Thornspire (1)

'Stay calm and assess the situation…'

Seth forced himself to focus, though the overwhelming dread from his instincts still weighed heavily on him.

Thinking back, he recalled Sir Vince's warning- how they would lose their sense of direction the moment they stepped into the forest due to their inability to use internal force. However, what Vince hadn't explained was just how potent the forest's disorienting influence would be.

Only after steadying his nerves did Seth realized that, at some point, he had not only dropped his weapon but had also collapsed onto the forest floor.

Quickly pushing himself up, he retrieved his crossbow and scanned his surroundings, his senses still on high alert.

True to its name, the forest was teeming with absurdly tall trees, each covered in thick, menacing thorns. But that wasn't the only unsettling feature- due to the sheer height of the trees, barely any sunlight pierced through the dense canopy of leaves and twisted branches, shrouding the forest floor in an eerie twilight. Seth was beginning to suspect that the name 'Thornspire' came from both the towering height and the thorn-laden nature of the trees in this dreadful place.

Fortunately, visibility wasn't an issue for him. His unique lineage granted him near-perfect sight in low-light conditions, and his reptilian beastman bloodline allowed him to detect heat signatures of various life forms.

And it was precisely because of that ability that he noticed the inhuman figure silently closing in on him.

"Curses!"

Panic surged through him. Clumsily, he grabbed an arrow from his quiver and hastily nocked it into his crossbow. Taking a deep breath, he ducked into a small bush, his heart pounding as he waited for whatever was approaching.

Slowly but surely, the creature crept toward his position. Seth held his breath, remaining utterly still, hoping the beast wouldn't sense his presence.

As it drew closer, he finally got a good look at it, and what he saw did nothing to ease his nerves.

It was a grotesque rodent, standing on all fours, its matted brown fur riddled with exposed patches of raw, sore-ridden flesh that oozed pus. Its eyes were a solid, eerie red- completely devoid of irises or pupils. A thick, sinewy tail trailed behind it, twitching erratically. And, like any truly nightmarish creature, it possessed razor- sharp claws and jagged, yellowed teeth. Foamy drool leaked from its maw, adding the final touch to its already horrifying appearance.

As the creature continued sniffing and scouring the area where he had just stood, recognition struck Seth. He had seen this beast before- not in person, but in the pages of a bestiary he had studied during his so-called wilderness survival class.

It was a Dire Rat, a creature standing about two feet tall- roughly the size of a common domestic dog. They were typically found in swamps and burrows, though on rare occasions, they inhabited forests that were mostly devoid of sunlight. These creatures were infamous for hunting livestock on farmlands and preying on anything smaller than themselves. However, when in packs, they were even capable of taking down animals as large as cows.

What made them particularly dangerous was their exceptional sense of smell and hearing- key tools they used to track and hunt their prey.

Armed with this knowledge, Seth realized his fatal mistake just in time.

With a burst of instinct, he rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the Dire Rat's vicious claw swipe.

It had found him- not because he hadn't hidden himself well, but because it had picked up on his scent.

'Chances are, that's how it found me in the first place,' Seth deduced grimly.

Luckily for him, the dire rat appeared to be injured, as evident from the patches of pus-filled sores covering its body. Its sluggish movements allowed Seth to evade its pounces and claw swipes with relative ease.

Jumping back a few feet to create distance between himself and the creature, Seth wasted no time in pulling the crossbow's trigger, instantly releasing the nocked arrow. It shot through the air and embedded itself in the beast's shoulder, eliciting a pained screech.

Without pausing, Seth rolled to the side to dodge another attack before swiftly nocking another arrow and firing again at the wounded creature.

This time, however, luck was not on his side. The arrow missed its mark entirely, landing just beside the dire rat's left paw.

"Damn it!"

Panic surged through Seth as he scrambled to grab another arrow, but the beast had no intention of giving him the chance. With a sudden burst of speed, it lunged at him, ready to claim its prey. Reacting a moment too late, Seth barely registered the rat's clawed paw striking his hand, sending him tumbling backward.

Fortunately, he escaped the dire rat's claws without injury. However, the attack had knocked the crossbow from his grasp, and the beast was already closing in for another strike.

As Seth caught sight of the approaching creature, a sinking realization hit him- his weapon had fallen a considerable distance away, far beyond his reach. There was no way he could retrieve it before the dire rat was upon him.

He knew that if he didn't act fast, he was going to die. Focusing inward, Seth reached out to the strange sensation within him- still unfamiliar, yet undeniably present. Meanwhile, the dire rat wasted no time, lunging straight at him.

Grasping onto the elusive feeling, he extended his arm, resolve burning in his eyes, and spoke a few simple words.

"[Umbra: Repel!]"

At his command, a near-transparent force burst from his hand, noiselessly surging forward. The dire rat, still mid-lunge, had no time to react before the invisible energy struck, sending it hurtling backward. Though the force itself wasn't particularly strong, the rat's own momentum worked against it, easily displacing the creature mid-air.

Seizing the opportunity, Seth sprinted toward his crossbow. Unfortunately, his spell had done little actual damage, and the beast recovered from its fall almost instantly- already closing in on him once more.

Seth sprinted toward his crossbow, the dire rat hot on his heels. Just as he reached down and grabbed his weapon, the beast was already close enough to lunge. This time, he wouldn't be able to rely on magic- his previous spell had drained him far more than he had expected.

As he snatched up the crossbow, his momentum sent him tumbling to the ground. But he didn't have time to worry about that. With a swift turn, he instinctively raised the weapon and fired the arrow that had been nocked before he dropped it.

He shut his eyes, fully convinced that a single arrow wouldn't be enough to save him. It was a desperate, last-ditch effort. Bracing himself, he waited for the dire rat's painful retaliation… but nothing came.

Instead, a warm liquid splattered against his face. Heart pounding, Seth hesitantly cracked open one eye.

The dire rat was right upon him- but it never struck. The arrow he had fired, blind and desperate, had pierced the beast's eye and driven deep into its brain. It collapsed lifelessly before him.

The dire rat was dead.