Chapter 13

"Wow! What a workout!" Kenzo declared, rolling his shoulder before cracking his neck with a satisfied sigh.

Akari, leaning her bardiche against one of the massive mushrooms, clapped her hands together. "Alright, anyone who needs healing, come over here."

A strange silence settled over the group as her words hung in the air. It was only then that the hunters began to notice something unusual.

"Is it just me, or was that battle a lot easier than expected?" one of the hunters asked, glancing at his unscathed arms.

"Now that you mention it... there's not a single scratch on me," another chimed in. "Were those really S-Rank monsters?"

"Yeah, I swear I took a fatal hit back there, but I'm completely fine."

Kenzo, who had been checking himself over, finally spoke up. "Huh. Now that’s weird. I think this is the first fight I’ve had where I don’t even have a bruise to show for it." He clenched his fists, his expression thoughtful.

Akari crossed her arms, a look of mild displeasure on her face. "And not for lack of trying, I’m sure," she huffed. "Honestly, you fight like you’ve got a death wish." Then, her gaze shifted to Kaede, her brow furrowing slightly. "It’s her ability, isn’t it? She said so earlier." She jabbed a thumb in Kaede’s direction. "As long as we’re inside that circle of hers, all the damage gets transferred to her."

The attention suddenly shifted to Kaede, who blinked, looking slightly abashed at the scrutiny.

Kanae, meanwhile, quietly sheathed her twin katanas, the cold steel humming softly as it slid into place. Her sharp gaze flickered toward Kaede, her thoughts unreadable.

'Is she going to eat the monsters here?' she wondered, watching Kaede carefully. 'Should I allow her to? It's bound to make everyone uncomfortable.'

Her eyes widened as an Idea blossomed in her mind. 'Unless.'

---

"Yummy. Lion meat is so tasty." Kaede drooled as she bit into a skewer of roasted meat, holding another in her free hand.

---

Stat Gains:

AGILITY +20

STRENGTH +25

VITALITY +20

PERCEPTION +10

Skill:

Commander's Decree (LV 1) – Increases the stats of all summons and subordinates by 5%.

Speed Up (LV 6 -> 7) – Increases speed by 70% for 1 minute. Costs 1 MP per second after the first minute.

---

Seated around a roaring fire in the middle of the mushroom forest, Kaede and the rest of the hunters feasted on freshly cooked lion meat. Skewers sizzled over the flames, the rich aroma of roasted meat mixing with the damp, earthy scent of the oversized mushrooms.

Kanae had originally suggested cooking the lion meat as a cover-up for Kaede’s particular eating habits, but before she knew it, the others had embraced the idea. Now, what started as a simple cover-up had turned into a full-fledged feast, a temporary camp formed in the middle of the forest.

Of course, the scent of roasting meat didn’t go unnoticed. Four more groups of Blue-Maned Lions had attacked since they lit the fire, but they were swiftly torn apart by the hunters. With Kaede's ability negating their injuries, they fought recklessly, almost enjoying the challenge of each new wave.

"Yeah, you're right," a green-haired girl said, sitting beside Kaede. She handed her another skewer as soon as she noticed Kaede had finished her first. "This stuff is surprisingly good."

"Wow, I can't believe the rumors are actually true," a dark-haired man on Kaede's other side chimed in, watching her with a mix of awe and curiosity. "Reawakenings... I thought they were just fairy tales. Something to keep Hunters from giving up, a dream that maybe, just maybe, they'd reawaken and grow stronger."

The hunters around them, seated in loose circles, were now eagerly trying to strike up conversations with Kaede. She barely had a moment between bites before someone else tried to get her attention.

Across from them, Kanae sighed, perched on the bent trunk of a massive mushroom, watching the scene unfold. After the second lion attack, the group had finally realized that Kaede’s strength far surpassed that of an A-Rank Hunter.

Then, Kenzo, reckless as ever, had decided to test Kaede’s strength himself. He had thrown a full-powered punch at her, only to end up with a broken arm for his trouble. That moment sealed the deal.

Kaede wasn’t just strong. She was S-Rank.

Once the shock wore off, her sudden rise in popularity became undeniable. Kaede, caught off guard by the attention, had ended up revealing her Reawakened status. Now, the hunters weren’t just acknowledging her power, they were trying to win her favor.

Kanae gave a soundless chuckle. Kaede already had fans.

Growl.

A familiar sound rumbled through the trees.

"Ah, it's happening again," the green-haired girl muttered, rolling her eyes as more growls filled the air.

"What is this, the fifth time?" another hunter laughed. "It’s like they never learn."

Before they could finish their thoughts, Blue-Maned Lions once again pounced from the shadows of the mushrooms, snarling and snapping.

Akari, still chewing her skewer of meat, barely reacted as a lioness lunged at her, jaws clamping down on her neck. She didn’t flinch. Instead, she lazily pressed the end of her skewer against the lioness’s snout and slowly pushed it away.

"Hey, Kenzo, you're not gonna fight this time?" she asked casually, taking another bite of her meal.

Kenzo sighed, still seated, still eating. "Don’t bother me. I’m eating." He gestured vaguely at the attacking lions without even looking up. "Honestly? Fighting these guys got boring after a while. Feels like bullying at this point."

With Kaede’s circle still active, the monsters stood no chance. No matter how fiercely they attacked, their claws and fangs failed to penetrate her defenses. The hunters, realizing they were in no real danger, simply sat around the fire, enjoying their meal as the lions futilely lashed out.

“So... do we just let them keep going? Kinda feels rude,” Nagi remarked, glancing at his untouched sword while chewing a piece of meat.

Suddenly, all the lions froze mid-attack. A moment later, they were yanked off the ground, rising into the air with startled growls and panicked kicks.

Nagi turned to Kaede, who casually held up a hand, her expression impassive as she manipulated them with Psychokinesis.

"Cool," he muttered.

Kaede slowly curled her fingers into a fist. In an instant, every lion’s neck twisted sharply, leaving their heads facing the wrong way.

'My EXP. Thanks for your cooperation, stupid monsters.'

---

You have leveled up!

Reward:

Item: Blue Fur Boots – Leorio

Equip Bonuses:

AGI +25

Passive Abilities (Active when equipped):

Unshaken (Passive) – Always land on your feet, negating fall impact. Grants perfect balance, preventing staggers or loss of footing.

---

Kaede smiled at her rewards. With this, she now had a full set of Blue Fur equipment, jacket, gauntlets, boots, pants, and even a headband.

'No shield, though,' she mused. 'Not that it matters. I still have Night’s Facsimile. Even without Devour, it still has Destructive Growth, and the more it breaks, the stronger it gets.'

“Do you think there’s a large pride of lions somewhere in the mushroom forest? I mean, where are they all coming from?” Korra asked, conjuring water from the air to refill her cup, then offering to do the same for the others.

“Yes,” Kanae replied from her perch on a mushroom trunk. “There’s no way this many lions could exist in the same territory without being part of a larger pride. Otherwise, they’d tear each other apart.”

Kaede perked up at that, eyes gleaming with excitement.

“Alright then!” She jumped to her feet, grinning. “Let’s go hunting.”

---

Kaede took off without hesitation, her ring of faint golden light shimmering at her feet, as it moved with her.

There was no hesitation from the others, why would there be? As long as they stayed close to Kaede, they were untouchable.

Nagi was the first to move, stepping into Kaede’s protective radius without a second thought. "No reason to hold back when we’ve got an invincible zone, right?"

Kenzo cracked his knuckles, shaking out his arms. "At this point, it’d be stupid not to follow her."

The others exchanged glances, but none of them hesitated. One by one, they fell in line, jogging after Kaede as she led them deeper into the mushroom forest.

Even Kanae, who had been watching from her perch, let out a quiet sigh before smirking. 'She doesn’t even need to give orders. What would Goto think of this?'

The deeper they went, the thicker the air became.

Kaede slowed as they reached a clearing, the others coming to a stop behind her. The golden ring around her pulsed again, casting a soft glow over the torn-up ground. Deep claw marks littered the fungi stalks, and blue fur drifted through the air like fallen leaves.

She grinned.

"This is it," she murmured.

Then the growls started.

Low, guttural, and layered, one, then two, then too many to count.

From the shadows, hundreds of yellow eyes blinked open.

A towering lion, nearly twice the size of the ones before, stepped forward, its deep indigo mane bristling as it met Kaede’s gaze. The other lions fanned out behind it, forming a silent, watchful semicircle.

A vast shadow swallowed the forest floor, stretching across the towering mushrooms as an oppressive presence loomed overhead.

The hunters instinctively looked up.

Two massive spheres of light blinked down at them from above.

No, not lights.

Eyes.

A colossal lion, so massive that its sheer size darkened the landscape for miles, gazed upon them with an almost unnerving stillness. Muscles rippled beneath its deep blue fur, and each slow breath carried the weight of a storm waiting to break.

[ Alpha Blue-Maned Lion (S-Rank) has appeared. ]

Kaede blinked, the system hadn't done this before.

The others tensed, hands going to their weapons, but no one moved to retreat.

Why would they?

Kaede’s ring of light still surrounded them.

For them, this wasn’t a battle.

It was a hunt.

But...

Who was the hunter ?