The tang of fresh blood used to be off-putting. Even years after being summoned to a new world, having led the forces of humanity against the maw of the void, Leonard hadn't been able to avoid wrinkling his nose when the smell first hit.

And yet, as he tracked down his quarry and followed the crimson drops much like Hansel and Gretel would follow breadcrumbs, Leonard found that he didn't mind so much anymore.

He wasn't bloodthirsty, no. He didn't even particularly enjoy hunting as a sport, despite it being the preferred hobby of many rulers. He had just become numb to it.

One might ask themselves why that would happen now and not during the years-long campaign against the void. The simple answer was that it was a different type of war. The honest answer was that he had been too out of it back then to process everything that kept happening around him consciously. One of the few things he had retained was his disgust for the abysmal conditions the lower classes were forced into.

Even after years of the beginning, scouting burned-out villages, with the broken bodies of those few who had stayed behind to give their loved ones time to flee, had been enough to upset him.

These days, he could walk through a field of fresh corpses and not blink.

Sometimes, I wonder how much more I lost by ascending. The benefits were straightforward, but the System never mentions useless things. If it took the time to inform me that I would "see the world with the eyes of an immortal," it meant it was a relevant change.

Of course, he hadn't had a choice back then. The last battle was rapidly approaching, and while the new mages trained in Pure Casting could handle the fodder, the deeper they went into the corrupted lands, the more dangerous spawn of the void they met. Refusing the blessing would have led to innumerable deaths and would have also condemned hundreds of thousands to suffer under the yoke of slavery, as he wouldn't have had the power to lead the Revolution.

A loud growl distracted him from his spiraling thoughts. Yes, there would be time later for more contemplation. Now, he had a beast to put out of its suffering.

After that warning, the forest became unnervingly quiet. Even the birds that were usually bold in their song fell silent, and the air became heavy and oppressive. What little animal life was left in the middle of its territory knew better than to call its attention.

The snake-tailed green tiger, or the Southern Chimera for scholars, was a creature of legend, a monster that belonged more to children's nightmares than to the real world. But here it was, real and in the flesh.

This particular specimen had been a thorn in the side of the Darkwood's ecosystem for years, ever since it had escaped from a foreign merchant's stock—a foolish attempt at breeding and selling exotic creatures for their venom that had ended in the death of an entire village. The creature had vanished into the depths of the Darkwood and, until recently, had kept to itself, living in the shadows.

With the defeat of the Incursion, that had changed.

Leonard had known of its presence for a while. Nemas had informed him more than a year ago that the chimera could make enough of a mess to upset the forest's balance if left unchecked. She hadn't been that concerned at first—the beast had only been a juvenile then, content to hunt small game and live quietly. But now that it had matured, its appetite had grown, and it had systematically cleared out all animal life in its territory. It had become too dangerous to ignore, even for a being as old and powerful as Nemas. Not that she couldn't kill it by herself. In the forest, she was a force to be reckoned with. She would be on par with an Elemental King if she didn't care about the collateral damage.

But why would she waste time and energy on it when there was someone who'd do it for free?

Leonard saw this as an opportunity. The first of the Leadership Trials involved a hunt, and what better quarry than a monster like this? Taking down such a beast would prove beyond a doubt that he was worthy of advancing in the contest to lead the Darkwood orcs—indeed, it might even push several of the other contenders to withdraw, as only a handful of warriors could fight such a beast and live— but it would also rid the forest of a growing threat.

The chimera's lair was close now. He could feel a poisonous aura that seemed to radiate from the very earth, a chill that tried to settle deep in his bones but was burned out by the roiling power within him.

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The snake-tailed green tiger was not a simple predator. It was a fourth-tier monster, a creature that had reached the pinnacle of its natural growth, and with that power came the ability that earned its place in so many folk stories: its very presence exuded a toxic miasma that could paralyze anything below the third tier with just one whiff. Even seasoned hunters and warriors would fall victim to it, their bodies locked in place, unable to flee as the creature's terrible maw descended upon them. Entire villages disappeared overnight when the southern chimeras went to hunt.

Leonard felt the edges of that aura now, prickling all over his skin, but his steps were undaunted. He had nothing to fear from it.

He pressed forward, right hand resting lightly on the hilt of his sword as he scanned the area for any sign of movement. He could have located the beast via remote viewing, but that would have defeated the purpose of this challenge. He had to show himself as a good tracker, which was what had led him here.

And then he saw it.

The chimera lay half-hidden in the underbrush, its massive form blending almost seamlessly with the greenery around it. Its fur was a vibrant, poisonous green that should have looked ridiculous and yet only served to wake up the vestigial lizard brain at the back of his mind that screamed danger. It was a camouflage that allowed it to stalk through the forest undetected, and on the rare occasion it left its confines, it served to shout to the world what it was.

The chimera was as large as an owlbear but far more dangerous. Its body was densely muscled, every breath rippling with lethal power. Its head, broad and predatory, was adorned with rows of razor-sharp teeth that could tear through armor as easily as flesh. And then there was its tail—long, scaled, and sinuous, like a massive snake that ended in a deadly barbed stinger. It coiled and uncoiled with a life of its own, ready to strike at anything that came too close.

It was also injured. Not deeply enough to threaten its life, but certainly enough to hamper its movements.

He had fallen upon it just as it finished eating its latest prey, a small family of needle rabbits. Leonard hadn't allowed it to sense his presence and scored a deep cut on its flank.

Again, he could have killed it in one strike then, but that would have defeated the test's purpose.

As Leonard walked closer, his eyes locked on the creature's glowing yellow ones, he saw the aftermath of his earlier strike. The gash along its side oozed dark, venomous blood. The skin twitched, muscles rippling as if desperate to close over the wound, but it couldn't—Dyeus made sure of that. The sky blade was no ordinary weapon, after all. The poison in its blood couldn't overpower the divine energy; thus, the beast's regenerative powers were halted.

The grass whispered beneath Leonard’s boots as he closed the distance, from fifty feet to forty, then to thirty, until finally, he stood just twenty feet away. The creature's growl deepened, reverberating through the clearing like the low rumble of distant thunder. It rose from its crouch, revealing its full, terrifying size. The gash along its side stretched and bled more profusely as it moved, the chimera's frustration evident in every twitch of its body. It was cornered, and it knew it.

The noxious aura surrounding the beast thickened, the air around them clouding with poison. Leonard ignored it, the magic sliding off him like water over stone. He had fought far more dangerous creatures than this during the Incursion, and their auras had been deadlier still. The beast, though powerful, was just another obstacle.

Briefly, he allowed his gaze to flick to the side, where he could sense two pairs of eyes watching him. Darkwood orcs, hidden behind the dense foliage. He hadn't seen them approach—which went to show just how skilled they were at navigating the forest— but he'd felt their presence the moment they'd arrived. Two scouts, no doubt sent to observe his progress in the Leadership Trials. They were quiet, disciplined, and respectful of the hunt. Leonard gave no indication that he had noticed them, returning his focus to the beast before him. This was his trial, and their eyes were irrelevant.

He unsheathed Dyeus in one fluid motion, the sound of steel cutting through the tension in the air like a herald of death. The chimera reacted immediately, its muscles tensing, eyes narrowing. It knew what was coming.

With a snarl that shook the trees, it sprang at him, closing the twenty-foot gap in a heartbeat. Its claws, sharp as steel, arced toward Leonard, aiming to tear him apart. But he was faster. In one swift, practiced motion, Dyeus sliced through the air, meeting the beast's attack head-on. The blade easily cleaved through the hard nails, forcing the chimera to abort its charge. It landed heavily a few feet away, blood dripping from its now-ruined paw, a mixture of fury and pain glowing in its eyes.

Leonard pressed his advantage. A first swing forced the chimera back, and it became more desperate as it struggled to avoid a pitiful end. But Leonard was relentless, his focus razor-sharp, and he gave the creature no room to recover. He swung two more times, driving it back and scoring long gashes.

Desperation fueled its reserves. The chimera's eyes gleamed with malevolent light as it called upon its innate poison magic. Dark clouds of toxic energy shot toward Leonard. The ground beneath him blackened where the magic touched it, wilting the plants and turning the soil to ash. But Leonard remained unaffected. The poison's magic dissipated harmlessly against his aura, unable to penetrate the Light.

Snarling in frustration, the chimera changed the game and leaped once more with its jaws wide open, aiming to crush Leonard's head in its massive maw.

Though it all happened in a flash, Leonard had no trouble reacting. He raised Dyeus and interposed the blade between the chimera's teeth, timing his move perfectly. The creature's mouth snapped shut around the sword. Dyeus cleaved through flesh and bone as the chimera's momentum carried it forward. Blood sprayed in the air as he cut cleanly through the creature's skull, severing the upper part of its head.

The chimera's body crashed to the ground with a thunderous thud, its skull rolling to a stop a few feet away. The clearing fell silent once more, the oppressive aura of poison dissipating upon the utterance of a single word, “Purity.”

Already, life started returning to the forest. Nemas' presence extended over the clearing, taking over the purging of the rot that would fester in her domain and giving life back to the plants that had been lost.

Leonard exhaled slowly, sheathing Dyeus as he stepped away from the fallen beast. He glanced briefly toward the two orc scouts, who remained hidden but no doubt had witnessed the entire fight. They would return to their elders with the story of his victory, ensuring that his prowess would be known throughout the Darkwood.

This trial wasn't decisive, but it was enough to put him ahead of all other pretenders.