ShadowBound: The Need For Power-Chapter 598: They Are Wildlife Here

Nearly an hour had already bled away since the trial began, and in that time Liam had pushed through a steady succession of obstacles—some demanding just enough attention to slow him, others barely worth acknowledging. The forest had tested his footing, his awareness, and his patience, but nothing so far had forced him to break rhythm.

With the strict restriction placed on Myst output, Liam had made a deliberate choice early on. Rather than rely on his flames or draw upon his dark magic, he confined his usage to subtle self-enhancement. Strength flowed cleanly through his limbs, speed sharpened his movements, and his senses—sight, hearing, scent—were honed just enough to give him an edge without crossing the line into excess. It was efficient, controlled, and quiet. Exactly how he preferred it.

That restraint had carried him far already, and he had no intention of abandoning it now.

Eventually, Liam slowed and slipped beneath the cover of a thick-barked tree, lowering himself into a crouch. He focused on steadying his breathing—not because exhaustion had caught him, but because he refused to let it sneak up on him later. This wasn't a race, and unlike the morning course they'd been forced to run for weeks, the trial granted them the luxury of time. Wasting that by overextending would be foolish.

As he rested, his gaze lifted through the canopy, tracking the sun's position through the fractured patches of light overhead. He measured the angle carefully, aligning it with his internal sense of direction.

"I'm still good," he muttered under his breath, confirming he hadn't drifted from his northern path.

Remaining crouched, Liam didn't relax. His eyes swept the surrounding brush in slow, deliberate arcs while his enhanced hearing filtered through layers of sound—wind through leaves, distant movement, subtle disturbances that didn't belong. He drew in measured breaths, scenting the air again and again, searching for anything out of place.

He'd been doing this since the moment the trial began.

The Myst in this forest felt wrong. Not hostile, exactly, but unstable—crowded with overlapping signatures, constant motion, and subtle disruptions. At first, he'd attributed it to the presence of other students moving through the same terrain. That much made sense.

But what he was sensing now was different.

Even accounting for his peers, the proximity felt off. Too close. Too persistent. It was as if something unseen was steadily tightening its circle around him, and now that he had stopped moving, the sensation had intensified rather than faded.

'So we're not alone like we were in the other forest,' Liam thought, his focus sharpening. 'I'd say demons… but this scent isn't demonic. And it doesn't belong to a magical beast either.'

He inhaled again, slower this time, sorting through the unfamiliar traces in the air.

'If it's neither of those,' his thoughts continued, narrowing with cold clarity, 'then the only thing left, considering this trial, would be—'

In the next instant, Liam moved.

Without turning his head, he summoned one of his twin daggers and snapped his wrist sideways, releasing it in a clean, fluid motion. The blade buried itself into the bark of the tree beside him with a dull, wet thud, followed immediately by a softer sound hitting the forest floor.

Only then did he turn.

His dagger was lodged deep in the trunk, and just beside it lay a five-foot viper, its head severed cleanly from its body. Blood pooled beneath the twitching corpse, dark against the forest floor.

"Normal wildlife," Liam muttered flatly as he regarded it.

After a brief glance, he dismissed the dagger back into shadow and rose smoothly to his feet, breaking into motion once more as he resumed his advance through the forest.

What he'd just confirmed settled heavily in his mind. Wildlife was active within the evaluation zone—and worse, at least some of it was hunting. The pressure he'd felt earlier hadn't been imagined; it had been predatory intent.

'To think the academy would go this far,' he reflected as he ran. 'Though… I can't say I'm surprised. This is the Dark Knight Academy.'

They had already forced students into a realm designed to imprison demons for nearly a week. By comparison, turning an unfamiliar forest into a live hunting ground hardly felt absurd.

'Still,' his thoughts continued, tightening, 'with Myst output restricted, this complicates things.'

Even mundane animals were dangerous when cornered, and wildlife fought with instinct, not hesitation. Under normal circumstances, they'd be trivial. Now, they were liabilities that demanded attention.

'And whatever's tracking me,' he added, glancing briefly over his shoulder, 'isn't backing off.'

His jaw tightened.

'Honestly… being hunted pisses me off. Especially with my name being Hunter.'

After another stretch of movement, irritation finally tipped into decision. Liam clicked his tongue sharply.

"Tsk. I'll kill this bastard," he muttered.

Without slowing, he altered his course, veering away from his original northern route and cutting east instead.

***

After altering his path and sprinting through the uneven forest floor for some time, Liam's eyes caught sight of a shallow pool of mud. Without hesitation, he launched himself forward and slid through it, covering his body completely from head to toe. The logic behind the action was simple yet effective: whatever was stalking him clearly relied on scent to track its prey, a trait common to most predators. By covering himself in mud, Liam hoped to mask his trail and confuse the hunter that had been relentless since the trial began.

"Now I need to find some higher ground," he muttered under his breath as he pressed on, weaving through thick underbrush and uneven terrain.

Moments later, his gaze landed on a towering tree in the distance, its trunk sturdy and branches sprawling high into the canopy. With renewed determination, Liam bolted toward it, dodging roots and low-hanging branches, until he reached the base. Climbing swiftly, he ascended to the very topmost branches, crouching carefully to avoid making a sound, while surveying the forest below with sharp, calculating eyes.

'This should give me a clear idea of what I'm really up against,' he thought, keeping his movements minimal and deliberate. 'After all, no predator remains passive for long when the scent of its prey suddenly vanishes.'

Settling into his vantage point, Liam waited in tense silence, muscles coiled like springs, every sense attuned to the sounds of the forest. After nearly a full minute, the subtle rustle of leaves above the undergrowth caught his attention. Lowering his body slightly to gain a better angle, his eyes locked onto the creature that had been hunting him with unnerving persistence.

It was a massive lynx-like predator, limbs elongated for silent stalking, oversized paws cushioning every step, allowing it to move with uncanny stealth across the forest floor. Its thick, dark fur rippled subtly with faint streaks of gray, a camouflage perfectly suited to the shifting shadows of the dense woods. The creature's nose twitched as it sniffed the air, methodically tracing the faint mud trail Liam had left behind, completely unaware of the clever misdirection.

Perched high above, Liam couldn't help but let out a low scoff, taking in the full sight of his pursuer with a mix of respect and exasperation.

'Well, I'll be damned,' he thought, eyes narrowing as he studied the lynx. 'Out of all the animals that could have been sent after me, it had to be a Dire Lynx.'