Emil was about to go on his first hunting mission in the Monster Forest neighboring the academy.

"Hunt three First Stage Scarlet Rank Ligh-Foot Deers.

B Rank. Type: Solo. Timespan: 3 Days."

There weren't many solo B rank missions to choose from. Regardless, The mission he chose was the one most suitable for him.

"Potions, check.

Food, check.

Sword, check."

Emil checked the content of his storage ring and made sure he was carrying all the necessary resources.

The hunt wasn't gonna be long, half a day at most.

But he didn't know what could happen in that half a day so he packed his every resource just to be on the safer side.

Glancing at the Academy behind him one last time, he steeled his reoslve and stepped into the forest.

The overly large trees, possibly dozens of meters tall, giving the forest a spooky presence, only served to deter him.

He was anxious, it was his first hunt and despite him taking all the necessary precautions, he didn't know if he was gonna come out unscathed.

as he kept trudging along the forest path though, the chirping of the bird reaching his ear and the fresh air his nose, uplifted his mood a little.

According to his map, the Light-Foot deers lived in the Green Woods area, about a couple dozen kilometers away from where he currently was.

If he travelled at normal walking speed, it'd tak him about four to five hours to get there, and the trip back just as much.

But he didn't have ten hours to spend walking. When was he gonna hunt? When was he gonna get back? He had to be back at the Academy before midnight.

It was Monday today, and he rushed here straight out of his class.

That meant he had less than twelve hours to finish the mission and get back.

His only choice was to run if he wanted to make it in time.

And so he did.

His speed was about 15km/h. thanks to his cultivation, the nourishment from the Magical Beast meat, the training he did, his nonexistent luggage as well as the Cleansing Elixir, his body was strong enough to run for miles without needing a break.

At his current speed, it'd take him less than two hours to make it to his destination.

But he has to he careful on the way.

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The Forest was wrought with danger. Even though the area he was hunting in was only the periphery and was relatively safe, it still homed many Magical Beasts, all lying in wait for a prey to show itself.

The run might've seemed light-hearted, but Emil was on the edge the entire time, his eyes constantly darting left and right in search of any danger.

While still running and looking around, he suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet disappearing.

*Plop*

He free falled into a large pit covered by grass and greenery, for over a dozen feet straight.

"Ugh!"

He landed with his shoulder, on the soft dirt ground.

His shoulder hurt but it wasn't broken.

Emil didn't have too much time to look around or complain about his pain.

The ground underneath him started shaking as three small moles peeked their heads out and bared their large and sharp claws at him.

Emil's fight or flight response kicked in and he immediately rolled to the side, dodging a claw that just stabbed its way out of the dirt, potentially into his heart had he not dodged.

'Kurmushes!'

Emil recognized the opponent in a glance.

Kurmush, moles that can dig through dirt at an astonishing speed using earth magic.

They could attack you with their large, sharp claws and shred you into pieces in a matter of seconds.

The ground was their territory, and Emil was trapped in it now.

After rolling to the side, he jumped to his feet and quickly summoned his sword.

As soon as he did so, he slashed it downwards at a claw appearing just an inch away from his feet.

Before the sword could connect though, the Kurmush had retracted its claw and hid underground again.

Feeling another tremor beneath his feet, Emil used all his power and jumped up from the ground.

Four claws revealed themselves below where he was standing, or so he could see while midair.

'Shit!'

If he landed now, those fuckers were sure to rip him to pieces!

His reflexes kicked into action like clockwork. he threw the sword in his hand, stabbing it erect deep into the soft ground, allowing him to stay on top of it for just a split second.

Using that short timeframe, he propelled himself to the walls of the pit and grabbed a branch hanging from it.

Without any pause, he gripped the branch and climbed out of the pit in one swift movement, leaving his sword there in the process.

But the Kurmushes were quick, they weren't gonna let him off the hook yet just because he climbed out of their trap.

Emil, feeling the threat behind chasing after him like the shadow of death, sprinted towards the nearest ree for dear life and started climbing like a monkey.

*Rip*

One of the Kurmushes clawed his cuff and hooked onto it.

Emil didn't look back and just kept climbing up. The Kurmush hanging from his cuff found itself midair, where it was vulnerable, and was about to retract its claws when Emil took notice of this development.

Retracting its claws, the Kurmush almost let go, but now before Emil grabbed it by its head and slammed it against the tree bark.

One hand holding the tree and one hand holding the Kurmush, he kept pounding the creature as it desperately slashed the air in an effort to break free.

It couldn't see Emil properly, not to mention it couldn't use magic anymore since it was seperated form the ground, all it could do now was submit to Emil's grip on it head as it desperately fought back.

"Siiii."

A hiss escaped Emil's mouth as the hand holding the Kurmush was clawed by it, drawing blood from it.

But this much pain was far from stopping him.

After a few more hits, the Kurmush's body grew lifeless and all movement from it ceased.

The creature was finally dead.

Emil quickly stored the Beast's body in his ring before proceeding to climb up the the tree and resting on a branch.

Looking at his wound, he ripped a part of his cloth and placed it in on it until the bleeding stopped, after which he cleaned it with water and bandaged it up.

Taking a deep breath, he looked below, where the two Kurmushes were still waiting, more likely than not.

He then looked at his surroundings.

This tree was solitary, the next nearest tree was at least three dozen meters away, he couldn't jump to it nor could he sprint to it like last time.

His only way out was through the ground, which was occupied by the wretched Magical Beasts.

The only remaining option, was getting down and there and fighting them.

"Haha, this is one hell of a first hunt."

Emil chuckled bitterly.