Kael woke to the now familiar ache in his bones, the kind that settled in after too many nights on a straw pallet in his crumbling shack.
The morning was gray, Thornskull's fog was already choking the sun before it could even rise properly.
Mara, his ashfox, was already up. It seeme to get little sleep, and even when it slept, it was still very active.
Her ember-flecked fur was glowing faintly in the dim corner where she curled. Her gold-tinted eyes stared him as he stretched, wincing at the pull of his healing ribs.
Three weeks to Cresthaven's exams, The elder had said. Felt like yesterday, but time was slipping fast—too fast.
So many things felt like yesterday, when he had found Mara...and lost Mara.
He grabbed his boots, the only pair he had. They were patched and muddy, but still manageable.
He tossed Mara a scrap of dried meat from a jar.
"Eat up, Mara. We've got work."
Mara got up, she stared at the meat flying towards her, then she jumped, snapping it midair, wagging her tail.
Kael prepared and dressed properly while it chewed on the meat. In a few moments, he was done, she was done too.
He walked out of the door and it followed him, its claws clicking on the warped wood.
The village was already abuzz now, but thankfully, no one looked twice at the orphan and his fox.
Good.
He didn't need eyes on him, not yet. Just two weeks, he was going to shock them.
The forest was his refuge, a mess of twisted pines and damp earth where Thornskull's noise faded.
Kael's breath steamed in the chill as he checked the SSS Rank System, its interface flaring like a ghost in his vision: Level 6, 480/600 XP, his Inferno Spark was hotter, his Tag ability was ready to roll.
Mara's stats glowed too—C-rank ashfox, Ember Pulse making her scratches sting longer and leave an effect.
Two weeks, he thought, dismissing the screen. That's all he had to get stronger, to make Mara's pendant mean something.
Days blurred into a grind. He had just one routine. Mornings, he and Mara hunted—skitterclaws mostly, their scrawny legs no match for Mara's speed.
He'd whistle—high-low, like Lila taught—and she'd flank, her claws raking while Kael's fireballs scorched.
Each kill pinged XP, small but steady: 20 here, 30 there. At Nights, he pored over Lila's dad's book by candlelight, memorizing beast signals.
They were important as they might not the chance to speak every time, a few gestures and signals would be quite useful too.
A quick tap on Mara's flank meant guard; a low hum got her to scout. Their bond sync ticked up—27%, then 30%—and Kael felt her instincts sharper now, like a second pulse in his skull.
He didn't see Lila again, not after the clearing. Part of him wanted to—her tricks had helped—but most him didn't. He still didn't like her.
Thom's face kept creeping into his thoughts too, those clenched fists that had promised worse.
Kael pushed it down, forgetting about the bitter boy. He had no time for grudges.
Cresthaven was coming.
A week in, and Kael felt the change strongly. His arms weren't just scrawny anymore—muscle corded under his skin, very effective. He was looking better too, even though his feeding hadn't improved much, he was still looking fresher and better, effects of Mana in him.
Their teamwork had gotten way better, Mara moved like a shadow now, her smoky fur blending with the forest's haze.
Once, They had cleared a nest of ashvipers—six of them at a single go, and they had done it while fighting together, Mara lunged in while he acted as a support, burning down the helpess vipers.
Ding! Level 10 achieved. +5 HP, +5 SP, +1 STR, +1 VIT.
His fireballs packed even more punch now, leaving craters in trees instead of just burns.
Mara's Ember Pulse singed deeper now, and her eyes seemed to know things, like she was reading the forest itself. She seemed smarter too, Maybe it was the time they had spent together, but she was a lot more understanding.
"We're getting there..."
Kael muttered to himself. That afternoon, he pushed deeper into the forest, where the trees grew thick and the air was filled with mana.
He hadn't gone this deep into the forest before. Kael didn't stress or overthink it, he knew it was only a matter of time before he came this deep. The other beasts were giving lower and lower XP now, there was little to no reward for killing them, and most especially, killing them got too easy.
But the main reason he was here now was because the System had dropped a quest at dawn:
Hunt a Greater Beast (C-rank or higher). Reward: Skill Upgrade, 200 XP.