When me and Lily were done eating our latest and greatest kill yet, my tummy felt quite full. If I tried to eat any more, I was sure I’d get sick or throw up. I guess I couldn’t just take eating magic monsters for granted as an unlimited fix, but it certainly went a long way.

  The Healing Shrooms made keeping my health up a non-issue as well, but there was one more of my vitals I didn’t have an answer for.

  That last fight took a LOT of effort, and my stamina was quite low as a result. Thankfully, this one seemed to regenerate naturally, far better than health and mana. I realized it was another roadblock in my ability to hunt without pause.

  Name: ???

  Race: Hell Hound

  Level: 10

  Path: Veinseer Nightstalker

  Stage: 3

  Body Development: 81%

  Vitals

  Health: 260 / 280

  Mana: 290 / 310

  Stamina: 98 / 256

  Attributes

  Strength: 56 (+8)

  Dexterity: 66 (+9)

  Vigor: 56 (+11)

  Sense: 93 (+12)

  Attunement: 69 (+18)

  Active Skills

  Pulse Sense LVL 3

  Sense the heartbeats of surrounding creatures.

  Crippling Bite LVL 2

  Target limbs and snap bone to weaken your target and affect their mobility.

  Veil of Shadows LVL 1

  Conceal yourself in darkness, muffling your footsteps and obscuring your outline. Breaking the veil with an attack moderately increases damage based on Strength and Dexterity.

  Marrow Sense LVL 1

  Short-range detection that reveals the density of an enemy's skeleton, allowing you to target weak points more efficiently.

  Passive Skills

  Enhanced Smell LVL 3

  Basic Fighting LVL 4

  Night Vision LVL 2

  Poison Resist LVL 1

  Lightning Resistance LVL 1

  Traits

  Predator’s Focus LVL 2

  Bonus damage when attacking from stealth or targeting unaware enemies.

  Camouflage LVL 3

  Bonus to stealth when not moving.

  Night Hunter LVL 1

  Improved camouflage in addition to improved strength and dexterity scaling at night.

  Pack Bond LVL 3

  You gain experience from anything killed by a member of your pack during a hunt in which you are involved.

  You and your packmates regenerate mana and health 5% faster while resting together, the bonus stacking an additional 5% for every nearby pack member.

  You and your pack mates now take moderately reduced damage while hunting together.

  I have had some really nice gains since the last time I checked. And my Attunement made it all the way up to 69!

  …Nice.

  That meant I only needed one more point in attunement to take the Arcane Nightstalker Path. There was still a mystery hint and achievement I lacked, but I certainly found the perfect hunting ground where I might uncover it.

  When Lily finished picking the last of the scraps, she got up, stretched, then trotted a few steps before slowing down and rolling over to her side, panting. I could visibly see how her belly was every bit as full as mine, and her stamina must have been low as well at this point.

  Well, I guess that means it’s time for a break! But it’s probably best not to relax too much out here in the open. So, I got up and used a {Pulse Sense} as I began looking around.

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  It seemed our heated battle against the Storm Blessed Cave Toad had scared most other creatures away. However, I did spot a few small heartbeats close together nearby and decided to investigate.

  I snuck around a rock, keeping in mind a good vantage point where I could see them and they couldn’t see me. What I found were three ferret-looking things, very similar to the Shadowmartin, but instead of black fur, they were mostly brown with a red tint and looked smaller. Scavengers, perhaps, likely investigating if there would be any free food left behind after the big fight that had just occurred here.

  Luckily for them, I wasn’t interested in another fight right now. Unluckily for them, Lily did not believe in letting anything go to waste, so they would not be getting a free meal on our account.

  They were also much smaller than the Shadowmartin that I had fought, so even if we were tired I did not think of them as a threat. Though I did make a mental note that maybe, just maybe, they could be the key to unlocking my next evolution Path if they also had magical properties.

  I went back to Lily and nodded for her to follow, deciding it was time to find a better place to recuperate.

  I led her back towards the entrance of the cavern, where there was a nice scattering of boulders and greenery that would give us good cover without cutting us off from an escape route. I knew not to take the safety of this cavern for granted; there was a large portion of it past the stream that I had not yet explored, and it would be foolish to assume the Storm Blessed Cave Toad was the strongest thing around.

  But this place did feel peaceful. The air here was damp but not cold, and the sound of the waterfall in the distance gave the place a steady, calming rhythm. Lily flopped down the moment we stopped, resting her chin on her paws and giving a deep sigh.

  I took one last look around using {Pulse Sense}. No large heartbeats nearby—only faint flickers from the small scavengers I’d seen before, now advancing towards our kill. Nothing worth worrying about.

  I lay down beside Lily, curling around her for warmth. She gave a tired wag, then let out a soft rumble of contentment before drifting off. I stared at the faint glow of the mushrooms above, thinking about the numbers still floating through my head.

  So close. Just one more point of Attunement, and my development was getting closer and closer. The amount of Sense needed was still unknown, but being that it was my highest attribute by far, I felt confident I would have enough.

  Still, that wasn’t all I needed. I needed the final hint and achievement.

  I thought about the difference between the two things. Achievements typically related to me actually doing something; hints seemed more related to my knowledge—things I’ve thought about or observed. I got a hint for the Whisperfang Juvenial Path simply by watching how Genzo killed the Black Prowler.

  So what would that mean for a magic-based Path?

  I had recently gotten a magic-related achievement, but it apparently wasn’t the correct one…

  Hmmm… but it’s Arcane NIGHTSTALKER. Maybe it is a mistake to focus only on the magic aspect of the Path? Either way, once I got the hint, the necessary achievement would also likely be revealed to me.

  Stupid System, can’t you give me a hint regarding how to uncover this hint?

  [Sorry, you do not have significant privileges to make that type of request.]

  Grrrr! I wasn’t asking you! I mean, not intentionally, anyway.

  I sighed, my tail giving an irritated flick as I dropped my muzzle back over my paws.

  Still, I couldn’t deny that things were moving in the right direction. It just wasn’t enough yet. We had significant trouble against a stupid frog, and those red masks were going to be an even greater challenge. Not to mention they seemed to travel in groups, so even having the strength to defeat one of them wouldn’t be enough. We had to become stronger. Much, much stronger. Not just for the sake of surviving a confrontation inside of this cave, but one day I wanted to find where they lived and take my family back. When that day came, who knew how many I could end up having to fight?

  If I couldn’t kill a human as easily as I could kill a rabbit, then it would be hopeless.

  Then, there was the dragon rider. He was no ordinary red mask. Even his dragon appeared to be an impossible foe to defeat, but since he controlled it, did that mean he was even stronger than a dragon?

  My paws tensed, digging into the dirt. He even defeated my dad… he had to use cheap tricks to gain that victory… but that spell he had cast. I had been watching far away, from the top of a tree branch, but even from that distance I felt the incredible power that human was capable of.

  After resting a while longer, I decided it was time to do some exploring. I checked my vitals.

  Vitals

  Health: 267 / 280

  Mana: 288 / 310

  Stamina: 154 / 256

  Yup, as expected, stamina regenerated far faster than the other two. I didn’t plan on taking any serious fights while I wasn’t at a hundred percent, but this would be plenty to look around and get a lay of the land.

  As I got up, Lily stirred, looking up at me tiredly with a single half-hearted wag of her tail. I gave her a lick, letting her know I would be back and giving her the okay to just rest.

  Using {Pulse Sense}, I saw the scavengers had already moved on, and the previously cleared area of the cave had more small heartbeats cautiously meandering back into it. Things had been quiet for a while now, after all.

  I walked towards the stream, not paying small creatures any mind. I spotted a regular Lightning Toad on a rock but wasn’t interested in it, so I veered to the left to give it some space.

  I walked right up to the water and bent down to take a drink. There were plenty of fish swimming around in the clear water, but they likewise were not of much interest to me.

  I looked around for how to cross the stream and spotted a few damp rocks poking over the surface. It took a couple clumsy jumps, using them as stepping stones, but I made it to the other side easily enough.

  Using another {Pulse Sense}, I spotted a bigger heartbeat further away, so cautiously made my way forward.

  Finding a good patch of greenery for cover, I poked my head up and spotted it. It was another red-tinted ferret, but much larger. Its nose pulsed as it tried to sniff something out, and then, apparently catching a scent, it ducked low, disappearing from my sight, and quickly made its way to a smaller heartbeat a little further away. I soon heard the sound of a struggle and the screeching of a dying animal.

  That one was a little bigger than me, possibly a higher level, so it was good to be aware such things existed here.

  However, something else caught my attention as I looked further. This cavern was much larger than I had originally thought it was. The area sloped down and disappeared behind another cave wall. It was possible even more dangerous foes could be down that way, so I had to know.

  Moving with caution, I soon found myself at a cliff; below me the path arced down to a deeper, darker area of the cave. There were a few Healing Shrooms clinging to the walls, providing some light, but none of the glowing bugs that were to thank for the majority of the light in this cave.

  I used {Pulse Sense} and instantly hit the ground, making myself as small as possible.

  There was something huge down there.

  I sniffed, picking up a strong odor of blood and decay.

  I watched the pulse of its heartbeat. It was at least five times bigger than me, but I couldn’t tell much else about it. Needing more information, I used {Marrow Sense}, but unfortunately, the range of Marrow Sense was much shorter than Pulse Sense. I was not able to see the creature's skeleton.

  I listened closely, my high Sense stat allowing me to pick up sounds my less evolved self probably wouldn’t have been able to. Echoing up from the depths of the cave, I heard heavy breathing—no, snoring. Whatever it was, it was sleeping.

  I eyed the path, considering how safe it would be to try to get closer, but decided against it. If I were to end up getting chased by something faster than me, I would not have an easy escape.

  Still, this was good information to have, so I cautiously reversed my direction and started heading back.

  Once I had a clear path away from any formidable heartbeats, I quickly ran back to the stream, hopped across on those same rocks, and made it back to Lily.

  She was still sleeping soundly.

  Considering this cave likely would stay well-lit even at night, I knew the previous cavern with the cave we had slept in the night before would be a better option for when Lily was ready to sleep for the night. I also no longer liked the idea of leaving her alone to hunt on her own. She was smart, but one wrong move could have her facing something dangerous on her own.

  No… We may have been very lucky to find this cavern, but it also posed more dangers than the previous one.

  Lily winked an eye open, and her tail wagged when she saw me. Giving a big stretch and a yawn, she stood and then shook her fur off before looking at me expectantly.

  I gave her a ruff and gestured back to the tunnel. She tilted her head, tail drooping.

  It was hard to tell the time without a view of the sky, but I figured it’d be best to take her back for the night.

  Tonight, instead of hunting, I’d go explore the other tunnels further, head back towards our pursuers, and try to figure out how many red masks were creeping around.

  Part of me hoped that this massive cave system dissuaded them and they had given up the hunt… though I doubted it.

  Another part of me that I couldn’t deny hoped for the opposite. I wanted to eventually find one and kill them.

  After all, it wasn’t just for revenge. It would make me stronger.

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