The Crimson Alpha moved faster than anything I'd faced before.
Its lunge covered the distance between us in a heartbeat, claws extended and jaws wide. I executed Phantom Step on pure instinct, my body repositioning fifteen feet to the left as the beast's attack passed through the space I'd just occupied.
The mana cost registered immediately. Eight points gone, leaving me with thirty-seven.
The Alpha didn't pause. It twisted mid-motion with impossible agility for something so large, its rear claws digging into the earth and launching it toward my new position. I barely got the Einsworth Family Saber up in a defensive position before its claws struck the blade with a sound like steel on steel.
The force of the impact drove me backward, my boots skidding across the forest floor. My arms shook from absorbing the blow, and I felt the shock travel through my shoulders into my spine.
'It's strong. Much stronger than the regular Crimson Maws.'
The Alpha pressed its advantage, coming at me with a combination of claw swipes and snapping bites that forced me into a purely defensive posture. I parried what I could, dodged what I couldn't, and felt my carefully maintained combat rhythm start to fracture under the relentless assault.
A claw got through my guard, raking across my left shoulder and tearing through my coat and shirt. I felt the sting of split flesh, felt warm blood begin to flow, but couldn't afford to acknowledge the pain.
I needed space. Needed time to reset and reassess.
Phantom Step. Another eight mana, down to twenty-nine. I repositioned behind the Alpha, creating distance.
The beast whirled to face me, and I saw something in its eyes that made my stomach drop. Intelligence. This wasn't just a mindless predator. This was a creature that understood tactics, that could adapt and learn.
'I need information. Need to understand exactly what I'm facing.'
I pulled up my status screen with a thought, the translucent blue panel appearing in my vision while I kept my eyes focused on the Alpha.
[Status]
[Name: Kaine Einsworth]
[Race: Human]
[Age: 16]
[Title: Cursed and Unfortunate | Blade Born | Saber Garden's Chosen]
[Rank: Unranked]
[Attributes:]
[Strength: 24]
[Agility: 28]
[Endurance: 20]
[Intelligence: 18]
[Wisdom: 15]
[Mana: 29/45]
[Luck: -5]
Then I focused on the Crimson Alpha, and the system provided information.
[Beast Identified: Crimson Alpha]
[Rank: Novice (Peak-tier)]
[Threat Assessment: Severe. This creature is significantly more dangerous than standard pack members.]
[Estimated Attributes:]
[Strength: 35]
[Agility: 32]
[Endurance: 30]
The numbers made my blood run cold. The Alpha's strength was nearly fifty percent higher than mine. Its agility was better. Its endurance was superior. In a straight fight, I was outmatched in every physical category.
'But I have technique. I have the Flash God arts and a legendary weapon. That has to count for something.'
The Alpha began circling again, but this time with more caution. It had felt the quality of my blade during that first exchange, had recognized that I wasn't easy prey.
We moved in a slow circle, each evaluating the other, looking for openings.
I needed to end this quickly. A prolonged fight favored the creature with superior attributes and natural advantages. I had to land a decisive blow before my mana ran too low or exhaustion degraded my technique execution.
'First Light. That's the answer. Use Phantom Step to create the optimal positioning, then execute First Light before it can react.'
I gathered mana in my core, preparing both techniques simultaneously. The dual preparation was difficult, requiring split focus that I'd only recently mastered.
The Alpha's eyes narrowed, sensing something changing in my posture.
I moved first. Phantom Step carried me to the Alpha's left flank, an angle where its massive body would make it harder to twist and defend. The moment I completed the repositioning, I flowed directly into First Light.
Draw, cut, release.
The Einsworth Family Saber left its sheath in an explosive motion, the blade singing through the air. My mana surged through the proper channels, enhancing every component of the technique. The cutting arc was perfect, the angle optimal, the energy release timed precisely at full extension.
The pressure wave shot forward, a visible distortion in the air that crossed the distance to the Alpha in a fraction of a second.
The beast tried to dodge, its superior agility allowing it to twist away from what should have been a center-mass hit.
But not fast enough.
The pressure wave caught its right shoulder, cutting deep into muscle and hide. Blood sprayed from the wound, dark and thick, and the Alpha's roar of pain echoed through the forest like thunder.
Twenty-nine mana down to eleven. First Light had cost eighteen points when executed through the legendary blade, nearly double its normal cost but with proportionally increased power.
The Alpha staggered, its right foreleg not supporting weight properly anymore. The wound was serious, possibly crippling.
'One more. One more good hit and I can end this.'
But before I could press the advantage, the Crimson Alpha threw its head back and roared again. This roar was different from the pain response. Deeper. More resonant. Carrying across the forest with obvious intent.
A summoning call.
'No. No, it's calling for backup.'
My enhanced hearing picked up the response almost immediately. Answering howls from multiple directions, distant but approaching fast. The Alpha's pack, responding to their leader's call.
The wounded beast's eyes locked onto mine, and I saw triumph there. It knew reinforcements were coming. It just had to survive until they arrived.
'How many? How long until they get here?'
I counted the responding howls. At least four, maybe five. Regular Crimson Maws, probably Novice rank like the ones I'd fought before. Individually manageable, but combined with an Alpha?
'I have maybe two minutes before they arrive. Probably less.'
The Alpha was backing away now, putting distance between us while favoring its wounded shoulder. It was buying time, staying defensive until its pack could surround me.
I couldn't let that happen. Couldn't allow this to turn into a battle against multiple opponents simultaneously. I had to finish the Alpha now, before reinforcements arrived.
Eleven mana remaining. Enough for one more First Light if I was careful about the execution. Not enough for anything else if I missed.
'One shot. Make it count.'
The Alpha continued backing away, its eyes never leaving me. It was being smart, recognizing that I was dangerous and that survival until backup arrived was the optimal strategy.
I needed to force an engagement. Needed to close distance and create an opening for First Light.
But charging directly would be suicide. The Alpha was wounded but still deadly, still capable of killing me if I gave it the chance.
The howls were getting closer. Maybe ninety seconds until the pack arrived.
'Think. Use what Jack taught you. Speed and precision over brute force. Position over power. End the fight before it begins.'
The Alpha's wound was on its right shoulder. That meant its right side was weakened, its movement compromised in that direction. If I could force it to defend from the right, the injury would slow its response.
But I didn't have the mana for another Phantom Step. I'd have to create the positioning through conventional movement, and the Alpha would see it coming.
Unless I made it think I was doing something else.
I shifted my stance, settling into the preparatory form for Heaven Splitter. The positioning was distinctive, recognizable to anyone who knew the Flash God Technique. The Alpha wouldn't know the specifics, but it would recognize aggressive intent.
The beast's eyes tracked my stance change, its body tensing in preparation to dodge or counterattack.
I began gathering mana, letting the energy build visibly in my core. Making it obvious that I was preparing a technique. Drawing the Alpha's attention to the threat it could see.
The creature's muscles coiled, ready to move the instant I committed to the attack.
Sixty seconds until the pack arrived. Maybe less.
I held the Heaven Splitter stance for a three-count, letting the tension build. Letting the Alpha focus entirely on the obvious threat.
Then I abandoned the stance and moved.
Not Phantom Step. Just a flat sprint to the right, closing the angle toward the Alpha's wounded side. My enhanced agility carried me faster than normal human speed, but not supernaturally so. The Alpha could track the movement, could respond.
It did respond, trying to pivot and face me despite the injury slowing its right side. Its jaws opened, preparing to catch me as I closed distance.
That's when I executed First Light.
The technique happened in the space between heartbeats. I'd never stopped moving, had transitioned from sprint directly into the quick-draw sequence. The Einsworth Family Saber left its sheath at the exact moment I entered optimal range.
Draw, cut, release.
Every component perfect. Every element synchronized. The blade moved faster than I'd ever achieved before, the cutting arc clean and precise, the mana release timed to the fraction of a second.
The pressure wave that shot from my blade wasn't the same size as Jack's demonstrations. Wasn't even close to the devastating force he could generate. But it was enough.
The concentrated cutting pressure struck the Crimson Alpha's neck, catching it mid-pivot when its guard was completely wrong. The force of the blow sheared through fur and hide and muscle, cutting so deep that I saw bone beneath the wound.
The Alpha's roar cut off abruptly, replaced by a wet gurgling sound. Its legs buckled, massive body hitting the ground with a heavy thud that shook the earth.
I stumbled, my remaining mana completely depleted. Zero out of forty-five. The double execution of First Light through the legendary blade had drained me completely.
The Crimson Alpha thrashed weakly, its eyes already glazing over. Blood poured from the neck wound in thick pulses that grew slower with each heartbeat. Within seconds, the movements stopped entirely.
Dead.
I'd killed it.
The system screen appeared in my vision, text scrolling across it.
[Combat complete.]
[Novice-ranked beast (Peak-tier) defeated while Unranked.]
[Crimson Alpha eliminated.]
[Significant achievement recognized.]
But I had no time to read the rest. The approaching howls were close now, maybe thirty seconds away. The pack was still coming, responding to their leader's summons, unaware that the Alpha was already dead.
I looked down at my completely depleted mana pool, at the legendary saber that felt suddenly too heavy in my grip, and made a decision.
'I can't fight them like this. I need to harvest the core and get out before they arrive.'
I dropped to one knee beside the Alpha's massive corpse and drew the small knife from my belt. Positioned it at the center of the beast's chest and drove it into the flesh, cutting through hide that was thicker and tougher than the regular Crimson Maws.
The approaching howls were so close now I could hear the individual beasts crashing through the underbrush. Maybe fifteen seconds.
'Come on. Come on.'
My hand found the core, larger than any I'd felt before. I wrapped my fingers around it and pulled, the crystallized mana coming free with a wet sucking sound.
The core was the size of a fist, glowing with deep crimson light that pulsed with residual energy. Peak Novice-tier, just like the beast that had housed it.
Ten seconds.
I shoved the core into my coat pocket, sheathed the Einsworth Family Saber, and ran.
My legs carried me east, back toward the forest's entrance, moving as fast as my depleted body would allow. Behind me, I heard the pack arrive at the Alpha's corpse. Heard their confused howls as they discovered their leader dead.
Then I heard something that made my blood freeze.
Howls of rage. Howls promising vengeance. And the sound of multiple beasts giving chase.
They were coming after me.
I pushed my exhausted body harder, running through the forest with complete disregard for stealth or caution. Speed was all that mattered now. Distance between me and the pursuing pack.
My mana pool was empty. My body was exhausted. My shoulder wound throbbed with every step. And four or five Novice-ranked beasts were hunting me through territory they knew intimately.
'Just have to reach the forest's edge. Just have to make it out. The pack won't follow beyond their territory.'
The howls behind me grew closer. They were gaining, their superior endurance and familiarity with the terrain giving them advantage.
I risked a glance backward and saw movement through the trees. Fur the color of dried blood. Eyes that glowed with predatory hunger.
They were close. Too close.
My boot caught on a root and I stumbled, nearly falling. Caught my balance at the last instant and kept running, but the momentary pause had cost me precious distance.
The lead Crimson Maw was maybe fifty feet behind now. Close enough that I could hear its panting, could smell the acid on its breath.
The forest began to thin ahead. The edge was close, maybe another quarter mile. If I could just maintain this pace, if I could just keep moving...
The beast behind me lunged, jaws snapping for my legs.
I threw myself forward in a desperate dive, hitting the ground and rolling. Felt the air displaced by its jaws closing where I'd been a fraction of a second earlier.
Scrambled to my feet and kept running, now with the entire pack nearly on top of me.
The trees opened up ahead. Sunlight streamed through. The forest's edge.
I burst out of the Saber Garden at a full sprint, stumbling into the cleared area where the carriage waited. The driver's eyes went wide with shock as he saw me emerge with a pack of Crimson Maws in pursuit.
But the beasts stopped at the forest's edge, skidding to a halt as though they'd hit an invisible wall. They paced back and forth, snarling and snapping, but none of them crossed the boundary.
Territorial instinct. They wouldn't leave the Saber Garden.
I collapsed to my knees, chest heaving, every muscle in my body screaming. My hand went to the pocket where I'd stowed the Alpha's core, confirming it was still there.
Still there. Still intact.
I'd done it.
I'd hunted and killed a peak Novice-tier beast while Unranked. Had executed First Light twice in actual combat and landed killing blows both times. Had survived a hunt that was meant to test everything I'd learned.
The driver climbed down from his seat, staring at me with something approaching awe.
"Young Master," he said quietly. "You actually... you survived."
I looked back at the forest's edge, where the Crimson Maws still paced and snarled. They'd lost their Alpha. Their pack structure would collapse now, the remaining members either scattering or fighting among themselves for dominance.
And I had the core to prove it.
I pulled myself to my feet, ignoring the protests from my exhausted body, and walked to the carriage. Climbed inside and sat down heavily on the cushioned bench.
"Take me home," I said, my voice rough with exhaustion. "It's done."
The driver nodded and urged the horses forward. As we pulled away, I looked back one final time at the Saber Garden, at the forest that had nearly killed me twice now.
'That's three times I've survived you. Three times I've walked out when I could have stayed inside forever.'
The trees seemed to watch as we departed, their ancient presence acknowledging the hunter who'd taken down one of their apex predators.
And in my pocket, the Crimson Alpha's core pulsed with residual warmth, proof that I'd earned the right to call myself a warrior of the Einsworth family.
The carriage rolled toward home, carrying me back to face whatever came next.