Chapter 45: Going Hunting (2)

Arlo raised his hand, pausing mid-step. "There," he whispered. Noah followed his gaze and spotted a brown-feathered bird perched lazily on a branch high above, its head bobbing slightly as it pecked at the bark. Arlo reached into his satchel and pulled out his own enchanted arrow. He funneled mana into it with practiced ease, the arrow gleaming faintly before he tossed it upward in one smooth motion. The arrow whistled through the air. A sharp squawk cut the silence, and the bird dropped like a stone, disappearing into the brush. "Nice shot," Noah said, nodding. "Of course," Arlo replied smugly, already heading in the direction the bird had fallen. "That’s one more to our tally." Noah followed him, pushing aside low branches and thick ferns. The forest was denser here, and the sun barely reached through the clustered canopy. Then, they stopped. Just a few feet from where the bird had landed lay something else. Something bigger. A carcass. It was mangled, partially eaten, the flesh torn open in several places. Rib bones jutted out, cracked and bloodied. The body had once belonged to a cow, or something cow-like. Its hide was mostly shredded, its stomach cavity hollowed out. Noah’s stomach turned. "What the hell?" Arlo crouched beside the remains, face drawn. "That’s a cow." "Do we even have cows on campus?" Noah asked, stepping back warily. Arlo shook his head. "No farms. Not even a livestock shed." "Then either it wandered in..." "Or something dragged it here," Arlo finished grimly. The silence between them grew heavy. Noah glanced around the woods. The trees looked darker now. The wind that rustled through the branches felt colder. He didn’t like it. "So we’ve either got a cow-killing creature lurking somewhere near the academy," Noah muttered, "or something slipped through the barrier." "Neither option sounds great," Arlo said. He stood and dusted his hands off. "We should get out of here." Noah nodded, but first reached for the downed bird. "At least let’s grab this." He scooped the still-warm bird into the sack as Arlo kept watch, eyes narrowed. As they stepped away from the cow’s corpse, Noah asked, "What if it’s a stray beast from a Monolith?" "That’s what I’m worried about," Arlo said. "If it is, it’s either weak enough to get lost or smart enough to hide. Neither is good news." They picked up their pace. "We need to find Liam and Theo," Noah said. "If something dangerous really is in these woods, we’re safer together." Arlo nodded. "Agreed. Let’s move." The two of them broke into a light jog, keeping their heads low and their eyes peeled, the sack of birds now forgotten in favor of something far more important. Getting out of the woods alive. [][][][][] Liam and Theo moved through the underbrush with the kind of focus they’d been taught since they learned to walk, their eyes scanning the canopy above while their steps made little sound on the forest floor. Liam led, his figure tall and broad-shouldered, with cropped black hair and a scar slicing across his left brow. He had a heavyset build common to frontline fighters, and his stance was always alert, seemingly ready to pounce. Theo followed just a step behind, leaner, wiry, with shaggy brown hair tied back and a silver band tucked around his left wrist. Where Liam was stoic and quiet, Theo was quicker to speak, though rarely with anything unnecessary. "There." Liam muttered. Theo followed his line of sight and saw a speck of movement. A green-plumed bird was perched on a twisted branch, preening itself. Without a word, Liam reached into his pouch, pulled out an enchanted arrow, and imbued it with his mana. The arrow shimmered faintly before he tossed it underhand toward the branch. The bird had no time to react. The arrow struck with a soft whump, and the bird dropped into a heap of feathers. They walked over to collect the kill, and Theo grinned. "You’re getting good at that." "Been practicing." Liam said simply, kneeling to retrieve the bird. He placed it into the cloth sack at his side. As they resumed walking, Theo stretched lazily. "I wonder how Arlo and Noah are doing." Liam didn’t answer immediately. He hopped over a root and glanced at Theo. "Honestly? Even if it was just Arlo, he’d probably outscore us." Theo laughed. "You’re not wrong. Arlo’s annoying like that." "With Noah though," Liam added, "we’re definitely losing." "Think so?" "They’re calling him the Reaper now, remember?" Liam said with a sideways smirk. "He beat Ben Stanley. Ben’s Gold-tier with an A-rank skill. That’s not nothing." Theo nodded, more thoughtful now. "Yeah, true. But it’s good to lose sometimes." Liam raised a brow. "You don’t hear that often." Theo shrugged. "A clean defeat teaches more than a dirty win. Besides, we’re not here just to win. We’re here to test and sharpen ourselves." Liam gave a small grunt of agreement as they pushed deeper into the forest. Then, the sound of rustling leaves faded. Theo stopped first. "Wait..." Liam froze as well, his hand already drifting toward the hilt of the dagger at his belt. The birdsong had vanished. No rustling. No snapping twigs. Just silence. The kind of silence that wasn’t natural. "Forest just went dead," Liam said, voice low. Theo nodded slowly, eyes darting around. "You feel that?" "Yeah." A sudden breeze swept through, colder than before. Both boys straightened. Something was wrong. And they were no longer alone. Liam and Theo stood back to back, their breath shallow, ears straining. The silence pressed in around them like a heavy blanket, unnatural and dense. Each held a dagger in one hand, their other hand hovering over their pouches of enchanted arrows. "Tree line, two paces west," Liam whispered. Theo nodded, and together they moved in slow, measured steps toward a thick-rooted tree with a massive trunk. It would give them cover on one side, at least. Their backs pressed against the rough bark as they scanned the canopy above. Then the silence shattered.