The sun tilted low over the Lanayru Plateau when a young boy lifted his gaze.
A Silver Centaleon thundered down the slope like a living avalanche.
Each step tore sparks from the stone.
Eric didn't move.
He stood at that exact in-between size, somewhere between an ordinary Hylian and the heroes of old legends, though the truth was far simpler.
A child.
Barely fifteen winters old.
His gray-green eyes held no fear.
Only calculation.
Ash-blond hair fell to his waist, bound into a warrior's braid threaded with golden silk. His face, rough in structure yet strangely balanced, wore a crooked smile.
It wasn't arrogance.
It was familiarity with death.
The Centaleon sniffed the air, snorted, and slammed its hooves into the ground.
Eric slid one foot back.
"Southeast wind. Eight knots. Steady descent."
"…Perfect."
A bow rested across his back. It was no common weapon. Even untouched, it radiated something ancient and solemn, as though it were patiently observing the coming fight.
The Centaleon roared.
Then it charged.
Eric moved at the exact instant. He leapt aside as the ground exploded beneath the monster's hooves, rolled through stone shards and dust, and came up already drawing the bow with his left hand.
The arrow he nocked was no ordinary shaft. The light around it compressed, dense and restrained.
"I really must be insane," he muttered.
He released.
The arrow screamed through the air like a blade of gold and struck the Centaleon's front left knee.
The joint shattered with a brutal crack.
The beast reared, its neigh warped by fury, spinning with impossible speed for something so massive. Its silver mane traced a pale arc through the air, and its tail snapped forward like a lightning whip, smashing a nearby stone pillar into rubble.
Eric was already moving, though the bead of sweat on his brow betrayed the lie of his fearless bravado.
He sprinted diagonally across the slope, using loose stones as improvised footholds, leaping with surgical precision.
The Centaleon unleashed electricity in a starburst. The impact kicked up a cloud of burning dust.
From a rocky crest, Eric fired three times.
The arrows split mid-flight, fragmenting into points of light that spread outward in a fan.
One pierced the Centaleon's right shoulder.
Another slammed into its bony shield, sending a violent tremor through its frame.
The third embedded itself into the left horn with a dry, cracking snap.
The monster roared.
This time, it wasn't a challenge.
It was rage.
And once again, it charged.
The speed was obscene. Wind howled like a forming storm, tearing stones from the ground.
Eric measured the distance even as the world seemed to collapse around him.
Twenty-seven steps.
He waited.
The final second arrived.
He lunged forward into a somersault. Midair, he drew the bow.
And released.
The arrow traced a perfect arc and buried itself in the Centaleon's left eye.
The scream that followed was deafening.
The beast skidded to a halt, thrashing its head as electricity spilled wildly from its body.
Eric landed badly, rolled, felt the shock ripple through his ribs, but he didn't stop.
The Centaleon's tail snapped forward again, transforming into a lightning lash.
Eric rolled. Searing heat grazed his cheek, blistering skin. He rose with a grunt and yanked a small resin sphere from his belt.
He threw it.
A wall of white smoke bloomed upward.
From within the haze, Eric moved without a sound.
The Centaleon sniffed, confused, and charged at a silhouette shifting to the left.
An illusion.
Eric emerged on its right flank.
He jumped.
Landed on the beast's hindquarters and clutched its silver mane.
The Centaleon bucked violently, trying to fling him free, but Eric had already drawn a razor-edged dagger.
He struck.
Nape.
Base of the right horn.
Shoulder joint.
Three precise blows.
The monster reared and hurled Eric forward.
The boy rolled, air ripped from his lungs, pain detonating in his side.
But he stood.
The Centaleon wheezed. Its breathing crackled with unstable electricity.
Eric knew what came next.
The final attack.
He inhaled deeply and brushed his hand along the bow.
The weapon answered.
The engravings along its limbs ignited, awakened by his call.
The monster charged one last time, with everything it had left.
Eric had no time for fear.
He drew the string back fully.
The arrow flared like a second sun.
"Goddess Hylia… accept this offering," he whispered, eyes closing.
The next second—
He released.
It was as though something had heard him.
The arrow tore through the air like muted thunder.
It struck the Centaleon square in the chest, directly over its heart. Light poured outward in a golden cascade, engulfing the beast.
Its final snort was agonized.
Both forelegs buckled. Then the rear.
The colossal body collapsed onto its side with a crash that shook the hill.
Eric dropped to his knees.
"…Finally."
He allowed himself to breathe. He lay back beside the corpse, staring at the sky.
Then it happened.
A blue screen unfolded before his eyes.
[You have slain your first S-Rank Beast]
Eric didn't smile.
Because this wasn't the first time he'd seen that color.
He remained there for a few seconds longer, heart gradually settling into something manageable.
Lanayru's cold wind lashed his face.
The blue screen lingered.
Just… there.
[Combat Evaluation Complete]
[Opponent Rank: S]
[Result: Victory – Critical Condition Overcome]
Eric narrowed his eyes.
"I know I almost died," he muttered. "You don't have to romanticize it."
The screen shifted.
This time, something changed.
The blue light trembled.
[REWARD CONFIRMED]
[Target: S-Rank Beast]
[Name: Silver Centaleon]
[Result: Total Elimination]
---
Points Obtained: +10,000
Total Accumulated Points: 20,000
---
Eric exhaled slowly.
"Twenty thousand…"
Five months.
Five miserable months of hunting Bokoblins, Moblins, Lizalfos, scraping by on rupees, dragging himself home half-dead.
The system continued.
[SPECIAL REWARD UNLOCKED]
An unfamiliar symbol rotated at the center of the hologram.
The light condensed.
Eric felt its weight before he saw it.
A small crystalline fragment materialized in the air. It didn't shine like a gem, but like something alive, contained. Inside, white-gold energy pulsed with infinite calm.
[CORE OF THE GODDESS HYLIA]
[Classification: Mythic]
[Status: Dormant]
Description:
– Divine-origin material
– Required for forging transcendent weapons
– Cannot be replicated
– Cannot be sold
Warning:
Use of this item will attract unwanted attention from a certain Demon King.
---
Eric swallowed.
"…The goddess?"
[RECOMMENDATION]
Suggested Region: Gerudo Citadel
Reason:
– Presence of ancient forges
– Lost knowledge of divine smithing
Eric dismissed the hologram carefully.
He leaned back against the rock and closed his eyes.
And then…
He remembered.