The sprites spent the next hour recovering.
The battlefield was finally quiet.
The corpse of the horned beast lay motionless in the clearing.
Ethan carefully reviewed the situation.
Ninety-seven units remained.
Two sprites had died permanently.
The loss wasn't catastrophic.
But it served as a reminder.
This wasn't a game.
Mistakes had consequences.
As the surviving sprites rested, the Earth Sprite approached the corpse.
It pressed a hand against one of the creature's massive horns.
A moment later, several Elementless Sprites joined it.
They began pulling.
Twisting.
Dragging.
After several minutes of effort, one of the horns broke free.
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
The little creatures immediately carried the horn away like a priceless treasure.
Soon more sprites joined the effort.
Fur.
Bones.
Teeth.
Anything that looked useful was collected.
The sight reminded Ethan of something he had read at the Association.
Wild planets contained resources.
Experienced Creators rarely wasted them.
A defeated beast wasn't just XP.
It was material.
Potential value.
Potential profit.
As the sprites continued gathering materials, the Air Sprite suddenly froze atop a tree branch.
Its head turned toward the north.
Ethan immediately focused on its vision.
Several kilometers away, movement appeared.
Not one creature.
Many.
His expression hardened.
A pack.
At least fifteen wolf-like beasts moved through the forest.
Each was smaller than the horned beast.
But together they were far more dangerous.
The pack was heading in this direction.
The Air Sprite immediately released a sharp cry.
The other elemental sprites looked upward.
A warning.
Even Ethan understood that much.
The wolves hadn't discovered them yet.
There was still time.
The question was what to do.
Fight?
Retreat?
Hide?
Ethan considered the options carefully.
His sprites had just completed a difficult battle.
Many were injured.
Several were exhausted.
Fighting another group immediately would be risky.
Very risky.
Yet abandoning the area also felt wasteful.
The horned beast's corpse still contained valuable materials.
A direct decision wasn't possible.
Then an idea appeared.
Ethan quickly opened a gate.
A familiar distortion formed nearby.
The entrance connected directly to his Origin Sphere.
The sprites paused.
Then the Fire Sprite enthusiastically jumped through.
The Water Sprite followed.
Soon the others began transporting materials into the portal.
Horns.
Bones.
Chunks of hide.
Everything useful disappeared into Ethan's world.
The operation continued for nearly twenty minutes.
By the end, only scraps remained.
Ethan smiled.
That solved one problem.
The wolves could have the leftovers.
His sprites had already taken the valuable parts.
Then the Air Sprite cried out again.
This time the warning was urgent.
The pack was much closer.
Too close.
Gray shapes darted between the trees.
Glowing eyes appeared in the shadows.
The hunters had finally arrived.
The lead wolf stepped into the clearing.
It sniffed the air.
Then looked toward the gathered sprites.
For a brief moment, both sides remained still.
The wolf's gaze shifted toward the remains of the horned beast.
Then toward the portal.
Then back toward the sprites.
A low growl escaped its throat.
One wolf became two.
Two became five.
Soon the entire pack emerged from the forest.
Fifteen wolves.
Maybe more.
The Fire Sprite immediately moved to the front.
Tiny sparks danced around its body.
The Water Sprite gathered moisture from the air.
The Earth Sprite planted itself firmly on the ground.
The Air Sprite descended from the trees.
Behind them, dozens of Elementless Sprites formed a nervous line.
Ethan studied the enemy.
Individually, these creatures appeared weaker than the horned beast.
But numbers changed everything.
A pack hunted differently.
A pack surrounded.
A pack overwhelmed.
The lead wolf lowered its body.
The others copied the movement.
The attack was coming.
Ethan's thoughts raced.
This wasn't a battle he needed to win.
His objective wasn't glory.
It wasn't proving strength.
It was surviving.
And surviving often meant knowing when to leave.
Without hesitation, Ethan expanded the portal.
The opening widened.
A direct path back to his Origin Sphere.
The sprites immediately understood.
One after another, they began retreating through the gate.
The wolves reacted instantly.
The lead wolf lunged forward.
The Fire Sprite answered with a burst of sparks.
The attack struck the beast's face.
Not enough to injure it.
But enough to delay it.
A few more sprites escaped.
Then a few more.
The wolves charged.
The clearing exploded into chaos.
And for the first time since arriving on Planet 042, Ethan realized something important.
Clearing a wild planet would not be easy.
Not even a Level 1 planet.
Not when the forest itself seemed determined to kill anything that entered it.