Roaming through the frost-covered forest, the wolf made his way toward the lake.
It was one of the shortest paths to the other side of the mountain, and if the humans were to come, they would likely pass through here.
As he approached the frozen waterfall, something caught his attention.
A human stood atop the icy ledge, watching him.
The wolf's golden eyes locked onto the figure, but before he could react, the human vanished from sight—disappearing like a ghost in the mist.
Now, there was nothing to do but wait.
With a low exhale, the wolf lay down on the snow beside the freezing lake, allowing himself to sink into deep contemplation.
He focused on understanding the Earth Elemental Energy, letting its presence seep into his being.
Yet, even as he meditated, his instincts remained sharp.
And before the humans could arrive, another guest came to visit him.
The wolf's ears twitched.
His head snapped toward the treeline, scanning the shadows between the frost-covered trees.
He saw nothing, but his instincts screamed—something was watching him.
He wasn't alone.
Without hesitation, he formed a cluster of small black stones, magic energy swirling around them.
With a flick of his will, the stones shot forward—striking the exact spot where he felt the presence.
Before they could hit, a black vortex appeared, swallowing them all.
His eyes narrowed.
From the branches of a tree, a Dark Panther materialized, its sleek body blending into the shadows like liquid midnight.
The Dark Panther spoke, its voice smooth yet challenging.
"Your perception is decent. Let's see if your magic is adequate."
Before the wolf could reply, arrows made of shadow energy materialized around the panther—then shot toward him in rapid succession.
The wolf's mind worked quickly.
The voice was feminine.
And he knew who she was—the daughter of the Dark Panther Tribe's totem spirit.
He processed all of this in under a second.
With a surge of earth magic, a massive stone palm erupted from the ground, intercepting the shadow arrows with ease.
Then, with a powerful push, the stone palm surged toward the Dark Panther, aiming to crush her in an instant.
But the Female Dark Panther was quick.
She leaped aside, narrowly dodging the attack as the tree branch she had stood on was obliterated.
Landing in the snow, she reappeared from the shadows, standing a short distance away.
The wolf did not attack immediately.
Instead, he stared at her, his voice dripping with condescension.
"Looks like your magic isn't adequate."
The Female Dark Panther's eyes widened in shock.
"You… can talk?"
The wolf huffed, unimpressed.
"That's none of your business."
He didn't bother asking why she had been watching him.
Beasts did not need reasons to stare at each other.
They did it for three reasons:
To size up a potential meal.
To prepare for a fight.
Or out of fear of a stronger predator.
For them, this was a fight.
Without hesitation, the wolf attacked first.
Sharp black stone bullets shot through the air toward the Dark Panther.
She vanished into the shadows, reappearing several feet away, only for another barrage of stone bullets to follow.
A game of attack and teleportation began, each move more ferocious than the last.
Realizing she couldn't evade forever, the Dark Panther retreated deeper into the forest.
The wolf followed, relentless in his pursuit—his magic launching after her with every step.
The hunt was on.
The wolf chased after the Dark Panther, his relentless barrage of stone bullets tearing through the forest.
But as he ventured deeper into the shadows, he lost sight of her.
Today, the sun was out, casting long, shifting shadows throughout the forest.
And in those shadows, she vanished.
The wolf's ears twitched. His golden eyes scanned his surroundings, but no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find her.
A low growl rumbled in his throat.
"Where did she go?"
Still unable to sense her presence, he decided to taunt her.
"Did you run back to your daddy?" he sneered, his voice echoing through the trees.
But there was no reply.
No rustling of leaves.
No movement.
Just silence.
The wolf kept walking, ears sharp, eyes scanning for the slightest sign of movement.
Then, he felt it—a sudden surge of fluctuating energy all around him.
His instincts screamed a warning.
Too late.
From the surrounding shadows, more than ten massive palms—formed entirely from dark energy—emerged and rushed toward him.
With no room to dodge, the wolf reacted instantly.
A black dome of stone formed around him, sealing him inside just before the attacks landed.
The shadow palms slammed against the dome, shaking the ground with immense force.
Inside, the wolf gritted his teeth, pouring more magic energy into his defense.
The dome trembled but held firm.
Then, silence.
The attacks had stopped.
He counted in his mind.
One… two… three… four… five…
With no further impact, he acted.
The stone dome exploded, shattering into a thousand razor-sharp fragments, shooting out in all directions like a storm of deadly projectiles.
Trees toppled.
Boulders shattered.
And most satisfying of all—a sharp cry of pain echoed through the air.
The snow settled, the debris stopped flying, and as the dust cleared, the wolf turned toward the source of the cry.
But once again—she was gone.
The wolf narrowed his eyes.
"If we keep this up, the battle will drag on for days before we get a winner."
A voice answered from the shadows.
"What do you suggest then?"
The wolf couldn't pinpoint her exact location, but he didn't need to.
"One final attack to decide the outcome."
Silence.
Then, from behind him, her voice came.
"Okay."
The wolf spun around, locking eyes with the Dark Panther as she stepped into view.
"Then we start on the count of three," the wolf declared.
The Dark Panther held up a paw.
"Wait. I'm not ready."
Her aura surged, dark energy swirling around her, and for the first time, the wolf noticed something new.
Across her sleek black fur, tiger-like grey stripes began to appear, pulsing with energy.
Her power was on the verge of advancing to the Intermediate Bronze Rank.
But before she crossed that threshold, she forcibly stabilized herself, keeping her power in check.
Then, with a smirk, she said, "Now I'm ready."
They both counted to three—and unleashed their strongest attacks.
The wolf fired an Earth-elemental energy beam, condensed and refined.
The Dark Panther retaliated with a Dark-elemental energy beam, laced with crackling thunder.
Their beams collided midair, neither side giving an inch.
Without any verbal agreement, both had instinctively chosen this form of attack—because in beam form, they could unleash their full strength in the shortest amount of time.
This wasn't just about raw power—it was a battle of mastery, control, and precision.
Yet, neither of them would regularly use beam attacks in combat.
It was an immense drain on energy, making it unsustainable for prolonged fights.
For ten minutes, the beams remained locked in place, a test of will and endurance.
But then—the wolf felt it.
A familiar strain creeps into his body.
His life source still hadn't fully recovered, even after consuming the Snow Cat and its Magic Core.
His strength began to waver, while the Dark Panther remained steady.
Just when the wolf thought he might lose, something changed.
A sudden surge of understanding flooded his mind.
His main body, deep in meditation, had been comprehending Earth Elemental energy throughout the fight.
And now—his efforts bore fruit.
At that moment, his mastery advanced, allowing him to climb to the third foot of the 10,000-foot mountain.
Instantly, his control over the Earth element surged.
His beam grew stronger.
The balance shifted.
The Dark Panther's beam began to falter, slowly pushed back toward her.
The gap closed—only 25% of the distance remained between the Dark Panther and the oncoming attack.
Her eyes widened in shock.
And then—
A voice rang out.
"Lord Lycan! Little Mistress Yeana! Stop—the humans are coming!"
Both fighters whipped their heads toward the source.
A shadow spirit materialized before them, its dark form flickering like mist under the sunlight.
Both the wolf and the Dark Panther exchanged a glance before halting their attacks.
The shadow spirit spoke first.
"Lord Lycan, please agree to ally with the humans."
The wolf's gaze hardened.
"No. Our tribe will not be a traitor. We will avenge the destroyed tribes."
The shadow spirit remained unfazed.
"Do not worry, Lord Lycan. If you agree to the alliance, you will be given two practice methods as promised."
The wolf's ears twitched, skepticism clear in his voice.
"And how do I know you won't betray me? If I agree, but you refuse to uphold your end of the deal, then what?"
The shadow spirit lifted a small glowing gem in its hand.
"Then take this."
The gem pulsed with energy, floating toward the wolf before landing at his feet.
"This is a Knowledge Gem," the shadow spirit explained. "Use your spirit to extract the practice method. It contains the teachings up to the Bronze-rank hunter level."
The wolf hesitated for only a moment before extending his spiritual energy, pulling the knowledge from within the gem.
As the last fragment of information transferred, the gem shattered into dust, its purpose fulfilled.
He processed the information quickly—and confirmed it was genuine.
But before he could speak, the shadow spirit's voice turned cold.
"If you disobey us now, then prepare to suffer."
And just like that, both the shadow spirit and Yeana melted into the darkness, vanishing from sight.
The wolf's ears perked up.
From the distance, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the trees.
The humans were coming.
They weren't even trying to hide their presence.