More wolves revealed themselves this time, and their numbers were even more overwhelming. From a quick count, Arah saw almost fourteen, and he could already spot more approaching in the distance. He gripped his spear tightly and shifted back into a fighting stance.
Suddenly, a buzzing sound rang out from behind. He turned and spotted a flood of bees heading in their direction.
The most notable feature of the bees was their bodies—each one made of water and nearly the size of a clenched fist.
"Don't worry, I'll keep some of them busy! I won't kill them, though!" Iane's voice called out from somewhere in the trees behind.
Arah watched the bees in motion as they flew into the wolves, harassing and distracting them.
'Guess he doesn't want our first battle to be too overwhelming...'
Every time Arah killed a wolf, he threw a glance toward the rest of his team.
Sofise's quiver was still full. She only shot when she saw an opening, carefully timing each arrow. Occasionally, she provided cover for the others when she saw a wolf slipping through.
Tarese and her soul beast had a remarkable level of teamwork. While she was busy killing a wolf, her soul beast distracted others and covered her blind spots. The two of them were eliminating wolves at a fast, fluid pace—but it was clear she was starting to get exhausted. Understandably so, as she had to both fight and serve as the team's scout. It was mentally draining, though nothing a bit of experience couldn't fix.
The most surprising one, however, was Terent.
He was taking on more wolves than even Arah. Despite his small build and slightly malnourished appearance, every single hit he landed was packed with power. Arah saw him punch a wolf's skull until it exploded into bits. He moved with precision and ruthlessness, so much so that it was hard to believe this was the same shy person he had been.
'Guess a Rank 1 is that much stronger..'
The explosive strength Terent showed was something Arah couldn't yet replicate. It was clear Terent had an agility build and didn't focus much on strength, so it was likely his heart core was empowering his muscles.
'I'm sure I can reach that level of power with a few more weeks of muscle refinement...'
Arah could tell that Terent was treating the battle like a training session. He was experimenting, occasionally using his abilities in awkward ways, but refining them little by little each time.
They continued to fight for a while longer until the buzzing stopped.
The bees dissolved into the air, and the wolves that had been held back surged forward. But by then, the team was ready. One by one, they dealt with the last of them.
Soon, silence returned to the forest.
All around them, black discs floated above the corpses of the fallen wolves. The group stood among the bodies, slightly exhausted. Arah was no exception, though he wasn't as winded as the others.
'If I hadn't refined my muscles, I might've been overwhelmed,' he thought, rolling his shoulder.
"Good job, team!" Iane's voice rang out cheerfully as he emerged from the forest canopy, his hands behind his head. "Nice work. The teamwork could use some improvement, but it's not bad. The formation was solid too!"
He looked directly at Arah when he said that last part.
"Oh! Before I forget..." He rummaged through his bag and, after a moment, pulled out three small rings.
"Here. These are your Disc Rings!" He tossed one to each of them except for Terent, who already had his.
The rings were black and etched with runes. They shimmered faintly not nearly as complex as those on the Truth Stone, but still intricate.
"What do they do?" Sofise asked, turning hers over in her hand.
Arah was wondering the same thing.
Iane grinned and turned toward Terent. "Why don't you show them?"
"O-okay," Terent nodded, stepping over to one of the wolf corpses. A single black disc still hovered above it.
He raised his hand, and his ring began to glow faintly. A second later, he pointed the ring at the disc, and it was absorbed, like smoke being pulled into a bottle.
Iane then explained, "As you can see, the ring serves as a disc storage. You can store soul discs directly into it so they won't dissolve or be stolen. But since these are beginner-grade, they can't hold anything above an orange disc."
Sofise's eyes flashed with greed as she inspected hers more intently.
Iane then raised his own hand, showing off a red-colored ring with even more elaborate etchings.
He puffed out his chest. "While yours can store soul discs from orange and below, mine is of a higher grade and can store soul discs from yellowish-silver and below."
'Must he... always brag?'
"Yours is special because it's free," he grinned. "This is the only time the Hunter Association will give you a Soul Tool without charging a mountain of gold and silver rings for it. So even if a beast eats your arm off, make sure you kill it and skin its belly to get it back. These things are expensive."
"We should probably talk about how to split the discs," Tarese said, brushing sweat from her brow.
"Agreed," Sofise nodded.
"I-I don't really need that many black discs," Terent said, eyes down. "So… you guys are free to choose from some of my kills."
That caught them by surprise.
I guess black discs are less effective if you rank up... but if they can't help you much, can't you sell them? Arah thought, looking at his own ring.
"Okay sure... we'll divide it equally," Sofise said almost instantly.
Tarese seemed conflicted, but after a moment of hesitation, she nodded in agreement. With that, they managed to divide the discs fairly, mostly based on who had killed which wolves.
As they moved from corpse to corpse, collecting the floating black discs, Arah remained cautious.
He made sure not to touch any of the discs directly. He didn't want to reveal anything about his unusual talent. He was sure his absorption speed would attract attention—and considering how Kren had reacted when he first saw it, it was best not to draw suspicion.
Surprisingly, all he had to do was will the disc to enter the ring.
Just the thought was enough. The black, smoke-like disc would be absorbed cleanly into the ring on his finger.
'A lot of things here respond to will...' Arah noted, watching the way the disc vanished with a faint shimmer.
He found himself wondering again about the mechanics behind it all. He had already been curious about Athena, and now, soul tools.
'I should set some time aside to try and learn more about it.'
There were so many unknowns, but one thing was clear: soul tools had potential, especially offensive ones. They could help him in more ways than just fighting.
After they collected their soul discs and the sellable parts from the wolves' corpses, they headed deeper into the forest, maintaining the same formation.He remained alert, but his mind was focused on the ring. Although it wasn't really noticeable, it was releasing some soul energy. It seemed the ring wasn't perfect and couldn't completely stop the soul disc's energy from leaking.
Maybe that's why it wasn't sold. By the time anyone found a customer, the energy level would already be lower. Although there might be other ways to preserve soul discs that he wasn't aware of.
They continued walking through the forest, and the sun was gradually setting. They hadn't encountered any other beasts yet, so it was mostly quiet. That allowed them to rest a bit and recover their energy.
Iane suddenly stopped.
"Alright! We're in the Inner Black Zone. We'll rest here for today."
They were standing near huge trees. There weren't as many bushes in this area, so it was easier to see the surroundings. They dropped their bags and prepared a zone for rest.
Arah sat down and opened his bag of supplies. Kren had mentioned that hunting and cooking deep within the forest was dangerous and that he should prepare food beforehand.
He looked at a folded paper in the bag. He took one of them and opened it. It was beef jerky it was seasoned, so it didn't taste too bad.
The others were also resting and eating.
'Hm? Why is he not eating?'
Terent wasn't eating anything. He just sat in the corner, looking around. When they made eye contact, he instantly avoided it.
Arah sighed ,got up, and approaching him. For some reason, that made Terent flinch even more.
"Is there a reason you're not eating?" Arah asked.
Terent didn't answer as he shifted nervously, causing Arah to frown. Terent had not been like this while fighting. Arah had started to believe he'd just been acting nervous earlier, but now, he could tell that he was genuinely anxious.
He wasn't sure why Terent kept cowering before them, especially when he was one of the strongest in the group.
He's... dealing with heart demons, Arah thought as he looked at him. He was clearly nervous because he'd been scared before.
"U-uhmm I... am not that hungry..."
As soon as he said that, his stomach growled loudly, causing him to turn his face away in embarrassment.
"U-huhh, I really am not hungry," he said again.
His stomach rumbled once more.
Arah sighed and took out a paper of beef jerky and handed it to him.
"Eat. We need you operating at full capacity," he said as he tossed it toward Terent, who scrambled to take it.
He turned around and walked away.
Terent stared at his back. A small smile appeared on his lips, but his eyes turned misty, and somehow, the bright green spark in them faded.
"So... you too, huh..."