamander. She could have sworn the creature could see her.
In the distance, the search mission was already turning into a chaos. The hunters were shouting, firing their weapons, and happily fighting off a new pack of feral beasts that had been attracted by the noise. The hunters were salvaging parts of the car that had not been carried away by the windstorm.
"I see traces of dry blood, she is dead. The mayor is not going to be happy about this." Someone shouted.
"Whatever the case, he must pay up." Sheila shouted back.
The squirrel moved to Zyra’s chest and curled up as if she was a chair, crafted for its comfort. It wrapped its tail around her neck tightly.
She patted it fur, looking in the direction of the jungle. "It’s okay buddy...everything will be alright." She assured the creature and herself at the same time.