Chapter 11: Smoke and Fang

Morning greeted Ren Tai with a cool mist clinging to the underbrush and dappled sunlight piercing the thick canopy in golden shafts.

He rose early, body well rested and alive with power. The Will Flame still flickered quietly in his soul sea, and his soul pulsed with clarity.

Today, he would hunt.

He adjusted his gear with sharp precision — leather armor snug across his torso, daggers sheathed to his thighs, and his saber resting on his back.

After a quick meal, he stepped into the forest's embrace. As he walked, his senses stayed sharp. Not just for danger — but opportunity. He spotted a patch of thick, lavender-tipped herbs nestled beneath a thorny bush. Ren crouched and plucked a few leaves.

Huntersbane.

A rare forest herb. When crushed and smeared across the skin, it could mask one's scent for nearly an hour. A perfect tool for both hunters and prey.

Ren applied it carefully, the scent sharp and herbal. The wind was with him. He moved on.

It didn't take long before he spotted them with his sharp eyesight — tracks. Small but sharp-clawed prints scarring the muddy trail, a few tufts of fur nearby. His eyes narrowed.

Spotted Mongoose.

A flicker of memory surged — not his own. Jacob's instincts, remnants from the devoured soul, filled in the meaning of the trail signs. A scouting trail. A small pack. These might be the same beasts that attacked him during his return from the clearing. If he remembered correctly there were twelve of them left.

Good.

He followed the trail deeper into the woods, every step silent, every breath measured. Eventually, it led to a dense cluster of trees with a burrow carved into the earth.

Perched atop a tree branch, Ren spotted one of them. A single spotted mongoose. On watch.

He was six meters away. The creature hadn't noticed him.

Huntersbane worked.

But he couldn't just charge in. The burrow was too narrow. He wouldn't be able to swing his saber properly inside. He needed to lure them out.

First, he needed to find their second exit. Spotted mongooses always had one — or they'd make it in themselves. Judging from the direction and shape of the burrow, it couldn't be more than twelve meters long.

He circled silently, searching. Eventually, he found it — near the root system of a thick tree, hidden by shrubs.

Perfect.

He gathered dried twigs and a handful of Ashroot, a low-tier herb that produced eye-burning, body-weakening smoke. It wasn't lethal — but it didn't need to be.

He bundled it all together with dry grass and shrubs, storing them in his ring.

Then he returned.

He remained silent. Unseen.

He crept to the blind spot behind the lookout mongoose. The creature twitched — but too late.

Viper's Lunge.

Ren exploded from the branch like a coiled spring, his saber slicing through the air in a clean arc. A single slash ended the creature before it could react. He caught the body and stored it quickly — before the blood could spread and alert the others.

He brought out the prepped Ashroot bundle, placing it at the burrow's main entrance. A quick strike of flint sent sparks leaping — the bundle caught, smoke hissing into the dark.

Smoke hissed and curled into the tunnel.

He didn't hesitate. Smoke still curling behind him, he dashed toward the hidden exit.

His saber gleamed.

Low-level beasts like these would never flee into fire. They would come running.

And he was ready.

After a few minutes, the first mongoose dashed out. The moment Ren Tai saw it, he struck — his saber slicing cleanly through its neck. He didn't have time to store the body; two more burst from the exit, disoriented and coughing.

He surged forward.

Viper's Lunge.

His movement was smooth and deadly. In a single flowing motion, he beheaded them both before they could fully register his presence. There was no pause — no hesitation.

After his breakthrough, following their movements was easy.

His pulse was steady, but a flicker of satisfaction curled in his chest. This was the kind of precision he craved — the thrill of the hunt, the clarity of combat. Coupled with the smokescreen from the Ashroot and the precision of Viper's Lunge, he moved like a shadow of death. One by one, the mongooses fell, unable to react in time.

Until only the pack leader remained.

The peak 2-star beast emerged slowly, body tense, eyes glowing with savage intelligence. Unlike the others, it didn't seem affected by the smoke at all.

Ren Tai remained calm.

He had expected this. The Ashroot wouldn't work on a creature of this level.

In a burst of speed, he moved.

The mongoose leader snarled The beast struck, its claws whistling past his ribs — narrowly missing. But Ren was already moving, pivoting low beneath the arc.

Their eyes locked. One moment. One breath.

Then his blade rose like judgment.. He spun behind the beast and, with a clean upward arc, beheaded it in one strike.

"Easy," he thought.

He wiped his saber clean and began storing the fallen. The forest was quiet now, save for the soft hiss of dying smoke.

When the last body vanished into his ring, Ren Tai rose, gaze lingering on the empty clearing.

It had been a clean hunt — calculated, silent, decisive.

But somewhere deeper in these woods, more dangerous things stirred.

With one last glance, he turned toward his cave, his steps sure and silent.

The hunt was over. For now.