Chapter 55 (LV) Not Alone

He spun around, drawing his swords and raising them to guard, his eyes darting around the area, searching for any threats.

Khione growled and hissed at something in the distance, arcing her back, hair standing on end.

He saw nothing, but he knew that something was near, so he continued to listen, waiting for any other sounds.

After a minute, he consulted his minimap, seeing the dot running away from his position. He relaxed and lowered his weapons, sighing softly as Khione looked up at him, meowing loudly.

"Yeah… We should go check it out…" Jackson nodded at her before the duo walked through the trees, following the dot.

They traveled for a short time before coming out onto a cliff overlooking a river that flowed into the ocean.

In the distance, Jackson could hear the rushing of the water as a shadow moved far below, on the opposite bank, disappearing into the jungle as Khione snarled at it, growling.

"Let's go!" Jackson said as the pair jumped off the cliff. Khione flew toward his shoulder, digging her claws into his jacket as she hung against his back.

Lightning cracked around his feet as he grinned, digging his feet into the sloping cliffside as he landed, sliding down and kicking a dirt trail into the air behind him.

As they approached the ground, his entire body was enveloped in purple lightning as he crouched, leaping off the cliffside.

A purple bolt of lightning danced through the air over the river, crashing onto the riverbank as Khione leaped off his shoulder and ran into the underbrush.

Jackson bolted through the trees, chasing after her as they ran after the dot on his minimap.

The sound of cracking branches filled the air, and Jackson cursed at the noise, glancing back at the sound only to see a tree falling to the ground, blocking his path.

He gritted his teeth and turned back, charging forward, jumping over the fallen trunk, landing on another branch, and climbing higher, pushing through the foliage.

Jackson looked up and smiled, spotting Khione standing on a branch above him. She meowed at him and then looked back to the ground, her tail flicking in agitation.

Jackson darted forward as she leaped down, running after him. She mewed again, looking up at him, and then turned to face the direction of the dot.

It had stopped moving hardly a kilometer away, and the pair rushed toward it.

As they closed the distance, the dot vanished, "What the..?" Jackson muttered in confusion, rushing through the trees into a clearing.

He stopped and scanned the area, seeing a dead wolf lying motionless. He looked down and noticed the grass was flattened as if someone had run across the field.

He knelt down and touched the earth with his hand, feeling the coolness of the soil and the warmth of the sun.

He stepped closer to the corpse, inspecting it, and noticed the fur around its neck was matted and stained. He pulled at it, revealing a gaping gash across the neck of the animal, oozing blood.

He glanced at the wound, noticing the flesh was torn as if it had been slashed open, and the skin had peeled back in a wide arc, exposing the bone.

He examined the body, examining the wounds, and he felt a chill as he realized that this was not the work of a beast.

He stood up, wiping his hands on his pants and scanning the area again, searching for a set of footprints, but there were none besides the trampled grass leading to the wolf.

"The hell..?" Jackson muttered, furrowing his brow as he looked around the clearing.

He sighed in frustration and shook his head, turning to leave, Khione trotting along next to him.

They returned to camp, where the familiar sight of the campfire greeted them.

He sat next to the fire, pulling a piece of meat from the pot to eat as Khione curled up next to him, purring contentedly as he stroked her.

"We're not alone, Khione… I don't know where they went or how they did it, but another beast couldn't have done that." Jackson said, finishing his meal and tossing the bones aside.

He stood and stretched, building a couple of traps around the camp's perimeter, setting them to trip any intruders who tried to sneak up on them while they slept.

He gathered more of the jungle vines and sturdy sticks nearby, building noose traps and returning to the previously noted locations and placing traps there as well, for a source of meat.

He returned to the camp as the sun was starting to set over the horizon, watching the orange light fade, smiling at Khione curled up on his bedroll.

He spent the next few hours practicing both of his new Skillbooks next to the fire, taking notes and experimenting with different combinations of skills.

He was still working with his swordplay and was trying to perfect his technique at combining the two blades at the hilt, but not using the Twin Moons made it awkward.

He also was trying to find a balance between attack and defense, trying to find a middle ground that would allow him to be able to defend himself while striking an enemy with enough force to cause damage.

He was trying to find a rhythm with his breathing that would make it easier to concentrate, trying to find a pattern that would keep him calm and focused.

So began his repetitive schedule of waking in the morning and checking the traps with Khione, letting her kill the tiny creatures and allowing her to gain experience.

Training from sunrise to sunset and remaining vigilant in monitoring his minimap, but the mysterious figure never returned.

On the morning of the third day, he awoke and grinned as a delicious aroma drifted from his Gobbii Bag in the corner of the tent.

Khione rapidly paced back and forth next to it, meowing and trying to get inside. Jackson's mouth drooled as he knelt next to the bag, brushing her out of the way, opening the pack as the aroma burst forth.