Ashen was asleep near the riverbank, dead to the world, hair ruffled by the breeze.
His breath was slow, calm—still out cold.
Nearby, Katrina practiced in silence.
Her mana-infused whip cracked through the air—again and again.
Each strike hissed with raw pressure, stirring whirlpools of wind.
> "I'm getting used to it," she muttered, wrist flicking smoothly.
The whip danced like lightning—thin, coiled, unpredictable.
It shimmered in purple, draining her mana every time it snapped.
Each swing charged the air, bending it slightly, warping the space it passed through.
Then suddenly—
She froze.
Left hand raised.
Her bracer lit up with a high-pitched hum, veins of blue light crawling across its surface.
Mana surged.
> BAAAM!!
A blinding collision exploded across the field.
Her electric burst slammed into a glowing beam of white light streaking in from the treeline.
The impact tore through the mist, left a shockwave that split water and trees alike.
Ashen stirred, blinking in a daze as smoke coiled into the sky.
> "Wha…?" he mumbled, groggy.
Before he could sit up, Katrina scooped him into her arms with practiced ease.
> "We're leaving," she said flatly, already leaping into the trees.
Branches blurred past. Leaves whipped at their faces.
She didn't slow down.
> "An attack? Who could it be…?" she muttered, her grip tightening.
If she were alone, she would've stayed.
Fought. Burned the forest down if needed.
But with Ashen?
> Too risky.
Back in the clearing, the smoke parted.
And from it, a man stepped out—tall, bony, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a crooked smile.
He tapped dust off his coat, annoyed.
> "Tsk. A whole day charging that Solar Beam… and it didn't even singe her."
"Time for Plan B.
---
Meanwhile—
Ashen had finally regained full consciousness.
> "Hey! Where are we going? What happened to the test?!"
He was yelling, squirming in Katrina's arms.
Her eyebrow twitched.
> "He was so peaceful when he was asleep,"
Ashen immediately shut up.
> "Okay. Let's not make her angrier."
He swallowed his panic and stayed quiet—still wildly confused.
Branches blurred. The forest below zipped by in green smears.
Katrina moved like a shadow through the canopy—fast, fluid, fearless.
Ashen, tucked in her arms, barely held on to reality. He felt the wind cut across his face, the warmth of her bracer beneath him, still lingering from that last blast.
Then—
> A howl pierced the air.
Loud. Clear. Unnatural.
Not one of hunger.
One of obeying orders.
Katrina's eyes snapped toward the sound. Her jaw clenched.
> "They went as far as to bring the Dark Wolves..."
Her voice was low. Dangerous.
Ashen blinked, confused.
> "Wolves? But… we're high in the trees. No way they can reach us—"
He didn't say it out loud.
He just nodded quietly, swallowing hard.
Like a smart boy.
---
Then he saw it.
A blur of black fur, yellow eyes blazing—racing across the treetops ahead.
> "What the hell—!?"
Before the beast could leap, Katrina's whip lashed forward with a crack that split the sky.
It struck the wolf mid-air.
> CRASH!
The creature spun back like a ragdoll, slamming into a tree trunk with a sickening thud.
It hit the ground, motionless.
But no time to celebrate.
From behind, another wolf sprang.
Faster.
Smarter.
This one aimed for the kill.
Ashen's breath hitched.
> "We're dead—"
But Katrina didn't panic.
She twisted mid-air with supernatural grace—a full 360° spin with only one arm free—
And then snapped her foot out with vicious precision.
> BAM!!
The kick landed square on the wolf's snout, blasting it back through the canopy.
She dropped to the forest floor with barely a sound, crouched, legs coiled like a spring—then launched right back into the trees.
Ashen's heart pounded.
> They can jump that high…?
His lip bled.
He hadn't even noticed he'd bitten it.
Not out of fear.
Not quite.
> Out of frustration.
Frustration that he is useless in this situation.
A weight.
Dead weight.
---
Katrina didn't glance at him.
Eyes forward. Mana high. Whip raised.
> "Two down," she muttered. "I wonder how many more to go."
Howls echoed again.
This wasn't a random encounter.
This was a hunt.