The group stood in silence for several long moments.
The massive corpse lay motionless before them.
Even in death—
its oppressive presence had not completely faded.
Lindor remained crouched beside the beast, carefully examining the clean wound that pierced straight through its chest.
Finally—
he rose to his feet.
"I can't say for certain."
He adjusted his glasses.
"But a magic crystal has countless uses."
His gaze swept across the group.
"Once refined, it becomes the core of enchanted equipment."
"It can power magical artifacts."
"It can be used in alchemy."
"It serves as the foundation of large-scale magical formations."
"It can even function as a catalyst for advanced spells."
He folded his arms.
"So simply taking the crystal doesn't tell us much."
The knight scratched the back of his head.
"...In other words..."
"We still have no idea why they ignored everything else."
Lindor nodded.
"Exactly."
"They may have needed mana."
"They may have needed money."
"They may have needed the crystals for a very specific purpose."
"There are simply too many possibilities."
Zeph, who still stood atop the enormous corpse, suddenly lifted his head and sniffed the air once more.
His ears twitched sharply.
"...They're still moving."
Everyone turned toward him.
"The scent doesn't end here."
He pointed deeper into the forest.
"It keeps going."
"And..."
His brow furrowed.
"...There are more beast scents mixed into the trail now."
The archer raised an eyebrow.
"...More?"
Zeph nodded.
"I don't think they've been avoiding magical beasts."
"If anything..."
He stared into the dark forest ahead.
"...they've been running straight through their territories."
The knight let out a low whistle.
"...Either they're unbelievably unlucky..."
"...or they simply don't care."
The towering lizardman stepped forward.
His deep voice remained calm.
"We continue."
No one argued.
Lindor cast one last glance at the enormous corpse.
"...It would be a waste to leave this behind."
He opened the large enchanted storage bag hanging from his shoulder.
A faint blue glow shimmered from within.
The mouth of the bag widened.
Ancient runes along its rim illuminated with a soft light.
With a controlled wave of mana—
the gigantic corpse slowly lifted from the ground.
As it drifted toward the opening, its massive form gradually shrank, disappearing into the enchanted space contained within the bag.
A few moments later—
the clearing stood empty once again.
The knight blinked in amazement.
"...Spatial items never stop amazing me."
Lindor tightened the strap over his shoulder.
"It wasn't cheap."
Zeph had already leaped from the clearing.
His nose hovered close to the forest floor as he followed the fading trail.
"This way."
The others quickly fell in behind him.
One after another—
they disappeared beneath the dense forest canopy.
The pursuit continued.
And somewhere far ahead—
completely unaware that another group had begun tracing his path—
Draven continued moving east.
---
A full day passed.
The forest stretched endlessly beneath the afternoon sun.
Towering trees cast long shadows across the undergrowth.
Birdsong echoed through the thick canopy.
Then—
**BOOM!**
A massive body crashed through several towering trees before slamming into the earth.
Dust exploded across the clearing.
An enormous orc lay motionless.
Its thick hide had been split open by a single devastating slash.
A second corpse rested several meters away.
Then a third.
None of them had survived more than a single exchange.
Standing quietly among the fallen beasts—
was Draven.
His breathing remained slow and steady.
Yet the veins bulging along his neck told an entirely different story.
A thin stream of blood trickled from one nostril.
He wiped it away with the back of his hand.
His expression never changed.
The folding mass within his body continued turning.
Slowly.
Relentlessly.
Compressing...
Containing...
Refining the violent mana he had consumed.
Even now—
his body remained under constant strain.
His gaze shifted toward the crimson magic crystals resting in his palm.
Without the slightest hesitation—
he tossed them into his mouth.
**CRUNCH.**
The crystals shattered between his teeth.
Violent mana erupted through his body.
Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Every muscle tightened.
For a brief instant—
his entire body trembled beneath the overwhelming surge.
Then—
the folding mass seized the raging energy once more.
Forcing it into submission.
Compressing it.
Refining it.
Draven exhaled quietly.
He turned.
Without sparing the corpses another glance—
he disappeared into the forest.
**FWOOSH!**
Only silence remained.
---
Several hours behind—
another group entered the same clearing.
Zeph stopped so abruptly that everyone behind him nearly walked into his back.
"...Again."
The kobold let out a weary sigh.
The knight looked ahead.
"...Seriously?"
Three enormous corpses lay scattered across the clearing.
Untouched.
The magic crystals had been removed.
Everything else remained exactly where it had fallen.
Lindor crouched beside the nearest corpse.
His fingers traced the perfectly clean wound.
"...One strike."
He glanced toward the second corpse.
"...Again."
The archer slowly shook her head.
"They're getting stronger."
The towering lizardman scanned the surroundings before calmly replying,
"No."
His deep voice remained steady.
"They've always been this strong."
"The difference..."
He looked toward the trail leading farther east.
"...is that they're killing more."
The knight groaned loudly.
"...Can we please stop finding monsters every few hours?"
"I feel like I'm going to collapse at this rate."
Lindor didn't even bother looking up.
"You complained yesterday."
"And the day before that."
The knight folded his arms.
"Because we're practically carrying an entire zoo."
Zeph snorted.
"You weren't complaining when you sold that hellhound hide."
"...That's different."
The archer laughed softly.
"It always is."
The lizardman finally turned toward the group.
"We rest."
Everyone looked at him.
"Fifteen minutes."
"We eat."
"We recover."
"Then we continue."
The knight released a long sigh of relief.
"Finally."
"I was beginning to think you'd forgotten that normal people actually need sleep."
The lizardman ignored the remark entirely.
Lindor began removing his pack.
Zeph immediately climbed onto a fallen log, keeping watch while absentmindedly testing the air with his nose.
The archer uncorked her water flask and took a long drink.
For the first time since morning—
the relentless pursuit came to a brief halt.
Far ahead—
Draven continued moving east.
Completely unaware that the distance between hunter and prey had quietly grown smaller once again.