The forest grew colder the farther Iris and Snow traveled downhill.
Daylight had already begun disappearing behind the distant mountains, leaving the wilderness drenched in dim orange shadows that shifted uneasily between the trees. The deeper darkness became, the more oppressive the forest started feeling.
During the afternoon, the wilderness had seemed almost manageable.
Now it felt alive.
Every movement between branches caught her attention instinctively. Every rustle of leaves made her grip tighten slightly around the bow in her hand.
The return journey was taking longer than expected.
Partly because she no longer moved carelessly through the terrain.
And partly because exhaustion was finally beginning to settle into her body properly.
Her arms ached from repeated bow practice earlier. Her legs felt heavier after hours of climbing rough slopes and uneven stone. Even the shallow scratch across her forearm from the Rotfang Hound still burned faintly whenever fabric brushed against it.
Yet despite all that—
She still kept moving.
Because stopping out here after dark felt like a terrible idea.
Snow suddenly slowed ahead of her.
The dog's ears twitched once before a low growl escaped his throat.
Iris immediately stopped walking.
The forest around them had gone too quiet again.
No insects. No movement.
Only distant wind shifting through branches overhead.
Then something moved near the base of a tree several meters ahead.
Small and Fast.
A creature burst from the undergrowth without warning.
Iris barely registered fur and claws before it launched directly toward her face.
She reacted purely on instinct.
Her body twisted sideways while the obsidian dagger appeared instantly in her hand from her space.
The creature slammed into her shoulder instead of her throat, knocking her violently backward against rough stone.
Pain exploded across her side.
The monster hissed sharply inches from her face.
Its body resembled an oversized wildcat twisted into something wrong. Thin patches of skin stretched too tightly over visible ribs while its forelimbs looked unnaturally long compared to the rest of its body.
Its jaws snapped toward her immediately.
Iris shoved the dagger upward just in time.
The obsidian blade pierced through the creature's lower jaw, stopping its bite barely inches from her neck.
The monster shrieked violently.
Its claws tore across her sleeve while both of them struggled against the ground together.
That was too close…. Way too close.
Iris kicked hard against its abdomen while ripping the dagger sideways.
Black blood splattered across stone.
The creature recoiled just enough for her to shove it off entirely.
"Snow!"
The white dog lunged instantly from the side, crashing into the monster before it could recover.
The creature twisted unnaturally fast despite the injury and slammed Snow aside with one clawed forelimb before darting backward into the shadows between trees again.
Gone.
Iris pushed herself upright immediately, breathing harder now.
Her shoulder throbbed painfully where she hit the rocks.
Snow returned beside her quickly, growling low toward the darkness ahead.
The creature circled them.
Waiting.
Smarter than the Rotfang.
Iris slowly switched weapons.
The dagger vanished back into storage space while the bow appeared in her hands again alongside another arrow.
Her breathing steadied gradually.
Focus.
Listen first.
Movement came suddenly from the left.
Iris turned immediately and released.
The arrow missed.
The creature had already changed direction mid-charge.
Fast…. Too fast.
It lunged from the right side this time.
Snow intercepted it halfway again, buying Iris barely enough time to create distance.
The monster twisted around the dog instantly before preparing to leap again.
Then Iris noticed something.
Its injured jaw.
Blood still dripping heavily from where the obsidian blade pierced through earlier.
One side of its movement looked slightly slower now.
Not enough to cripple it…. But enough.
The creature sprang forward again.
This time Iris forced herself not to panic.
She planted her footing properly.
Drew the string fully.
Then waited.
Closer.
Closer—
Release.
The arrow punched directly through the side of the creature's throat mid-leap.
The impact sent it crashing violently across the ground where it rolled several times before finally going still.
Silence returned again.
Iris lowered the bow slowly afterward while her heartbeat hammered painfully against her ribs.
That one had been worse.
Not stronger necessarily.
Just harder to predict.
The wilderness itself was becoming more dangerous as night approached.
A translucent blue notification appeared.
[Shadowclaw Lynx Eliminated.]
[Level 4 Monster Defeated.]
[+41 Copper +41 EXP.]
Iris stared at the notification briefly before dismissing it.
If somebody had told her several days ago that she would be fighting monsters alone in another world, she probably would have laughed in disbelief.
Now she was already adapting to it.
That realization unsettled her more than the monsters themselves.
Snow barked softly beside her.
Iris crouched slightly to inspect him again.
Minor scratches.
Nothing serious.
"You're reckless."
Snow wagged his tail proudly.
Completely unapologetic.
Iris exhaled quietly before retrieving the usable arrows and monster materials into her space.
Then she glanced upward through the trees.
The sky had darkened considerably now.
Not full night yet.
But close.
She needed to return immediately.
The map projection appeared again across her vision after opening the auxiliary system.
Her marked path toward King's Territory glowed faintly through the terrain display.
Still far.
But reachable.
So Iris and Snow continued moving through the forest carefully, following the mapped route while darkness slowly swallowed the wilderness around them.
The farther they traveled, the more signs of human presence gradually reappeared.
Broken paths, Old footprints, Cut vegetation. Then eventually—
Light.
Faint torchlight flickered somewhere ahead through the trees.
Relief settled inside Iris almost immediately.
King's Territory.
Finally.
But as she stepped out from the forest edge several minutes later, her pace slowed abruptly.
The settlement looked different.
At first Iris thought exhaustion was affecting her vision.
Then she realized no.
Something had genuinely changed.
A rough wooden perimeter fence now surrounded the outer edges of King's Territory.
Not massive walls.
Not impressive defenses.
Just sharpened wooden stakes and thick timber barriers connected together into an uneven perimeter encasing sections of the settlement.
It looked crude, Temporary, Weak even. And yet— People inside the territory looked relieved.
Actually relieved.
Some residents stood near the newly formed barrier talking quietly while others stared outward into the darkening wilderness with expressions that looked calmer than before.
Like simply having something between themselves and the forest made breathing easier.
Iris stood silently near the entrance for several seconds while Snow wandered closer to sniff the wooden structure curiously.
This definitely hadn't existed when she left earlier.
Her gaze lingered briefly on the sharpened wooden stakes again before drifting toward the endless darkness beyond the fence line.
After what she experienced outside today—
She finally understood why people looked at even weak defenses like salvation.
Without another word, Iris stepped back into King's Territory with Snow following closely behind her.