After what felt like forever, Arin and his new acquaintances returned to the surface level of the mines. He let out a sigh of relief, dropping to the ground. Rolan lifted his heavy bag filled with his things and crystals and set it on the table.
"Now that that's done," Rolan sat. "I can finally not worry something's gonna walk in on us."
"You shouldn't jinx it. We barely got out of that situation." Tessa clicked her tongue. She took a seat and pulled her satchel off and set it on the table, leaning back onto the chair and rolling her neck. "And the search for Valpori continues soon."
"After lunch." Rolan stood up. He wagged his finger and began to dump the crystals from his bag.
"Ooo, get me one of those Great-Elk's you've been seeing!" Tessa's eyes lit up. Rolan grumbled while the mention of a Great-Elk made Arin's ears perk up.
"You've seen a Great-Elk?" Arin scrambled onto his knees and scooted closer. "I've always wanted to hunt one of those! The Elders say getting the kill on a Great-Elk is equal to a thousand years of luck! Not to mention, it taste delicious!"
"That's what I've heard, but Rollie here won't even look for 'em. He says 'they're a waste of time for someone with my skills.'" Tessa blew raspberries before laughing. She smacked Rolan, who took it and tied his backpack together and slung it over his shoulder.
"I didn't say that!" Rolan marched towards the exit. He stopped at the right corner and looked at Arin. "You're coming with me."
"Oh, alright." Arin stood up and motioned for Nocturnis to follow.
The three walked in silence. Arin looked around while Rolan kept his head pointed straight forward. During this time, Arin noticed a couple things about Rolan, he had quiet steps, almost as silent as Nocturnis and he carried himself like the Hunters of Thornwood would.
'Well,' Arin shrugged. 'Maybe some old habits die hard.' He turned his attention to staring blankly into nothingness, willingly summoning the System screen.
[There's stat points for you to add! Please click 'Stats' to be redirected to the Stat screen!]
He hit the button and watched the screen smoothly transition.
[Stats:]
+10 Stat Points
Precision: 25
Agility: 19.5
Focus: 18.5
Strength: 14
Endurance: 7.5
Intuition: 15
Here, Arin got a summary of all of the stats and what they did. He learned that:
Precision: Determines Arin's accuracy in ranged and melee attacks, influencing his ability to hit vital points.
Agility: Governs movement speed, reflexes, and evasion.
Focus: Control over magical powers. Beast abilities and skills would strengthen through this stat.
Strength: Measures Arin's physical power, affecting melee attack damage and influences how well Arin can perform strenuous physical tasks.
Endurance: This stat reflects stamina, resistance to exhaustion, and resilience to physical strain. (Currently, Arin's weakest stat!)
Intuition: Governs insight, adaptability, and ability to predict enemy movements. This stat helps analyze an opponent's weaknesses or identify patterns in battle, aiding strategy.
With all of this read, Arin decided he would dump half of his points into Endurance and the rest into Precision.
[Stats:]
No Stat Points
Precision: 30
Agility: 19.5
Focus: 18.5
Strength: 14
Endurance: 12.5
Intuition: 15
"Hey, kid." Rolan's voice broke Arin out of his intense concentration staring blankly into the void. He looked at Rolan, who was already turning his head to look ahead. They had ventured through the deserted town and was already stepping into the forest.
"Yeah?" Arin tilted his head to the side and leaned forward.
Rolan shook his head and waved Arin off. "Stop staring into space. You could ruin our chances of getting something good."
"Oho," Arin smirked. "You're going to try to hunt for the Great-Elk, aren't you? I thought you didn't want to?"
"Wh-who said that? I-I just wanted to try to hunt one. Y-you know it gives abundance and luck. If anyone were to find that it should be me because…"
"Because?"
Rolan turned and noticed the ugly smirk on Arin's face. "Nothing, hurry up! We need to train your stamina! It sucks!" He rushed forward, leaving a chuckling Arin behind.
They moved deep within the Eldergrove Forest. Undreneath the shade of the green leaves, Arin quietly hummed to himself. The smell of Nature and the gentle breeze that was welcoming for the hot Summer day.
"Oh, tracks." Arin pointed over to the right. Rolan turned and looked at them. It was two large vertical elongated circles with pointed tops, slightly pointing at each other. He traced the tracks, pointing slightly off to the right of the tracks. "They go that way."
"Looks like you do know a thing or two about hunting. Keep up." Rolan pushed forward, moving a little quicker now. The experienced hunter easily followed the tracks, taking notice of the speed of the animal. Where Arin struggled to find certain tracks, Rolan found them with ease, which impressed Arin even more.
"Master, you should learn a thing or two from the hunter. He acts like one of us, concealing his presence. You should conceal yours to not alert the Beasts to your hunt." Nocturnis told Arin. Arin nodded and slowed down.
He imagined himself pulling the shadows towards himself and concealing his presence. Just as he did, Rolan's brows scowled in confusion.
"Kid, you're supposed to —" Rolan turned and noticed the kid was gone. "Where did he go?" He turned around and continued following the tracks.
'How could a kid like him conceal himself so well? Is it because its one of the innate qualities of the Shadow Panther?' Rolan wondered. 'I still can't believe someone managed to tame a Shadow Panther - a Mythical Beast of all things.' His mind grew quiet as he slightly turned to follow the trail.
The sound of a Beast drew Rolan's attention away from his thoughts for a moment. He noticed a large Elk with majestic bone white horns. Rolan couldn't help but contain his excitement in his tsundere body. A smile grew on his face.
'Tess is going to flip out. I never thought I would see a Great-Elk! It's my lucky day! If I kill this, I'll bestowed so much luck! Even thinking about eating this thing is making my mouth water…' He wiped his mouth and pulled his bow out.
He notched the arrow, forgetting about Arin and preparing himself for the kill. He raised his bow up at the Great-elk and watched it munch on grass.
3…. 2… 1… Fwoop!
The arrow sailed through the air and the Great-Elk looked up, dodging out of the way as the arrow grazed it. It let out a shriek as it turned and sprinted.
"Dammit, I missed!" He cursed and followed after the Beast. The trees blurred around him.
"Well, he's gone." Arin commented, watching Rolan disappear. "What now?"
"Of course, you hunt it for yourself." Nocturnis replied. "To become the Predator everyone fears, you must wait for an opportunity to arise. Let's keep up with Rolan."
"Alright."
Arin and Nocturnis ran through the shaded areas of the forest. The occasional sun spot pulled the shadows off them for a split second before they were submerged in Shadows, again.
The Great-Elk soared out from the trees, landing on the ground and continuing on its way. The beautiful scenery of trees soon was replaced with flatland.
Rolan rushed out, notching another arrow and preparing for the shot. He clicked his tongue. He wouldn't be able to make the shot from here while it was moving.
'There's a breeze and it seems to be a bit faster here.' Rolan observed. 'If I'm going to hit that, I need to angle it further than I would normally shoot it at.' He lifted it higher and turned towards the direction of the wind. He counted down in his head and fired the arrow. Rolan watched with bated breath and watched the arrow narrowly miss.
"Dammit!" Rolan cursed.
"That's what you meant by waiting." Arin's voice appeared besides Rolan. He casted his spear away and grabbed Rolan's bow and an arrow.
"Hey!" Rolan shouted. "What're you doing, kid? I missed so it'll obviously be more on alert now!"
"From this distance, it'll be at a horrible disadvantage. Should've brought a longbow if you were going to shoot this far." Arin casually spoke. Rolan's jaw tightened and he watched the Thornwood boy, notch the arrow and pull it.
As if he was ready, he turned wider and higher. Shadows coalesced from his finger tips and covered the bow and arrow. From here, Rolan could see the Shadow Panther's eyes reflected in Arin's eyes. It was as if he was watching the King of the Forest attack his prey.
Arin released the arrow and watched the shadow-infused arrow soar through the air. The wind guided the arrow straight towards its mark, piercing the Great-Elk. The Best continued, shimmering and quickly growing faster and vanishing.
"That thing is no joke." Arin gave Rolan his bow back and quickly grabbed his spear and clicked his tongue, motioning for Nocturnis to follow with a head motion. "It managed to not die from that, but at least I infused the arrow with shadow energy. It should be easier to track. C'mon, Mr. Rolan, let's go!"