Chapter 21 – Law of the Wild
By midday, the mist had lifted.
The trees here were taller, older. Their trunks twisted like gnarled roots reaching skyward, bark split with silver veins and moss that glowed faintly in shade. Kael ducked under a low branch, boots silent against damp soil, senses stretched thin across every creaking bough and snapped twig.
Joran walked a few paces behind, still rubbing sleep from his eyes.
"Whatever we're following, it's not running," Joran muttered.
Kael slowed. "Because it doesn't need to."
They stopped in a hollow where the light fell slanted and gold through the branches above. A torn pawprint pressed into the earth ahead—four claws, heavy impression, deeper than anything they'd tracked so far. Not just weight. Pressure. Intent.
Kael crouched low. "Tier 2. Probably a Timberfang or Ironhide Bruin."
Joran grimaced. "Either way, not worth the our lives."
They circled wide.
Earlier That Morning
They'd killed two more Puffroot Lizards just after sunrise—one cleanly, one after a messy scramble through brush. Neither beast yielded much, but it kept their packs from feeling empty. Joran collected the dull green cores in a cloth pouch, careful not to let them touch each other. Not because they were volatile—but because they barely mattered.
"I still don't get why the cores are so different from beasts to beasts," Joran said while they walked. "Why can't I just absorb one like a beast cultivator?"
Kael looked over. "Because you're not a beast cultivator. Neither of us are."
He tapped the pouch of cores Joran carried. "Those things help refine what's already there. If you don't have a core that works with a beastial part it rejects the energy."
Joran frowned. "So beasts and humans follow the same rules, but… differently?"
Kael nodded. "They climb like we do. Nine tiers, just like our cultivation. Try attending classes Joran"
He paused as they passed beneath a tall pine where claw marks raked the bark. Old. Deep. A warning.
"Tiers one to three are common. Instinct-driven. They defend territory, feed, reproduce. But anything above Tier 4 starts to feel like it knows what you're doing. And by Tier 5?"
"They have a will of their own," Joran finished.
Kael nodded again.
[Beast Tier – Human Stage Equivalents]
• Tier 1 – Initiate
• Tier 2 – Disciple
• Tier 3 – Advanced Disciple
• Tier 4 – Adept
• Tier 5 – Advanced Adept
• Tier 6 – Expert
• Tier 7 – Champion
• Tier 8 – Ascendant
• Tier 9 – Sovereign
"Same scale," Kael murmured. "But their growth is fueled by instinct and essence. Ours is shaped by choice. Will. Technique."
"And blood," Joran added.
Kael didn't argue.
They walked for another hour before resting at a brook where the trees parted enough to let full sun shine through. Joran washed his hands while Kael filled their canteens, kneeling beside the cold stream. His fingers brushed the surface—and paused.
The current whispered differently here.
A moment later, Kael stood sharply. "Don't move."
Joran froze.
Across the water, half-hidden behind a low bush, a pair of amber eyes blinked. Round pupils. Unblinking. Watching.
Tier 2.
It was a Ravenguile, feathered but quadrupedal—like a panther with wings. Its body rippled with lean muscle and too much quiet.
Kael shifted just slightly, angling his palm down toward the river. Water gathered around his fingertips—thin, flexible. Hydrothread. His breathing slowed, the rhythm aligning with the pull of the current.
The beast twitched. Muscles coiled.
Then a gust of wind cut across the trees—and the Ravenguile vanished, bolting through brush with a screech. Not a challenge. Just a warning.
Kael let the thread fall and relaxed his hand.
Joran exhaled. "That was Tier 2?"
Kael nodded. "And we don't want to know what it looks like hungry."
They traveled lighter after that, speaking less. Even Joran seemed quieter.
The deeper they went, the more the forest changed. Trees began to lean. Not broken—but bowed, as if from pressure long sustained. Tracks became rarer, and sounds took on echoes that didn't belong. Somewhere to the north, a bird cried out—and didn't stop.
When they made camp again near twilight, it was beneath a cluster of stone boulders shaped like teeth. No fire. No noise. Kael took the first watch while Joran sharpened his barrier lines in the dirt, mapping overlapping planes for a dome that could hold at least one strong impact.
Kael sat with his back to a tree, letting the breeze stir his cloak.
The System flickered again.
System Notification
Field Region: Deep Forest Vein – Active
Suppression Crystal: Stable (89%)
Affinity Sync
• Wind: 97%
• Water: 72%
• Lightning: 84%
[Notice]
Local mana Density increasing.
Warning: Tier 2.5+ beasts may migrate near water sources at nightfall.
Kael closed the interface with a blink. He didn't need it to feel the shift anymore.
The wind pulsed in strange patterns. Not danger yet—but near it.
He whispered without turning, "Tomorrow, we cut west. Uphill. High ground."
Joran grunted. "You think it's safer?"
Kael's voice was low. "No. But I'll hear the wind coming."
And that night, while Joran slept within a curved barrier dome and Kael kept watch beside moss-draped roots, the first roll of thunder curled through the forest like a distant drumbeat.
Soft.
Distant.
But calling.