The skin-blistering fires. The blood-curdling screams of villagers trapped inside their burning homes. The golgannoth's deafening roar.

  Korin was hearing it all over again. These tormenting nightmares resurfaced everytime he went to sleep. They replayed so vividly, sometimes differently than what really happened. Like being too much of a coward to act and consequently witnessing Jenna's death.

  Tonight was somehow different. Someone's touch and warmth brought him great comfort. A woman's voice whispered to him that everything was going to be okay. He believed her and fell right back to sleep.

  The next morning, Korin strapped the new knife to the back of his waist. He was about to head out when he glanced over his shoulder to the sloppily sprawled out Shae still snoozing in bed.

  "Better report to Winston soon. You know better than everyone else that no one hides from the commander for long," Korin warned.

  "Oh, alright…" Shae drowsily replied. She walked over to the small, wooden carving of Goddess Reia on his desk and dropped a red gem, a kastreia onto the offering bowl in front of the statue, then pressed her hands together in prayer. The goddess was depicted wearing flowing robes, wielding a spear in one hand and a bow on her back. She was the hunt itself, every predator, prey, and hunter in the world.

  Shae beckoned Korin over, and he did so, shutting his eyes and pressing both hands together. Kastreia was Ennuit for 'tear of Reia'. It was a mineral similar to quartz but much less abundant. It carried a superstitious meaning to Shae's people that Korin hadn't quite grasped yet. They believed kastreias were a sign of bad omens. The brave who encountered them in the wilds were obligated to take a piece of it and bear the brunt of what was to come. Doing so shielded the weak and less fortunate from needless suffering.

  "I found this one on the trek back. Saw it glinting in a creek when I bent down to get a drink," Shae said.

  "What is that, the third one you found now?" Korin asked.

  She chuckled to herself. "Tell me something, Korin. The reason you want to become a hunter is to kill One-Eyed Gol, isn't it?"

  Korin instinctively stared into his hands. They were rough and full of calluses for all the wrong reasons. He could still hear clearly the night Toza village was attacked.

  Those sounds were a testament to how helpless and weak he was. Only when he had blinded the behemoth in one eye did he feel any sort of control over his life.

  "Of course," Korin answered, closing both hands into fists.

  "Then before you go, remind me again what the three stages of a pursuit are? Gotta stay sharp if you want the commander to make you a hunter." Shae started changing in front of him, which he quickly realized was also part of her impromptu test.

  When Shae had first pulled this on him, he had failed spectacularly. Not this time.

  "First, study and research to learn everything you possibly can about a behemoth from available resources. Second is tracking, to search for the behemoth, observe its behavior and habits, and make preparations for the third stage. The final stage being to finally hunt it— whether it's to subjugate, slay, or capture the behemoth." He finished reciting from memory just as Shae was done dressing and tightening her leather bracers.

  "Good!" She walked over to slam both hands onto his shoulders. "In my eyes, you got the makings of a better hunter than all the coppers and irons of Valdwyn combined. Though I'm only saying that because I mentored you myself, heh. But Winston'll come around one day. Follow your gut. It's the only thing we can count on out in this behemoth eat behemoth world."

  "Thanks, Shae." Feeling a lot better about himself, Korin set off to work.

  "When I have time, we'll go shooting at the range together again!" Shae waved as he left.

  Morning was the busiest part of the day in any outpost. Valdwyn more than others. Hunters hurried to replace their companions from the night shifts, most gathered to prepare for their respective pursuits, and others accompanied scholars on expeditions.

  Although the outpost was designed to accommodate almost two hundred personnel, only 60 were hunters and half of that number was away on pursuits at any given time. All that remained until evening would be scholars, in-outpost workers like cooks and construction crew, and a handful of hunters. The same was true for Korin, off to cook another day away.

  He dropped by the botanicals first. The pantry was running low on all kinds of vegetables, not just meat. Sitting adjacent to the research huts was the Verdant Gardens, built around a large tree and using the arched spine of an ancient behemoth to grow hanging plants on.

  As Korin was about to fill a cart full of edible greens and mushrooms, a familiar hunter climbed down the steps to greet him.

  "Just the guy I was looking for!" Jonah said with a wide grin.

  "If it's a meal you want, wait at the canteen like everyone else. Otherwise, you're welcome to stuff yourself with the head of cabbage." Korin patted a cabbage he was about to dig up from a raised garden bed.

  "Forget that homegrown shit. What say you come with us on our pursuit as a handler? You can collect fresh vegetables and meat straight from beasts outside," the fiery-haired hunter suggested.

  "You guys just need a pack mule. Forget—"

  Wait a minute. As a handler? The only way for non-hunters like himself to leave the outpost was to accompany hunters. Parties of four were permitted to bring one person per pursuit, be it a scholar, weaver, or some member for a number of reasons.

  "Why me and what for?" Korin asked, suspicious of Jonah's intent.

  "Jenna tells me you've been aching to break outta here. Besides, I can eat some good food in the wild with you coming along, and not just some spit-roast aptorus leg without flavor and a gamble over it being under or overcooked." Jonah stuck his tongue out.

  This was too easy. There had to be more. However, another chance like this didn't come up often. Grant and the other cooks should be able to hold down the fort in his absence, too.

  "Okay, count me in. Let me grab a few things from my cabin first," Korin said.

  Shae had already gone when Korin and Jonah returned to his cabin. Thank goodness. He didn't want to have to explain why an obsidian hunter like her was shacking up with him.

  The two took the lift to upper Karacos. There, they passed through a wooden gate and exited into the magnificent jungles of towering trees and oversized plant life. Jenna, Em, and Obrick were waiting on the other side— all surprised to see him.

  "Korin?" Jenna gasped, then turned to Jonah for answers. "What's the meaning of this?"

  "Why is this a surprise to the rest of your party?" Korin folded his arms.

  "Because it is a surprise!" Jonah smirked. "I wanted to surprise them, and it worked! Korin here is going to be our handler for this pursuit. Let's all get along, yeah?"

  While Em and Obrick were quick to welcome him, Jenna didn't share their enthusiasm.

  "I'm going back to ask Commander Winston about this," Jenna said, storming back to the gate.

  "No need. I already asked, and he gave permission. We got the go-ahead!" Jonah exclaimed.

  "There's no way he would—" She cast a glance at Korin and stopped short of finishing her sentence.

  No way Commander Winston would… what?

  Jenna decided against returning to the outpost and pulled Korin aside. "Pursuits are dangerous, you know? One wrong move and you're a goner. It's no place for you to be out there."

  "Why are you so against me coming along? I can handle myself. All I have to do is stay out of your way during the hunt, right?" Korin argued.

  "Daylight's wasting, guys!" Jonah shouted over his shoulder, already going on ahead with Em and Obrick.

  Just what was so bad about coming along anyway? Handlers accompanied hunters all the time with no problem. Even scholars who had little to no experience made the occasional solo expeditions on special permission.

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  Ever since they set off from Valdwyn, Jenna had been giving him the cold shoulder. She and Jonah were ten meters in front. Korin walked alongside Em, and Obrick stayed another ten meters in the back. The linear 2-2-1 formation was a modification of the standard 2-1-1 to accommodate a fifth member. If they were ever attacked this way, the entire party wouldn't drop in one foul swoop.

  There were many different kinds of arrangements depending on the pursuit target, and every hunting party must learn them all. So far, Korin was glad the hunters put into practice what they learned.

  "Hey, Korin, I… I wanted to thank you for yesterday's soup. The sting was bothering me for days, but the swelling got better by the evening after drinking it." Em smiled.

  "I figured it would help." Korin beamed back. "By the way, congratulations on your spear. It looks really nice."

  The spear was unique in that it had a crook on the other end. Normally, hunters had another point or a counter weight.

  "It wields nicely, too. Thane really is a miracle weaver. The shaft is made from the femur of an orodon we hunted last month. I could hardly believe it when I got it in my hands," Em said, twirling her spear in an obvious attempt to show off.

  When Korin asked to try it, Em was happy to oblige.

  "Orodon bones are incredibly lightweight and flexible. You picked good material for a weapon," Korin complimented, then saw Jenna sneaking glances at them. She snapped forward as their gazes met.

  Good.

  The petty side of him hoped Jenna was feeling jealous.

  "What's the crook for anyway?" He returned the spear to its hunter.

  "You use it like this." Em stopped walking briefly to hook her leg around the shaft of the spear, stepped firmly on the crook, and held the spear at an angle. Doing so provided a sturdy point, using her entire body as an anchorage.

  This was incredibly ingenuous, but what scenarios would Em even find use for it? He couldn't really fathom.

  "Say, Jonah kind of just sprung the invitation on me. What exactly are you guys pursuing?" Korin asked.

  "An adult male mirack. Apparently, it's been over-hunting around Lake Bennesal, so Commander Winston wants us to get rid of it," Em explained with a hint of hesitation.

  Mirasauls. They were feline behemoths which prowled the mid to upper canopies of Karacos, lying in wait to ambush prey on the surface from high branches. Most identifiable by large dex claws on their forepaws used to rend flesh and cling to trees, a mirasaul could kill before a hunter knew what hit them.

  If that was the case, using their current formation to put a lone hunter in the back was dangerous.

  "Jonah! Shouldn't we use the 2-3 formation instead of the 2-2-1 if you're pursuing a mirack?" Korin shouted.

  "We've completed pursuits with this formation dozens of times!" Jonah confidently replied, throwing Jenna a grin. "That's the thing about actual hunters. Once you taste the outside, you gotta learn to adapt. Not everything has to be by the books!"

  That boneheaded idiot.

  If Jonah wasn't going to listen to reason, then maybe Jenna would.

  "Jenna, you studied up yesterday, right? When it comes to hunting miracks—"

  "By the goddess, Korin. Can you shut up? I was nice enough to bring you along. You keep yapping and something might jump out at us," Jonah snapped.

  Korin stared hard at Jenna until she gave in.

  "It wouldn't hurt to change up the formation," Jenna urged.

  "Okay, guys. Who's the hunt leader of this—"

  A chain of guttural howls echoed all around them, and everyone reached for their weapons.

  "Ruggas," Korin muttered under his breath, then called to the other hunters. "You guys have to fall into the center!"

  "No, don't move! Ruggas don't go out of their way to attack a group of people!" Jonah yelled from a distance.

  Obrick wasn't sure who to listen to, but he nevertheless inched forward towards Korin and Em.

  Thick vegetation and trees made it difficult to make out where the beasts were hiding. Ten meters wasn't very far away. However, the second Obrick made a run for it, all hell broke loose.

  The pack of reptilian hounds leaped from behind trees and bushes. Two ruggas were nailed by a crossbow bolt each and crumpled to the ground. Korin shot a look at Jenna, who nodded to him in return while loading more bolts.

  "Stay behind me, Korin! I'll protect you!" Em declared as more emerged, but Korin saw a rugga lunge from the vegetation behind her.

  This wasn't the first time Korin had dealt with ruggas. Out here, cowering turned people into prey instead. He drew the greshen steel knife and drove it into the rugga's throat, slicing through with absolute ease, and then shoving it away to let it bleed to death.

  The spearwoman spun around to see a rugga dead near her feet and sucked in a shallow breath. Before she could give thanks, Obrick's shrill cries made their hair stand. The hunter was on the ground with two rugga pulling at an arm and leg.

  Faster than Em could react, Korin flung his knife into the chest of one rugga and ran in to put the other in a chokehold until it let go of Obrick.

  "Stab it, Em! Stab it in the heart!" He rolled onto his back, leaving the rugga's abdomen exposed.

  Em finished it off with a precise thrust between its ribs. The beast soon went still in Korin's arms and he pushed it aside to check on Obrick.

  "You hurt?" Korin asked, feeling over where he was bitten.

  "Thanks, guys… I'm… I think I'm fine…" Obrick looked more spooked than anything.

  Korin breathed a sigh of relief. Just out of an abundance of caution, he was going to have to do another check later and thoroughly disinfect that leg wound.

  "Good hit, Em." He stuck a fist out which she obliged with a bump.

  "Only thanks to you holding it down. The rugga was pretty gaunt, so it wasn't hard to tell where the heart was," Em said.

  Gaunt?

  Now that Korin took a good look at the ruggas, the beasts were pretty thin. A sure sign that the pack hadn't been eating well. The species typically preyed on lone aptorus, ravernads, and terraboars separated from their herds. Did that mean the mirasaul Jonah and the others were pursuing had been gobbling up the food chain all by itself?

  "What the hell were you thinking calling the shots for?" Jonah stormed up to Korin in a fury and grabbed him by the collar of his tunic.

  "Against any pack animals, the outer ends of the formation need to fall into the center. Those ruggas were out for blood, or did you not see Obrick getting ripped apart?" Korin returned the glare.

  "They attacked because you made Obrick run to you! We would have been fine staying calm!" he growled.

  "Your dicks won't get bigger from winning this argument. "Jenna separated the two of them before it got violent. "Obrick's hurt and possibly has an infected wound, and we're too far from the outpost to go back now. We should make camp before it gets too late."

  The two agreed to set aside the matter to find camp.

  Anywhere there was a Hunter's Association outpost, one could count on there being at least a hundred campsites within a 50 kilometer radius. All were once set up by hunters and left there to help those that might need it later with the bare minimum necessities. A number of them were marked in various ways— a stake in the ground, wooden signposts nailed to trees, or colored ribbons to signal one was nearby.

  The group found one such campsite before nightfall, a deep recess in the trunk of a gargantuan tree that could shelter the five of them comfortably.

  Korin whispered a prayer to thank the ruggas for their meat while shaving them off the bones. Meanwhile the others went over plans in the tent to track the mirasaul tomorrow. The conversation, however, took a turn when Em suggested incorporating him in the actual hunt.

  "What? We're not bringing a cook into battle." Jonah shut down the proposal immediately.

  "I agree." Jenna nodded. "We're responsible for Korin's safety. Involving him in a pursuit is risky enough."

  "But Korin did work out there," Obrick interjected. "He killed two ruggas on his own and tackled— tackled the third off me. That was honestly pretty amazing."

  Compliments didn't often come to Korin in such a way, especially since he spent most of his time within the outpost. Being acknowledged came as a pleasant surprise. Although, one among them believed it was undeserved.

  "You listening to Korin was what got you hurt in the first place," Jonah fired back.

  "But—"

  "Jonah's right. It wasn't my place to butt in." Korin slammed down a tray of cooked rugga meat wrapped in wild lettuce in front of them to put an end to the conversation. The worst thing that could happen during a pursuit was a falling out between members. Carrying any sort of antagonisms might prove fatal, and he didn't want to be the wedge in their party.

  "See? That wasn't so hard to admit," Jonah said, snatching a morsel for himself.

  Though it didn't make putting up with Jonah any less infuriating. Unable to stand being in the same space as him, Korin excused himself from the camp to get some air. No one tried to stop him. He was beginning to think accepting Jonah's invitation was a mistake.

  Korin was about to head back until a glint in the dirt caught his eyes. A red gem reflected what little moonlight peered down. A piece of kastreia. His blood went cold. Why did something like this have to appear now? He swallowed hard and was conflicted over whether or not to pick it up.

  "You and Em were looking really friendly today." Jenna startled Korin, coming up from behind him.

  He pressed a foot over the kastreia and grinded it into the dirt.

  "Forget Em. Some hunt leader Jonah is. You know miracks hunt by ambushing animals that fall behind. If it was a mirack instead ruggas that attacked us, Obrick wouldn't be alive," Korin explained.

  "Look, I agree with you. I tried to reason with him about our formation last night, but he insists we stick to what's been working out for us." She grabbed his arm to tug him back in, but he wouldn't budge.

  Korin had always liked the wilderness better than people anyway. Nature never went around dictating how he should live.

  "I'll come back in a second. You go in first and eat before the food gets cold," Korin said.

  Sighing, Jenna turned to leave but yelped as she tripped to the ground.

  "Did I step in a ditch?" Jenna groaned.

  Korin rushed to help her out of it and saw that she had tripped over a trench-like swath in the dirt. Brushing a hand across the surface, he found some strands of coarse ravernad fur scattered about.

  "What is it, Korin?" she asked.

  Scanning the branches above, Korin zeroed in on the trees and discovered unnaturally deep notches in the wood that could only be made by one thing.

  "The mirack you're pursuing should be near Lake Bennesal, right?" Korin found more indentations the longer he looked.

  Jenna followed his gaze and recognized the markings right away. "Yeah, but we're still some ways away from the lake. It should be this far."

  "Then either the one at the lake took a trip out here, or you got two miracks on your hands," he said.