The Training Forest was not a quiet place. To the ordinary ear, it might have sounded like rustling leaves and chirping crickets, but to Kael, it was a cacophony of death.
Snap. A twig breaking under a heavy paw. Hiss. The release of poison sacs. Guttural growl. A predator marking its territory.
Kael moved through the underbrush, his steps silent. The darkness was his ally now; his Dark Adaptation turned the moonless night into a world of grays and silvers.
He needed XP. He needed levels. The gap between F-rank and B-rank was a chasm he couldn't cross with just stolen lightning and a clever tongue. He needed power.
SYSTEM SCAN
AREA: TRAINING FOREST - SECTOR 3
THREAT LEVEL: MODERATE
BEASTS DETECTED: 12
RANGE: E-RANK TO D-RANK
He crouched behind a thick oak tree. Ahead, in a small clearing, a creature grazed on a patch of luminescent mushrooms.
It was a Shadow Panther, a sleek, panther-like beast with fur that seemed to absorb the light. Its eyes glowed a dim yellow.
TARGET: SHADOW PANTHER
LEVEL: 22
RANK: E (PEAK)
ABILITIES: STEALTH, NIGHT VISION, AMBUSH
Level 22. Stronger than me, Kael noted. But not smarter.
If he fought it head-on, its speed and claws would likely gut him before he could cast a spell. F-rank stats meant his reaction time was technically inferior.
He needed an edge.
He scanned the environment. A dead tree branch hung precariously over the clearing, directly above the beast.
Kinetic energy, he thought.
He focused his mind.
TELEKINESIS: PUSH
A sharp, invisible force slammed into the rotted branch.
CRACK!
The heavy limb fell. The Shadow Stalker's ears twitched, and it bolted forward with blurring speed—reacting purely on instinct.
But Kael wasn't aiming for it.
The branch hit the ground behind where the beast had been standing. The panther, now clear of the impact zone, turned to snarl at the noise.
It was distracted.
Kael moved. He didn't use lightning—it was too bright, too flashy. He used Strength Enhancement in his legs, launching himself from the shadows like a cannonball.
His arm snaked around the beast's neck, locking in a chokehold. The Panther roared, thrashing wildly. Its claws raked backward, tearing into Kael's side.
SLASH.
Pain flared—white-hot and immediate. He felt his skin tear, blood flowing.
"Gah—!" Kael gritted his teeth, holding on tighter.
The beast was strong. Much stronger than him. It rolled, trying to crush him under its weight. Kael's vision swam.
DAMAGE DETECTED: LACERATIONS (MODERATE)REGENERATION: ACTIVE
The wound began to knit, the burning sensation subsiding into a dull itch. But the physical force of the thrashing was rattling his bones.
Endure, he told himself. Absorb.
He pressed his hand against the beast's fur, right against its heaving flank.
DEVOUR INITIATED
The Panther stiffened. A low whine escaped its throat as the color began to drain from its eyes. Its thrashing weakened.
Come on...
MANA ABSORBED: 45 UNITS
ABILITY ROLL: 30%
ROLLING...
FAILURE.ABILITY NOT ACQUIRED.
The beast collapsed, turning into ash that scattered in the wind.
Kael released the corpse and rolled onto his back, panting. His side was still healing, the new skin pink and tender.
"Failed," he whispered, frustration bubbling in his chest.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
XP GAINED: 150
LEVEL PROGRESS: 28%
It wasn't enough. He needed more.
He stood up, wincing slightly. The forest was still dangerous. He needed to be smarter.
He moved deeper into Sector 3. He avoided a pack of Dire Wolves (Level 25) and skirted around a nest of Acid Spiders.
Then, he heard voices.
Human voices.
Kael froze, blending into the shadow of a boulder.
"—hurts like hell, man. That thing nearly took my arm off."
"It dropped a Core, though. A Tier 2 Core. That's worth fifty thousand credits at least."
Kael peaked out. In a larger clearing ahead, three students in the Silverwood elite uniform (gold trim) were standing over the corpse of a massive beast.
It was a Iron-Hide Behemoth. A rhino-like creature with skin of natural steel plates. It was Level 38. D-Rank.
The students looked battered. One was holding a bleeding shoulder; another was leaning on a staff, mana clearly depleted. They were strong, clearly C-Rank or peak D-Rank students, but the fight had taken everything out of them.
"Let's extract the core and get out of here," the leader, a girl with a ponytail, said. She pulled out a specialized knife. "Keep watch."
Kael's eyes locked onto the corpse.
Level 38. D-Rank.
The amount of mana inside that thing... it would be a feast.
And these students... they were weak. Exhausted.
Vultures eat what lions leave behind, Kael thought. But I am not a vulture.
He was a hyena. He would take the kill.
He checked his mana.
MANA: 490/450 (OVERFLOW)
He had absorbed the ambient mana of the forest for hours. He was brimming with energy.
He focused on the corpse.
Can I Devour it from here?
He had never tried it at a distance. The rats, the agents, the Stalker—he had touched them. But the System worked on intent.
Devour.
TARGET: IRON-HIDE BEHEMOTH (DECEASED)
DEVOUR INITIATEDWARNING: TARGET HAS HIGH PHYSICAL RESISTANCE. REMOTE CONSUMPTION REDUCED BY 50% EFFICIENCY.
Do it.
Kael extended his hand from behind the boulder. He visualized a vortex.
The air in the clearing suddenly grew cold. The three students stopped.
"What the hell?" the boy with the bleeding shoulder muttered.
The corpse of the Behemoth began to tremble. Then, it started to dissolve. Not rotting, not melting, but unraveling. Particles of light began to drift upward, streaming toward the shadows of the forest.
"Someone's stealing the kill!" the leader screamed. "SHOW YOURSELF!"
She spun around, hurling a fireball toward the treeline.
BOOM!
The fire exploded against the boulder Kael was hiding behind. The heat washed over him, but he didn't stop pulling.
MANA ABSORBED: 180 UNITSABILITY ROLL...
ROLL FAILED.
The corpse collapsed into a pile of dust. No core remained. Everything had been pulled into the void.
XP GAINED: 400LEVEL UP!LEVEL 17 → 18LEVEL 18 → 19
A surge of power rushed through Kael's veins. His muscles densified. His mana pool expanded.
The three students rushed toward the boulder, weapons drawn.
"Come out, you coward!" the leader shouted.
She rounded the corner, hand raised to strike—
But there was no one there.
Kael was already gone, moving through the trees with Strength Enhancement, jumping from branch to branch, retreating into the deeper darkness.
"HE'S RUNNING! AFTER HIM!"
"I can't," the injured boy groaned. "My leg..."
"Damn it! Who was that? He didn't even show his face!"
Kael stopped a kilometer away, perched high in a tree. He was breathing hard, a manic grin on his face.
He felt stronger. The surge of XP had pushed him to the peak of F-rank.
LEVEL: 19
XP TO LEVEL 20: 50
Just a little more.
But he was also disappointed. Two Devours. Two failed ability acquisitions. The 30% chance was a cruel mistress.
It doesn't matter, he told himself. I have their XP. I have the mana.
He looked at his hands. He was still F-rank. Still physically weaker than most of the academy. But he was growing.
He looked back toward the school. It was late. He needed to return to the dorms before the dawn patrol caught him.
As he turned to leave, his Keen Hearing picked up a sound deeper in the forest.
A struggle. Not a beast fight. A human struggle.
"—please! I have money! Take the money!"
A girl's voice. Desperate.
Kael paused. He should go back. He had what he needed.
But the voice... it sounded familiar.
He changed direction, moving toward the sound.
He reached a small ravine. Below, two men in dark clothing—rogues, not students—had cornered a girl.
She was on the ground, her bag ripped open, books scattered.
It was the girl from the cafe. The one who had given him the pamphlet? No.
It was a different girl. But she wore the Silverwood uniform.
And one of the rogues had a knife.
"Money is useless in the Wild Zone, little girl," the rogue sneered. "But you? You're worth a lot to the slave traders in the outer rim. A fresh Awakened girl from Silverwood..."
Kael watched from above.
He didn't care about the girl. He didn't know her. Saving her wasn't his job.
But the rogues...
They were human.
They had mana.
And he was still hungry for XP.
"Hey," Kael called out.
The rogues and the girl looked up.
Kael stood on the edge of the ravine, silhouetted against the moon. His eyes glowed a faint, electric blue.
"If you're going to kidnap someone," Kael said, his voice cold, "you should check if there's a monster watching you first."
"Who the hell are you?" the rogue with the knife snarled. "Get lost, kid. This isn't your business."
Kael smiled. It was the smile of a predator.
"I'm making it my business," Kael said. "Because I'm still hungry."
And before they could react, Kael dropped from the ledge, lightning crackling around his fist.
DEVOURER SYSTEM: ENGAGING.