Cal's fingers twitched as he weighed the leather-bound journal in his hands. The pages, filled with scrawls of the fallen warrior. Cal's past—a litany of betrayals by teammates, friends, and perhaps Sari as well—loomed over him like a specter, urging caution. With a sharp breath, he tore out a section, the sound of ripping paper echoing in the dimly lit room. The living weapons remained his and Temp’s secret.

"Here," Cal said, extending the journal towards Elena. "There's intel on our next marks, and some useful maps."

Elena's violet eyes narrowed with intrigue as she accepted the tome. She thumbed through the pages methodically, each turn crisp in the silent room. Her gaze darted across the bestiary, pausing on creatures she recognized, lips moving silently as she read.

"Morovan lava panthers," she muttered, tapping a page. "We hunt these first. They'll bolster your strength, Temp, make you more agile. That’s what you want, right? As many attributes as possible, heavens know why." She sighed

Cal nodded, the decision settling within him like a stone in water. Elena's words, though few, carried weight.

"Then?" he prodded, watching her closely.

"Next, the Faloovian chicken horde," she said, her voice low but certain. "A trickier prey, but we're not without our own wits. Perhaps we can engineer another fire." She chuckled.

Their eyes met, an unspoken agreement passing between them. They were hunters in a world that demanded cunning and strength—and they had both in spades.

“The maps generally seem to align with what I know based on Mara’s detailed maps.” She passed the journal back.

Cal's fingers lingered on the worn leather cover of the journal, his mind made up. "We'll track the lava panthers first then," he declared, eyes set with new resolve.

Elena nodded, a shadow of approval flickering across her face. "They're fast. And deadly."

Cal mused about the surge of power he might gain, the heightened agility. He could almost feel the raw energy coursing through his veins. He pulled out a random core then and there and felt a wisp of the power.

"Hmmm, you haven’t converted them yet?" Elena interjected, her tone carrying an edge of curiousity that snagged his attention. She leaned in. "You know, beast cores are only good for so long. Weeks at best."

"You mean they’re short-lived?" Cal frowned, the potential setback knotting his stomach.

"Exactly." Elena's words were crisp, clear as the chime of a bell. "Use them quickly or refine them into beast crystals. Store the energy, don't waste it."

"Beast crystals," Cal repeated, the concept coiling in his mind. “Huh? You mean mana crystal?”

"My oh my. I honestly do not understand how you have survived here. No, mana crystals only work to strengthen your aethercore. Beast crystals are used by almost all professions. Well all crystals are, really." Elena's lips twitched, as if she relished imparting wisdom that might tip the balance in their perilous world.

Cal's gaze sharpened.

"Let's begin," he said, determination fueling his voice as they ventured forward into the unknown.

Cal's brow furrowed, the mechanics of what Elena was implying was hazy at best. Elena caught the puzzled tilt of his head, the crease of concentration between his brows. Without a word, she reached into a concealed pocket, producing a small, luminescent organ—the beast core.

"Watch," she commanded.

Her fingers danced with precision, movements fluid yet laced with an undercurrent of power. The core pulsed, its inner light waxing and waning to her silent rhythm. Cal's eyes narrowed, tracking the transformation as the sphere began to crystallize, facets emerging like secrets from the deep.

"Concentration is key," Elena explained, her voice a steady thrum against the backdrop of their task. "The energy must be forced, not coaxed. This is brute force and mana being used to condensing it. It works best if you use your own and the environment, but I doubt you can use any yet."

Minutes stretched as the core's glow intensified. A final twist of her wrist, and the once vibrant orb lay dormant, reborn as a gleaming beast crystal.

"Blacksmiths, alchemists," she said, holding the transformed relic up to the faltering light, "they covet these."

"So, they’re valuable?" Cal muttered, realization dawning like the first light of day.

"Weak ones less so, but these still convert at 2 mana crystals for each beast core you have." Elena placed the crystal in his palm, its weight a testament to potential. "And you've been sitting on a trove of them from what I gather." She winked.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

He felt a fool, having missed the obvious. Those cores he'd handed over to her—were they not just tokens of gratitude but also lost opportunities? The thief!

"Thank you," Cal said, sincerity roughening his voice. "For showing me." His words were sparse, but his gratefulness ran deep, a river hidden beneath ice.

"Learning is part of the hunt," she replied with a nod, her face inscrutable as ever. Yet, there was a hint of warmth there, a fleeting connection of shared knowledge.

Cal twisted his beast core between his fingers. "Have you ever felt anything... different after absorbing a beast core?" he asked, eyes narrow with curiosity as he watched Elena pack away her tools.

Elena paused, her movements stilling. "Different how," she responded, her voice tinged with a note of surprise. Her violet eyes met his, reflecting a shared puzzlement at her own revelation.

"Strange," Cal murmured, the word hanging in the cool air between them like an unsolved riddle. They regarded each other, both minds churning over the implications.

"Perhaps your physiology is unique," Elena suggested, eyebrows knitting together. “What are you feeling?"

"Perhaps," Cal conceded, choosing not to follow up on her second question.

Temp, silent until now, spoke. "Shall I attempt the refinement?" it asked, its voice devoid of inflection yet hinting at an emerging eagerness.

"Go ahead, Temp," Cal encouraged, holding the beast core in his hand.

Temp began the process, mimicking Elena's earlier forceful use of mana with uncanny accuracy. The core pulsed, thrumming with contained energy and condensed.

Seconds ticked by. The glow intensified under Temp's ministrations, then stabilized.

"Remarkable," Elena breathed out as the core's light receded, leaving behind a pristine mana crystal resting in Cal’s grasp.

"Inefficient conversion," Temp observed, analyzing the crystal. "Further simulation will be necessary for perfection."

"First try, and it's better than half the attempts I've seen. Maybe you should’ve been a mage." Elena said, a rare note of respect coloring her tone. She studied Cal, reassessing his capabilities.

Cal took the crystal, weighing it in his palm. "You're full of surprises," he said to Temp, but his gaze stayed on Elena, contemplating the unspoken question that lingered between them.

“Let’s head out”

The air was thick with heat outside the alcove, the scorched earth beneath their boots a testament to the peril that lay ahead. After an hour of travel, Elena's eyes swept across the barren landscape, catching the faintest of movements in the distance. "Temp, ready up," she murmured.

Cal’s hand instinctively reached for the hilt of his blade.

"I’ll find some high ground," Elena continued, as she pointed atop a jagged outcrop offering an unobstructed vantage point.

Cal nodded, though she wouldn't see it. "Panthers I assume? Let’s hit hard and hit fast."

"Yep, and that’s the way I like it," she replied, as she pulled out her bow and arrows from inside her spatial treasure.

A low growl rumbled through the air, the sound multiplying as shadows detached from the charred terrain. Lava panthers, sleek and sinewy, muscles rippling beneath obsidian coats that seemed to drink in the light.

Cal exhaled slowly, centering himself. His footsteps silent, he advanced, every sense heightened. The acrid smell of sulfur filled his nostrils, the heat radiating from the approaching beasts almost tangible.

"Taking the shots.” Cal barely heard Elena’s voice over the beasts.

The first crack of her bow split the silence, and a panther yowled as it stumbled, wounded but not downed. Cal seized the moment as the confusion spread, darting forward. He danced between swipes and snaps, his blade a silver flash cutting through the haze.

"Second down," Elena announced as another arrow found its mark, the panther's cry cut abruptly short.

Cal moved like water, flowing around lethal claws, his counters clean, efficient. Each strike sapped his energy as they clashed of his vambraces, but he felt the familiar rush of adrenaline spurring him on.

Cal's boots skidded across scorched earth, dodging a swipe that would have gutted a lesser man. Elena's bow cracked again, a sharp counterpoint to the growls and hisses of their quarry. The heat from the beasts' bodies was almost as intense as the landscape around them.

"Left flank!" she called out, her voice cutting through the chaos.

He pivoted, another snarl announcing imminent danger. His arm shot up just in time, vambraces deflecting dagger-like teeth. A quick jab followed, finding the soft underbelly of the beast. It recoiled with a shriek, giving him precious seconds.

Their dance was lethal, but only for Cal, as he focused more on dodging than attacking.

Elena’s foresight was uncanny, and every move calculated. He ducked low as a tail whipped past, its serrated edge a blur. In tandem, they struck, Elena’s arrows and his blade a symphony of destruction.

With a final thrust, he dispatched the last of the pack of five, its body collapsing heavily onto the burnt soil. The final panther fell with a thud, its life extinguished in a plume of dark smoke. Cal stood amidst the aftermath, chest heaving, the silence punctuated only by a distant rumble of the earth.

"Efficient." Elena's praise was terse.

As quickly as it had started, it also quickly ended. With Elena's ranged supremacy, the beasts stood no chance.

"Clear?" he panted, scanning the horizon for any signs of movement.

"Clear," Elena confirmed, her silhouette descending smoothly from her perch. "Nice and easy."

Cal wiped his blade on the fallen panther's fur, sheathing it with a click, realizing that fighting with a team was always easier. Until it wasn’t.

"Teamwork," she said, a faint smile audible in her voice as she joined him on the ground.

"Let's collect our prize," Cal suggested, nodding towards the still forms of the panthers.

"You take them," she said, offering the cores to Cal. Her violet eyes flickered with expectation. "Don't forget my share of organs next round."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he replied, accepting the cores with a nod of respect. Their partnership was one of mutual gain; trust would come in time, he really hoped.

"Let's move," she said, rising. "Before more decide to join the party."

"Agreed." Cal dropped the cores into his spatial treasure, already ready to face another pack.

[Quest failed: When there’s no food, who will the hunters hunt?]

[Escalation, stage 2: Survive the entrapment of hungry predators. Time limit: 336 hours]

“Shit.”

“Fuck.”

“Goddess be damned.”