Beyond the barrier

Kaden only stopped running after several hours when he encountered his first quasi-core beast. He had crossed the barrier a couple of hours before but this was the first beast he was running into. 

Under the pitch-black sky, the beast loomed before him, its presence exuding raw menace. It was a Dire Shadowfang Wolf, its dark fur rippling with an eerie, unnatural sheen beneath the weak glow of the moon above. Its piercing yellow eyes locked onto Kaden, unblinking.

The beast was fast, strong, and highly territorial. And more importantly, it was intelligent. Unlike the low-level creatures Kaden had faced before, a quasi-core beast had a rudimentary understanding of tactics—it wouldn't just charge blindly. Also, a wolf was never alone.