Ryan POV
The growl rolled through the trees again, closer than before.
Emily immediately stepped back toward the clearing, her sword already in her hand.
"Don’t engage. We can’t win this fight."
Before I could ask what she’d seen, a massive beast emerged from the treeline. Its dark fur was matted with dirt, and old scars ran across its shoulders. Every step made its muscles shift beneath its hide. It was easily twice the size of anything we’d fought earlier.
A level marker appeared above its head.
[Level 22 — Significant Threat]
My stomach dropped.
We were nowhere near strong enough to fight something like that.
"Fall back!" Emily shouted.
Daniel immediately retreated toward the rocks at the edge of the clearing. I followed, although my attention remained fixed on the monster. Its head was lowered, its yellow eyes watching us.
Then it charged.
"Ryan, move!"
I threw myself sideways. Its claws swept past me, tearing through the air where I’d been standing a moment earlier. The force of its movement sent dirt scattering across the ground.
Emily barely avoided the attack. She stumbled, caught herself, and raised her sword again.
"One hit from that thing could finish us," she said. "We need an opening, or we’re not getting out of here."
The beast turned around.
I tightened my grip on my sword, even though I knew a direct attack would probably do little more than annoy it. Running might be our best option, but I had no idea whether it would chase us.
The monster lunged again.
I moved backward, narrowly avoiding its claws. It rushed past me, its massive body swinging wide as it tried to change direction.
For a brief moment, its right side was completely exposed.
I noticed the opening, but before I could do anything, the creature faced us again.
It attacked a second time.
This time, I watched more carefully.
The same thing happened. After missing its target, the monster struggled to turn its entire body around, leaving its right flank exposed before it regained its balance.
"Emily!" I shouted. "Its right side is vulnerable after a missed charge!"
She glanced at me. "You’re sure?"
"I’ve seen it twice!"
The beast scraped its claws against the ground, preparing to attack again.
Emily considered the opening for barely a second.
"Then we’ll use it. Daniel, get its attention and draw it toward the rocks."
Daniel stared at her.
"Sorry, what?"
"You heard me."
"Why am I always the one who has to volunteer for these things?"
"Because you’re loud. Go!"
"That’s not a good reason!"
The monster growled.
Emily pointed her sword at him.
"Daniel!"
He swallowed his remaining complaints and hurried along the edge of the clearing, waving his weapon.
"Hey, ugly! Come over here!"
For someone who complained so much, he certainly knew how to attract attention.
The beast’s head snapped toward him.
Daniel’s expression changed.
"Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me."
It charged.
"Move!" I yelled.
Daniel scrambled out of its path, nearly tripping over a rock. The monster rushed past him, its claws striking the ground where he’d stood.
"Now, Emily!"
She was already moving.
Her sword cut across the beast’s exposed flank. The blade sank deep enough to draw blood, and the monster released a roar that echoed through the clearing.
Birds scattered from the surrounding branches.
Emily retreated before it could retaliate.
The beast twisted around and swung at her, forcing Daniel to throw himself backward.
"That didn’t feel like a victory!" he shouted.
"It’s not dead," Emily replied, breathing hard. "We’re not trying to kill it. We’re trying to survive." Visit g.com for the full chapter.
The monster recovered faster than I’d expected.
Blood darkened its fur, but it barely seemed bothered by the wound. Its yellow eyes settled on Emily, and I realized it had identified her as the one who had hurt it.
It lowered its head and charged again.
"Emily, left!"
She dodged just before its claws struck the ground. Her counterattack caught its side, but the wound was shallow this time.
The beast barely slowed.
My hands tightened around my sword.
We couldn’t keep repeating the same moves. Emily was already breathing heavily, Daniel was struggling to maintain his footing, and I wasn’t strong enough to confront the monster myself.
If we made one mistake, someone could die.
"We need another plan!" Emily called.
I glanced around the clearing, searching for anything that might help us.
The monster circled toward the thicker trees. Then, just as it approached the brush, it abruptly changed direction and returned to the open ground.
I frowned.
At first, I thought it was looking for another angle to attack. But when it moved toward the trees again, the same thing happened.
It turned away.
Why?
I watched it carefully as it paced around the clearing. Whenever its movements brought it close to the dense brush, it seemed reluctant to continue in that direction.
An idea began to form.
"Emily, look at the trees!"
She glanced toward me before following my gaze.
"What about them?"
"It keeps avoiding the thick brush. Every time it gets close, it turns back toward the clearing."
Emily watched the monster for another moment.
"You think we can push it in there?"
"Maybe. It’s worth trying."
She nodded, her expression growing serious.
"Daniel, when it charges again, cut left. Don’t run straight toward the rocks. We’ll force it toward the treeline."
Daniel looked at her in disbelief.
"Force it toward the trees? With what, my charming personality?"
"Your sword."
"Right. The sword. I should’ve guessed."
The beast charged again.
This time, all three of us moved together.
Daniel darted left, blocking its path toward the rocks. Emily attacked from the opposite side, forcing the monster to turn away from her blade.
I stayed back, watching for the moment it committed to an attack.
"There!" I shouted. "Keep it moving toward the trees!"
The beast snarled and swung at Emily. She retreated before the claws could reach her, refusing to let it corner her.
Daniel circled around its other side, waving his sword whenever it tried to turn back toward the clearing.
We weren’t defeating it. We were taking away its options.
The monster backed closer to the dense brush, its growls growing louder. Yet whenever it approached the trees, it tried to change direction.
Whatever reason it had for avoiding that area, it was becoming harder for it to escape us.
Then it suddenly lunged toward an opening beside Daniel.
"It’s going for your right!" I shouted. "Close the gap!"
Daniel scrambled into position just in time.
The monster stopped short, snarling in frustration before turning back toward the treeline.
"Keep going!" Emily called.
She struck its already-wounded flank once more.
The beast roared and stumbled backward. For a moment, I thought it would turn and attack us again.
Instead, it spun around and crashed into the thick brush.
Branches snapped as it disappeared between the trees.
We stood still, waiting for it to return.
Nothing happened.
The forest gradually fell silent.
Daniel dropped to one knee, his sword almost slipping from his hand.
"Okay," he gasped. "That wasn’t research. That was almost dying. I want that written down somewhere."
"Everyone’s alive. Nobody lost their equipment. That’s a win."
"It doesn’t feel like one," I muttered.
I couldn’t stop staring at the trees where the monster had disappeared.
"We got lucky."
Emily turned toward me.
"No. You noticed its movements and figured out how to use them. That wasn’t luck."
"I couldn’t have beaten it alone."
"Nobody expected you to. Knowing when to retreat is just as important as knowing when to attack."
She looked at me seriously.
"We survived because we worked together. Remember that."
Daniel pushed himself upright and brushed dirt from his clothes.
"For the record, retreating toward those rocks was entirely my strategy. I knew exactly what I was doing."
"You panicked and ran," Emily said.
"I panicked tactically."
"That’s not a thing."
"It will be when I write my memoir."
I couldn’t help laughing.
The tension in my chest finally began to ease. We were exhausted, but we were still standing. Nobody had been killed, and none of us had lost our equipment.
Considering the monster’s level, that was more than I’d expected when the fight began.
"We should head back," Emily said, glancing toward the treeline. "I don’t want to see that again today."
I nodded and followed them toward the trail.
Something still bothered me, though.
The monster hadn’t simply retreated after taking damage. It had seemed desperate to avoid the thick trees, changing direction whenever we pushed it closer.
And once it entered the brush, it disappeared without making another attempt to attack us.
Why?
I looked back at the forest, half expecting to see its yellow eyes watching us between the branches.
There was nothing but shadows.
"You okay?" Emily asked.
I realized I’d fallen several steps behind.
"Yeah. Just thinking."
"About the monster?"
"About why it stopped chasing us so suddenly."
Emily glanced back toward the trees.
"Maybe it decided the fight wasn’t worth the injuries."
"Maybe."
She didn’t sound convinced, and neither was I.
We continued toward Silverwood, our steps growing slower as exhaustion caught up with us.
Daniel, meanwhile, had already begun retelling the fight. According to him, he’d faced the monster fearlessly, dodged its attacks with incredible skill, and personally saved both Emily and me from certain death.
"You screamed when it charged," Emily reminded him.
"I was distracting it."
"You screamed my name."
"Because you were supposed to protect me!"
I barely listened to their argument.
My thoughts kept returning to the fight. I’d noticed the monster’s movements without really understanding how. Each time it attacked, I’d begun anticipating what it would do next.
I wasn’t stronger than the monster. I hadn’t even landed a decisive hit.
Still, my observations had helped us survive something far above our level.
I wondered whether that meant anything.
A notification appeared in the corner of my vision.
[Hidden Quest Progress: ?]
I stopped walking.
The message remained for a moment before fading away.
One-third.
My eyes narrowed.
What exactly was this hidden quest asking me to accomplish?
And why had surviving that monster brought me one step closer?