The Hunt on Skyfire Mountain
"Kai, what's your plan?"
Amaya Green's voice drifted gently across the courtyard, silky but tinged with inquiry. Her sleek black hair danced in the sunlight, and her green eyes sparkled with a faint hint of worry as they settled on the young man standing before her.
Kai Dawnsworn shifted his head, his gold eyes peaceful but inscrutable. "What are you suggesting by plan, Ms. Amaya?" he inquired with a light, almost mocking tone.
Amaya moved in, crossing her arms. "It's a fantastic chance, particularly for you. You can go with Boomer. It will be safe, and you may even cross to a new plane in the hunt.
Kai gave a small, lazy shake of his head. "Nah, not this time." His lips quirked into a half-smile. "I just came back from the mountain. I'd rather save myself the trouble."
Amaya frowned slightly, her brows drawing together. "You're still young," she said gently. "Relationships aren't everything. Don't give up on yourself after being turned down once."
Her tone softened near the end, the worry in her eyes unmistakable. She thought she was helping—trying to pull him from some imagined heartbreak after what had happened with Feya.
Kai blinked, realizing she had completely misunderstood the situation. His gaze slid over her curvy form before he smirked faintly. "You know," he murmured under his breath, "I'm not that young."
Amaya froze for a heartbeat, her eyes widening before narrowing sharply. Her cheeks flushed a deep red as the realization hit. "You're hopeless," she muttered, spinning on her heel.
Kai couldn't help it—he burst out laughing. "My pleasure, Ms. Amaya," he called after her.
She paused mid-step, gave him a brief glare, and then walked away faster.
Boomer, who had been slouching over beside him with his characteristic serene face, spoke up as Kai's laughter subsided. "She's nice. You should consider her."
Kai blinked at him in perplexity. "Consider what?"
Boomer's black eyes were unutterably serious. "She'd be a wife candidate."
Kai massaged his temple with a sigh. "You've been hanging out too much with the elders, haven't you?"
Boomer shrugged.
________________________________________
The academy buzzed with pent-up energy. Students swarmed through the imposing stone gates in waves, bound for Skyfire Mountain—a towering, mist-shrouded behemoth who guarded the horizon like an ancient deity.
Year after year, the same cycle repeated. Enthusiasm first, arrogance second… and in days, fatigue and remorse as the vanquished dragged themselves back down the mountainside.
The Hunting Season was supposed to be a test, but for most of them, it felt more like a purgatory.
While the academy always cleared the grounds in advance, so the demonic creatures inside were safe to fight, not all of them respected the limit of human control. Some Level Seven, Eight, even Level Nine creatures roamed the deeper forests—predators that could transform a haughty student's arrogance into fear in a split second.
At the mountain's base, clusters formed—some buckling straps on armor, others whispering incantations or heating up mana flows.
Then murmurs began.
"Look, it's Feya."
Eyes turned as a dark-haired young woman emerged from scarlet robes, her hair falling down her back like silk. The scarlet robes accentuated the darkness of her eyes, which sparkled with subtle charm.
Standing alongside her was another girl, Mary, and a tall, elegant young man with an air of easy pride.
"Who's that guy standing beside her?" someone asked.
"That's Gary Vellore, Mary's cousin," came another voice. "Pride of the Vellore family—already ascended to the top level of the Nullforge Plane. No surprise Feya's with him. Only natural, isn't it?"
A murmur of sympathy ran through the spectators. "So that means that poor fellow who confessed to her. what was his name again?"
"Kai Dawnsworn."
"Right. Guess he got a tough rejection."
"Going to quit the Fall Exam after this."
When the rumor circulated, Kai overheard bits from students walking by. For a second, he stood there, squinting in weak shock. Since when did I turn into the tragic hero of everyone's love triangle?
He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. He didn't really care about Feya anymore, but the rumors were annoying nonetheless. Not because of sadness—just the complete ridiculousness of it.
Nevertheless, he suppressed the idea. His mind wasn't on rumors—it was on his cultivation.
He had an aim: breakthrough to a new plane before the Fall Quarter Examination.
________________________________________
Several days later, in his serene dorm room, the outside world dissolved into quiet.
Kai sat cross-legged in the middle of his chamber, golden light rippling across his bare arms like sunlight flowing. Each inhale sucked mana through his body, each exhale shaping it into strength.
The strength of War Soul within him—the fire soul of the Sun—grew hotter with each breath, refining his bones, stiffening his muscles, tempering his soul.
He had felt other energies in the past—wood-element mana from old trees, water-element mana from waterfalls that flowed down Skyfire Mountain—but none compared to the sheer force of his Sun War Soul. Still, part of him feared he was attempting to draw in too much, to take in more than he could handle.
Then a familiar, heavy presence arrived.
Kai opened his eyes. "Boomer?"
His friend's pace was rapid, his face solemn. He appeared only when there was something significant—or perilous—about to occur.
"People are leaving the mountain," Boomer announced without warning. "And some of them brought back frightening news."
Kai sat up straight. "What is it?"
"They said. that they saw a dragon in the cleared ground."
Silence went round the room once. Then both young men's eyes flared with the same excitement.
"A dragon?" Kai repeated, his tone low, incredulous.
Even in the Divine Era, where there were hundreds of wonders, the term "dragon" was not something mortals used flippantly.
"The presence of a dragon alone would bring Greenhold into an uproar," he stated softly. "They shouldn't be outside the forbidden areas even."
Boomer nodded. "Some took an oath to it being true. The academy has already begun evacuating individuals. If they are acting that quickly, then… it could be real."
Kai rose to his feet, golden eyes shining. "Then let's go see for ourselves."
The two exited the dorm and headed towards the base of Skyfire Mountain. The deeper they descended, the more dense the air seemed—filled with strain and the subtle aroma of smoldering ozone.
Students were streaming down the slopes in clusters, faces ashen, eyes wide.
"What's happening?" someone shouted.
A terrified student cried out back, "Something broke out of the forbidden area! The masters commanded a complete evacuation!"
"Escaped? What escaped?"
"They claimed it is a Thunder Serpent—one that's thousands of years old! Its hellish presence is strangling the whole mountain. Even the masters cannot keep it down!"
The crowd gasped.
A dragon… a serpent… the truth smeared between the two. But one thing was certain—whatever had escaped from the depths of Skyfire Mountain wasn't something that could be met by anyone lightly.
Kai and Boomer shared a glance, their hearts racing.
Was it really a serpent… or something much more?
And deep within the mountain, thunder drummed like a heartbeat from the gods.