Hope quickened his pace toward the location Hila had pointed out. After 20 grueling hours of running, he finally spotted a cave. The entrance, towering at nearly 20 meters, resembled the gaping maw of hell itself. Waves of scorching heat poured out, distorting the air around it. Hope paused for a moment, catching his breath as he muttered, “I need to rest. I have to be in top shape to face that wyvern.”

  He scanned the surroundings and soon found another, smaller cave nearby. However, inside this cave, a Blazing Lion lay resting. Its mane flickered like ethereal flames, and its crimson eyes glowed ominously in the dim light. The beast stood at an imposing height of eight meters, clearly a Rank 4 monster.

  The moment Hope spotted it, his instincts kicked in. Unsheathing his sword, he vanished from sight and reappeared at the lion’s hind legs. Before the creature could react, his blade struck with surgical precision, severing its left hind legs.

  A deafening howl echoed through the cave as the lion staggered, its balance compromised by the sudden loss. Its fiery mane flared brighter as it struggled to stand, but Hope wasn’t about to give it a chance. His sword intent surged, and he launched another strike toward the right hind leg.

  Just as his blade was about to land, the lion’s tail lashed out with enough force to shatter bone. Reacting in an instant, Hope darted beneath its massive belly, where the tail couldn’t reach him. With its left hind leg crippled, the lion couldn’t risk using its front paws to attack—doing so would cause it to collapse entirely. Desperation took over, and the beast tried to retreat, but it was too late.

  Hope’s sword intent tore through its unguarded belly, carving a deep, gaping wound. Blood rained down on him as the lion thrashed in agony.

  “ROAR!”

  The cave shook with the lion’s enraged cries. It staggered wildly, blinded by pain, its life hanging by the thinnest of threads.

  Without hesitation, Hope moved in for the kill. He appeared behind its front right leg. His sword sliced in a wide horizontal arc, severing the limb cleanly. The lion crumpled to the ground, its massive frame collapsing under its injuries.

  Hope sidestepped the falling beast and stood face-to-face with its ferocious gaze. The fire in its eyes dimmed, replaced by the faint flicker of despair. With one final thrust, Hope drove his sword into the lion’s skull, his sword intent creating a basketball-sized hole. The lion's roar died in its throat, and the once-mighty beast lay still.

  Hope retrieved his sword, standing still for a moment as he panted softly. To an outsider, the fight might have seemed easy, but only he knew the truth—if the Blazing Lion had landed a single hit, he wouldn’t have escaped unscathed.

  After regulating his breathing, he approached the lion’s skull, plunging his hand inside to retrieve the beast core. A moment later, his fingers closed around it, and he pulled it free, its fiery glow illuminating the cave. He placed the core into his storage ring before letting the little one—his panther companion—down from his shoulder.

  With the task done, Hope sat cross-legged to rest. His gaze fell on the little panther, which was eagerly nibbling on the lion’s corpse. He considered stopping it but decided against it. Despite being only a Rank 2 beast, the panther showed no hesitation or discomfort devouring a Rank 4 creature.

  ‘What a strange little panther I’ve found’ Hope thought, shaking his head as he closed his eyes to meditate.

  The night passed uneventfully, and as dawn approached, Hope stood to check on the panther. The little one rested near the lion’s remains, its belly noticeably fuller. As Hope approached, the panther opened its glowing eyes and stared up at him.

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  Hope crouched down, locking eyes with it, and said firmly, “Stay here. I’ll come back for you after I’m done killing the Flame Wyvern.” His tone left no room for argument.

  He wasn’t sure he could guarantee his own safety against the wyvern, let alone protect the little one. Losing it wasn’t something he could bear. The little one seemed reluctant, its gaze lingering on him, but eventually, it laid back down near the Blazing Lion’s remains, resuming its feast. The beast meat it had consumed overnight had done more for its progress than the last two weeks of steady growth.

  Hope turned toward the cave’s entrance. Standing at the threshold, he took one last glance at the little one before setting off toward the Flame Wyvern’s lair.

  The moment he stepped inside, a wave of scorching air struck him. Despite his body being tempered by volcanic flames in the past, he still felt the heat gnawing at him like a relentless summer sun. It was tolerable for now, but the deeper he ventured, the more oppressive it became.

  The walls and floor of the cave glowed a fiery red, radiating a heat that seemed to pulse with life. As Hope pressed forward, the oppressive heat began to wear on him, and he frowned.

  In the deepest part of the cave, the Flame Wyvern stirred. Its tiny, crimson-red eyes flickered open, burning like twin embers. The beast, curled tightly in slumber, let out a lazy yawn. Though less than a meter in size at first glance, its eyes sparkled with a cunning intelligence far surpassing that of the average human.

  Its fiery-red body, accented with orange and yellow streaks along its bony wings similar to a bat, shimmered in the heat. Vapor rose from its nostrils with each slow, deliberate breath. Sensing an intruder, the wyvern lazily stretched before shifting its size. Its body expanded, growing to a massive 18 meters tall, its wings brushing against the cave walls.

  Irritated by the disruption to its rest, the wyvern let out a low growl. It wanted nothing more than to kill this intruder quickly and return to its slumber. With a sudden burst of speed, it charged deeper into the cave.

  Meanwhile, Hope continued his descent, sweat dripping from his brow as the heat grew unbearable. The temperature had reached a point where his body began to sustain minor injuries just from being there. He clenched his fists and frowned deeply.

  ‘How can I hunt this wyvern when the cave itself is injuring me? Did I make a mistake?’ he thought, his resolve wavering for the first time.

  Hope suddenly saw a blur—a massive wyvern was upon him. Before he could react, a claw swiped toward him, and an instant later, his left arm was severed, sent flying through the air.

  Pain erupted through his body, his teeth grinding together to suppress a scream. His legs trembled, but his determination kept him standing. Gritting his teeth, Hope ran using Phantom Steps, his only chance to escape. He had bitten off far more than he could chew, and now the consequences were unfolding before him.

  The wyvern paused briefly, tilting its massive head with what seemed like a mocking expression, as if raising an invisible brow. Its crimson eyes burned with malice, but it didn’t dwell on its prey’s resilience. It roared and lunged forward, determined to finish him off.

  Despite its ferocity, the wyvern struggled to catch up. Inside the cave’s confined space, it couldn’t take to the air and was forced to rely on its hind legs and clawed, bony wings for movement. Hope’s Phantom Steps, though imperfect, outclassed the wyvern’s speed on the ground.

  Hope’s mind raced as fast as his legs. He could feel the heat of the wyvern’s breath closing in behind him, and panic gnawed at the edges of his focus. He couldn’t die here—not like this, not in this nameless cave, slain by a wyvern that might not even be the strongest creature in the area.

  ‘I need more speed’ Hope thought desperately, his body aching from exertion and pain. ‘If it catches me outside, it’s over.’

  He risked a glance over his shoulder. The distance between him and the wyvern had grown, but it wasn’t enough—not yet. He needed something more, something to push him past his limits.

  His thoughts turned to Phantom Steps, the very technique keeping him alive. He was currently at the mid-first stage, Ghostly Walk, but if he could advance to the late-first stage, it might give him the edge he needed to escape.

  ‘I have to try.’

  Shutting out the world around him, Hope focused entirely on his movements. Every step became a blur of precision and desperation. He tuned out the burning heat of the cave, the tremors of the wyvern’s pursuit, and the searing pain of his missing arm. His attention narrowed to a single point: increasing his mastery over his Phantom Steps.

  The path to the exit was still long, and the wyvern roared again, its frustration echoing through the molten cavern. But Hope pressed on, his will burning as brightly as the fire around him.

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