The group moved through the ruined streets, their steps careful but steady. The city was eerily quiet, save for the distant sounds of shifting rubble and the occasional gust of wind. They had been walking for nearly half an hour when Effie, who was leading the way, suddenly raised a hand. Everyone stopped immediately.
She crouched near a crumbling archway, glancing at the ground before looking back at the others. "We've got company up ahead," she murmured. "Bramblebacks. A small group. Four, maybe five."
Ray exhaled through his nose. "Not too bad."
Nephis, standing beside him, simply nodded. "We'll take the front."
Sunny, who had already sent his shadow forward to scout, spoke next. "They're up ahead, in a half-collapsed courtyard. Looks like they're foraging. No signs they've noticed us yet."
Effie gave him a quick nod. "Good. They're territorial, so they won't just run off. We either go around or take them out before they get aggressive."
Nephis didn't hesitate. "We fight."
There were no objections. This was exactly the kind of controlled battle they needed to test their teamwork.
Effie stayed back, watching from the sides while the rest of the group moved into position. Nephis and Ray took the lead, their weapons ready, while Caster stayed slightly behind them, waiting to see if his help would be needed. Sunny and Cassia covered the rear, keeping an eye out for surprises.
As they stepped forward, the Bramblebacks finally noticed them. The largest of the creatures - a bulky, scarred one with dark, bristling spines - let out a deep, rumbling growl. The others twitched and tensed, their quills rattling like dry branches in the wind.
And then, with a sudden burst of motion, they charged.
Nephis moved first. Her sword flashed as she met the lead Brambleback head-on, her blade sinking into its thick hide. It didn't go down immediately, thrashing wildly as she twisted her weapon free. Seeing this, Nephis let out a slow breath and let her flames surge. The next strike burned straight through its flesh, dropping it instantly.
Ray wasn't far behind. As another Brambleback lunged at him, he swung his halberd in a wide arc, the blade cutting deep into its shoulder. The creature let out a furious shriek but didn't stop, its sheer bulk pushing forward. With a sharp step to the side, Ray adjusted his grip and brought the weapon down again, this time severing a front leg. The Brambleback crumpled, squealing in rage and pain.
The remaining creatures hesitated for just a moment before pressing forward.
Caster finally stepped in, his movements precise, controlled, and especially fast, because of his aspect. He brought down his eerily glowing jian, cutting through the front leg with brutal force. The beast lost its balance and tumbled down, Caster used this chance to bring his sword up again, before decapapbitating the nightmare creature, all while Nephis and Ray finished off their current targets.
Meanwhile, Sunny and Cassia kept watch at the rear. When one of the Bramblebacks tried to circle around, Sunny's shadow noticed it immediately. The moment it was noticed, Sunny spun around and engaged the beast, taking it down eventually.
Ray took a step back, scanning the battlefield. Three were already dead. The last one, the biggest of the group, was still standing - but not for long.
Nephis stepped forward, her sword still glowing faintly with residual heat. The Brambleback, now alone, let out a final warning growl. Then, in a last act of defiance, it lowered its head and charged straight at her.
Nephis didn't move until the last second. Then, with a single, fluid motion, she sidestepped and swung her sword in a burning arc. The Brambleback's charge stopped instantly as its body collapsed mid-motion, a deep wound cutting straight through its side.
Silence followed.
Effie stepped over from the side where she stood, glancing around at the fallen creatures. "Not bad," she said with a small smirk. "Could've gone worse."
Ray rolled his shoulders, glancing at Nephis. "How much of that was the sword, and how much was the fire?"
She sheathed her weapon, her expression unreadable. "Enough."
Sunny, standing nearby, let out a breath. "At least it wasn't another weird horror creature, like that damn tree."
Effie chuckled. "A tree? What are you on doofus."
Ray kicked at one of the dead creatures with the toe of his boot. "So… how much do we take from them? Just the meat, or the bones and fangs as well?"
Effie rubbed her chin, considering. "The Meat's good, but the bones are not worth it, the most defensive part of those bastards are the muscles after all. If you really need to, you should take some of the bigger fangs. Could be useful for daggers or make-shift knives, but nothing special."
"Alright, we're doing that. Let's get the important parts, and then we continue," ordered Nephis, while scanning the others for their reactions.
Ray and Sunny shrugged, Effie and Cassia stepped aside, while Caster got to work immediately. Nephis also took her sword and got to work as well, helping the others. Caster used his ghostly jian, Sunny used his Tachi, while Ray summoned his multi-use memory [Oblivion's Thread] to start on his carcass too.
It took the group a few minutes to harvest all the slain creatures, stuffing all the gathered meat, fangs and the soul shards into Effie's bag memory.
All the guys present were once more astonished about how much this memory could actually carry. Nephis seemed as indifferent as always, Effie was used to it as she had used it a lot over her years in this place, and Cassia seemed to accept it very easily.
"Now that we are finished here, let's continue the hunt," declared Nephis, when everyone was ready again.
In this same fashion, they hunted for nearly the rest of the day, only returning when the sun started sinking again. By then the group had met multiple more groups of the Bramblebacks.
Effie's bag had even become significantly heavier, making every step the huntress took even more pronounced than usual. While it could carry an incredible quantity of things, it still had no enchantment to reduce its weight. Therefore, no one besides Effie could probably even lift it at this point.
The content was not only a mountain of meat, but also a fair number of fangs and soul shards. While they could have used the shards immediately, with the number of them at hand – even though Effie would receive way less, because of her increased food portion – most of the group would need a moment to recover after the sudden influx of soul essence, which would make them very vulnerable to sudden attacks.
Over all, the hunt went way better than any of the participants would have imagined. While they were still a bit rough around the edges when it came to some of their dynamics, it was clear that the group was full of talent.
Right now, the six of them were walking up the mountain path, chatting idly about their successful hunt and strategies they could use for the next hunts.
Shortly, before they reached the edge of the slums, Nephis stepped forward and stopped after turning to the others.
"If you are okay with it, would you mind letting me take care of our food rations? In exchange you can have my share of the shards we have gotten today."