CHAPTER 2 (PART 1): KILL THE BEAST

"Eeeek!" 

The shrieking scream of a wild boar echoed throughout the dark forest as it got slashed by Arth’s blade, sharp and deadly. Dark and warm blood burst out of the beast’s wounded belly.

Arth, who was standing in front, raised his Blackwinter sword with its sharp point aiming down towards the head of the boar. Without any hesitation, he landed a quick and direct thrust on its neck. It was a seamless plunge on the soft flesh.

The boar died a few seconds after and a white, small sphere slowly appeared from its mouth. Arth took the white core and placed it on his jar. He grimaced, shaking his head in disappointment, looking at his jar that only contained white cores.

‘Where the hell can I find those B-class beasts?’ Arth thought. ‘Seriously, it's been almost two hours already and all I have collected are white cores from C-class. Damn it.’

Arth let out a huge breath. "We have to work harder, Blackwinter," he told his sword as he placed it back on its scabbard. Without wasting any second, he continued rushing ahead to the depths of the Dark Woods.

The forest was as dark as a moonless night. It was still afternoon, but the light from the sky was completely covered by the big branches of the tall trees above. Silence was so loud that only the sound of Arth’s shoes crunching on the snowy ground was heard. He felt chills on his body as he smelled the husky scent from the old trees combined with the intense coldness of the air. The deeper he went into the forest, the darker it got.

"Come on, B-class beasts," Arth repeatedly whispered, panting hard. “Just a single one would be enough so that I can finally go out of these wretched woods,” he was running out of breath but he still kept on his track. There was no time to waste for the sun is almost down.

All of a sudden, Arth heard a loud growl from his right. He took a quick turn and followed the growling sound ahead. His heart raced fast in excitement. It had always been the first thing he felt every time he went on hunting with Chief Gregor. When he sensed something big of a prey, his energy would suddenly radiate, giving him greater urges to kill it. Arth believed it as a big indicator for a person as a talented hunter. 

Arth took an abrupt stop while breathing shortly when he finally saw the beast. “There you are.”

A huge lion with brown fur stood at a small lump on the snowy ground, flexing the strong muscles of its four legs. The beast’s deadly claws were already out, playing and scratching on the snow surface. Arth had already learned how to determine the class of a beast based on its size. So by judging the size of the lion, he knew it was in class B. And it was a huge jackpot.

The lion charged wildly, opening its wide, razor fangs. Arth bent his knees and took a deep breath as he waited for the beast to get close enough. As their distance closed to a meter, he swiftly jumped towards the right to dodge the beast’s deadly bite. That after, the lion's head crashed against the big trunk of the tree while Arth rolled to the ground and quickly recovered.

The beast shook its head, glared at Arth, and roared loudly in frustration. It bent its legs and cast a leap into the air, directly attacking Arth with its sharp and powerful claws. However, it was a wide opening for Arth. He stomped his foot against the ground and immediately dashed beneath the lion. He swung his black sword and drew a cut at the lion's front arms. The beast stumbled on the snow, roaring in pain as endless blood squirted out of its sliced arms.

"Wound the prey… to slow it down," Arth said, walking closer to the lion. Red, thick liquid was spreading on the white ground. Some were dripping from the black-colored blade of Arth’s sword, leaving out red spots on the snow as he walked.

The lion attempted to attack once again but Arth easily evaded, and by his agile movements, he made another cut on the back legs of the beast. The beast growled ferociously as it fell out of balance, its heavy body slamming to the ground like a fallen tree.

In an instant, Arth gave the final blow, piercing the top of the beast’s head. The sound of the blade sliding through the flesh sounded so satisfying for his ears.

A few seconds after, it died. A red, glowing core slowly appeared from its mouth. The side of Arth's lips rose to a smile, picking up the tiny red sphere and storing it on his jar.

‘Gotta' make it out of this forest now,’ Arth thought. ‘Time is running out. So I have to reach the arena.’ He placed his sword back to its scabbard and started running. ‘Good thing I never used my magic, I don't want to drain all of my energy until I get out of this dark woods.’

Minutes have passed and Arth’s breath was already racing as he rushed further to the forest. He took a jump on the small cliff ahead but then, without noticing, his left foot landed on a blue circular mark on the ground.

Arth’s eyes widened in shock. "Dammit!"

The blue mark on the ground flashed with blinding light, instantly freezing Arth's left shoes and preventing him from running. He muttered a curse as he felt his feet getting numb because of the intense coldness. It was a simple, magic spell trap which Arth had known as the ‘Ice King’s Footprint.’ It was usually used for hunting beasts, trapping them after stepping on it. And now, he felt so dumb and stupid for easily being caught by it.

‘How did I not see this trap?!’ Arth thought as he tried to remove his shoes but the ice was too strong. He wanted to use his sword to break the ice, but he knew that even though it was only a simple spell trap, it was unbreakable. 

"It's been so long, Arth,"

Arth suddenly heard a familiar voice from behind. When he turned around, his lips slightly parted, looking surprised.

"Bran," Arth spoke as he narrowed his blue eyes at the young man with brown hair, standing from a distance. His young face and skin seemed to be like he was in the same age as Arth. ‘So... he's in the competition too?’ he thought.

Bran raised his silver sword and aimed it at Arth's sling bag. "Seems like you have a B-class core on your jar, Arth," he smirked.

“You wouldn’t dare,” Arth barked. He used his sword to cut the strings of his left shoe and then pulled out his foot. He was now standing on the snowy ground with one barefoot. It was numb, so he was yet to feel the coldness of the ground.

"You have to follow the rules, Arth. Encountering another warrior is meant for a battle," Bran said. "I challenge you to a duel. If I win, I'll get all of those cores you collected, including that precious red core you just got."

Arth was about to reply but Bran immediately advanced towards him, giving a heavy swing of his sword. The sound of two blades clanged together as Arth used his sword to counter Bran’s attack. They began exchanging blows at each other with heavy, vibrating impacts affecting their arms.

Bran had appeared to be stronger now compared to what he had been before, when he was still on Frostwood village training with him. Bran left the village a few years back and moved with his parents to Casterfall City. Although they grew up and trained together, Arth had known how dirty Bran played.

As they were blown away from each other, Bran dashed forward again, giving a full thrust with his sharp pointed sword. Arth quickly rotated his agile body to avoid it while landing a powerful, spinning kick on Bran’s waist. The strong kick pushed Bran to the side with much force as his shoes sled on the ground away from Arth.

A loud and dark hiss suddenly stopped their fight. Arth took a pause and looked around. He could hear something big, something sliding or crawling on the icy surface of the ground.

"Oh no, it's that beast," Bran's eyes looked terrified.

"What beast?!" Arth asked but the brown-haired young man refused to answer.

Bran stepped backward with his eyes wide open in fear when he saw something behind Arth. He slowly lifted his trembling hand and pointed at the direction.

"Behind you!"

Arth was about to turn but a powerful strike unexpectedly hit his shoulder, instantly blasting him against the tree trunk. He fell to the ground and smacked his head hard on the big stone.

“Dammit!” he muttered, trying to recover but the bone on his shoulder felt so crushed in all brutality. He grunted in pain as he slowly held his aching injury.

‘God, it hurts!’

Arth squeezed his eyes shut while drawing deep breaths. He slowly felt a warm liquid flowing from his head. It was indeed injured after hitting the hard rock. But since his adrenaline took effect, he still had not felt anything yet.

“What the hell…?”Arth's jaws dropped in shock, seeing a huge black snake. Its red eyes leered at him. He came to realize that the powerful strike earlier came from the beast’s hard tail. Its long body was about five times the size of a human. Looking at the snake’s black, sturdy scales, Arth knew he had no chance attacking its body using his sword. So he was only left with one option; the head.

‘Wait … Where’s my bag?’ Arth's eyes were caught by Bran who was now running away while carrying his sling bag. "God, no!" Arth checked his body and confirmed that it was indeed his bag Bran was already carrying away. 

‘That cheater! What am I gonna do with the cores for the competition?!’

he clenched his fists in irritation. But that did not matter now for his life was already in a pinch.

He exhaled heavily, trying to calm himself down as the snake crawled closer towards him. Its red, intimidating eyes made his chest pound harder. He coughed with blood, feeling the taste of a rusted iron. As he slowly got on his feet, his knees weakened, but he still managed to stand up. It was painful for him to move his left arm, so he was left with his other right to use his sword.

‘If I use too much magic, I might not have enough energy to get out of this forest. Come on! Think, Arth, think!’

The huge snake hissed with more aggression as it raised its head and looked down at Arth. The beast abruptly swung its hard tail to strike him once again.

Arth already foresaw the same attack so he immediately ducked, dropping his body down on the snowy ground to dodge it. In result, the tail of the snake hit the large tree, creating a loud ‘bang’ sound. The tree shook hard with some of its small branches falling off to the ground.

Arth swiftly crawled and tried to stand up. ‘I can't fight this damn beast head-on in my current state,’

he walked as fast as he could, away from the snake while it was yet to recover from hitting the large tree. He suddenly saw the blue circular mark on the ground earlier.

Arth’s eyebrows rose as he finally figured out what he needed to do. "That's it!" he said. He tried to make haste even though his left, aching shoulder was injured. But there was no time left. He just endured the pain, placed his sword back to its sheath for him to be able to run faster.

"Ice King's Footprint," he cast, stomping his feet against the ground. The surface magically glowed where a blue circle was marked.

‘It's a simple ice elemental spell so I might be able to cast it multiple times,’

Arth thought. He ran straight for about a few feet before casting another one on the ground. Turning back, the furious snake was seen rushing towards him with overflowing rage.

"Come on!" Arth shouted at the beast. He ran faster, making the snake follow his path while casting the same spell trap every distance.

‘This is bad. I’m almost out of energy,’

Arth thought as his chest got heavier with his muscles weakening. ‘One more!’ he finally stomped on the ground for his last spell and quickly turned around to face the beast. He took a few steps backward, seeing the wild snake slowing down. The beast's long and huge body indeed followed Arth’s path and was now set for his trap.

“Curse you,” Arth instantly clasped both of his hands. “Release!” he cast out. The ground under the snake's long body immediately glowed much brighter. ‘This spell trap is specifically made for hunting wild beasts. I’m lucky Chief Gregor taught me this simple magic,’ he thought.

When the bright light faded, the snake's entire body was completely frozen with thick, colorless ice. The beast hissed loudly as it tried to move its body but it could not.

‘This spell is unbreakable, but it only lasts for a short time,’

Arth pulled out his Blackwinter sword using his right hand. He had to kill the wild snake now while its body could not move yet.

"Die you beast!" Arth cried as he raised his sword and plunged its sharp point through the top of the snake's head. The pain forced the beast to go outrage, wildly swinging its head.

Arth’s took a deep breath as he saw the snake slowly dying with his Blackwinter pierced on its head. Endless blood started to flow, mixing with the white snow.

At the snake's last breath, its mouth slowly opened, where Arth saw a purple core appearing.

Arth’s legs were shaking when he stood up and walked towards the dead beast. The thick ice that froze its whole body just broke and disappeared.

He slowly pulled his sword on top of its head, hearing the sticky sound of the blade, sliding through its flesh.  The stinky odor of the beast’s mouth came as Arth picked up the purple core.

"I hope one A-class beast is enough," Arth whispered as he looked at the rare core. "That Bran, I'm gonna get that thief."

Although there was no light on the forest, Arth knew that the sun was almost setting. He managed to get out of the forest and finally saw the mountain ahead. The loud cheers of the people from the arena were just heard even from Arth’s distance.