It was layered—one voice echoing atop another, as if a creature born of multiple souls was calling out to the forest. Khal’s steps slowed. His grip tightened on the staff he’d carved earlier that week, knuckles paling.
Even the fox froze, hackles raised.
“Okay,” Khal muttered, swallowing hard. “New rule: if it howls like a cursed choir, we don’t engage unless we’re suicidal.”
System Prompt:
New Entity Approaching: “Wyrmshade Howler”
Rank: C+ Threat
Special Traits: Soul-Linked Echo, Regenerative Hide, Territory Anchor
System Analysis: Evasion Recommended. Combat Possible if terrain is manipulated.
[New Side Quest Triggered!]
“Trial of the Hollow: Survive or Outwit the Guardian.”
Reward: System Trait Upgrade – ‘Instinctive Reflex’ [Locked]
Khal blinked. “Wait… I can unlock a trait from this?”
He weighed the options. The Howler was clearly above his level. But if the terrain could be used... and the traps were still intact...
“…Maybe I don’t have to fight it directly.”
The mist parted, and the Howler emerged.
It looked like a wolf—if wolves were stitched together from shadows, bones, and wet, dripping roots. Its eyes shimmered violet and red, and its limbs pulsed like sinewy vines coiled with muscle.
Khal bolted.
Not away—but sideways.
Back into the trap-laden portion of the forest.
Branches slapped against his face. Roots threatened to trip him. But he knew this area now. He’d studied the runes. He’d mapped the distance between traps.
And he had a plan.
System Prompt:
Environmental Interaction Enabled
You are within proximity of: Arcane Tripwire Trap (Disarmed by Salve, cooldown elapsed).
Reactivation Possible. Syncing…
Trap Rebound Activated (Mana Cost: 4)
Trap Rebound Modifier: Directional Trigger Adjusted. Awaiting contact.
The Howler thundered after him, moving with grotesque grace.
Khal ducked under a branch, rolled over a gnarled root, and launched himself past the reset tripwire.
The Howler followed.
Snap.
The trap’s magic discharged in a violent arc of purple light, wrapping around the creature’s limbs. It shrieked, tumbling into a tangled mess of roots and runes.
Khal didn’t stop.
Not yet.
He darted left—toward a pit he remembered from earlier.
He yanked the emergency salve from his belt and slapped it onto the base of a warding glyph carved into a standing stone.
System Prompt:
Ward Trap Activated – Gravity Pulse Variant
Cooldown Override Successful
Target within radius... Locked.
The Howler, snarling and mid-leap, suddenly twisted in mid-air as the trap detonated. A shimmering ripple of force yanked the monster down into the pit. It crashed through layers of moss and dirt and vanished into the darkness below.
Silence.
Then the forest exhaled again.
Khal dropped to one knee, gasping for breath. His lungs burned. His legs trembled.
But he’d done it.
He hadn’t just survived—he’d won.
System Notification:
Side Quest Completed: Trial of the Hollow
Reward Unlocked: Trait – “Instinctive Reflex” [Level 1]
Effect: Passive reaction time boosted by 15% during combat or danger. Scales with Resolve.
Additional Bonus: Trap Integration Unlocked
You may now imprint certain environmental traps into your system memory for faster activation.
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
He stared at the glowing interface, chest heaving, lips parting into a shaky smile.
System Prompt:
Khal Dreikov – Trait Progression Summary
-
Heart of Becoming: Momentum stabilized. Emotional resilience recognized.
-
Current Potential Unlock Threshold: 31%
-
Next Milestone: Emotional Fusion (Fear/Confidence)
-
Encouragement: You’re learning to wield what once broke you.
“…Thanks,” he murmured. To the system. To himself. To whatever higher being thought a broken kid with nothing to lose was worth investing in.
High above, unseen but very much watching, Selis Varn tilted her head.
The orb at her wrist pulsed as it recorded Khal’s adaptation.
“Mirek,” she whispered into the wind, “your prey grows fangs.”
The forest breathed differently today.
It wasn’t just the usual rustling of wind through branches or the distant chirping of unseen birds. No—there was a hum, low and constant, as if the very trees were holding their breath.
Khal felt it in his bones before he heard the first unnatural howl.
He stiffened, fingers tightening around the worn grip of his handmade staff. His companion—Ash, the small fox with ember-flecked fur—whimpered softly at his side and crouched low in the moss.
Then came the sound again.
A layered cry that echoed from nowhere and everywhere, threading through the mist like a ripple through water. It didn’t sound alive—but it wasn’t dead either.
Something was hunting.
System Prompt:
New Entity Detected: “Wyrmshade Howler”
Class: Guardian-Type Aberration – C+ Threat
Behavior: Territorial Enforcer
Known Traits: Regenerative Hide, Echo Howl (Mind-affecting), Anchor Bond
Combat Analysis: Evasion advised. Success in misdirection may yield system rewards.
Khal’s heart lurched.
He wasn’t ready. Not for this. Not against something like that. He hadn’t even finished learning the wind-based push technique he was trying to create.
He looked down at Ash, who gave a short bark—not of fear, but warning.
“Yeah,” Khal said, trembling. “I know. Run.”
They darted off the narrow path and backtracked through the denser, thorn-wrapped thickets. Twigs snapped against Khal’s face, and roots threatened to twist his ankles, but he knew this area.
This was the patch of forest he’d spent hours studying. This was his sandbox now.
And maybe—just maybe—he could survive.
The mist around them stirred as the Howler emerged from the tree line like a shadow unstuck from its master. Long limbs, unnaturally jointed. Glowing sockets where eyes should be. Its ribcage breathed independently of its body, pulsing with sickly light.
Khal didn’t look back again.
Instead, he reached into his satchel while running and yanked free the vial of Ironroot Salve. The stuff reeked like boiled cabbage, but it was the key.
He slathered a dab on his glove and slapped the side of a tree—right where an arcane tripwire glyph had long since faded. The bark lit up as the glyph reignited.
System Notification:
Arcane Tripwire (Reactive Mode): Manual Reactivation Detected
Target Sync: Complete.
Mana Cost: 4 (Sustained)
Effect Duration: 10 Seconds Paralysis / Directional Pulse Trap Set
The moment he crossed the line, Khal dove to the side.
The Howler didn’t. It triggered the trap mid-leap—and was met with a burst of purple lightning that cracked across its limbs.
The creature snarled midair, twisting in pain, then slammed into a tree and collapsed in a heap of twitching limbs.
Khal didn’t celebrate.
Instead, he ran faster.
Up ahead, he spotted another marker—a flat stone protruding from a root-knot, etched with fading glyphs. He remembered testing it earlier that day. A gravity trap ward designed to pull downward anything heavier than a deer.
It hadn’t worked then.
But he had something new now: knowledge.
System Prompt:
Environmental Node Detected: Unbound Gravity Pulse Ward
Modification Slot: Available (Skill: Arcane Tinkering - Lv. 1)
Infusion Compatible Item Detected: “Binding Crystal Shard”
Effect: Gravity Pulse Amplification (x2)
Mana Cost: 6 / Risk Level: Moderate (Unstable Energy Spike Possible)
Proceed?
Khal hesitated only a moment. He pulled the shard from his pouch—looted from a half-buried talisman days ago—and pressed it against the ward’s core.
A dull thrum echoed as the glyph ignited.
A heartbeat later, the Howler howled again—and charged.
Khal timed it perfectly.
He drew the creature toward the gravity ward and waited, teeth clenched, until it was almost on top of him.
Then he ducked and rolled.
The trap went off with a boom like a muffled thunderclap. A pulse of inverted energy dragged the Howler downward, slamming it into the pit beneath the moss.
Its scream was monstrous.
Then... silence.
Not dead. But trapped. For now.
Khal collapsed against a tree, panting.
The ache in his chest was deep. Not from injury—just sheer exhaustion.
But still...
He smiled.
He’d used the forest. Used his knowledge. Not brute strength. Not magic blasts.
Tactics.
It wasn’t flashy. But it worked.
System Prompt:
Trial of the Hollow – Complete
Reward Unlocked:
– Trait Acquired: Instinctive Reflex (Level 1)
– New Feature: Trap Memory Integration Enabled
Passive Effects:
– +15% Reaction Speed in Threat Scenarios
– You may now store up to 2 environmental trap templates for instant deployment (cost varies).
Trait Growth: “Heart of Becoming” Updated
– Confidence-Triggered Milestone Reached
– Potential Unlock Threshold: 31%
– Fusion Seed Active: [Fear / Confidence]
System Encouragement:
“Your resolve is shaping you. You are more than your limits.”
Khal stared at the prompt, chest heaving.
Then he laughed.
Just a little. It wasn’t triumphant. It was... disbelief. Relief. Maybe joy.
“I actually did it,” he whispered. “I set traps and I didn’t die.”
Ash climbed into his lap, nuzzling him.
“You saw that, right?” Khal said. “I didn’t scream this time. Not even once.”
Ash barked once.
Khal grinned. “Don’t lie.”
Above it all, unseen in the treetops cloaked by illusion magic, Selis Varn narrowed her eyes. The orb in her gauntlet buzzed with updated readings.
“He baited and redirected a Howler... alone.”
She turned to Verrin and Gromm, who had watched in silence.
“Change of orders,” she said. “Begin Phase Two.”