NOVEL WEB Chapter 239: Pursuing Dread
"Ah, there they are!" Hal couldn't help but exclaim in delight as he spotted a cluster of dry and thin, entwined vines rooted to the slopes in the middle parts of the windswept mountain.
They looked unimpressive at first glance.
However, in the hands of a skilled arcanist, these Howling Coils would turn into treasures.
Hal quickly dismissed the sparrow and rushed over to the other side of the mountain slope, evening a few areas with horizontal [Earthen Wall]s for an easier time.
They clambered and jumped as they traversed the difficult terrain.
However, Hal's attention wasn't on the Howling Coils anymore.
For quite some time, a C-ranked Craggyhide Leopard began stalking them.
It was even smaller than Loki.
However, perhaps because it knew that the wolf companion wasn't fully matured yet, and that it sensed very little mana emanating from Hal, the beast believed it could take both of them in combat.
'Bad call, bud…' Hal remarked inwardly, suppressing his grin as he and Loki lured it closer, feigning ignorance.
The Craggyhide Leopard naturally stalked closer and closer as it gained confidence.
Hal glided from an earthen pillar to a slightly milder slope some distance away from the Howling Coils, while Loki jumped off.
The stalking beast's craggy hide helped it blend into the environment, making it think it was still undetected, especially since the beast beside the human was acting none the wiser.
The Craggyhide Leopard crouched lower and lower as it neared its prey.
Soon, only the small leaping distance between the [Earthen Pillar] and the natural slope separated the predator from the duo.
Wiggling its feline butt for a few moments, it pounced, and the moment it did, a black magic circle materialized on the [Earthen Pillar], from which dark hands emerged and coiled around the Craggyhide Leopard.
Hal turned without hesitation and finished it off with a ray of light that cleanly pierced through the center of its forehead, puncturing its brain.
'Phew…' he sighed, glad that everything went well.
In fact, it was too easy…
Memory of when he fought the Firevenom Viper with Liora resurfaced in his mind.
'I've come a long way, huh?'
At that time, there had been moments when he almost lost his life, but now, a beast of the same rank was but an easy kill that took nothing more than two gestures.
Hal summoned another [Earthen Wall] and dragged the carcass of the dead predator across the gap.
However, he didn't butcher it yet for the spoils, instead harvesting the Howling Coils first.
Only then did Hal take the craggy hide of the creature, along with its claws and fangs.
Hal somewhat expected that he wouldn't gain points from C-ranked creatures now.
And so, he merely proceeded to return to the trail.
The duo still needed to proceed higher, as Hal had to harvest a gemstone that could only be found in the natural caves of the Hazan Windswept Mountain.
They were apparently located in the upper-middle ridges of the mountain.
He just had to look for it.
The A-ranked Galewing Roc's nest, also found inside a cave, was reportedly in the higher levels, so Hal wasn't too worried about encountering the creature.
The one he was wary of was the Cragstalker.
Articles about the mountain mentioned that sometimes, the ambusher ape roamed the middle ridges in search of prey, unlike the roc.
With these pieces of crucial information, Hal decided to deviate from the trail.
There was a low chance of the Cragstalker lurking somewhere on the sides of the trail.
However, Hal didn't dare play chances with his life.
It would be safer to traverse the more difficult terrain. He could fly and summon earthen walls and pillars, anyway.
Through the eyes of the [Spirit Sparrow], finding a path to the higher levels wasn't too difficult.
The huge pup also seemed to enjoy the difficult journey.
Putting one leg after another—paws, in Loki's case—the duo ascended higher and higher, traversing slopes, stepping on massive rocks, and jumping from pillars and walls made of dirt and rock.
Before they knew it, they were already in the upper-middle ridges.
'Where the hell are the damned caves?!' Hal cursed inwardly.
The online articles claimed that there were small natural caves in the middle ridges. Yet, he still hadn't seen one, even through the eyes of the sparrow.
He learned a lesson that day that not all online articles are legitimate.
What could he do except continue to ascend, carefully making his way up with the help of his trusty avian summon?
'Liars, all of them!' he cursed.
Loki could easily tell that his scowling master was in a bad mood and wanted to console him when suddenly, the pup's ears twitched.
He quickly looked behind and urgently tugged on his master's clothes.
The anger on Hal's face instantly vanished, replaced by apprehension. Loki's senses had always been eerily accurate.
This meant that there was something behind them that Hal still can't defeat at his current level.
'Damn it, is it the Cragstalker?' he thought inwardly.
Hal looked around, immediately searching for a hiding spot, but it seemed that their luck had run out.
There was nothing except a small natural alcove.
It could fit both him and Loki, but it was simply way too exposed and probably wouldn't even count as a hiding spot.
'Not if I can make it one!'
He quickly dashed off with Loki, summoning a disposable, level-zero [Spirit Wolf] by the time they arrived at the poor hiding spot.
Hal willed the summon to continue running forward before pushing his companion pup and helping Loki climb to the hiding spot.
He then quickly [Blink]ed inside, all his hair standing on end, thinking in horror:
'A-ranked creatures are still this dreadful?!'
This was similar to the sensation he felt when he first met the Stormshade, the only difference being he was far stronger now than he was back then, yet he still felt helpless.
Quickly turning around, Hal crossed his index and middle fingers, conjuring a special Spatial Barrier.
The alcove now looked normal and empty from the outside.
This was the first time Hal used [Spatial Distortion Barrier], so he wasn't sure if it would work.
To make matters worse, he could see right through it, as if they, too, were completely exposed, intensifying the dreadful and anxiety-inducing feeling.
His and Loki's hearts pounded faster and faster as an oppressive aura permeated the area.
If the Cragstalker was leaking this much aura, then it wasn't as stealthy as advertised, was it?
Except the creature that slowly came into view wasn't the ambusher ape…