We had travelled much later into the night than usual; the group was still very much on edge.
So much so, in fact, that when we finally stopped, Milo created a structure far larger than normal—big enough to house not only our usual group but also the traders who had been following us from Greenstone. None of us wanted to leave them outside to fend for themselves, and they were more than thankful for it.
Liane and Jen hadn’t left the caravan to hunt since lunch, so I was relying on what I had in storage—which, thankfully, was plenty. I still had an untouched Rabbit and Mushroom stew ready to serve, along with the spiders I’d already cooked for Liane. On top of that, I had the two Blood Owls, several unprepared rabbits, and the whole boar Jen had brought in yesterday.
Shrugging, I pulled out the stew and placed the pot near the fire Milo had started. I also retrieved four spiders for Liane. So far, no one else had shown any interest in trying them, and Jen was still vocally against the idea.
Next, I began preparing the Blood Owls, deciding to treat them much like chickens. I heated so water to pluck and clean them, then planned to stuff them with onions, garlic, and a bit of virfolium—mostly to see what would happen. I knew it was edible, and after tasting a little, I found it had a tangy but earthy flavour.
While the water heated, I shared the stew with the traders who had joined us, as well as anyone else who was hungry. Once the birds were cleaned, I stuffed them, coated them with Buvul fat, and seasoned them well before setting them on the stone spit I’d used for the boar. Both birds fit comfortably on the stone pole, and I enjoyed watching the flas as I rotated them occasionally. I knew I should really be turning them more consistently, but I had status screens to look at—Liane had been busy with the buffs over the past two days.
Notifications:
You have earned 100 bonus experience for a buff used in combat
You have reached Level 4 in Basic al Prep
You have reached Level 3 in Butchery
You have reached Level 3 in Infused Flavour
You have reached Level 3 in Chef's Pantry
…
You have reached Level 12 in Arcane Chef
You have 2 unspent stat points
You have earned 100 bonus experience for a buff used in combat
…
You have reached Level 2 in Arcane Foraging
Na: Trevor
Class: Arcane Chef
Rarity: Rare
Level: 12
Experience: 1095/6833
Feed the body, Grow the soul.
Hit points: 160/160
Mana: 160/340
Stamina: 110/160
Strength: 13
Dexterity: 22
Endurance: 16
Intelligence: 34
Wisdom: 18
Charisma: 10
Willpower: 12
Perception: 8
Luck: 6
Unspent: 4
Active Evolution Quests: 1
Perform 50 perfect cuts - 28/50
I had received a bunch of level-ups over the past two days, especially with Liane hunting down every spider she could find. I knew these gains would slow down once we reached Boltron, so it was good to take advantage of them while I could.
The atmosphere that night was tense. Hari and Jen were already on watch, both stationed near the entrance, and no one was wandering off.
“Is it always this tense in the Dark Forest?” I asked Milo, who was sitting nearby with an old to in his hands.
“Honestly, yeah. Usually, it gets worse the deeper in we go, but this is why we earn our pay,” he said with a chuckle.
“Why is the cat so dangerous?” I couldn’t help but ask.
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Milo let out a long sigh and put his book down. “Where to begin; The four of us are roughly level forty. Most creatures on the outskirts of the Dark Forest are manageable. The closer you get to the heart, though, you start running into things we could probably fight and kill—but keeping everyone safe while doing it would be nearly impossible.”
“Take Ancient Treants or a flock of Blood Bats, for example. Dangerous, but not hopeless. Then there are creatures we’d be lucky to escape from with our lives, and winning against them? Almost zero chance. That’s where you get things like Wyrms, young Dragons that haven’t reached sapience yet, Gulthias Blights and Shadow Cats.”
“They may be the smallest of that lot, but they’re completely immune to physical attacks and most forms of magic. You’d need a mage who specialises in light magic just to have a chance of hurting one.”
He took a deep sigh. “You throw in the fact that it can travel through shadows and only be seen when it wants to be seen, and you have a very dangerous creature,” he concluded.
“Are they the only ones that are immune to most attacks?” I asked with curiosity. We were taught the basics of the monsters surrounding cities, but never at the academy did we learn about the truly dangerous ones.
Milo chuckled at my inquisitiveness. “Plenty, but not ones we’ll see on this road. And there are creatures far more dangerous than the ones I ntioned. In fact, the heart of the forest likely has such a creature—but no one has ever confird it.”
I pondered for a little while. “Aren’t there so really high-level adventurers? Couldn’t they find out?” I asked.
“Yes, and no. There are absolutely so monstrous adventurers reaching close to level two hundred or more, but even soone at that level would be a bug in front of the likes of the Ancient Storm Dragon that resides inside Mount Divinus. Important thing to note in this world, Trev: no matter how strong you get, there is always sothing stronger out there.”
Milo picked his to back up and returned to reading. Realising I hadn’t rotated the birds in far too long, I rushed back to it, determined to be more attentive this ti.
After about an hour had passed, I pulled the birds from the fire and imdiately used Infused Flavour on them.
Would you like to Infuse [Uncommon] Herb Roasted Blood Owl for 50 mana? Yes/No
Selecting yes, I was removing the birds from the stone rod onto two plates I had ready when a chill ran down my spine, followed by a pressure—one eerily reminiscent of our trip into the forest. As I started to look around, I noticed everyone was practically frozen, staring at .. in fright?
“Trevor, do not move,” Milo hissed, his voice carrying the sa deadly seriousness I’d heard earlier. I obeyed instantly, not daring to move a muscle, my eyes frantically scanning around for the source of the tension.
Hari and Jen ca through the door and imdiately froze, their faces twisted in horror as they stared at .
Then I saw it. A shape—a cat made of black smoke, with vivid erald-green eyes—stood right next to . Ti seed to stop as I locked eyes with it. It was taller than I was, even while I sat on the ground. I could only watch in helpless horror as it opened its mouth, its dagger-like teeth glowing faintly with an ethereal light, before it leant forward and, in a single bite, swallowed one of the birds I had just cooked.
Then, as quickly as it had appeared, it faded into the ground and was gone. The oppressive pressure I’d felt lifted in an instant.
I was too frightened to move. What had just happened?
“What the fuck was that?!” Milo hissed, snapping everyone out of their stupor. The silence shattered like glass.
I turned and saw Troy packing in a rush—and he wasn’t alone.
“We need to leave. Now!” Troy barked, his voice tight with urgency.
It was Hari who brought so calm to the tense mont.
“We can leave if you insist, but that cat has followed us here after a day of hard travel. The roads are dangerous at night, and if it wants to track us, night-ti is when it moves easiest.” He sighed deeply. “If it wanted us dead, we’d already be nothing more than a lost caravan on this road.”
That last line seed to hit sothing in Troy, who collapsed onto the ground, mumbling mostly to himself.
“No, you’re right. We can’t outrun it.” He sat with his head in his hands.
“Trevor, are you okay?” Jen ca to my side. I still hadn’t moved, just staring at the spot where it had been, her hand resting gently on my shoulder.
“I.. I don’t know. I think so?” My voice trembled. Then the absurdity of the situation hit . It took one of my roasted Blood Owls.
“What sort of deadly creature breaks into a closed shelter just to steal food?” I thought, knowing this wasn’t the most important thing to focus on, but I hadn’t even processed how close it had co—and all I could think about was that it stole half the dinner I prepared!
Milo let out a laugh, loud enough to echo off the walls.
“You were a breath away from death itself, and that’s all you’re worried about?”
I felt a little embarrassed. I knew I should be more concerned about how close I’d co to dying, but my mind hadn’t yet begun to process the encounter. Those eyes—the way it looked at , like it was staring right into my soul.
I shuddered at the thought.
The rest of the night passed in a sombre mood. Whether intentionally or not, everyone except Milo and Liane kept their distance from . They gave odd looks throughout the evening, as if I’d sohow called the cat myself.
I wasn’t sure what to make of it. They even set up their sleeping rolls on the far side of the structure, so going as far as pitching tents inside instead of just sleeping in the usual alcove with bedrolls.
“Don’t worry about them,” Milo said, noticing glancing at the group several tis and clearly reading my expression. “They’re probably just as frightened as you are—maybe even more so, considering how calm you’ve been.” He sighed and shuffled closer to sit beside .
“People react differently after trauma. So lash out, looking for soone to bla. Others bottle it up, not knowing how to process what happened. And so just break down.” Milo gestured toward the group. “They’re probably thinking you’re to bla, but they haven’t co to terms with how ridiculous that is. Like you’d have any control over a beast that could probably wipe out Boltron if it wanted.” He tried to ease my mind.
“They’ll get over it, Trev. And if they don’t in a week’s ti, well; you probably won’t see most of them again,” he added with a chuckle.
“I know most people didn’t touch the other bird after the cat stole one, but honestly, it was amazing, Trev!” Liane said, seeming completely unfazed by the entire event. “And the buffs it gave; well, that was the biggest yet: 2 Endurance and 2 Perception. I’m definitely going to try and catch more of those damn birds in the future.”
I didn’t try any of the bird myself, and in the end, only the adventuring team ate it. Everyone else treated it like it would sohow invoke the cat’s wrath or sothing.
I decided I should try to get so sleep, so I went to the nearest sleeping alcove and set up my bedroll. But I really struggled to fall asleep. Every ti I closed my eyes, I saw those erald, piercing eyes staring into mine — those ethereal, dagger-like teeth. In the end, I swear I barely managed a couple of hours’ sleep.
The next morning, the atmosphere was still thick with tension. No one really spoke. I was still getting wary looks from everyone except the adventurers. Nobody ate much for breakfast. I spotted Troy snacking on jerky, along with Cee, Saddie, and Jordan.
As we loaded up the wagon, I climbed in the back while Troy took a seat up front with Cee. I honestly felt very alienated by this point. But then sothing shocked — as I sat in the back, pulling up my status, I saw notifications. A lot of notifications.
Notifications:
You have earned 100 bonus experience for a buff used in combat
You have earned 100 bonus experience for a buff used in combat
You have earned 100 bonus experience for a buff used in combat
…
You have reached Level 13 in Arcane Chef
You have 2 unspent stat points
You have earned 100 bonus experience for a buff used in combat
You have earned 100 bonus experience for a buff used in combat
..
To be exact, I had 87 notifications. Had I buffed the Shadow Cat, and it went on so kind of rampage? Or was that normal? I didn’t know. I went to the back opening of the wagon, looking around for Milo, but it seed no one was slacking off today. I returned to my seat, staring at the notifications in a mix of awe and fear. Then it crossed my mind — could I give it food again?
I slapped my own face at the thought. No, if I never saw that thing again, it would be far better... far safer.
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