I stealthy walked through the cave, trying to keep as quiet as I could. In a way, it was redundant to avoid detection. I couldn't handle being in the pitch black, even with Levi, so my torch orb was on and set to its lowest setting. Even though my aura gave me a rough guess on what my surroundings were, I could only see confidently three feet in front of me. But that didn't change the fact that the dim light was still a beacon, announcing my presence. As long as a monster looked around, they’d see me before I saw it. Not very comforting.

Levi slithered ahead, the tip of his blue tail barely visible. His movements were jerky, instead of the smooth grace that he normally had, and his thoughts were full of anxiety. He desperately wanted to quickly check out the cave, then go back and practice the empowerment spell. He would have already hurried off on his own, if our bond didn't keep him close to me. Instead, he continually urged me faster through our link, his anxiety spiking my own. It was seriously not helpful, especially in the dark.

If it wasn't for the sword in my hand, I would have pinched my thumb flat already. My chest tightened, threatening my breathing. I finally got rid of the poisoned fever, and now my anxiety was acting up. Could I just catch a break? Instead, I regulated my breathing and counted. In, one, two, three. And out, one, two, three. All the while, I kept my attention open.

The musky smell was getting stronger.

We finally reached the tunnel divide. Levi stopped in the middle and waited for me.

I already knew where two of the four tunnels went. One was the way we came from when we first entered the mountain. The other was the tunnel that I stood in now. That left the other tunnel that had a bit of light in it, indicating a way out, and the last pitch black tunnel.

I motioned to the darkest tunnel and glanced at Levi, mentally asking if he felt anything in there.

He tasted the air, then both shook and nodded his head.

I scowled, waiting for him to elaborate.

He slithered into the cave as far as he could go, to the edge of my awareness, which was about fifteen feet. He smelled something in the depths of the tunnel, but whatever it was, it was dead. The mountain's natural freeze temperatures just kept it from stinking enough for me to notice it.

So that left the tunnel with light at the end. After we made the coast was clear, we'd back up to where the magic spot was, and spend the night there. I wasn't thrilled to sleep in a cold cave again, but at this point, I was starting to embrace my inner cave woman. As long as it gave me a safe place to close my eyes, it was worth it.

I knew Levi was bone tired. Because of that cloud monster that scared me last night, he let me sleep the whole night. During the day, he only slept a couple hours before being woken up by the crystal crests, then we ran into the turf war. He was too busy taking care of me. He might have napped when I passed out behind the boulder on the mountain slope, but it was just as possible that he stayed awake and guarded me. Our lives were tied together, so he placed a high importance in mine. The only reason he was still moving now, and not limp on my shoulder, was because he was determined to be big again.

I scooped him up and dropped him on my shoulder. He wiggled around, trying to get down, but I smothered him with my hand. "Just take a rest," I whispered.

If we did run into the monster that I was smelling, he needed all the energy he could get. If we were lucky, the monster was already dead, like whatever was in the black depths. At the same time that was bad, because the carcass at the end of the tunnel could lure a monster in for a free meal.

Levi settled down and I started walking.

It wasn't long before I found my first monster indicator — dried blood streaks that trailed along the rocky floor, getting bigger with every step I took. From the looks of it, something had dragged the carcass from the outside, but it took so long that most of the blood was left at the entrance. As the temperature warmed up, and a faint light grew in the distance, the smell of death started to arise. And the musky smell got thicker.

I paused and looked up at a wad of pale fur that reflected in the pale light as the clump hung on the jagged wall rock. Did something rub — or itch — right there? The tunnel ceiling was about ten feet high, and the fur was two-thirds of the way up, meaning it was at least six feet tall. So, whatever this monster was, it was big and musky, with pale fur.

Quickly, I started to flip through my mental Monster Manual like I was in a pop-quiz. Was it an owlbear? No, there weren't any feathers around. Well, yet. Could be a dire wolf? That would suck more than the owlbear, since wolves lived in packs. Instead of one monster, I'd have to deal with many.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Slowly, the light grew stronger. Since it was enough to see, albeit not great, I turned off the torch orb. Instead of being relieved, I tensed up the closer I got to the tunnel entrance. The smell was almost overpowering and I just wanted to gag. Cologne was made from musk, but it was heavily doctored before it hit the shelves. The natural smell was awful.

It wasn't just that; there were clear signs that a monster is or was living here. Small bird-type bones littered the ground, random brightly colored feathers — from dead monsters, no doubt — bunched around randomly, unnaturally placed rocks. As if something specifically moved around them.

Levi froze, the feeling of his muscles tightening up alarming me.

At first, I didn't know what he was looking at, but I followed his intense gaze ... to a big rock? I squinted at it. With the sun back lighting it like that, it was hard to see properly. Was there something on it? If the light would just stay still for a second, so the shadows would stop moving across it ... My heart stopped as realization dawned. It wasn't that the sunlight was moving the rock; it was the rock that was moving. And the part that I thought was the rock, was only a part of it. Sunlight reflected on the fur, making it blend in with the background, so it appeared a lot smaller than what it actually was.

Now that I focused on it, the Guide went to work. [Yeti Lv 25].

Shit. Well, I shouldn't be too surprised. After all, it followed all the markers, and it explained why I didn't find any scratches on the wall — yeti didn't have claws, just humongous fists. The large monster had low dexterity, but they made up for it with a massive amount of strength and four arms. They were also nocturnal. Thank god I insisted on checking the tunnel before bunking down for the night. If it smelled me during the night and stalked me to the back of the cave, I'd be screwed with no way out. This also meant that we couldn't stay here any longer. The day was ending, who knew when that thing would wake up.

Levi glanced at me, insisting that this was the perfect opportunity to get big.

I disagreed. That monster was twelve levels above us. Running would be the best option.

Levi scowled and stuck out his tongue. Then he moved to jump off my shoulder.

My stomach flipped painfully in alarm. He wasn't going to wake it up on purpose, was he?! Freaked out to the max, I grabbed Levi, folded him into a coil, pressing him against my chest to keep him from leaving.

Thoroughly offended, he bit my hand harder than normal.

I grimaced, but didn't let up. When he couldn't get loose, he started spewing his anger at me, filling my mind until my ears rang — which I didn't think was possible. Will you knock it off! I yelled back through our bond.

He chopped on my hand again, but quieted down.

Of all the dramatic blue noodles! I thought bitterly.

He ground his toothless gums into my hand.

Now that he was still, I finally started to creep forward. There was plenty of room around the yeti for me to squeeze by. Granted, I could turn around and go back the way I came, but that could plop me back into the gigaroach and nexu turf war. I assumed it was over, but it might not be. And, from what I could see, the path ahead seemed perfectly safe — outside of the sleeping yeti in the way. A long trail stretched out from the cave’s mouth, probably down the mountain. Hopefully, there was enough time to find a hiding place for the night that was far enough away from the yeti's hunting territory — they normally weren't that large, which was good for me.

The closer I got to the yeti, the more I tensed, and Levi was entirely the reason. He wasn't going to try to jump out, was he? Thankfully, he didn't do anything stupid. Well, yet.

As soon as I got within arms length of the yeti, I stopped breathing entirely. It wasn't just because of the smell. I was so nervous, I didn't even want to risk waking it with my breath. I knew from the Monster Manual that yetis were slow and stupid, I didn't remember if it said how good their senses were. Was its sense of smell or hearing good enough to wake it up when I went by?

It wasn't until that moment I also realized just how big this thing was. Currently, the monster was laying half curled on its side, head towards the opening. Three arms were tucked around its enormous chest, while the fourth lounged across the floor. I couldn't help staring at its biceps — they were wider than my waist. And its hands were the size of shovels, tipped in thick, blunt nails. A shiver went down my spine. Its apish face was covered in pale fur, distorting its features. Which was a good thing, I didn't want a good look at it.

Carefully, I flattened myself against the curved wall and inched by the sleeping monster. There was a foot between my toes and the yeti's fingers, but it wasn't enough to feel safe. As long as I could see it, it would never be far enough away.

It wasn't until I passed it that I finally took a soundless, shallow breath. Then my Hunter senses screamed.

The yeti released a low, growling grunt.

I glanced over my shoulder as I bolted for the opening. It was just fifteen feet away — not very far, and way too far at the same time. The monster behind me roared, its aura billowing out with the sound. It hit me like a sonic wave, causing my ears to ring and I almost stumbled. Desperation was the only thing that kept me on my feet.

The yeti scrambled up, its four arms almost getting in the way of its legs. For a bit, it simply just scampered across the floor like a cockroach. Then it lunged at me, arms opening to grab me and mouth wide, showing its yellowed teeth.

*****