Running as fast as he could, Seth's eyes scanned everywhere looking for a suitable hiding place. Actually, hiding was of no use; there is a reason that beast was called a ground dragon. The roars and footsteps of the beast seemed to be getting closer; well, that was to be expected after all; how can an unawakened outrun a glorified sainted beast? Luckily, they had a head start.
All Seth just had to do was run fast enough to leave the forest, then the rest could be taken care of by the elders. No scrap that the beast doesn't even dare leave the forest. Seth could already see the border of the forest, and on reaching it, he stopped. Sin, not knowing what was going on, was thrown out of the forest.
On landing, Sin turned to look at Seth only to see his vanishing back, his pupils constricted. Come to think of it, when he went out this morning, he made sure no one was following him, then for him to meet Seth at the beast's lair. It only meant only one thing: the skinny bastard had his own mission all along. He couldn't help but sigh. Here he thought he was crazy. Sometimes he often forgets who was the crazy one among them. Dusting himself off, he turned around and started going home, not worrying about Seth one bit. He knew that brother of his well. If he did something, he always had a plan.
Back in the forest, Seth had changed tactics from running to hoping from tree to tree. Since that day, Seth had been stalking the beast, monitoring its habits. It had reached the extent that he already knew most of the beast's abilities, and because of that, he was well aware that if the prey wasn't on the ground, the beast would lose track of him.
Actually, he had the intention of sneaking into the beast's lair today; if not for that muscle-brained fool, his plan would have gone smoothly, but that fool of a brother just had to ruin it, but it didn't matter; he's going to get it today, and nothing's going to stop him. His eyes shone with anticipation as he thought about the item. That item had been on his mind since that day; you could say it was all coincidence.
It happened three years ago in the dark of night. The sky was bright and filled with vibrant bright stars, and the moon hung in the sky with its usual purple silhouette shining down on the village of the northgazers. He was injured by an awakened flaming boar on his way to run from the beast. All of a sudden, all the stars in the sky vanished. The boar, which was hot on his heels, stopped turning back. He saw the beast crutching to the ground, shivering in fear. The first thought that came to Seth's mind was that they had stumbled upon a master or saint-level beast, but taking a closer look at his surroundings, he didn't notice any movement or beasts. Confused, he looked back at the now-starless sky.
And that was when it happened: he saw what appeared to be a falling star coming towards the forest, but there was something wrong with this star; it wasn't emitting any form of light. It was strange enough that he could see it, but that was normal since, when he could remember, he could see things that others couldn't. The black star finally landed. Seth noticed another anomaly. According to what he was taught, something landing from that high should have produced shock waves, but this didn't; it landed silently. If his conjecture was correct, that star was the origin of the boar's instinctual fear. He knew going there would be dangerous, but he couldn't help but let his curiosity get the better of him.
Getting to the clearing Seth couldn't believe what he saw, he saw nothing, the whole clearing was actually field with nothing no trees no earth no air, just nothing well except for a swirling tablet?, truthfully Seth couldn't see it clearly but whatever it was,he felt it calling, he could feel his blood boiling with excitement, he could feel his limbs trembling with anticipation, and when he was about to dash for whatever it was, he paused feeling the tremors beneath his feet he didn't need to think before he understood he wasn't the only one attracted to it, reluctantly he had to take a step back, he hid in the trees, after all as young as he was, he knew well enough that he could barely escape an awakend beast, not to think of master level or a saint monstrosity.
When he saw the shadow of the beast looming in sight, he couldn't help but make a silent prayer to the Everlight, who knew if the beast would notice him. He moved himself into a much more hidden position as he watched and waited, and it came, it looked like a master-level beast, he could tell based on the aura it gave off. Seth was stunned not at the beast's level but at its breed; it was of the rare dragon breed, one of the most powerful beasts in existence. Even though this was a subspecies, it's not supposed to be found in this poor region. It is said dragon species feed on force, and this region's concentration of force was to thin to support an existence of this level. It was a ground dragon; it is said their affinity with earth force was not lesser than that of an earth divine dragon.
It was expected of a beast of its level to be attracted to this treasure; after all, even the beast should be aware that it couldn't grow to its potential in this poor region. Seth could only watch as the beast dashed for it and snatched it, as though afraid that other monsters might notice it, it bolted deep into the forest. Hesitating for a second, Seth decided to take a risk and follow the beast.
On reaching the beast's lair, Seth arrived on time to see the beast entering a hidden cave. Just before the beast entered, though, he finally caught a good sight of the item, a dark, pulsing tablet. Just the sight of it made his blood get riled up again, and with that, he knew that he had to get that tablet at all costs.