The stars and moon lit up the night sky just enough to see what was in front of us. It leapt toward me, all the ferocity of a wolf but far more menacing. Standing on hind legs with a humanoid shape and a snarling wolf’s face, it was unmistakably a werecreature—a cryptid, though only partially one. More like a wolf-man than a true werewolf, lacking the subdued aura and cunning of a full cryptid. This thing was wild with pure berserk energy radiating from it.

I leapt back, flicking my right hand as I unleashed a Soul Chain. In that moment, my disguise dissolved, exposing my true aura. The wolf-man faltered, hesitating mid-lunge. It was wrapped around by my Soul Chain, hindering its movements. Seizing the opportunity, Selena moved in front of me, a pair of uzis materializing in her hands. She unleashed a rapid, ruthless hail of bullets that tore the wolf-man into a gory heap in seconds.

But the threat hadn’t passed. Black raised his hand, his shadow writhing and distorting until it morphed into a shapeless shadow beast, bristling with dark energy. Suddenly, more wolf-men emerged from the trees, darting around us in wide circles, their eyes glowing red with rabid hunger.

We instinctively shifted to stand back-to-back, each of us covering one side as the pack closed in. I reached down, picked up a rock, and crushed it in my hand, imbuing the fragments with the homing attribute. I hurled them at the wolf-men, each sandy piece locking onto a target.

Calculating their positions, I counted at least a dozen of them. “We’re surrounded,” I muttered to my teammates, keeping my voice steady, “about twelve of them, maybe more.”

We were in for a fight.

I pocketed the pendant I’d been using as a guide and looked over at Selena and Black, laying out our options. “We’ve got two choices here: punch through and try to avoid a direct fight, or stand our ground and confront them.”

Selena was quick to respond, irritation flickering in her eyes. “Honestly, I’d rather deal with them now than have these beasts breathing down our necks the whole way.”

Black crossed his arms, glancing at the circling wolf-men. “If we’re going to punch through, how fast do you think we’d make it?”

I weighed it for a second. “We’d be slower, but we’d avoid most of the fighting. Less chance of running low on aura.”

He shook his head with a slight frown pulling at his features. “Too conservative, Reynard. Sometimes you just have to attack head-on to get the best result.”

Something in his tone sparked a flicker of annoyance in me. His comment felt pointed, like a subtle scolding for suggesting a cautious approach. But I bit back the feeling and focused on the moment.

“Whatever suits you. Slaughter them, then. Feel free to do as you like,” I said, keeping my tone neutral.

At my words, Black's grin turned downright feral. “With pleasure,” he replied, stepping forward out of our formation. His shadow beast circled around him, its shape solidifying into a distorted chimera with snarling heads and elongated limbs as if it were just waiting to tear into the wolf-men.

I stayed back, positioning myself alongside Selena, who was at the ready, guarding my flank.

The sounds of battle echoed through the forest—howls, growls, and the unmistakable sound of murder. I caught glimpses of the wolf-men, frenzied with bloodlust, launching aura-infused attacks that shook the trees. Black wasn't holding back, his chimera-like shadow beast tearing through them, its form distorting with each vicious attack. There was something unsettling about the way he moved—almost like he was enjoying this more than he should. I suspected he was simply bored.

Suddenly, six wolf-men lunged at us from different directions with a burst of aura filling the air. In an instant, I transformed my aura’s corona into Soul Chains, letting them snake through the air like writhing tentacles. The chains brushed against each creature, embedding into their aura and coiling around them, locking them in place.

Selena took the opportunity, quickly dismissing her uzis in favor of a heavy shotgun. She fired off a brutal blast at the restrained wolf-men, slugging them in the skull one by one. Bits of blood spattered onto my suit, and I clicked my tongue in annoyance.

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“Not my fault you're slow on your toes, man,” Selena remarked with a careless shrug, smirking as she racked the shotgun. “And another one bites the dust.”

Bang!

The last of the wolf-men fell with a disgraceful fall.

Black strolled back over to us, looking far too casual for someone who’d just been on a murderous rampage. He dusted off his hands with a satisfied grin on his face. “I took care of eleven of them,” he announced as if he’d merely gone for a stroll.

I glanced back at the sixteen wolf-men we’d just taken down. “That makes seventeen in total, then,” I remarked, keeping my tone even. “And just to clarify, I’m not exactly a Seeker or a Reader.”

Selena gave me a sly look. “Funny, most people think you’re a Reader.”

Black raised an eyebrow. “First time I’m hearing that.”

I turned to Black, trying to rein in my frustration and keep things focused. “How good are your detection abilities, exactly?” I asked. This island’s peculiar celestial phenomenon was wreaking havoc on my perception, and I knew I’d need support in that area.

Black shrugged slightly. “Enough to sense an ambush ahead of time, but not much more. It’s not something I can rely on for intel during a fight.”

I nodded, taking that in. “Fair enough.”

We fell back into formation, Selena stepping behind me and restoring our disguises—my appearance shifting to match Black, Black’s form resembling Selena's, and Selena taking on my own. This setup would only work on hunters though.

Once we were settled, I took out the pendant and focused, imbuing it with the homing attribute again. It floated upward, guiding us forward through the shadows of the forest.

The rest of our journey pressed on steadily as we bulldozed our way through the forest. Occasionally, a stray wolf-man or beast-man would lunge at us, but between my Soul Chains, Selena’s quickfire rounds, and Black’s shadow beasts, we dealt with them swiftly. We advanced with little real resistance, keeping our pace without too much hassle.

I’d spread Soul Links over a fair distance, and I noticed something odd from their feedback. The other hunters had taken a different route, detouring along the beach’s edge. A smart enough plan if it avoided the forest beasts—except it didn’t look like it was working out for them. Through my links, I sensed them trapped in loops, almost as if their perception was distorted by the strange celestial phenomenon. We were fortunate not to have tried the same path; if we had a competent Seeker, we might’ve risked it, but now I was grateful we’d stayed within the forest.

Days passed like this.

By the fourth day, the monster attacks grew more frequent. The wild creatures seemed agitated, hunting with a restless hunger that filled the night air with howls and growls. Occasionally, we’d catch a glimpse of other teams through the trees, though no one dared approach each other. Hunters were beginning to reach the other end of the island, their paths winding through the chaos, but it wasn’t exactly a race against them. We still had until the ninth day to reach our destination.

I kept a sharp eye on the signs of those caught in loops near the end of the forest path. Some of them didn’t seem to realize they were going in circles, unknowingly doubling back or veering off. Every wrong turn they made reinforced our decision to move cautiously; if we lost our way this far along, it’d be disastrous.

My survival instincts were sharp after two years spent in the mountains. That time hadn’t been lost on me. Even with the island’s strange phenomena and constant monster attacks, I managed to keep my team well-fed. I knew which plants were safe to eat, pointing out edible leaves and berries along the way, and which ones to avoid. Water sources were harder to find in these conditions, but I taught Selena and Black how to recognize natural signs of streams—lush patches in the underbrush, animal tracks that often led to water, and even certain trees that held moisture.

This island was bigger than I thought, so we had to be careful.

"Are you sure those aren't poisonous?" Selena asked skeptically.

"Positive," I replied, tossing her a leaf. "Give it a try. That’s mountain spinach; it’s high in iron. Pretty common in forests like these."

She sniffed it, then gingerly took a bite. "Hmm, not bad. So, you really survived out here, huh? Mountains and all?"

I nodded. "Two years up in the wild. You pick up a lot or you don’t make it."

Black chimed in, watching our surroundings while his shadow beast trailed ahead. "Pretty handy. Wish I’d known some of that earlier; could’ve saved me a few… inconvenient meals."

Selena chuckled. "Like what, bugs?"

"Maybe," he said with a faint grin flashing as he waved it off. "But I’m more than comfortable in a jungle, with or without greens."

Selena was used to navigating urban jungles, so she wasn’t exactly at home out here in the thick forest. She’d mutter occasionally about missing city lights and clean, paved streets, and I’d catch her watching me as I gathered supplies or checked our heading, clearly taking mental notes. Black, on the other hand, didn’t need survival skills—his way of hunting was unique enough that he hardly seemed to notice the challenges of our surroundings. He relied on his shadow beasts and aura manipulation more than practical knowledge of the wild.

By the sixth day, we’d finally reached our destination.

Rising from the ground before us was an elevated platform. It was a simple box structure that looked almost unassuming if not for the faint aura surrounding it—the teleportation box Chairman Bob had mentioned. We climbed onto the platform, taking a final look at the dense forest we’d fought through, then positioned ourselves in the center.

With a blinding flash of light, the world around us dissolved, transporting us to our next stage.