Hiding behind trees, Scias watched the midnight-furred feline lay in the clearing.
The creature stretched its massive body, claws digging deep in the earth.
Then it curled into a comfortable position, head resting on its paws, eyes barely open.
'Too convenient,' Scias thought, meeting Vel's gaze.
Vel perched on a branch above, feathers shifting in silent agreement.
Through their bond, he projected skepticism. The image came through clearly—why would a monster nap in exposed clearings in broad daylight.
"Probably a trap," Scias whispered, barely audible.
They watched the feline for several more minutes.
Its breathing seemed to slow, body relaxing into apparent slumber, but occasional ear twitches betrayed its alertness.
'Even if we're overthinking this,' Scias communicated through their bond, 'better to assume the worst.'
Vel responded with a strategic vision—a coordinated attack from multiple angles that would give them the advantage even against an alert opponent.
Scias nodded, mentally outlining their plan.
"I'll start with earth spikes from all directions," he whispered. "Not to wound it, but to force a reaction. It'll likely jump to avoid them using its wind magic to move quicker."
"I want to kill it with lightning." Scias continued.
"If it won't kill it, I hope it will atleast stun it. When I saw the fight between Quicksilver and the wolf-like monster, the Quicksilver's lightnings hurt the wolf even though not as much as I expected. I suspect it is because it was drenched in water, which acted as a protection. Atleast I hope that's the reason," he mused.
"Also, the wolf seemed to have much better protection than the cat."
"Are you sure about this?" Vel said through their connection feeling uncertain.
"Yes. If the lightning fails completely, you should focus on distracting it to give time to escape." Scias replied.
"Can you use lightning magic?" came Vel's concern.
"I'm confident even if I never tried it. I've seen a lot of lightnings in my life. It shouldn't be hard for me."
"Got it. Assuming the lightning just stuns it, hhould I find its mana core so you can pierce it with your earth magic? Or should I barrage it with my wind blades?" Vel projected.
"You can find its mana core?" Scias asked with a surprise.
"I will need to focus and won't be able to use any magic. But yes, I can," replied Vel proudly.
"Hmm." Scias said.
After a moment he continued, "let's do it like this. If the lightning stuns it, you will use your wind blades to kill it. Although I fear that the cat will be able to form a protective wind shield around itself, just like you can. In that case, your wind blades will be blocked."
Vel agreed with that and Scias resumed explaining his plan.
"If you see that it has a wind shield, try to locate its mana core and show me its location. I will destroy it."
Scias wished Vel could use lightning, but he didn't know this magic, he never saw it.
They were unable to test if they can use lightning before the fight to not alert the monster to their presence.
"Retreat if anything goes wrong." Scias emphasized.
Vel projected understanding of the plan.
His affirmation came not as words but as a surge of determined energy through their bond.
Without another sound, Vel rose from his perch and circled high above the clearing, positioning himself for the attack.
Scias closed his eyes briefly, gathering his mana. He visualized the first strike—multiple earth spikes erupting simultaneously from every direction around the cat.
Opening his eyes, he channeled mana through his body.
The ground around the feline erupted. Twelve earth spikes burst upward in perfect synchronization, forming a deadly cage.
The cat's reaction was instantaneous.
Its body uncoiled like a spring, leaping skyward with supernatural grace. But even as it evaded the earth trap, Vel descended from above, wings beating furiously and hurling barrage of wind blades at the feline monster even before first lightning hit it.
Scias had never formed lightning before, but the memory of the Quicksilver's attack guided him.
He visualized the lightning while mana flowed to his outstretched hand.
Creating lightning felt different from any other magic he used before, more volatile and harder to contain.
For a terrifying instant, the power threatened to slip from his control.
Then something clicked into place.
Understanding flooded his mind as crackling sounds started to manifest.
A violet energy arced from his outstretched hand, connecting with the water-soaked feline.
A surprise flashed across his face as he saw the color of the lightning. He expected it to be similar to what the rabbit used and not purple.
However, the effect was devastating.
The creature's body convulsed mid-air, muscles seizing as electricity coursed through its wet body. It fell heavily to the ground, limbs twitching uncontrollably.
As it landed on the ground, Vel's wind blades hit its body without any effect due to its protective wind shield.
The cat was able to erect wind shield even while stunned.
Vel conveyed his unability hurt the creature.
"Find its mana core!" Scias called, continuing to hit the cat with lightnings, hoping that they would kill it.
His mana reserves were rapidly depleating.
Vel pulled back sharply, circling above the creature. From the sky, he identified the location of its mana core.
Vel projected the location to Scias—center-left of the chest cavity.
Scias moved cautiously closer and focused his earth magic, compressing it into a single condensed spike beneath the feline's body.
He never created such condensed spike before. It cost him most of his remaining mana. With a violent thrust of his palm, he sent the spike upward.
The spike pierced the wind barrier, its momentum barely slowed. It drove deep into the creature's chest, directly into the mana core.
The feline's body arched upward, a terrible shriek tearing from its throat. The wind barrier collapsed as mana exploded from the punctured core.
Then stillness fell across the clearing.
Scias approached cautiously, ready to use another earth spike.
Vel circled above, ready to provide cover if the creature showed any signs of life.
The feline lay motionless, its massive body formitable even in death. A black liquid pooled beneath the wound, darker than blood.
"We did it," Scias breathed, finally releasing the tension in his shoulders.
A familiar blue notification appeared before his eyes.
[System notification:
Level 8 → Level 9]
'D*mn, only one level?' Scias thought.
It even cost them the mana core that could increase Vel's level.
Scias crouched down to examine the creature. Suddenly, fireball flew a fingerwidth above Scias's head.
Vel's urgent call to run surged inside Scias's head.
Scias quickly rose up and darted toward tree line while Vel used concentrated wind blasts to direct the incoming fireballs away from Scias.
Scias made it out of the clearing, not stopping. Vel flew high in the air, following after Scias.
The beast did not follow, it claimed their prey. Then, it dug into the body searching for its mana core.
It found nothing, letting out a defeaning roar with flames comming from its body burning everything around it.
Scias and Vel were far away to feel safe. They stopped to catch their breath.
Vel projected the creatures image to Scias. It showed a huge red salamander-like creature sending shivers down Scias's spine.
"D*mn it! How can there be a fire monster in forest?" exclaimed Scias in frustration.
"Why not? If it can set thing on fire, it can also put the fire out. Isn't that obvious?" replied Vel.
"Oh? There's still a lot I don't know about magic I guess," Scias murmured to himself, thinking he wouldn't be able to do it.
"We got lucky it didn't come when we were fighting the cat," Scias said after a while, and Vel conveyed his agreement.
Scias checked his level to see the name of the creature they killed.
[Level 9.
Your recent advancement from Level 8 to Level 9 occurred due to defeating Nightwind.]
"Nightwind." Scias mumbled. "Fittng name."
Getting far away, exhaustion settled into Scias's limbs as the adrenaline from their encounter faded.
His mana reserves were nearly depleted so he couldn't recover his stamina.
The lightning magic drained him far more than expected even though he cast them only three times.
The condensed earth spike consumed what little remained.
"We need to find shelter," said Scias, scanning the forest around them.
"I'm practically running on fumes."
Vel understood. They were relatively close to a shelter they used previously. An image of a hollow tree appeared in Scias's mind.
Backtracking through the forest, they moved with caution, Vel scouting ahead to ensure their safety.
The forest seemed unnaturally quiet after their battle with the Nightwind, as if other monster sensed the violent death and were laying low.
When they reached the hollow tree, Scias crawled inside, grateful for the tight space that would conceal his presence.
Vel perched just outside the entrance, his rainbow feathers dimming to blend with the bark—a defensive camouflage that Scias didn't witness before.
"That's useful," Scias remarked.
Vel projected a sense of mild smugness through their bond.
As his body began to recover, Scias's mind turned to the fight.
"The lightning magic worked better than I expected," he said.
"We should both practice it. Together, we could take down much bigger prey. Also, you should try other magic than wind. Now that you have Non-Elemental affinity, everything should come relatively easy for you."
Vel responded with enthusiasm but also confusion because he never tried using any other magic than wind, apart from water.
He was able to create water balls by watching Scias do it. Vel found this very usefull to quench his thirst.
"Now is not the time to learn new magic. Let's stick with what we know and leave learning to some other time. When we are somewhere safe."
Vel agreed. Then, to lighten the mood, Scias recieved images of Vel playing in dirt to get some enlightenment about earth magic.
Scias lightly chuckled at the projection.
As night descended, Vel maintained his watch while Scias closed his eyes. Through their bond, Scias could faintly perceive the forest around them.
'This connection between us,' Scias thought. 'It feels so natural.'
The memory of his military command seemed increasingly distant—a different person in a different world.
Here, survival depended on his flexibility and ability to quickly adapt.
Sleep gradually claimed him.
In their shared awareness, Scias dreamed about soaring through sky, unhindered and free.
Tomorrow they would resume their journey, one step closer to civilization, one level from awakening.
But tonight, in this hollow tree, with his familiar guarding him, Scias felt something he hadn't experienced since arriving in this world.
He felt at home.