The arrow sliced through the air and struck the beast, skimming across its flank instead of punching through. The metal tip tore fur and skin, leaving a red streak but causing no fatal injuries.
The Lirralk's reaction was instant.
It roared — a furious, guttural sound that blasted through the trees and rattled her bones. The beast jerked back, then lowered itself, ears flattened, teeth bared. Its tail lashed the ground once, throwing up dirt.
Then those golden eyes snapped back to her, burning with something obvious: rage. Hungry rage.
"Ah, shit."
"Host, I suggest we run—"
It didn't need to finish. Lavayla was already moving, bolting for the tree line. The baby bounced lightly against her back with each stride, letting out a tiny startled whimper.
Behind her, the predator crashed after them, its claws tearing through brush, snapping branches like twigs. Every sound told her it was gaining on her.
"System, tell me I chose the right weapon!"
"Technically, yes! Practically… please run faster, host!"
Lavayla dove between two trees, her lungs burning, her mind a mess of curses and survival instinct. The forest swallowed her up, but the Lirralk Beast didn't hesitate — it followed her straight in.
And now, with thick undergrowth all around and no clear path ahead, she realized something very important:
She'd just traded one death for another.
Lavayla tore through the forest until her legs nearly buckled, but the trees suddenly thinned and the ground dipped sharply. She skidded to a halt.
A narrow ravine stretched in front of her — not deep enough to kill her if she jumped, but deep enough to trap her if she fell. Behind her, branches rustled violently.
She was cornered.
"Of course," she hissed under her breath. "Why wouldn't today get worse?"
The baby clung snugly to her back, giving a short whimper at the shaking.
The Lirralk broke through the brush a heartbeat later, its massive shape emerging. Its coat was ragged around the wound she'd given it, but it didn't slow the beast at all. Its tail flicked, its ears pinned flat, and saliva dripped from between its bared fangs.
But the beast didn't give her the courtesy of a staredown.
It lunged the instant it emerged.
Lavayla's breath caught. She barely had time to twist out of the way. She darted to the right, her body moving on pure survival instinct. The Lirralk's claws sliced so close she felt the wind of the strike against her cheek.
But she was too slow.
A sharp, burning pain ripped across her upper arm as one of its claws slashed her. Blood splattered the leaves. The pain shot up her entire shoulder like fire.
It was worse than the injuries she got when running from the python. Way worse.
The scream rising in her throat almost escaped, but she bit down hard on her lower lip. The skin tore and blood filled her mouth. Her vision wavered. Her injured arm trembled violently from the shock.
The system shrieked in her head.
"Host! Host, are you alright?! Oh my god — that is bad. You must be in so much pain! Host, listen to me — if you don't kill it, it WILL kill you. Like, actually kill you. As in dead-dead. Forever!"
The panic in its voice only made her own pulse spike harder.
"Host! Are you hearing me? You HAVE to kill it! Please! I know you've never killed anything before, but you must! You MUST if you want to live!"
Lavayla swallowed hard. She knew. She absolutely knew.
But only now — bleeding, shaking, cornered — did the weight of kill or be killed hit her fully.
She forced her trembling arm up again, lifted the bow, and braced herself.
"Fine," she said through gritted teeth. "Come on, then."
"Host — WAIT!" the system yelped. "Your best chance is to disable it first! Shoot one of its joints — front leg or hind leg, it doesn't matter — just make sure it can't move! Do not graze it again! You'll only waste arrows and make it angrier!"
Lavayla tightened her jaw. "Aiming for the joints. Got it."
The Lirralklowered its body, muscles coiled, ready to spring again.
She raised the bow —
And the beast lunged.
Lavayla fired the first arrow. It shot past the beast and disappeared into the trees.
She didn't stop. She fired again.
This arrow slammed into the Lirralk's front shoulder joint with a heavy thud. The creature snarled in pain and stumbled, its foreleg nearly collapsing beneath it.
It tried to recover — but she didn't give it the chance.
She gritted her teeth, pulled back the bowstring once more, and aimed for the next part she could vaguely identify as fatal, as best as her trembling hands allowed.
She released.
The next arrow buried itself deep beneath its ribs. The Lirralk convulsed, its roar cracking into a harsh, broken growl.
Before it could recover, Lavayla nocked her last arrow and fired again with everything she had left.
This one struck the side of its throat.
The beast staggered, pawing at the ground, choking, blood pouring from its wounds. Its powerful frame trembled before collapsing sideways, its legs finally giving out beneath it.
It thrashed weakly once… twice… then went still, its blood soaking into the ground beneath it.
The forest fell silent.
Lavayla didn't move for several seconds. Her arms were shaking uncontrollably. Her knees wobbled. Her heartbeat roared so loudly in her ears that she couldn't hear anything else.
Only when the Lirralk stopped moving entirely did she finally release a shaky breath and lower the bow.
"…System," she whispered, voice cracking, "don't ever let me do that again."
"Host… I believe you just upgraded your definition of 'terrifying exercise.'"
Lavayla didn't laugh. She pressed a trembling hand to her forehead, which was wet with sweat.
She'd survived. Barely.
Lavayla breathed raggedly. Her fingers were stiff, trembling so hard she could barely keep her grip steady. The forest was quiet again — too quiet — broken only by her shaky exhales and the distant crash of waves.
The system chimed on cue in her head.
"Congratulations, host! You have successfully slain a mid-tier predator. Reward: 25,000 points!"
"I'm glad you are okay! I'm also happy that you were able to overcome your personal limitations and kill the beast! That's huge progress for you, host!"
Lavayla blinked. "…What?"
Before she could even process its words, the system continued excitedly, "And your weapon — your beautiful, debt-generating bow — is now registered as your first official personal weapon and safely stored in your inventory!"
Lavayla stared at the bloody Lirralk Beast corpse. "…Inventory? Rewards? System, what—"
"Oh! Let me clarify. Normally, for a mid-tier predator like this, the standard reward is 30,000 points. But since the host used a system-provided weapon, the reward is slightly reduced."
"Slightly?" she echoed. "Five thousand points is slightly?"
"It's a reasonable cut, host. Weapon-assisted kills don't count as full personal achievement. Anyway! I have automatically deducted your existing debt of 1,500 points… plus the 500 morale points you were never supposed to touch."
Lavayla squinted. "You mean the fake ones?"
"Exactly! So your remaining balance is… drumroll please~ 23,000 points!"
Lavayla's mouth dropped open. "I… actually have points left? Real ones? When I had absolutely nothing a few seconds ago?"
"Yes, host! Real, spendable, genuinely usable points. Congratulations on your first successful hunt!"
She didn't know whether to laugh or cry as she slumped against a tree, her injured arm throbbing in waves. "…So killing creatures gives point rewards too?"
"Correct! Any lower-tier, mid-tier, or high-tier predator — or even prey, depending on danger level — can give rewards. The stronger and more dangerous the creature, the higher the points."
Lavayla stared at the dead beast again, a creeping sense of doubt crawling up her spine. "…So I just earned twenty-three thousand points… by killing it."
"Yes! Very efficient progress, host!"
She didn't feel efficient. She felt like collapsing into the dirt, but the nature of her gaze on the dead animal changed slightly.
"Oh! I almost forgot the most important part. Every beast from mid-tier to high-tier in this world has a beast core located in the lower abdomen. It's extremely valuable as currency… and it also contains energy you can absorb."
Lavayla stiffened. "…Absorb. Like… eating it?"
"Host… please. You do not eat beast cores. You harvest them."
"Harvest," she repeated slowly. "…With what knife?"
There was a pause.
"…Host, you have 23,000 points. Buy one."
Lavayla groaned, cursing the system under her breath. Still, she spent almost a full minute pacing, arguing, and letting the system badger her before finally buying the damn knife.
When it materialized in her hand, she blinked.
It wasn't a knife. It was a dagger — short, heavy, wickedly sharp, with a strange swirling pattern etched into the metal.