The Art Of Hunting

Lan sidestepped, but not fast enough. Claws raked his shoulder, drawing blood.

[Combat Alert!]

Target Identified: Mutated Forest Predator

Rank: D+ (Skycaller Variant)

Abilities:

- Enhanced Speed (Mana-Boosted Musculature)

- Corrosive Saliva (Mana-Induced Toxicity)

Pain flared through Lan's shoulder—hot, then cold as the toxin hit his bloodstream.

[Status Effect Applied: Neurotoxic Shock]

[Duration: 37 seconds]

[Effect: -15% Movement Speed]

The wolf lunged again.

Lan swung his blackened hand.

Contact.

A sound like shattering glass filled the clearing as dark qi met mana-infused flesh. The wolf's violet eyes flickered—just for an instant—as its internal energy stuttered.

[Mana Disruption Successful!]

Target Mana Core Stability: 62%

Disruption Duration: 3 seconds

Three seconds was enough.

Lan's knee met the wolf's ribs with a satisfying crack. The beast yelped, skidding across the leaf litter.

[First Blood Drawn!]

[Combat XP +50]

The wolf recovered faster than expected.

It pounced, fangs aiming for Lan's throat. He barely got his arm up in time. Teeth sank into his forearm—then immediately recoiled as the dark qi reacted.

[Mana Feedback Detected!]

Target Mana Core Stability: 41%

Status Effect Applied: Mana Burn

The wolf's muzzle smoked where it had bitten him. It shook its head violently, violet eyes dimming.

Lan pressed his advantage.

A palm strike to the snout. A kick to its hindquarters.

Each touch sent pulses of dark qi into the beast, disrupting its mana flow.

[Beast Mana Core Stability Now at 28%]

[Warning: Target Entering Frenzy State]

The wolf's breathing turned ragged. Its muscles bulged unnaturally, veins glowing violet beneath its fur.

[Target Mutation Detected!]

New Designation: Frenzied Skycaller

Threat Upgrade: C-Rank (Temporary)

The beast moved faster now—a blur of fangs and claws.

Lan barely dodged.

A claw grazed his cheek.

[Health Status]

HP: 67%

Mana Disruption Charges Remaining: 2/5

He needed to end this.

The wolf leaped.

Lan didn't dodge.

Instead, he met it mid-air, his blackened hand slamming directly onto its forehead.

[Critical Strike!]

[Mana Core Stability: 0%]

[Core Fracture Imminent]

The wolf convulsed.

Dark qi surged through its body, visible as inky wisps beneath its skin. Its violet eyes flickered wildly before—

POP.

The mana core in its chest shattered.

The beast dropped mid-pounce, crashing lifeless at Lan's feet.

[Combat Concluded!]

Victory Conditions Met

Rewards:

- XP +300

- New Skill Unlocked: Mana Leech (Passive)

- System Notice: Dark Qi reserves increased by 7%

Lan stared at his hand. The obsidian markings had spread slightly further up his arm.

[System Alert: Mutation Detected in User]

Dark Qi Integration: 18%

Warning: Exceeding 25% may trigger Solaris Bloodline rejection

A twig snapped behind him.

Lan turned slowly.

Five more pairs of violet eyes gleamed from the treeline.

[New Quest Alert: Survival Trial]

Objective: Eliminate Mutated Pack

Bonus Condition: Achieve 80%+ Mana Disruption Efficiency

Reward: Black Step (Movement Technique)

The first wolf growled.

Lan grinned.

The five mutated wolves fanned out with military tacticality, their violet eyes tracking Lan's every twitch. Saliva dripped from their maws, eating tiny craters into the forest floor.

[Combat Alert: Pack Tactics Detected]

Threat Level: C-Rank Collective

Warning: Encirclement Pattern Detected

Lan's dark qi reserves hummed in his veins, but his breathing remained steady. He'd killed one. Five were different.

Need a weapon.

His gaze snapped to a fallen oak branch—thick as his forearm, half-rotted. Useless to most.

Perfect for him.

Lan dove for the branch just as the first wolf lunged. Claws grazed his back, shredding fabric and skin.

[HP: 54%]

[Status: Bleeding (Minor)]

He rolled, coming up with the branch in his left hand. His right—the blackened one—clamped down on the wood.

Dark qi surged.

The bark disintegrated instantly, revealing pale wood beneath. But deeper the qi went, changing the branch rather than destroying it. The wood darkened, hardened, its fibers twisting into something new.

[Improvisation Successful!]

Crude Weapon Forged: Obsidian Shard Branch

Properties:

- Qi-Conductive (Dark Qi Affinity)

- Fragile (3-5 Strikes Remaining)

The lead wolf hesitated.

Lan didn't.

The first strike was a testing blow—a sideways swipe that caught the nearest wolf across the muzzle.

CRACK.

The sound was wrong. Not wood on flesh, but like glass breaking underwater. Black veins spiderwebbed from the impact site across the wolf's face, its left eye going dark as the mana there died.

[Mana Disruption: 40% Efficiency]

Target 1 Core Stability: 60%

The wolf yelped, recoiling.

Two more attacked from opposite sides.

Lan pivoted, the branch humming in his grip. A downward smash shattered the first wolf's foreleg. A reverse swing clipped the second's ribs—

SNAP.

The branch broke, half its length dissolving into black dust.

[Weapon Integrity: 2 Strikes Remaining]

The remaining wolves smelled weakness. They attacked as one.

Lan fought like a man possessed.

What remained of the branch became a weapon of efficiency as brutal as it was desperate:

- A thrust to the throat (Mana Disruption 68%)

- A pommel strike between the eyes (Core Stability 31%)

With each hit, dark qi flooded the wolves, making them stagger, their coordination faltering.

But they learned.

The largest wolf—the pack alpha—hung back, watching. Waiting.

Then, as Lan shattered the last of his makeshift weapon across Beta Wolf 3's skull, the alpha struck.

It wasn't a straightforward attack.

The alpha changed mid-leap, its body contorting, bones cracking as it shifted into something leaner, deadlier.

[Warning!]

Target 5 Evolving: D+ → C+ Rank

New Designation: Venom Wolf Alpha

Abilities:

- Limited Teleportation (5m Range)

- Mana Vampirism

The wolf vanished.

Reappeared behind Lan.

Fangs sank into his shoulder—deep.

[Critical Hit!]

[HP: 29%]

[Status: Mana Siphon Active]

Lan could feel his energy being stolen, his dark qi flickering.

The system screamed warnings. The other wolves, though wounded, began rising. Lan did the only thing he could.

He pulled.

The alpha had made a fatal mistake.

It had bitten his blackened arm.

Lan's new passive flared to life.

[Mana Leech Activated!]

Parasitic Link Established

The alpha's stolen energy reversed course—flowing back into Lan, but magnified, warped by his dark qi.

The wolf's violet eyes bulged.

Its veins turned black.

Then—

POP. POP. POP.

Every mana node in its body ruptured at once.

[Alpha Eliminated!]

[Chain Reaction Detected]

The other wolves screamed as their pack-bond shattered their already unstable cores.

One by one, they collapsed.

Silence.

Then—

[Quest Complete!]

Survival Trial Concluded

Bonus Condition Achieved (82% Disruption Efficiency)

Rewards:

- Dark Step (D rank) Unlocked (3m teleport, 50s cooldown)

- Dark Qi Reserves +12%

Lan collapsed to one knee, his vision swimming.

The branch—what remained of it—lay in pieces, still smoking with residual dark qi.

A weapon. A proof.

He'd survived.

For now.