"What's wrong?" Leon asked, setting down his fishing gear. The others froze, their hands hovering over their packs. They'd been on this expedition for weeks, had faced wild boar and even a black bear, but they'd never seen Flower look this panicked.
Flower grabbed Leon's arm, his fingers tight with tension. "Come see—there's something in the trees. You won't believe it."
They followed him into the woods, stopping in front of a massive oak tree. The trunk was covered in huge claw marks, each one bigger than Leon's hand. Some marks were dry and faded, but others were fresh, the broken bark still oozing sticky sap.
Leon held his palm up to one of the claw marks, his eyes wide. "That's bigger than my dad's hunting knife. And look—they're not all in the same direction. It's like whatever made them was standing on its hind legs, scratching the tree with both paws."
Flower pointed to another tree a few feet away. "It's not just this one. There are marks on four or five trees around here. Some are old, some are brand new."
The group spread out, examining the claw marks. The fresh ones still smelled like crushed wood, and the old ones were covered in moss.
"Teacher, what could have done this?" Leon asked, turning to Im. "It looks like a big cat—like a panther, but way bigger. And why would it scratch so many trees?"
Im knelt down, running his fingers over a fresh claw mark. He closed his eyes, concentrating, then shook his head. "I don't sense any mana residue, so it's not a magical beast. But something this big, with this kind of deliberate behavior… it's not a normal wild animal either. That's why the woods are so quiet—even the birds are staying away."
Flower shifted his weight, his voice nervous. "Should we move camp? We're not exactly prepared to fight something that big. I don't even have a real sword, just my crossbow."
Im stood up, his hand resting on his oak staff. "If we run, we'll look like prey. It will chase us. We're safer staying here, setting traps and keeping watch. We have crossbows, and I have magic. It won't attack a group unless it's desperate."
Leon nodded, already thinking about the traps his dad had taught him to make. "We can set up tripwires with our crossbow bolts. And I can use my Mage Hand to move heavy rocks for barriers."
Dahlia grabbed her pack, her hands shaking slightly. "What if it's already watching us right now?"
Im cast a quick warning rune, glowing blue light spreading out from his staff. "I've set a perimeter alert. If anything comes within 50 feet, we'll know. Now, let's get back to camp and get ready before dark."
When they got back to the waterfall camp, Im started setting up a more powerful warning array. Leon and Flower tried to dig trap holes, but the ground was solid rock, so they settled for stacking large boulders around the camp instead.
"We can't hunt today," Im said, wiping sweat from his brow. "Whatever this is, it's the top predator here. The other animals have all fled. But there are fish in the pool—we'll eat those instead of our hardtack."
Leon grinned. "Thank the gods for that. Hardtack tastes like dried cardboard soaked in dust."
Flower laughed, grabbing his crossbow. "I'll help you catch the fish. I'm a better shot than you, remember? I trained as a squire before I became an apprentice."
Leon rolled his eyes, pulling a spool of thin hemp twine from his pack. "We're not shooting them with crossbows. We're going to tie the line to our bolts and shoot the fish that way. It's faster than waiting for them to bite a hook."
Flower raised an eyebrow. "That's stupid. Why not just use a normal fishing pole?"
"Because I forgot to bring hooks," Leon said, tying the line to his bolt. "And this way, we can reel the fish in faster."
They walked down to the pool, the water clear and calm. The fish were fat and slow, swimming close to the surface like they'd never been hunted before. They didn't even dart away when Leon stepped to the edge.
"Race you to catch three fish," Leon said, loading his crossbow.
Flower scoffed. "You'll lose. I've been training with a bow since I was six."
He aimed and fired, his bolt splashing into the water right next to a large silver fish. The fish darted away, and Flower cursed.
Leon laughed. "You forgot about refraction. The fish are actually lower than they look. You have to aim a few inches below them."
He aimed a few inches below a large silver fish and fired. The bolt hit the fish right in the side, and Leon reeled it in with the twine.
"One to zero," he said, holding up the fish.
Flower growled, adjusting his aim. He fired again, this time hitting a fish. "One to one."
They kept shooting, the fish scattering and then coming back once the splashing stopped. Leon caught two more fish, and Flower caught one, when Leon's boot hit something hard in the dirt.
He looked down, his blood running cold. It was a large, yellowed bone, bigger than his arm.
"Flower, come here," Leon said, his voice quiet.
Flower walked over, his eyes widening when he saw the bone. "What is that? It's way too big to be a deer."
Leon knelt down, examining the bone. It looked like a hip bone, and it was still slightly moist, like it hadn't been there long. "It's fresh. A few weeks old, maybe. And there are more over there."
He pointed to a pile of bones half-buried in the leaves, some of them still with bits of dried flesh on them.
"Whatever that big cat is, it brings its food here to eat," Flower said, his voice tense. "This is its feeding ground."
Leon stood up, grabbing his crossbow. "We need to take these bones back to Im. Now."
They grabbed two of the bones and hurried back to camp, their eyes scanning the trees for any sign of the big cat.
When they got back, Im and Dahlia were washing wild greens by the fire. Leon held up the bone, and Im's face turned serious.
"This is a hip bone from something as big as a cow," Im said, turning the bone over in his hands. "And it's only a few weeks old. Whatever is doing this, it's strong enough to take down large prey, and it brings its kills here to feed. That means it's smart—smarter than a normal animal."
He looked up, his eyes sharp. "It's probably a magical beast after all. I just couldn't sense its mana because it's hiding it. We need to be extra careful tonight. No one leaves the camp alone."
Leon nodded, already starting to clean the fish. "I'm going to make spicy fish stew. The devil's grass will help keep us awake and alert."
Dahlia gasped. "You brought devil's grass? That stuff is so spicy it makes your eyes water and your tongue feel like it's on fire!"
Leon grinned, pulling a small jar of yellow powder from his pack. "I've been growing it in the greenhouse. I've been breeding it to be less spicy, but it still has a kick. And it makes the food taste way better than plain fish."
Devil's grass was a small yellow pepper-like plant that Im had brought back from a market in Sarneth Town a few years earlier. Leon had planted it in the greenhouse, and over the years he'd been selecting the least spicy plants to breed, making it slightly more manageable. The original plants were so spicy they could make a grown man cry.
He started cleaning the fish, scaling them and gutting them over the fire. He fried them in a pan with some camellia oil from his pack, then added water and the wild greens Dahlia had picked. He sprinkled in a pinch of the devil's grass powder, the spicy smell filling the air.
Flower coughed, waving his hand in front of his face. "That smells like a campfire in my mouth!"
Leon laughed. "It's good for you. It will keep us warm and alert, and it will help us stay awake during watch."
While Leon was cooking, Im and Flower were setting up more warning runes around the camp. Dahlia was sitting by the fire, polishing her crossbow, when Leon looked up and saw a black shadow moving through the trees.
"Dahlia, did you see that?" Leon asked, his voice quiet.
Dahlia looked up, her eyes wide. "See what?"
Leon stood up, grabbing his crossbow. "I thought I saw something moving in the trees. A black shadow, big enough to be that cat."
Dahlia grabbed her crossbow, her hands shaking. "Do you think it's watching us?"
Leon nodded, scanning the trees. "Stay here. I'm going to check it out. If I don't come back in two minutes, scream for Im."
He walked slowly toward the trees, his crossbow raised. He was only a few feet from the camp when a massive black panther jumped down from a tree right in front of him.
"Good grief!" Leon yelled, jumping back. He fired his crossbow, but the panther dodged it easily, landing on the ground with a soft thud.
The panther was huge, bigger than a tiger, with sleek black fur and long, sharp claws. Its teeth were like daggers, and its eyes glowed yellow in the dim light.
Leon raised his hands, casting a quick Flame Palm spell. A burst of fire shot out from his hands, hitting the panther in the face. The panther hissed, backing up, then jumped to the side, landing on a tree trunk and bouncing off it, crashing into another tree.
The tree shook, leaves falling down like rain. The panther shook its head, then turned back to Leon, its eyes angry.
Leon used his Mage Hand, the tentacles wrapping around a large rock. He threw the rock at the panther, hitting it in the side. The panther roared, charging at Leon.
Leon dodged, the panther's claws scraping his arm. He yelled, "Dahlia, get Im! Now!"
Dahlia screamed, running toward the woods where Im and Flower were working. "Teacher! Help! Leon is being attacked by a panther! A huge black panther!"
Leon backed up, his crossbow loaded again. He fired, hitting the panther in the shoulder. The panther roared, but it didn't stop charging. Leon used his Mage Hand to grab a crossbow bolt from his pack, loading it quickly.
He fired again, hitting the panther in the leg. The panther stumbled, then lunged at Leon, knocking him to the ground.
Leon rolled out of the way, the panther's claws missing him by inches. He cast another Flame Palm spell, hitting the panther in the face again. The panther hissed, backing up, its fur singed slightly. Its whiskers were curled from the fire, like it had gotten a bad perm.
"Leon! Hold on!" Im yelled, running into the camp with Flower right behind him.
Im cast a quick binding spell, glowing blue ropes wrapping around the panther. The panther roared, struggling against the ropes, but they held tight.
Flower raised his crossbow, ready to fire, but Im held up his hand. "Wait! It's not a magical beast. It's just a normal—well, a very big—panther. A mutant, maybe."
Leon sat up, breathing hard, his arm bleeding from the claw scratch. "It's huge! How is it not a magical beast? It's bigger than a bear!"
Im knelt down, examining the panther. "It's a mutant. Something in the water or the food here made it grow this big. It's not magical, just very strong and smart. That's why I couldn't sense any mana from it."
He cast a healing spell on Leon's arm, the wound closing up quickly. "We'll tie it up and bring it back to the valley. We can keep it in a pen, or sell it to a menagerie in the capital. It's worth a lot of money."
Leon laughed, standing up. "I thought I was going to die. That thing was faster than a wolf and stronger than a bear."
Flower clapped him on the back. "You did good. You held it off until we got here. I didn't know you could cast Flame Palm that fast."
Dahlia ran over, hugging Leon. "I was so scared! I thought it was going to eat you!"
Leon grinned, hugging her back. "I'm okay. And now we have a new attraction for the valley—well, maybe not an attraction. A very big, very grumpy cat."