The morning air was colder than expected.


    Alex stood near the firepit, hands over the last flickers of flame, watching the pale sky lighten through the trees. Across the camp, Grace tightened the straps on her Marine coat while Ellie double-checked the supplies in her satchel—rations, canteens, a vial of thickened ice sealed in a bark stopper, just in case.


    Yusuf arrived next, his spear slung over one shoulder, and a satchel of rope and makeshift bandages on the other. He nodded once at Alex, his expression unreadable but focused. Wren offered them a tired wave from where she was finishing Ten drills with Travis near the outer ring.


    Camila joined last, her saber sheathed, boots laced high, and a small leather-bound notebook in hand.


    “We ready?” she asked.


    Alex nodded. “We missing anyone?”


    “No,” Camila said. “I’m not bringing Callum.”


    “Good,” Grace muttered.


    They didn’t speak more than necessary. The group gathered at the northern gate as Miriam handed Camila a wrapped satchel—salted meat, some water and bits and bobs.


    “Good luck” Miriam said. “Remember, return if it looks too much of a challenge.”


    Camila tucked it into her pack. “Hopefully it won’t come to that.”


    Alex adjusted the strap of their own pack, glancing at the horizon where the first hints of dawn began to shimmer. The forest, though familiar, held an air of unease this morning.


    They shared a glance, something between camaraderie and warning, and then Camila turned to the others.


    “Let’s move.”


    <hr>


    The ridge was steeper than it looked on the map, and the forest more tangled. The five of them moved cautiously, Alex and Grace ahead, Yusuf and Ellie watching the flanks, Camila in the rear, eyes always scanning. Grace’s observation flaring as best she can.


    The path veered toward the stream they’d seen yesterday, the one Alex had mistaken for growling water. Moss lined the stones now, dew still thick. Birdsong was absent.


    “Area still feels dead,” Yusuf said. “No squirrels, no bugs. Whatever’s wrong with that bear... it’s repelling everything.”


    “Same as the fog-beasts,” Ellie added quietly. “They affected the land too.”


    Camila marked a tree with chalk. “Don’t lose your nerve yet. If we find the den, we scout, not engage.”


    They moved deeper, through low-hanging vines and twisted trunks. It wasn’t long before the signs became obvious: torn bark, gouged trees, claw prints the size of dinner plates. A small stone outcrop rose to their left.


    Alex crouched. “Tracks. Fresh.”


    Yusuf knelt beside him. “Single bear. It’s circling. Still bleeding from the hind leg—probably from the last scuffle. Might’ve hunted something nearby.”


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    “Let’s keep going. Slowly,” Camila said.


    They crossed a shallow dip, where leaves had formed a natural basin. Ellie suddenly stiffened, hand raised.


    “Wait,” she whispered. “Look.”


    In the center of the hollow, a carcass lay torn open. Not a deer. Not a goblin.


    “Boar?” Grace asked.


    “No tusks,” Yusuf said. “But... bigger than a deer. Some kind of wild ox?”


    It had been gutted with terrifying precision. Flayed open from neck to stomach. But it wasn’t just the bear that had fed.


    Around the carcass, thin trails in the dirt. Not claws. Not paws.


    “Human?” Alex whispered.


    “No shoes,” Camila said. “Barefoot. But... too light.”


    “Goblins?” Grace asked, grimacing.


    Camila’s eyes narrowed. “Most likely”


    The group fanned out, weapons drawn. The forest held its breath.


    First came Grace’s warning.


    Then came the growl.


    Not from the trees—but from beneath.


    The earth cracked, a snarl erupting from a hollow behind the ridge. A shape lunged—massive, matted, its breath thick and wrong. The bear.


    Fog still clung to its ribs.


    “MOVE!” Camila shouted.


    The group scattered as the bear crashed through a tree, splintering it like kindling. Alex rolled sideways, chakra surging to his feet as he vaulted behind a stone outcrop. Grace ducked low, slashing out as the bear passed—her blade catching against its fur like it was iron.


    Ellie raised both hands, magic forming into a frozen shield just as the beast turned toward her. The ice shattered under its claws, but it slowed the impact.


    “Don’t fight head-on!” Yusuf shouted. “Circle it!”


    Camila dove to the right, drawing both wind and earth magic in tandem. She kicked up dust and bark, sending shards of stone lancing toward its back. Alex followed her lead, slashing with fire-imbued chakra—but it barely flinched.


    “It’s fog-tainted!” Camila yelled. “Same resilience as the others!”


    “Then we take it like we did the Alpha,” Grace called. “Overwhelm it!”


    They fought like a machine—improvised but coordinated. Yusuf’s Ren flared bright as he rammed the spear into the bear’s ribs. Ellie struck low with freezing blasts. Camila battered it with gusts of slicing wind. Alex baited and distracted. Grace hammered at its flank with all her strength.


    The bear roared, staggered, and for a moment—stilled.


    Then Alex leapt forward, chakra surging through his legs as he brought the saber down, flame flashing.


    The strike hit home.


    The beast shuddered... and collapsed.


    Panting, bloodied, they stood in the silence that followed. A breeze stirred the leaves.


    They had won, but not flawlessly.


    Grace was bleeding from her side. Yusuf had a torn shoulder. Camila’s wind magic was almost depleted. Ellie trembled from overuse.


    Alex knelt beside the corpse. “You alright Grace?”


    “Yeah, it’s not too deep.”


    “We need to move, I don’t want to risk goblins showing up” Camila ordered. “We’ll tie the rope around the bear and drag it”


    “Yeah let’s get out of here”


    <hr>


    Back at the Cradle, they returned with the bear intact, it had been a long slog for them all, but they returned triumphant.


    Miriam came over to check on the injured, she started to treat Grace’s wound.


    David met them at the gate. “What the hell happened?”


    “Victory,” Camila muttered. “Barely.”


    They made the sacrifice at the Obelisk that evening.


    <b>Tainted Bear (Fog-Altered):</b> 50 points.


    Jake noted it down quietly.


    And then updated the Bestiary.


    “Camila should get the sacrifice, she deserves it” Alex says.


    “Agreed” Yusuf followed up.


    Whilst they could split the body up, Camila has been a massive asset, and it was deserved.


    “Well good job, you’ll be happy to know we’ve got boar for dinner” Jake grinned.


    “Good Stuff” Yusuf’s stomach growled at the thought of a full meal.


    Camila approached the Obelisk. Whilst she had been looked over the for points from the goblin and fog beast attack, she’d been busy herself.


    <b>Camila – 26 points</b>


    <b>Sacrifice </b>


    <b>Tainted Bear (Fog-Altered):</b> 50 points.


    <b>Camila – 76 points</b>


    <b>Magic (Ethernano) Expansion (Large) - 60 points</b>


    She had her eyes on this for a while. She still has a lot to do with regards to exploring he wind and earth magic that she had bought, limited by the amount of magic she has. To grow it naturally, would take time, and with this purchase, she can both train her magic more often and also stay in the fight longer with regards to her magic.


    She felt her magic capacity swell in size, only those who have chosen the Fairy Tail path and Basic magic potential could tell that such a change had occurred, though the depths of the change Camila went through was something they had no idea on.


    <b>Cradle Status: Holding.</b> <b>Total Confirmed Survivors: 72.</b> <b>Next Objective: Growth</b>