Seth was completely petrified, his wide eyes locked in horror on the edge of the clearing. But he wasn't the only one- the pack of eight dire rats had also turned their attention toward the same spot, slowly backing away from it.
This unusual development made the group uneasy, and Seth's sudden, strange reaction only heightened their anxiety. Placing a hand on his shoulder, Emily asked, "Young Master, what's wrong?"
But Seth didn't respond; his gaze remained fixed on the clearing's edge.
Her concern deepened at his unresponsiveness, and she was about to speak again when the dire rats, who had been cautiously retreating, suddenly broke into a full sprint- heading straight for the group.
Seeing this, Casper misinterpreted the dire rats' sudden movement as an attack and immediately took a battle stance, ready to fight.
"Get ready! Here they come!"
The moment the first dire rat reached them, Casper struck with his blade, slicing off a chunk of flesh. Yet, despite the pained screech it let out, the creature did not stop. To their utter shock, it pressed forward, rushing straight through the group, past the line of swords behind them, and into the other side of the clearing.
The others did the same, the beasts rushing past them without so much as a glance. Stunned and speechless, the group stood frozen- this was the last thing they had expected.
Then, Seth's voice broke the silence.
"They... they're running from that," he said slowly, his trembling finger pointing toward the edge of the clearing.
As if on cue, another creature emerged. But it was no dire rat. Its sheer size alone dwarfed them all.
It stood on all fours, towering at least five feet tall, its body covered in a strange blend of snow-white fur and feathers. Razor-sharp claws or were they talons?- tipped each of its powerful limbs, blurring the line between beast and bird.
But its most terrifying feature was its head.
It was eerily small compared to the rest of its body, with no visible ears and two massive, pitch-black eyes that reflected what little light entered the clearing. Below them, a curved beak jutted downward, sharp and menacing.
It was an owlbear- the same harrowing creature Seth had narrowly escaped on his first night in Thornspire. But this wasn't just any owlbear.
Seth had reason to believe it was the exact same one from that night, his proof? The unmistakable Blackthorn badge embedded in its furred and feathered hide.
Casper wore the same horrified expression as the others, but for an entirely different reason.
"I-It followed us here?" he stammered, his voice unsteady.
It certainly seemed that way.
Seth had initially found it odd that, during their first encounter, the creature had failed to spot them despite their close proximity. But now, thinking carefully, he realized there was no way a predator that hunted primarily at night wouldn't have some means of detecting its prey in the darkness.
"It fooled us..." Seth mumbled, his fear mounting with each step the creature took toward them.
His mind raced back to the words used to describe the beast in the bestiary:
'A cunning and lethal predator, owlbears hunt exclusively at night, spending most of the day in deep slumber... They are notoriously known for tracking their prey and hunting them for sport- or simply for the thrill of it.'
'Damn it!' Seth cursed inwardly. They were so close- almost done with the trial.
Despite their varying reactions to its arrival, the beast seemed utterly unfazed. It observed them in eerie silence, its head tilting at unnatural angles, those pitch-black eyes staring straight into their souls.
Then, without warning, it charged.
"Scatter!" Casper was the first to react, shouting as he rolled out of the way.
Emily, anticipating that Seth would be too slow to react, yanked him out of the way just in time- the beast's massive, clawed talons swiped past his head, missing by mere inches.
"[Blackthorn Basic Technique: Inception Slashes!]"
Casper, recovering from his roll, wasted no time. He charged at the beast, his sword flashing as he unleashed a flurry of strikes.
But despite noticing him, the creature didn't even flinch. It made no effort to dodge.
Casper's blade struck its hide- only to rebound with a sharp clang, the force of the impact jolting his arms. It was like hitting solid rock.
Meanwhile, Emily, having saved Seth by the skin of her teeth, hadn't been able to get them completely out of danger- they were still within the beast's reach.
With a sudden lunge, the creature thrust its head toward them, its razor-sharp beak aiming to impale them both.
Reacting just in time, Seth shouted a spell.
"[Umbra: Repel!]"
He screamed with everything he had, pouring every ounce of his essence into the spell. A transparent force erupted from his outstretched palm, colliding with the owlbear.
But it barely slowed the beast.
Instead, the recoil of the spell hurled both Seth and Emily backward, just in time to avoid the attack. The owlbear's beak struck the ground where they had stood a moment ago, embedding itself deep into the earth.
Jacob, on the other hand, launched an attack of his own. With a swift spin of his spear, he thrust it forward, the pointed tip striking the owlbear's hide.
Undeterred, he followed up with a series of rapid thrusts- but the result remained the same. Not a single scratch marred the creature's thick fur and feathers.
Realizing his attacks were ineffective, Jacob quickly backed up to put some distance between them. The owlbear retaliated with a vicious claw swipe, but he narrowly dodged it.
"[Blackthorn Basic Technique: Cross-Section Slashes!]"
Emily sprang into action, executing two swift slashes that formed a cross.
Her strikes landed cleanly- but just like the others before her, they failed to leave a mark.
This time, however, the owlbear reacted differently. As if anticipating an attack from its blind spot, it lashed out the moment Emily's blades made contact, retaliating with a sudden, vicious claw swipe.
Caught off guard, Emily barely had time to react. She instinctively raised her sword to block the incoming strike.
A deafening clang echoed through the clearing as the beast's claw slammed into her blade, before shattering it in two. The attack continued, striking her leather chest piece.
Fortunately, whether by sheer luck or the slight resistance from her now-broken weapon, the claws only tore through her armor instead of slicing into her flesh.
But the force behind the blow was another matter entirely.
The sheer impact sent her hurtling through the air like a ragdoll, straight into Casper. The two crashed to the ground in a tangled heap.
In just a few short minutes of battle, Casper, Emily, Jacob and Seth had come to a grim realization- this creature was far beyond them.
They were no match for it.
And worst of all, they had nowhere to run.