Dawn's light slowly filled the forest, illuminating haze shadows, especially that of Kael and Mara.
Kael crouched behind a jagged boulder, his breath was sharp and his face was stained with mud.
Mara, his ashfox, locked her gold-slith eye on their prey: a pack of five skitterclaws, D-rank, their bony legs skittering over roots.
Only one day till Cresthaven's exams, and Kael wasn't wasting a second.
He paused for a moment, breathing steadily.
Then he snapped his fingers twice, Lila's flank signal from her dad's book.
Mara shot to her right, running quietly.
Kael raised his hand, and it glowed.
He groaned a little as he created a fire whip with Inferno Burst. He swung it forward, letting it curl.
It lashed a skitterclaw's leg, then it sunk deeper, charring it's bone. The beast screeched, but Mara had closed in on it, she growled her teeth into its neck.
With one crunching snap, the skitterclaw's neck was gone, Mara broke it immediately.
The pack bolted, but Kael whistled—high-low, chase. Mara moved. She seemed to blur, looking sharp and powerful as she shredded two more, while Kael swung his fire whip, catching the last in a fiery coil.
It crumpled, smoking.
Ding!
The System's chime cut through his pulse. Skitterclaw pack defeated. +50 XP. Kael grinned, wiping sweat with a torn sleeve. Level 13, 50/1000 XP, 45% sync with Mara.
***
"Time flew in the forest, hours slipping like water through his fingers. The morning's fog burned off, and the afternoon's heat plastered Kael's tunic to his back, and then dusk's shadows crept in.
He and Mara hunted like they were born for it— relentless, tight, a unit. A lone ashviper went down fast, its hiss cut off by Mara's claws (30 XP).
A pair of bristlehogs took longer, their spines grazing Kael's arm, but his fire spikes pinned them for Mara's kill (60 XP). Each fight was sharper, their 47% sync letting Kael catch pine scent through Mara's nose, hear leaves shift a hundred yards off.
He was steadily getting better at tapping into Mara's senses, boosting his strength too.
He leaned on Lila's tricks: a three-note whistle for guard, a quick tap for feint.
A C-rank ridgefang crossed their path. Kael didn't blink as he immediately attacked.
"Go!" he muttered, Mara flanking left.
Kael placed his hand on the floor, allowing the fire to travel in a straight line, then it spread, creating a small fire wall.
"Tag!"
Few seconds later...
Ding! Ridgefang defeated. +100 XP. Level 14 achieved. +5 HP, +5 SP, +1 STR, +1 INT.
Kael panted, grinning through the dirt on his face. "Mara, you seeing this? We're a damn team."
She tugged at his boot playfully, and he laughed, rare and real.
He needed Mara at peak condition tomorrow, but at the same time, he needed to get stronger, he needed to get their sync bond as high as he could.
Kael faced a tree, trying out different things with his new Inferno Burst, it wasn't limiting any longer, instead, the fire was now like a will of its own, he could use it however he wanted. But there were still some restrictions and limitations to it, especially the amount of SP it drained.
One day left.
They were close. Very close.
Kael was preparing to go back when something stopped him. It was a system notification.
The System chimed in his head: Hunt a B-rank stormwasp swarm. Reward: Skill Upgrade, 300 XP. Expires; six hours...
Kael's stomach flipped. B-rank was a leap.
It wasn't impossible, but things could go really wrong there. And expiry? He didn't see that often, he had to attempt it, no matter what.
That skill upgrade might just be what he needed for tomorrow.
He was Level 14, Mara was already a C-rank ashfox with brains and claws.
They could do this.
****
Mara's ears twitched, catching the drone before he did—a dead tree ahead, its branches filled with fist-sized wasps, their stingers sparking blue.
Their tiny size gave him a little respite, but their numbers...
"Ready, Mara?"
Kael whispered, slowing moving round her. He was falling into Formation.
Mara circled, low and silent, her Ember Pulse heating the air.
No matter how tiny they were, these were still B-rank creatures, their senses were hyped.
They made a buzzing sound as they turned around sharply, catching Kael and Mara in their gaze.
They shot off.
The nest erupted, making a buzzing sound as they flew fast.
Mara paused mid-lunge, their numbers was just too much, at the same time, they were tiny. Very, very tiny.
Mara stood there for a moment, her eyes wide as she stared at the little creatures, confused.
Kael gritted his teeth as he used Tag, appearing in front of the wasps instead. He raised his hand, it glowed and fire brimmed, burning a dozen wasps to ash.
Now, this was where Mara came in.
"Mara, now!" he yelled, whistling for attack.
The fox leaped, swiping her claws through the air. Her attack left a surge of heat spreading on wasp shells like wildfire.
Even at that, these bugs weren't done.
A sting grazed Kael's shoulder, it was painful and hot (HP: 160/190).
"Damn bugs!" he spat, a fire whip suddenly appeared in his hand, and he swung at the wasps, catching three more.
His SP was fast declining.
It didn't look too good for Mara either.
Mara dodged a dive, but another wasp aimed for her flank. "Tag!" Kael shouted, mana pulling him to her spot.
The sting hit his arm instead (HP: 140/190), and he cursed, rolling away.
Mara snarled, leaping again, her Ember Pulse frying a cluster of the persistent wasps.
Kael's palm heated up, and he swung it at the pack, burning through them.
"Mara, flank!"
She ran through them, leaping into the air and swinging her claws at it. He Tagged again, landing close to finish it with a fire wave that roasted the nest to cinders.
Ding!
Stormwasp swarm defeated. +300 XP. Skill Upgrade: Inferno Burst → Blazeweave (Shapes fire freely, +15 damage, 20 SP); Allows Host to start a fire from anywhere within a 50 metre radius, no longer restricted to Host's Palm only. (Can't start fire on an object.)
Kael was impressed, this was a really big step. But he would check it out later, for now, he slumped against a rock, his chest heaving as blood trickled from his arm.
Mara's sync hit 50%—he felt her heartbeat like his own, steady and fierce.
Her heart seemed to beat a pulse after his own, it was low and powerful.
Dusk painted the forest red as Kael stumbled out, scratched and bloody but he was buzzing all the same.
It's been a crazy boost.
A short while later, Kael was walking back into the village, It looked ready for tomorrow.
He caught a glimpse of the stormhawk from yesterday, and he gasped, it's sheer aura was mind blowing.
His words suddenly sounded in his mind again: "Don't disappoint..."
He wouldn't.
The System glowed when he checked: Level 14, 350/1200 XP, 50% sync, Blazeweave(Tier 3).
***
Across Thornskull, Thom knelt in a dim stable, the air sour with hay and beast musk.
His Razorquill, lay on its side, its flank bandaged. It didn't look as bad as it did the previous day, it was getting treatment. Kael and Mara had really dealt with the beast
Thom muttered to himself as he rubbed a mixture of herbs onto the Razorquill's wound.
"Exams are tomorrow. You gotta pull through..." The Quill snorted weakly, and Thom's jaw clenched.
Kael's face flashed in his mind. That damn fox... but he shoved it down, clenching his fist in silent rage. No one knew about their fight and his loss, and he'd keep it that way.
"We're not losing...Not to him. Not to that damned orphan."
***
Night fell in the village, Kael's shack lit by a dying candle light. Mara sprawled across the floor, her ember fur dim, her gold eyes was half-closed.
The village buzzed with life outside. What would tomorrow's exams be like?
Survival, traps, individual battles...
Kael's 50% sync was his edge, Mara's claws his blade. He sat cross-legged, his sister's pendant in his palms, its curve catching the flame.
Thom, Lila, Rigg...they didn't matter to him. Only this did.