Chapter 1

"Do we really need to kill this one?" asked a mage clad in a long sea-blue robe that reached his ankles. He hadn’t covered his head with the robe’s hood, revealing his short, blonde ponytail. Round glasses perched on his nose.

He gazed at the creature before him with pity— a pale green mantis, the size of a soccer ball, standing three meters away. It let out a harsh hiss and spread its spiked forelegs wide, trying to appear larger and more intimidating.

"Don’t ask so many questions, Noah! We have to kill every last one of these insects before they mature. It’ll be a disaster otherwise!" a man behind him responded.

The man wore a leather-plated cuirass, with a bandana wrapped around his forehead, keeping his spiky golden-yellow hair standing upright. In his right hand, he gripped a double-edged sword stained with green fluid—some of it dried, some still fresh.

The two stood in an open grassland, surrounded by countless insect body parts, both small and enormous—some even larger than the mantis before them. Severed legs, thoraxes sliced into pieces, ruptured abdomens, and decapitated mantis heads were scattered across the area.

The green blood of the creatures seeped into the ground, though it blended with the grass well enough to be barely noticeable.

The field was encircled by forests in every direction except the south, where, a few kilometers away, a town stood in the distance.

"But Azar, this one is still in level one. It just hatched from its egg. We’ve already wiped out its siblings—can’t we let this one go?" Noah pleaded, turning to his companion with softened eyes.

Azar remained indifferent, resting his sword on his right shoulder. "Listen, Noah, you shouldn’t be merciful to everything, especially not monsters."

He shifted his stance, lowering his sword from his shoulder and pointing the blade at Noah. "Because..." his eyes sharpened, "they will all take advantage of it."

Noah turned back to the mantis—only to find it had already launched itself at him, forelegs spread, ready to tear into his face.

In an instant, a burst of sparks blinded his vision, followed by the sharp clang of clashing metal. The glint of a blade caught his eye, and suddenly, Azar was standing before him.

The mantis was sent flying to their right, digging its claws into the ground to stop itself from tumbling.

'Damn, it parried my sword well and used the momentum to propel itself away,' Azar thought, both frustrated and impressed as he moved to shield Noah.

"Stay sharp, Noah! This one's clever and fast. But don't worry—I’ve crippled its initiative." Azar grinned, tilting his sword to let fresh green blood drip from the edge.

The mantis hissed, its right foreleg now limp. It twitched slightly whenever it tried to lift it, only to fall back down. Green blood dripped onto the grass from the joint at its trochanter—the equivalent of a knee. Now, it had only its left foreleg as its sole weapon.

Azar locked eyes with the creature, while the mantis remained frozen, like a statue, waiting for him to make the first move. A tense silence fell. The afternoon breeze whispered through the grass, caressing their skin with its cooling touch.

As the wind settled and the grass stilled, the mantis made a slight movement—lowering its body as if ready to pounce.

"Get ready, Noah!" Azar grinned, exhilarated by the fight. He adjusted his stance, raising his sword to chest level, angling his body forward, and pointing the blade directly at the mantis in a thrusting position.

But the mantis had no intention of fighting to the death.

Not with a crippled foreleg. Not against two enemies—one wielding a sword, the other unarmed yet exuding a dangerous presence.

No. It refused to die here.

Without hesitation, the mantis spun around and leapt with extraordinary force, soaring twenty feet into the air—straight toward the forest.

"Oh no! We have to chase it, hurry, Noah!" Azar sheathed his sword, ready to sprint—but something stopped him.

Looking down, he saw thick tree roots snaking out of the cracked earth, ensnaring his right foot. He sensed the magic energy emanating from behind him. Turning around, he found the source: Noah's right palm, glowing with a bright green sigil.

"Noah! What the hell are you—" Azar's words cut short when he met Noah's piercing gaze.

For a long moment, they held eye contact in silence. And in that moment, Azar realized—Noah wouldn’t back down.

The mantis was already long gone.

Azar exhaled in defeat, slumping his shoulders. "Fine, fine... I'll let it go..." he muttered.

Hearing that, Noah beamed with satisfaction and released the spell. The entangling roots withdrew into the earth, leaving only cracks behind.

"You're such a pain. Lucky for you, you're my best friend and a damn good mage. Otherwise, we'd be fighting right now over a single oversized mantis." Azar pouted, turning away in irritation.

"Well, I can’t say anything except—thank you."

"Thank you, my ass! Are you going to take responsibility if that thing grows up, lays eggs, and attacks Filrime village, huh?!"

"Oh, come on, let’s not think about that now. Besides..."

Noah approached Azar from behind, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. Due to their height difference, he had to lean down slightly.

Noah barely reached Azar’s shoulders, making the contrast even more noticeable.

"If a monster outbreak really happens, the two of us can handle it, right, brother?" Noah grinned, winking playfully.

Azar’s face remained blank—until a loud THWACK echoed through the field.

Noah doubled over at a perfect ninety-degree angle, Azar’s fist firmly planted atop his head.

"Don't grin at me like that! Do you even realize how many times you've nearly gotten us both killed, HUH?! Last time, you wanted to tame a Kraken instead of killing it! A KRAKEN, NOAH! We nearly got eaten, you idiot!" Azar’s patience had finally snapped.

"Alright, alright! I was wrong! Ow..." Noah groaned, rubbing the throbbing spot on his head. He felt like he might pass out.

Azar huffed. Now that he’d let out his frustration, guilt crept in for hitting Noah so hard.

"Haah... Let’s just bag up these mantis parts and deliver them to the Guild before nightfall, Noah." His voice softened as he grabbed a large sack and began collecting the insect remains.

Some parts were too large or tangled together, forcing Azar to chop them into smaller pieces for better storage.

Noah nodded silently, recovering from his pain before helping Azar. But as he worked, he occasionally glanced toward the forest.

A strange feeling stirred in his chest—an eerie sensation that something was watching them from the darkness, hidden behind the trees.

Noah ignored it, not wanting to delay their work. After all, the sun was already sinking behind the distant mountains, and the sky was darkening.

####

Night had fallen over the town of Filrime as Noah wandered alone along the cobbled streets. He was heading toward the town gate, which separated the town's residents from the villagers living outside.

He and Azar had just finished their business with the Adventurer's Guild and collected their reward—two small pouches filled with silver coins—for exterminating and delivering the remains of the giant mantises. They split the reward evenly, one pouch each.

Initially, they had planned to rest at an inn for the night. However, they hadn't realized the inn had a tavern on the ground floor, with the sleeping quarters upstairs.

'And that idiot wasted his money on booze instead of getting some sleep…' Noah grumbled internally, turning left at a three-way intersection leading out of the town's gates.

The night breeze embraced him, causing his robes to flutter gently. The full moon, accompanied by a sky full of stars, illuminated his path toward the grassy fields where they had fought the giant mantises earlier that evening.

As he walked, his mind drifted back to the unsettling feeling he'd had before they left—the sensation of being watched. The thought gnawed at him.

He wandered around the battlefield, hoping to find a clue, though he wasn't sure what exactly he was looking for.

Then, his brown eyes suddenly glowed an eerie shade of blue. If anyone were to see him now, they would think he had the eyes of a nocturnal beast. He had infused his vision with magic, allowing him to see clearly in the dark and detect things that might otherwise remain hidden.

Immediately, the dried green blood scattered across the grass became more visible to him—some stains brighter than others, indicating fresher traces. He scanned the area carefully, until finally, he noticed something unusual.

A trail of green blood in droplets, much brighter and fresher than the others, led straight into the forest.

Noah turned toward the dark treeline. The chirping of crickets was the only sound accompanying him. The towering trees cast long shadows, their thick branches blocking out much of the sky.

To an ordinary person, the forest would be pitch black—an intimidating, impenetrable wall of darkness. But with Noah's enchanted vision, everything was as clear as if it were broad daylight.

Following the blood trail, he stepped into the forest. The droplets marked every disturbance along the way—crushed leaves, trampled bushes, claw marks on tree trunks, snapped branches.

The deeper he went, the closer the bloodstains became, the drops larger, the distance between them shrinking.

He was getting close.

Or so he thought.

Brushing aside a leafy branch, he found himself staring at a severed mantis leg lying on the ground. The wound at the trochanter—what would be the creature's knee—was fresh.

Before he could react, a rustling sound came from the bushes just a few meters ahead.

Then another from his ten o'clock position.

Another from his eight.

Then seven.

And finally… right behind him.

In his single-minded pursuit of the trail, Noah hadn't realized he had been led into an open clearing, surrounded by thick vegetation.

He froze, his thoughts racing.

Then, he smirked. 'How clever.'

From the bushes in front of him emerged a mantis, roughly the size of a fully grown cat. Its pale green body gleamed under the moonlight, and its single remaining foreleg spread wide in a threatening display. The right one was missing entirely.

Noah glanced at the severed limb behind him, then back at the mantis. The creature hissed.

'So… it cut off its own leg and used it as bait. Bait for me.'

The realization struck him with such amusement that he couldn't help but chuckle softly.

'I thought I was the hunter. But I was the prey all along.'

A carefully laid blood trail. A willingly sacrificed limb. A battlefield chosen in advance. And now, an ambush with all possible escape routes blocked.

Noah was no longer the predator.

He was the hunted.

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