Chapter 49: First Hunt
Zach stepped out of the cave, his taloned feet crunching against soil that felt softer than he rembered. A gust of wind rushed past, carrying the mixed scents of damp moss, wildflowers, and faint blood trails left by so unfortunate beast earlier that morning.
"Nature is truly beautiful." Zach sighed softly.
For two and a half months, he had only felt the stale air of stone corridors, the heartbeat of the dungeon, and the warmth of mana flowing through his veins. Now, with the forest before him, his senses sharpened in a way that almost made him lightheaded.
He inhaled deeply, chest expanding, the breeze slapping against his crimson-scaled skin making him have such a nostalgic look rembering how he first landed in this world and his recklessness that made him be a dungeon core.
"...It feels like thousands of years," Zach muttered, his voice carrying the weight of soone who had been caged far too long. "But no, it has been... what, two months and sixteen days?"
Still, his claws dug into the dirt like he didn’t fully believe his own statent, maybe this was how prisoners who haven’t seen the outside world for ten years or more feel whenever they finally got released? Nostalgic and at the sa ti fear of going back to the civilisation?
Swoosh!
He broke into a run, feeling as the forest greeting him with its morning chorus of birds chirping and soft breeze hitting him. His talons ripped into the underbrush, scattering leaves and snapping branches. Wings stretched unconsciously as he dashed, catching the sunlight as if they wanted to take flight even though the muscles at his back weren’t fully trained.
The terrain wasn’t flat. Roots jutted out like traps set by the forest itself, and every few ters patches of low ferns brushed against his calves. Insects buzzed and scattered as he passed, their collective hum drowned out by his own rapid movents.
There was a strange joy in the chaos. Running with his body instead of simply commanding monsters felt raw, liberating, like reconnecting with sothing deeply primal.
"Humans waste their lives behind desks and stone walls," Zach thought, lips curling slightly. "Yet this... this is living. Feeling nature and having fun. Well it’s never their fault, life is too short, just blinking eye and planning on making money for their future and before they knew it, they’re old already..."
He didn’t get to indulge long as the bushes ahead suddenly rustled. Then, from the shadows of the trees he spotted so beasts.
Five hyena-like beasts, their bodies lean but corded with muscle, coats mottled brown and gray to blend with the dirt and rocks. Their eyes glowed faintly yellow, hunger obvious in their snarls.
Looking at them, Zach didn’t imdiately attack but instead uses his new ability he got from the system. "Inspect."
[Beast Detected: Carrion Hyena]
[Level 3 – Low Class Beast]
[Terrain Advantage: Rocky Woodland. Hyenas gain increased footing and montum in uneven ground.]
"Carrion Hyenas," Zach muttered aloud. "Figures. Opportunistic scavengers that sotis hunt live prey. Smart enough to work in packs just like wolves and Black Sabers." Zach mutters the information he read. Co to think of it, ever since he set his dungeon in this forest, he has never seen a single beast working alone. They always move in packs, maybe due to being weak? Only in pack can they fight for territories.
Growllll!
The beasts answered with guttural barks before lunging towards him at a fast speed comparable to a cheetah from Earth.
The first ca from the left. Its jaws snapped at his thigh, but Zach twisted, tail lashing instinctively to swat it off course sending it flying before it flip and landed back growling at him. His wings, however, caught on a low-hanging branch, jerking his movent off-balance just when he wanted to rush and end it.
"Damn wings," he spat. His body was powerful, yes, but it wasn’t perfect. In this form, his bulk and new appendages slowed him in tight quarters and he wish he could just hid the wings for now.
Another hyena lunged at his chest. Zach caught it mid-air, talons digging into its ribs with a wet crunch before he hurled it into a nearby tree. The beast whimpered and collapsed, unmoving.
[Level 1 Carrion Hyena slain. 20 EXP]
Zach lips quirked at the corner feeling smug at ending a beast in a single strike even though it was just a level one. "One down. Four to go."
The rest circled tighter, their growls harmonizing in eerie rhythm.
Zach’s mind flickered back to the info dumps he’d read in his past life. Hyenas weren’t apex predators. They thrived by exhausting their prey, attacking from multiple angles until the victim collapsed under constant pressure. Alone, one wasn’t much, but together... together they were a death sentence to the unprepared.
The ground underfoot was uneven, jagged with broken rocks and tangled roots. Perfect terrain for them. Not for him.
The second hyena dashed forward low, snapping at his shin. Zach aid a kick, claws tearing across its snout, but another ramd into his side before he could follow up. His wings spread instinctively, catching the blow, but it shoved him back two steps.
They were testing him.
"Clever mutts," Zach growled.
The system suddenly flickered again.
[Carrion Hyena (Lv. 2) inflicted minor wound: -6 HP]
[Current HP: 94/100]
It was small damage, but Zach frowned all the sa. Without the dungeon core constantly supplying him with mana, he felt... fragile. His durability wasn’t endless anymore. Each mistake mattered.
Another lunged, and Zach crouched imdiately, his claws sweeping upward in a brutal uppercut that shredded its throat. Blood sprayed across his scales, hot and sticky, as the beast gurgled and collapsed.
[ Level 1 Carrion Hyena slain. 25 EXP]
He barely had ti to breathe before the others pressed harder.
One leapt from the front while another darted for his flank. Zach swung wide, catching the first with his fist, but the second sank its teeth into his forearm. Sharp pain lanced through him as the creature thrashed violently.
[Status: Bleeding – Minor. -2 HP per 30 seconds until treated.]
Zach grimaced, his golden eyes narrowing. "So, you can bleed ."
Instead of panicking, he twisted his arm sharply, claws raking along the hyena’s neck until it yelped and released. He slamd his palm against its skull, crushing bone with sheer force after three consecutive blows.
[Carrion Hyena slain. 25 EXP]
Another body down, but his arm dripped with blood which pissed Zach off. The last two circled faster now, growling, foam frothing from their maws. They didn’t retreat. If anything, losing half their pack only made them more frenzied.
"Persistent," Zach muttered, lifting his claws again. "I hate such pricks."
The next lunge was simultaneous. One snapped at his leg, the other at his throat. Zach twisted sideways, catching one by the scruff, but his wings clipped against a boulder, throwing his balance off again. The second managed to rake his thigh before he flung the first aside, sending sharp pains through his spine.
"Fucking dogs!" Zach cursed out of anger at this. Unknown to him, after occupying a body made of flesh and blood, his emotions were slowly returning. After all, emotions are chanism triggered by the brain, when the blood pump faster.
[Status: Minor wound – Leg. -4 HP]
[Current HP: 82/100]
Pain seared through his muscles. He didn’t ignore it. Pain was information, data. It told him what parts of his body were compromised.
Knowing he couldn’t delay this, after all wouldn’t it be scary that the very first day of him stepping far from his dungeon, he suddenly dies before so low level creatures? Even the author who threw him into this world would laugh him to death and even write a comic relief book about him.
"You know," Zach said coldly, eyes narrowing as he squared himself. "Back ho, I used to farm EXP in gas. You’re no different from those mobs. Just uglier."
The two hyenas growled as if understanding his words, or maybe they just hate seeing him talk, circling again. But this ti, they didn’t attack.
The forest grew quieter. The birdsong cut off, and even the insects seed to pause. Zach knew all this signs either ans a stronger predator was coming and the smaller beasts have ran away or remain quiet not to catch it’s attention or... Nothing else but the first option.
And indeed he was proven right imdiately as a low, guttural rumble. Deeper than the others, heavy with dominance echoes from the bushes.
From between the trees erged a larger shape monster. Its shoulders was hunched and muscles thicker than the rest of its pack seemingly saying, ’I hit the gym’ to him. Its coat was darker, streaked with faint crimson patterns that shimred faintly in the light. Its eyes glowed not yellow, but a faint burning red.
Seeing this, Zach felt thrill, scared, nervous and determine all within a few seconds. But he didn’t forget to use his inspect skill.
[Alpha Carrion Hyena – Level 7]
[Elite Variant: Enhanced Strength, Pack Command, Bloodlust Aura]
"Oh shitttt." Zach cursed upon seeing this. He knew instantly he was fucked up as the alpha bared its teeth, saliva dripping as it growled, the sound reverberating like a drumbeat through the forest. The two surviving hyenas lowered their bodies submissively, tails tucked, eyes locked on their leader.
While Zach steady his breath, locking eyes with the alpha, an action that pissed it off the more after all that was a sign of challenging it’s position.
"Finally," he said flatly, his golden eyes locking onto the beast. "If I survive this, I will find three big boobs ladies to reward myself."
The alpha didn’t give him ti to posture. It lunged, a blur of muscle and teeth, faster than the rest of its pack combined. Zach barely twisted aside, tail whipping instinctively to deflect. The force of the collision rattled through his spine anyway, his wings snapping wide to keep him from face-planting into the dirt.
[Alpha Carrion Hyena strikes! -12 HP]
[Current HP: 70/100]
"Motherf—" Zach’s curse broke into a grunt as the beast spun with uncanny agility, slamming its bulk into his flank.
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