Charlie had spent a considerable amount of time exploring his immediate and not so immediate surroundings, creating a map in his head of the locations for each of the creatures he wanted to hunt.

The normally airborne Horen were the easiest to find, as all Charlie had to do was climb to the tops of the stone coves and he would soon come across one, whether or not he wanted to. The eggs didn't take long to hatch and the chicks were being taken care of by the surprisingly attentive parents.

The little hatchlings would squeak and beg their parents for food, receiving the gross regurgitations directly from their mothers beak. Charlie didn't want to watch, but with how many times the scene would play out, he didn't have much choice.

The Voules meandered beneath the cold stone at seemingly random directions, so marking their location was pointless, but at least he was able to somewhat figure out their hunting patterns. Rarely would they surface to take on a creature that was bigger than them, and even rarer it was for them to take on a creature that was full of vitality and life. Instead, they were able to somehow sense their target from beneath the stone, and accurately measure whether or not they were injured. It was fascinating, and learning more about his prey would certainly prove useful.

Then there were the creatively named Lizards. They were pathetically simplistic, and Charlie started to seriously doubt on the fairness of such a creature existing. He had seen many powerful beasts fall in battle, fighting for their right to exist and claim their territory through sheer physical might. Yet, the Lizards subverted all expectations and were some sort of cruel joke - hilarious in its own frustrating way.

They simply sat on a wall, unmoving and invisible. That's it. That was their strategy. When a suitable meal appeared, their heads would turn with incredible speed and a bright pink tongue lashed out to grab the easy snack - returning back to their immobile state immediately after, as if nothing happened.

Finding them with [Mana Sense] was ridiculously easy, but it also illuminated that they weren't as abundant as Charlie hoped. They were the perfect choice of prey, but instead of being the primary target, Charlie would hunt them in between his other targets.

The Horen were out of the question for now, as the chicks still needed time to grow before the parents would leave them alone. Though, the sudden appearance of all of these chicklings gave Charlie a dark idea.

Charlie didn't struggle when it came to locating a Voule, but actually reaching one when it was underground was another story.

To get a better understanding of how these subterranean creatures operated, Charlie had spent some time following a few of the active Voules he could find. Learning about when they breached the ground, about when they ate, and how these creatures actually operated on the surface. It was slow for now, but Charlie hoped that by doing all of this, he would be able to hunt these creatures without much competition.

There were hundreds of them underground, and anything that dared to tread on their territory was eliminated with ruthless efficiency. It would be up to Charlie to disrupt the natural balance, and become their nightmare.

Whilst following the many winding paths of the caves floor, bordered and defined by the many coves that sprung up from the stone, Charlie had come across a few of the Lizards. Devouring them was almost a joke, as not a single one of them seemed to have the mental capacity to even think that Charlie was coming directly to them. Therefore, not a single one of them moved, even when Charlie stood right in front of them. Was it nothing more than an unshakeable belief in their camouflage or sheer stupidity, Charlie still couldn't make up his mind.

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On the his long and arduous travels, Charlie had to take great care in remaining unseen. His notoriety preceded him and had quickly found that many of the creatures would drop their fights and charge directly at Charlie. Many of whom he had never even interacted with, let alone kill one of their members.

It meant that at least these beasts were smart enough to remember, and smart enough to be afraid. It was a double edged sword, though. On one hand, Charlie received a lot of berth when he came across a lone creature, unwilling to contend or deal with the grim gatekeeper of the river.

On the other hand, in groups they wanted nothing more than to squish the serpent into a pathetic crimson stain.

So, covering himself in shadows like silk garments, Charlie remained on the very edges of perception of those he didn't want to be seen by. [Mana Sense] kept proving to be the great divider. Those with it could easily maneuver throughout the cave and avoid the most troublesome creatures, while those without were doomed to fail - unable to avoid even the most minor of scuffles without stretching their senses to their limits.

And from Charlie's observations, there was only one creature with such a power.

Himself.

The Voule that Charlie had been following was finally getting ready to strike. Between the high walls and the sharp corners of the surrounding rocky coves, Charlie saw a single creature. [Worm of Envy] let Charlie know that it was a Wilva, some sort of wolf creature that had three tails and white fur.

White wasn't a common sight in the cave, so it had a particularly striking appearance. Though this one didn't have much else going for it, as it's normally pristinely white coat was marred by wounds and deep red blood. If the wounds wouldn't kill it, the Voule that lurked beneath the ground would.

Charlie had observed the Voules long enough now, even beginning to anticipate the exact moment it would strike. It had a tried and true method, and clearly didn't feel like changing it's approach much. Or ever, really.

It first created a distraction, using some sort of Magical ability to both nullify the vibrations it created while breaking through the stone, and to instead make those same vibrations sound like they came from somewhere far away. When the prey would stop to ascertain what was happening, the ground would open up, long and sharp claws would reach out from the stone surface - ripping into the flesh and pulling the unaware beast down below, never to be seen or heard from again.

This time, Charlie was ready. The Voule would receive a nasty little surprise with its meal today.

As predicted, the claws broke the stone surface like it was water and found their way into the soft flesh of the Wilva. Many new lacerations and wounds shot open with a powerful gush of blood. Now that he was so close, Charlie saw that it's cute bulbous nose sat atop a harrowing mouth full of razor sharp teeth. If the claws were sharp enough to cut through stone, the teeth looked like they could cut metal.

The Wilva yelped in both terror and pain, before it's voice was quickly silenced by the sand-like stone burying it still alive, beneath the ground.

And just out of the Voules sight, hidden behind the still living corpse of the Wilva, a serpent snuck in - uninvited.

The fight between the Voule and the Wilva was short, its end signaled by the sudden cracking sound coming from the bloodied wolfs neck.

Charlie was momentarily blinded, the dim light from the stone did not work beneath the surface, but quickly recovered by relying on the clear and accurate sight given by [Mana Sense].

The fight was over in only a moment, but the Voule didn't get it's chance to revel in its success. Instead it was met not by the sight of broken prey, but by two terrifying fangs dipped in a viscous venom coming straight at its face.

There was no pain, only an inescapable chill that guided it's fading consciousness into the black void.