Two hours along the western highway brought them to narrow dirt paths cutting through harvested wheat fields and broken cedar fences.
"The farmer said it roots at dawn," he said, scanning the muddy ditches with narrowed eyes. "We track it while the ground is still damp."
Juna dropped lightly onto all fours at the forest edge, inhaling the cool morning breeze with deep, steady breaths.
"Tusks, pine resin, and cattle sweat," she reported with a feral grin, her eyes flashing under her dark bangs. "Your rogue boar passed through right before sunrise."
The frantic landowner spoke through shattered fence posts earlier that morning, pointing toward giant cloven prints gouged deep into the loam.
"Ate my best breeding sow in one bite," the old farmer grunted, clutching his patched cap with both trembling hands. "Then smashed my outer fence like it owed him money!"
The elderly peasant offered warm herbal tea afterward, showing profound relief when two armed travelers accepted his modest monster hunting notice.
'One dead sow purchased a fifteen silver bounty docket... and the capital guild wants this pest handled before it terrorizes the highway.'
'Her Hunter's Nose skill is paying for itself already... no ordinary guild scout tracks through wilderness brush that effortlessly.'
"Fifteen silver coins for a wild pig," he scoffed, shaking his head with a dry smirk as he adjusted his belt. "And every single copper goes straight into Lady Yenna's masonry fund."
"I am literally risking my neck in the dirt to repair tavern drywall," he muttered under his breath, stepping over a collapsed rail.
[ LurkerNoMore: hunting arc episode thirteen, everyone shut up and enjoy it ]
[ DarkBlade: wolf girl tracking montage, the animators understood the assignment ]
Hajin spent half of his starting universal credits at the capital western gate, purchasing a reliable weapon directly from the divine interface.
[ Item Purchased: Basic Iron Sword - 15 Credits ]
[ Wallet Balance: 30 -> 15 Credits ]
[ Passive Trigger: Item Quality increased from Common to Refined Steel ]
The luminous system light subsided, leaving behind a balanced, razor-sharp blade with an indigo temper line running along the spine.
[ CringeSlayer91: he bought the cheapest sword in the divine shop, this man treats miracles like a discount bin ]
[ ShadowMage44: fifteen credits and the noodle fund survives, that is smart poverty ]
His notched old hunting knife now rested at the bottom of his travel sack, replaced by sharp, perfectly balanced divine steel.
While the upgraded edge sliced cleanly through thick undergrowth, it lacked the raw elemental mass needed to cleave through enchanted armor plates.
"You are slow, human," Juna called back over her shoulder, flashing him a sharp, teasing smirk. "Pretty weak pace for someone who dragged me out of bed at dawn."
"I am pacing myself responsibly," he retorted with an amused roll of his eyes. "Someone has to have enough breath left to carry all that silver home."
"You are breathing like a dying carriage horse," she teased, flicking her ears with obvious amusement.
"I am breathing like a man carrying your entire future honey bread budget," he snorted, picking up his stride. "Keep your sharp nose on the tracks."
She sprinted through the dense timber with graceful momentum, gliding across mossy boulders and fallen pine trunks without breaking stride.
Two crystalline earth Shards orbited the rampaging beast's serrated tusks as it crashed wildly through the tangled mountain brush ahead.
"Drive it toward the clearing!" he shouted, drawing his refined blade with a crisp metallic hiss. "Do not get cornered in the thick brush!"
"Then keep up!" she yelled back over the rushing wind, baring her sharp fangs in fierce excitement. "This overgrown pig is not going to wait for your brilliant tactical meeting!"
The enraged razor boar charged blindly through the underbrush, snapping thick saplings and tearing gnarled roots from the damp earth.
'Back in the northern crags, our entire pack needed three seasoned hunters circling together to corner a massive tusker like this.'
A solitary wing of luminous light flickered brilliantly behind her shoulder, boosting her acceleration whenever her paws pushed off the ground.
[ CringeSlayer91: she just hit anime sprint speed, no wolf should move like that on all fours ]
[ ShadowMage44: evolution multiplier doing its thing, the stat sheet said 1.5x for a reason ]
'Alone, my old mortal body would have been forced to retreat... but this divine form easily overpowers a solitary tusker.'
The raging beast planted its cloven hooves and spun around violently, leveling its jagged stone-coated tusks directly toward her chest.
'Damn it... I took my eyes off the loose gravel footing!'
Hajin's flying kick struck the monster's armored flank with thunderous force, hurling the three-hundred-pound beast sideways into a thick pine trunk.
The ancient evergreen shuddered under the violent impact, showering fragrant needles and shattered bark across the churned forest loam.
"You alright?" he asked, breathing hard as he landed in a low, defensive crouch between her and the dazed monster.
"I am fine... thanks," she admitted softly, rubbing her bruised elbow with a faint wince.
"Ribs intact?" he pressed, glancing sideways to inspect her posture for signs of internal trauma.
"They are completely intact," she huffed, puffing her cheeks with an irritated pout as she pushed herself up. "Stop looking at me like I am some fragile, wounded pup."
He held her defiant gaze for a brief second, then gestured toward the recovering monster with the gleaming tip of his sword.
"Good," he said, his lips curling into a wicked smirk. "Go tear it apart."
"You could have finished it off yourself while it was pinned," she muttered, baring her claws as her tail bristled. "It would have been much faster."
"Sure," he agreed with a quiet chuckle, shifting his grip on the hilt. "But you are the one who needs to test her newly acquired divine combat power in the field."
His calm, unwavering confidence struck a deep chord within her chest, driving away any lingering self-doubt as she dropped into a predatory stance.
The enraged boar scrambled back onto its feet with bristling gray bristles, fixing its bloodshot eyes upon the agile wolf girl.
She lunged forward with explosive, blinding speed, channeling divine mana into her fingertips until razor-sharp light claws formed over her nails.
She descended upon its thick skull before it could mount another charge, driving the luminous claws deep through reinforced bone with lethal precision.
The monster shuddered violently twice against the mossy ground, then collapsed into absolute stillness as dark blood pooled beneath its snout.
Juna stood triumphantly above the fallen carcass while her rapid breathing slowed, watching the glowing light dissolve from her sharp fingertips.
'Zero skill activation incantation needed... my own mana simply obeyed my intent, taking the exact lethal shape I pictured in my mind.'
'She mastered that manifested claw technique instantly without any formal instruction... she is a natural combat genius.'
She glanced toward him from the corner of her eyes, while one pointed ear swiveled attentively toward the sound of his footsteps.
'This strange human smells clean in a way I cannot explain... my chest feels remarkably warm whenever he stands beside me.'
Her nose suddenly twitched as an unnatural, cloying sweetness replaced the metallic tang of fresh monster blood in the forest air.
'Dead beast blood sweetens unnaturally fast... no experienced hunter in my northern pack ever trusted sweet blood.'
"Told you," Juna declared with a proud, feral grin, holding up two fingers in a victorious sign. "Easy work for a divine wolf."
"You did great," he began, taking a step toward her with an approving smile.
The dead monster erupted from the bloodied loam before he could finish his praise, snapping its twisted neck with horrifying, unnatural strength.
Its thick shoulders expanded rapidly with sickening pops while the cloven front hooves split into jagged, clawed appendages dripping with viscous dark fluid.
"Juna, behind you!" he roared, his blood running cold as his instincts screamed in panic.
His desperate warning echoed across the clearing, but the violent mutation struck before she could complete her defensive leap.
A muscular limb slammed into her ribs with crushing momentum, launching her slender frame across the clearing like a discarded doll.
A sharp, agonizing gasp escaped her lips as her back struck a solid granite boulder, and she collapsed into the churned dirt with dark blood trailing from her mouth.
'What was that...? I did not even see it move, and the darkness is rushing in so fast.'
She heard him shout her name with raw, terrified fury, before the shadowy forest canopy blurred together into deep oblivion.
Her limp fingers rested motionless in the dirt as deep unconsciousness claimed her battered and bleeding spiritual body.
'The darkness smells of smoke and burning iron... just like the terrible night my northern village burned to ash.'
Somewhere beyond the suffocating dark, his steady voice echoed with unwavering authority, refusing to let her spirit slip away into death.
Across the ruined clearing, the mutated horror turned its grotesque bulk in a sluggish circle, flexing its newly grown clawed appendages.
Eight paces of blood-stained earth separated Hajin from the fallen wolf girl, and the monstrous abomination blocked every single direct approach.
Three jagged crystalline Shards rotated rapidly around its bloody tusks, glowing with volatile and corrupted purple elemental mana frequencies.
'Died, cracked its skull, and now it mutates right on my watch... this day keeps finding new creative ways to bankrupt me.'
Corrupted magical energy rolled off the creature's spine in greasy waves, accelerating the grotesque transformation throughout its muscular frame.
'Fifteen credits for divine healing salve in the store... my entire remaining balance, and medicine cannot mend shattered ribs by itself if she stops breathing.'
[ DarkBlade: the boar got back up, i repeat, the dead boar got back up ]
[ CringeSlayer91: wolf girl is down and the boss music just kicked in ]
[ LurkerNoMore: juna please be okay, everyone else focus up ]
'Not today,' Hajin swore silently, his jaw clenching until his teeth ached.
'Win the fight first, then spend every last credit in the wallet to heal her... dead men have zero use for currency.'
He banished the floating stream chat with a sharp blink, raising his refined blade with a smooth, lethal stance.
"Stay down over there, Juna," he murmured under his breath, his voice dropping until she could barely hear him. "Just give me two minutes."
He knew she could not hear him through her unconscious state, yet speaking the promise anchored his deadly street focus.
The mutated beast lunged sideways with shocking agility, tearing deep trenches into the earth as it tried to flank his blind side.
It brought both jagged forelimbs down in a crushing slam, hurling a thick spray of loose dirt and shattered stones directly toward his face.
He slid backward across his heels with clenched teeth, letting the sharp debris fly harmlessly past his ducked shoulders and chest.
"You were dead five minutes ago," he growled, narrowing his eyes as he tracked the beast's shifting weight. "Do me a favor and stay dead."
'Three Shards in an unrefined beast frame indicates an incomplete mutation... a fully transformed monster will prove significantly deadlier.'
He pivoted sharply to the left, preventing the rampaging horror from driving him back into the jagged tree stumps behind his heels.
He shifted his center of gravity forward onto his lead foot, letting the ambient forest noise fade into absolute, razor-sharp focus.
[ Warning: Irregular Mutation Detected ]
[ Mutation Progress: 61% ]
[ External Mana Source: Unknown ]
"You flagged external mana," he hissed at the flashing prompt. "Name the source and save us both the trouble."
The translucent system interface offered no answer at all, maintaining its unhelpful administrative persona in the middle of mortal combat.
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[ Soul Energy: 19 ]
'Sharp metal against three Shards of borrowed dark mana... aim for the exposed neck where bone plates have not hardened yet.'
The beast scraped its split cloven hooves against the churned loam, letting out a guttural roar that vibrated through the soles of his feet.
A sickening purple miasma pooled beneath its slavering jaws, dissolving the fallen pine needles into foul-smelling gray sludge upon contact.
Hajin tightened his two-handed grip upon the wrapped hilt of his refined sword, feeling the faint, steady hum of his golden Ring vibrating through his palms.
The creature's jagged tusks lengthened by three inches in seconds, coating themselves in a vitreous layer of dark crystallized earth mana.
Every instinct honed in the cutthroat back alleys of Ouro warned him that a direct head-on collision would splinter steel and bone alike.
"Sixty percent mutated or not... you still owe me fifteen silver," he said, his eyes blazing with icy resolve. "Die properly this time!"
The grotesque abomination lowered its massive head as the three corrupted Shards spun with terrifying speed before the final fatal clash.