Mira handed me a small box of food “And remember, if you see any beasts on your way, turn back. Don’t get hurt over a flower.”

I hugged her back tightly. “I promise.”

With that, I turned and sprinted toward the Heart Lake. I didn’t stop to marvel at the forest around me. There was no time!

Even if the golden sunbeams filtering through the vibrant leaves were begging for it, I couldn’t get distracted. I’d promised Mira that one hour was all I needed, and if I didn’t pause for any unnecessary detours, I’d be able to keep my word. Most likely.

It wasn’t certain I would find Horny at this hour. I usually spotted him around midday after my lessons with Mira, but since we hadn’t had one today, he could be anywhere, and I’d have to track him down.

If push came to shove, I’d go alone. After facing off against the Darkclaws, I wasn’t afraid of the western side of the forest anymore. In fact, since reaching the red stage, this area had become my primary hunting ground. Even though I’d spent the least amount of time there, I knew it better than both the northern and southern areas.

As the trees grew sparser, indicating that I was getting closer, I picked up my speed. In a matter of a few more minutes, I had finally reached the Heart Lake.

What normally took thirty to forty minutes of walking had been cut down to less than fifteen of running—and I wasn’t even tired!

‘Red stage is the best!’ I thought to myself, completely forgetting the drawbacks I was contemplating at the dinner... well, breakfast table.

But, as expected, Horny was nowhere in sight. I waited for a bit, mentally counting the seconds both to waste, and at the same time not lose... well the time.

Patience, however, wasn’t my strong suit. After barely two minutes, I carefully set down the box at the base of a tree and decided to keep myself busy by practicing a few exercises. Specifically, balancing and jumping between the branches overhead.

I had realized early on that, being smaller than practically every beast in this forest, I needed to find a way to even the odds. Going head-to-head with Horny and managing to hold my ground against him was fine at first, but it wasn’t enough.

That’s when I started thinking of ways to use my smaller size to my advantage.

Trying to balance on top of his horns, while very idiotic for many reasons proved quite fruitful.

It was very, very, very dangerous, but the rewards were equally valuable.

Precision was the key, and with that in mind so came my approach.

Every beast was different, so my balancing trick with Horny’s horns wouldn’t work against them all. That being said, it was enough to help me figure out the foundations of my technique.

I wasn’t only balancing myself on top of his horns, after all that was only the first part. The second was where I landed behind him, giving me enough room to attack him freely.

So, in a broader sense this meant two things. One, knowing your opponent’s weakness, something that, for now was out of my control, and most importantly: use the environment to create an advantage. Abuse my smaller statute and find a way to combine it with the environment.

This came in the form of agility.

The problem was that this was only in theory. At least that was the case, before the red stage.

While I knew the theoretical approach, my lack of quint and physical strength limited this technique to only figments of imagination, and poor imitations of what I truly wanted to do. Thus, when I was eventually forced in closer range, I had to dodge claws, bites, horns and sometimes scarier projectile attacks like venom or spikes, with only my instincts and reaction speed alone: a gust of wind to propel me far enough, or a glove of water or earth to lessen the impact.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Now, however, it was a completely different story.

While my body was still growing, like every other child my age should, I had more than enough quint to make up for it. The once elusive ideas were now actual, factual possibilities I could and had already considered.

I launched myself from one branch and balanced on a tree trunk using an earthen glove. Then I jumped again, creating a small gust of wind to push me higher. I couldn’t reach the next branch, but I expected that, so I formed watery tendrils from my fingers, wrapping around the branch to change my trajectory midair. Landing on another trunk, I adjusted my stance and repeated the process, improvising new ways to move with agility while avoiding the water below.

It was like a game, where I’d lose if I touched the water, and would try to climb up the tops of the trees.

It was a very, very fun game, giving off a feeling of freedom as if I could fly, however, it was a very tiresome one, as well.

After a few minutes, both my quint and my own body would grow tired. Continuously performing at my one hundred percent wasn’t easy, however, right now where I didn’t have much time but at the same time, needing to waste some of it was the perfect opportunity for me to go a round of ‘water is poison’ (still working on the name), while waiting Horny. If he still didn’t show up, I’d have to go fetch him myself.

Exhaling deeply, I slumped against the tree beside the box of food. I had lasted a bit more than five minutes—three hundred sixteen seconds, to be exact. Just shy of my best record of three hundred fifty. I could probably push past it if I wanted to, but that would leave me drained and unable to move for about half an hour.

That was precious time I couldn’t waste.

Surpassing my record could wait.

I headed deeper into the forest, moving in the direction where Horny usually came from. In the process, I focused on restoring my quint and calming down. After several rounds of draining and recovering, I’d noticed the atmospheric quint flowed into my tattoo faster when my reserves were low. It seemed to get absorbed quicker the emptier I was. The deep crimson color of my tattoo was already growing bright, but it wasn’t enough for it to change to the next shade.

Not that I’d known since I had never overcome a shade before to know the difference...

Absorbed in thought, the low grown coming from my right took me by surprise. Not out of panic, but recognition.

Only one Deerhorn made that particular sound.

Behind the distant bushes, a pair of branching horns appeared. Then, a second later, Horny stepped out.

Grinning, I nearly dropped the box in my rush to hug him. He snorted and tried to nudge me away with his nose, his nostrils flaring as he sniffed the food instead.

‘How rude! At least greet me first!’ I thought with a huff. But I let it slide, deciding to be the bigger person even if he was more than three times my size.

Sighing in mock defeat, I set the box down and stepped back. He didn’t hesitate—his jaws snapped open, and for a second, I was afraid he’d eat the box too.

Less than a minute later, it was gone.

‘Well, that’s... good?’ I thought, feeling a bit weird.

On one hand, less time was wasted which meant I would be able to keep my promise, but on the other...

Mira had put so much love and care into making it. Did he really have to eat it so fast?

‘I get that wild beasts don’t savor the taste, but still...’

Feeling a sour taste in my mouth, I focused on the road ahead instead of Horny’s eating habits.

The forest was the same as ever. There was a limit to how many times one would be impressed by it, and right now, I wasn’t in the mood to be amazed.

With the forest darkening in this area, it would normally be harder to find something in particular, especially if the thing you were looking for was a flower in the middle of a giant forest no less. But no. This time, the dark worked in my favor. Since the flower had this distinct color, it stood out of the rest.

Now the only thing remaining was to venture at the place it grew at.

Heading into the puddlie region, I kept my eyes peeled while Horny took the lead, scouting for any signs of danger. We were evenly matched when it came to hearing, and I knew my eyesight was sharper. But when it came to scent, his nose was leagues ahead of mine. He could pick up the faintest smells that I would’ve never noticed. Right now, with me focused on navigating the path ahead, he stayed on high alert—our first line of defense.

We moved quickly, cutting through the forest at an impressive pace. Before long, I spotted a red lotus glowing atop a small puddle, but just as I found it, something unexpected happened.

Horny, for the first time ever, froze. His body stiffened, and his ears pressed flat against his head. He trembled, taking slow, shaky steps backward, eyes wide and alert. It was as if every part of him screamed fear—a type of fear I’d never seen in him before.

A moment later, I understood why, my blood turning to ice.