NOVEL WEB 17: A discovery
Night had come without much further ado, the eerie silence of the forest further amplified by a degree in the pitch black darkness. Or atleast, that would have been the case of Tom didn’t have [The Shadow] Deck Card with him, allowing him to see in the inky blackness that would have otherwise blotted out his sight.
[The Shadow’s] mechanics were a little different from the other cards, in the sense that it didn’t require continuous activation to keep [Shadow Cloak] active. Even if the card was separated from him in the midst of a fight, the shadows concealing him would not dissipate, making it invaluable— for it meant that Tom could use other [Cards] in tandem with [The Shadow] card, the only exception to the rule so far, in a manner of speaking. Technically though, he wasn’t using two [Deck Cards] in tandem, [The Shadow] simply had a ridiculously short activation time.
Tom figured that the card was balanced in its own way, for the reason he had been able to slay the [Elfinclaw] was purely because the beast had no real defensive or healing abilities.
He’d decided to give his search one last hour, his thirst and hunger finally reaching the point of ‘active discomfort’. If it didn’t work out, Tom would have no option but to set up camp in the open and hope that he didn’t get ambushed in his sleep. A fleeting hope, but Tom hoped that things wouldn’t devolve to that point.
It had gotten a little colder, but thankfully it was more pleasant than biting. The next fifteen minutes were spent in solitude, Tom’s only accompaniment the muffled sound of his own soft footsteps as he lurked behind the cover of shrubbery.
A distant howl caught his attention, forcing him to strain his hearing to make sure he hadn’t misheard.
This was, in fact, the first time a beast had willingly revealed its location, so boisterously at that.
Thoughts rapidly cycled through Tom’s mind as he discarded one possibility after the next before zeroing in on a line of reasoning he found acceptable.
Such a loud cry couldn’t possibly be an ambush.
That wasn’t necessarily a good thing. The beast would have to be reasonably confident in its ability to fend off any unwarranted attention that its actions would attract, making it undoubtedly powerful.
But… this might be the break Tom was looking for.
Were it still daybreak, Tom would still feel hesitant in pursuing what could be a very dangerous foe.
But the night was his domain. With [The Shadow] card, while Tom wasn’t invisible, he’d venture a guess that human eyes would not be able to perceive him easily.
The same, of course, didn’t apply to beasts. But even if he was discovered, retreat should be an easy task under the cover of darkness.
Gritting his teeth, he began to sift forward under the cover of darkness, his movements slowing the closer he got to the source of the howls that repeated themselves roughly every minute.
Anxiety began to build up as a long ten minutes passed, the howls incredibly close now. Tom was prepared for the beast to disappear before he got there and in that case, he had no intention to chase— not that he had any tracking experience to facilitate his pursuit anyway.
Tom froze, his neck slowly cranining downwards as he discovered a dry, withered branch lying upon the floor, exactly where his right foot was about to land.
Thanking… well, himself, for his peripheral vision, he slowly retracted his foot before gingerly stepping over it.
He didn’t want to alert the beast, now that he had managed to successfully sneak so close to it. However, one thing disturbed Tom— for the closer he got to the beast, the more the howl felt eerily familiar.
Suddenly, he stopped.
Tom’s breath slowed down, his movements completely stilling and his grip over his [The Flame] card tightening. He didn’t even dared twitch, for despite the forest’s fauna partly obscuring his vision, Tom could make out a large boulder that angled at a slope, jutting out from a particularly barren patch of land in an otherwise grassy forest.
The problem was not the boulder itself, but the beast that was perched atop its edge.
[Analysing….
[Monster Species: Elfinclaw (Female)
Soul Card: The Lunar [Common]
Soul Card Level: 3]
Tom’s heart lurched a little as the final piece of the puzzle fit in place. Of course the howl had felt familiar and now that he was so close to the source, it felt more like a ‘call’ or a ‘summons’ than a warning or a threat.
The Elfinclaw had to be calling for its mate.
There could be other possibilities, but this one seemed like the most likely one.
What should he do now?
The fight, despite Tom’s improved capabilities, would not be an easy one.
He had no clue what [The Lunar] card was capable of, besides sounding like it was related to one or maybe both the moons that hung up in the sky above him, making it an unknown variable.
On the other hand though, if there was any creature worthy of its own lair so far it would be the [Elfinclaw], which seemed to have both the strength and cunning to protect its territory.
The only real question was if he’d run into a den of [Elfinclaws].
After weighing the pros and cons, Tom found that incredibly unlikely that there would be a pack of [Elfinclaws]. For one, the male [Elfinclaw] wouldn’t ambush him on its lonesome then. Secondly, if there was an entire pack roaming this forest, creatures like the [Symiril Tusker] and [Ankra Beast] should’ve been long dead, instead of roaming the forest freely.
Most likely, the [Elfinclaw] duo were here on their lonesome.
Having thought it through, Tom made his decision.
The next half an hour was especially bland, as Tom simply lay crouched behind cover while the [Elfinclaw] continued to howl, as if it were the sovereign of this jungle.
Finally though, it seemed to give up— jumping off its perch in one fluid motion and letting out one, final howl. The female [Elfinclaw] let out what felt like a frustrated grunt, before it made its departure.
Little did the hunter know, this time it was the one being hunted.