Kael maneuvered eastward through the village, staying low as he slipped between the huts. The flames were spreading behind him, thick black smoke rising into the night sky. The scent of burning wood mixed with the charred remains of whatever the Gloomkin had in their homes. Their wretched shrieks echoed throughout the village as they scrambled to contain the fires and find the one responsible.
The heat from the spreading inferno warmed his skin as he moved. Kael wasn’t done yet. He still had enough to get two more huts to start burning.
Keeping to the shadows, he reached the next wooden structure. It was on the outskirts of the village, away from the blazes, as well as one of the empty ones, which made it a prime target. Kael knelt, unwrapping the cloth binding from a bundle of sticks and dried leaves. Working quickly, he ignited the bundle the same way he had before, using friction to create embers.
Within moments, a small fire sparked to life. Kael gently placed the burning bundle at the base of the hut, ensuring the flames had a good amount of dry material to catch. The fire licked hungrily at the dried wood, crawling up the structure as smoke curled into the night air. Satisfied, Kael stealthily moved to the next hut, repeating the process and using the last of the bundles as he did so. Soon, another fire took hold, and the orange glow illuminated the village even further.
But the Gloomkin were not completely blind to what was happening anymore.
As he hid behind a tent, Kael noticed them—several groups now actively searching. They were sniffing the air, low growls vibrating in their throats. Their bodies twitched as they scoured the village, for the culprit.
Carefully, he pressed himself into the shadows, avoiding the thin shafts of firelight bleeding between the structures. The Gloomkin were not moving in any coordinated formation, which worked in his favor. He watched them for a moment, gauging their behavior.
They sniffed at the air, moving in slow, deliberate steps. They were searching, but they didn’t know where to look specifically, so instead they were relying on scents. But Kael had known that would be the case, which was why he had washed himself before coming here, added to the smell of the fires, and they would have a hard time sniffing him out.
Moving carefully, he turned away from the Gloomkin, making his way toward the end of the village. Beyond him stretched open grassland, and the opposite side held the forest, which was cut off from him thanks to the entire village standing between him and the tree line. But this time was different from his last visit, Kael chose the only option.
Straight through.
Instead of fleeing, Kael pivoted and turned toward the center of the village. He would cut through the village, avoiding the platform the Chieftain was standing on, in case he stumbled on it. Kael wanted to leave the Chieftain for the end if possible, not wanting to fight it and more of its lesser kin. Instead wanting to eliminate more of the lesser Gloomkin.
Just as he finished that thought, a Gloomkin wandered into his path. It was a lone straggler sniffing the air, searching around. Kael did not waste time and lunged forward. The moment it turned to face in his direction, was the moment his enhanced right leg flew up and into the side of its head. The monster flew sideways and collapsed to the ground a short distance away, lying there unmoving. Not getting the kill notification, Kael walked up to it and finished with a stump on its head.
[ Experience Gained! ]
Satisfied, he then moved on to find others. Using the homes as cover, Kael weaved through the village's eastern part, striking from the shadows and eliminating small searching parties as he went. Having just finished killing another pair before they could scream. Kael left their bodies where they fell, and slipped into the next row of tents and structures.
Keeping an eye out, he noticed the flames were growing stronger. More of the huts were ablaze and fully engulfed now, their wooden frames burning bright. Their fires flickered wildly in the wind, spreading to adjacent structures. The tents avoided catching fire as easily due to the oils in the hides they were made of.
To say the Gloomkin were struggling would be downplaying it. Some of them were still focused entirely on the fires, scrambling to put them out by throwing what they could find onto the flames. Some of the dumber ones were counterproductive in this endeavor, by hitting burning wood with their wooden weapons.
But Kael did not care and continued to use the disorder to strike, picking off more isolated Gloomkin as he moved. His reinforced strikes breaking bones and ending lives. The more the flames raged, the easier it became. Soon, he had reached the northern side of the village, intentionally avoiding the clearing in the center of the village.
As he was about to turn around and head into the village again, he quickly glanced toward the forest, then—movement. Kael’s eyes snapped back, scanning the treeline. Something was there. At first, he assumed it was just more Gloomkin, but no—this was different, the shape of the creature was off.
He squinted through the flames, his vision slightly distorted from the light. As he watched a figure stepped out of the forest. It had a sleek, muscular shape, its body low to the ground, moving with deadly silence. Even before the flickering firelight fully illuminated it, or the notification, Kael knew what this creature was.
[ Duskfang Stalker (Uncommon) – Level 9 ]
Kael watched, his pulse steady, but his mind instantly shifted gears. This was the first time he had seen something as fierce as the Stalker in this area of the forest, and Kael suspected he knew why.
The theory Kael had for there not being any predators like the Stalker in this area, was that the Gloomkin hunted around the area both in the day and night. So far their numbers had been enough to scare away and kill anything that challenged that fact. But now that Kael had killed so many of them, coupled with them being scared to wonder the night due to him. It made sense that the night predators of this forest would feel comfortable hunting here, and with the smoke and light from the fires, it was no surprise they came to take advantage of the Gloomkin's weakness.
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Kael would be lying to himself if he said he wasn’t a little bit afraid, given this new development. He knew this was a problem. If one monster had come, more would follow. But for now, he remained still, observing.
The Duskfang Stalker didn’t notice him, Kael being too far away. Rather its attention was focused on the Gloomkin. And in the blink of an eye—it struck.
Kael’s lips curled into a small grin as the beast tore into the nearest Gloomkin, its claws raking through flesh in a silent, efficient kill. The creature barely had enough time to scream before its throat was ripped open. The other Gloomkin turned toward the commotion, being surprised by this new enemy.
He could hear more cries of alarm, and see the shapes of more Gloomkin rushing toward the Stalker, their weapons raised.
But even as he felt satisfaction watching the chaos unfold, he knew he needed to be careful. If more monsters were drawn by the scent of blood, it wouldn't be long before he could become a target too.
At the same time. This was an opportunity.
If he played this right, he could completely wipe them out. Kael’s eyes flicked back toward the village. The clouds above moved away from the three moons as they shone a fantastical light on the area, along with the burning encampment.
Some of the Gloomkin he had not killed yet were now rushing to the Stalker’s location, giving up on the search and the fires. Seeing that Kael had taken his time and killed 11 so far, he guessed there were still enough of them to kill the stalker, and that was without the Chieftain or its guards. But even then, kael knew they would lose some to it.
But no matter what happened or which side came out superior, Kael would be the only victor in the exchange. Either the Gloomkin killed the Stalker after it killed some of them, or it still killed some of them and escaped, to him it did not matter. There would be less Gloomkin either way.
Taking the new distraction for what it was, Kael slipped back into the burning village.
----------------------------------------
Kael moved with purpose while weaving through the village, at the same time chaos unfolded around him. He kept low, avoiding open spaces, using the huts and tents as cover. The night was alive with the sounds of battle.
The Gloomkin had turned their attention toward the Duskfang Stalker, their guttural shrieks rising in panic as they engaged the beast. Kael could faintly hear the sounds of battle and the occasional dying screams of the Gloomkin who weren’t fast enough to avoid the monster. He had not stayed to watch how the clash went. This distraction gave him free rein to finish what he had started, and he needed to capitalize on it.
Kael maneuvered further back into the eastern half of the village, where the flames hadn’t fully reached yet. Even if the southern part of the village was burning, there were places the flames wouldn't reach, and he couldn’t let the momentum of the fire die out too soon. Not when the Gloomkin were finally on the back foot.
Picking up a burning stick from one of the already blazing huts, he ran toward a nearby untouched wooden structure. With a sharp flick, he tossed the flaming branch into the hut’s interior, where dry leaves and sticks had been used as bedding.
The flames caught instantly, feeding on the dry material. Smoke curled into the sky as the fire took hold. Kael didn’t stop there.
He moved to another hut, repeating the process, ensuring that more of the village would be lost to the inferno.
The hide tents weren’t worth the effort. They wouldn’t burn as easily as the wooden structures, and the time spent trying to ignite them would be better spent elsewhere.
His focus remained on the larger, more permanent buildings—the ones that the Gloomkin couldn’t replace as easily. That is if any survived the night.
As he worked, he remained aware of his surroundings. He could still hear the fight against the Stalker continuing in the background. Then, after several minutes—the sound shifted. The shrieks of pain stopped, and no more sounds of active fighting could be heard.
Kael frowned, ducking behind one of the huts to listen. Other than the occasional sound of dying or panicked Gloomkin, or the ambient sounds of the fires, there was silence.
Then—it picked up again. Kael narrowed his eyes.
Either they killed the Stalker or it ran away, no matter which one something else took its place attacking the Gloomkin. Kael exhaled through his nose. Not surprising.
Almost all predators prayed on weakness. The more Gloomkin died, the more likely it was that other creatures would come to take advantage.
Kael didn’t waste any more time. Moving swiftly away from where he was crouched down. He found another small group of Gloomkin attempting to put out the fires.
Four of them, working frantically to throw dirt onto the flames. Kael approached from behind, his steps silent against the sounds of the burning wood and the working Gloomkin.
Not wasting a moment he struck. Kael was immediately on the first one, striking it from behind with a stone knife he had picked up from the ground near a hut. The knife forcibly entered the back of the monster's head and it collapsed in a heap.
[ Experience Gained! ]
The second barely had time to react or do anything, before Kael’s reinforced fist crushed its skull in a single brutal blow. The third turned—a strangled cry leaving its throat—Kael grabbed it by the jaw, careful not to allow the monster to bite him with those ugly yellow teeth, and forced its mouth shut before twisting its head a hundred and eighty degrees. Kael then dropped the body to the ground.
[ Experience Gained! ] x2
The last Gloomkin had just enough time to turn and see the carnage before Kael drove what remained of his left boot into its chest, sending it crashing into the burning hut.
Its body hit the flames—a shriek of agony tearing from its throat as it flailed around the burning wood, and was consumed by the fire. Kael barely spared it a glance. These kinds of images no longer affected his psyche. They had not done so for a long time.
[ Experience Gained! ]
Four more dead. He exhaled, rolling his shoulders as he looked around. The fires were raging out of control now. Maybe some things would survive, but the village was doomed.
Then he started hearing something. Kael's ears tried to locate where the sound came from.
It was distant at first. A deep, rhythmic thumping like something heavy moving at high speed, and it only grew louder.
Kael barely had time to register what was happening before the ground shook beneath him.
Something was charging at him, his instincts screamed at him to move.
Not even thinking or second-guessing himself, Kael threw himself to the side just as a figure barreled through the smoke, slamming into the ground where he had been standing moments before.
Dirt and ash exploded into the air. Kael hit the ground hard, rolling into a crouch, his arms snapping up in reflex. The right hand holding his now dulling hunting knife.
Then, as the dust cleared, he saw what had attacked him. Kael's eyes narrowed at the sight.
[ Gloomkin Guard (Uncommon) – Level 15 ]
It stood there, its massive frame illuminated by the burning village, its thick arms tensed, its beady black eyes locked onto Kael. I guess you can't always assume things will be the same.
One of the Chieftain's bodyguards had finally decided to leave its post and attack him. How it had found him, Kael did not know, and he did not care to find out.
What was important at this moment was that its level had increased by one. Kael distinctly remembered the guards were level 13 and 14.
Taking a moment as the creature looked at him Kael exhaled centering his mind and preparing for what was to come.