At the break of dawn, the soldiers stirred, their bodies weary yet their spirits tinged with a mix of determination and dread.
The woods surrounding the camp were eerily silent, the absence of mana beasts unsettling, but the growing desperation to find a core drove them forward.
They had no choice but to try again, even though the previous days yielded nothing but frustration.
As the morning light stretched its golden fingers across the treetops, a small group ventured deeper into the forest, hoping to find so trace of mana beasts.
Hours passed, and one by one, soldiers returned to camp empty-handed, muttering curses under their breaths.
Just as the rest resigned themselves to yet another fruitless hunt, the tranquility of the camp was shattered by the ragged cries of a man staggering into view.
He was hunched over, his armor mangled and bloodied.
His face was pale, sweat streaming down his temples as his trembling legs barely held him upright.
Deep gashes ran across his arms and chest, his once-sturdy shield now a shattered husk hanging limply from his grip.
The sight sent a ripple of alarm through the camp. Discover exclusive content at empire
"Help him!" soone shouted as soldiers rushed to support the injured man. He collapsed onto a makeshift bench near the fire pit, groaning in pain as a dic hurried to tend to his wounds.
"What happened?" one of the older soldiers demanded, his voice tinged with both concern and fear. "Where did you go? What did you see?"
The injured man coughed, wincing as the dic pressed a cloth to one of his deeper wounds. His voice was weak, trembling as he began to recount the events that had unfolded.
"I… I thought I'd go farther… farther than yesterday," he rasped, each word a struggle. "I thought… maybe if I went where no one else dared, I'd find sothing… anything."
He took a shaky breath, his eyes wide and haunted as he continued.
"I wandered into this dense part of the forest, the kind where the trees block out most of the light. It was quiet—too quiet.
"Not a bird, not a rustle of leaves, just… this heavy silence that made my skin crawl. Then I saw it. At first, I thought it was just a shadow, but no… no, it was watching ."
The soldiers around him leaned closer, their faces pale as his words painted a vivid picture.
"It stepped out from the shadows," he said, his voice cracking.
"A mana beast, but not like any I've ever seen. It was massive—towering over —its fur was black as night, and its eyes… those eyes glowed red, like embers in a dying fire.
"Its claws were like daggers, and its teeth…" He shuddered, his voice faltering. "Its teeth looked like they could tear through steel."
The camp fell silent, the crackling of the fire the only sound as the soldiers absorbed his words.
"I tried to back away," the injured man continued, his breathing labored.
"But it moved so fast. One mont it was there, the next… it was on . I barely had ti to raise my shield before it struck. The force of it—it was like being hit by a battering ram. It tore through my shield like it was nothing."
His voice grew more frantic, his hands trembling as he clutched the edge of the bench.
"I tried to fight back. I swung my blade, but it didn't even flinch. It was like my attacks were nothing but an annoyance to it. It swiped at , and… and I thought that was it. I thought I was dead."
He paused, his gaze distant as if reliving the mont. "Sohow, I managed to roll away, but not before it got . Its claws… they cut through my armor like paper." He gestured to the deep gashes on his body, his voice growing quieter.
"I don't know how I escaped. I felt it was impossible to. Maybe it let go. Maybe it didn't think I was worth killing. I don't know. But I ran—ran as fast as I could until I couldn't hear it anymore."
The soldiers exchanged uneasy glances, the gravity of his words sinking in. One of them stepped forward, her voice trembling. "Are you sure it was alone? Could there be more of them out there?"
The injured man shook his head. "I didn't see any others. But if there are more… we're in serious trouble."
Another soldier spoke up, his tone accusatory. "Why didn't you wait for us? Why go alone? You could've gotten yourself killed!"
"I didn't think it'd be that strong!" the injured man shot back, his voice rising in defensiveness. "None of us found anything yesterday, and I thought… I thought I could handle it!"
A tense silence followed, the camp's atmosphere thick with unease. The injured man slumped forward, exhaustion overtaking him as the dic continued to tend to his wounds.
"What do we do now?" soone finally asked, their voice barely above a whisper.
The question hung in the air, unanswered. The soldiers knew they couldn't ignore the beast, not if it was as powerful as the injured man described. Yet the thought of facing such a creature sent a chill down their spines.
As the day wore on, discussions turned into argunts, fear and frustration bubbling to the surface.
So proposed abandoning the hunt altogether, while others insisted they couldn't give up, not if it ant staying trapped in this world.
By nightfall, a decision was made. If the beast was as dangerous as it seed, they couldn't afford to face it alone. The next morning, they would go together, strength in numbers their only hope against the monster lurking in the forest.
The camp settled into an uneasy quiet, the soldiers steeling themselves for the ordeal ahead.
The injured man's recounting played over and over in their minds, each detail etched into their thoughts as they prepared for what might very well be the fight of their lives.
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