Chapter 58: Predator's Path
The morning mist clung to the mountainside like a jealous spirit. Beyond the western edge of the estate, Volundr stood at the start of a newly constructed obstacle course—his most challenging yet.
Jagged ridges, narrow cliffside paths, shifting illusion barriers, pressure-triggered traps, and roaming elemental constructs—each segment modeled after real-world infiltration missions and battlefield reconnaissance.
At his side, Kuroka stretched languidly, arms overhead, tail flicking with interest.
"This your new idea of fun?" she asked with a sly grin.
Volundr handed her a wrapped scroll. "Your target is a sealed relic buried in the temple ruin at the peak. Reach it, retrieve it, return. Unseen. Uncaught. Undamaged."
Kuroka unrolled the map and whistled. "So… no pressure."
He smirked. "None at all."
The Trial Begins
Kuroka vanished before the sun broke fully through the clouds.
Volundr watched from hidden vantage points, curious how far she'd push herself.
She ghosted through the forest's first layer with almost arrogant ease—phasing through magical nets with Senjutsu, weaving around elemental detectors like liquid shadow. She painted silence around her.
A wind spirit caught her scent once—briefly—but she dropped to all fours and sprinted low, then scaled a tree in one motion, leaping across branches without a sound. When the spirit doubled back, she was already gone.
Trap Gauntlet
Mid-course, the ground turned treacherous—twisting stone paths with shifting illusions meant to disorient. Hidden pressure plates reset upon impact, activating volleying arrows and explosive glyphs.
Most trainees would be caught at least once.
Kuroka leapt forward, let the first glyph trigger, then used the explosion's shockwave to flip through a narrow crevice and vanish behind a slope. Her chuckle echoed faintly.
Volundr watched from a scrying orb, eyes narrowed with approval. "She's improvising. Calculating."
Final Stretch – Temple Peak
The ruin was guarded by a stone sentinel—a construct powered by lingering battlefield energy, slow but nearly invulnerable.
Kuroka didn't fight it.
She seduced it.
Not with beauty—but with misdirection.
Illusions of herself darted left and right while she weaved through the smoke and shadows.
She scaled the outer wall like a panther, slipped through a crack in the roof, and dropped into the relic chamber.
Two minutes later, she reappeared at the starting line—breathing steadily, holding the scroll containing the sealed relic.
"Done," she said, flicking imaginary dust from her shoulder.
The Challenger Appears
Volundr raised a brow. "Thirty-eight minutes. That's a record."
Kuroka smirked. "So what's the prize?"
He picked up his spear. "You get to try again—after me."
She blinked. "Wait, you're running it?"
He tapped his temple. "A commander should never ask what he can't do himself."
Volundr Runs the Course
Where Kuroka moved like water, Volundr moved like wind—silent, swift, inevitable.
He didn't dodge traps—he redirected them. His aura bent a blade mid-flight. His spear spun through glyph patterns, disrupting sequences before they triggered. Constructs didn't even see him coming—only felt the aftermath.
He reached the relic, retrieved it, and returned.
Thirty-two minutes.
A Storm's Promise
Kuroka leaned against the finish post, watching him catch his breath.
"Guess I'll let you have this one," she purred. "For now."
He chuckled, wiping his brow. "Bet I'll win once I'm your piece," she added, tapping the relic scroll against his chest.
Volundr paused, smiled.
"Then I'll have to train harder too."
Reflection
That night, Volundr logged the event in his journal:
"Kuroka blends instinct with intelligence. She doesn't just adapt—she thrives. Today she completed a course designed for elite infiltration units."
"Her pride drives her. Her power complements mine. When she joins the peerage, I'll need to evolve to keep up."
He looked out at the moonlit path where she'd sprinted earlier, her laughter still echoing faintly in his mind.
"She's not just a Pawn. She's a predator. A partner. A storm with a will of her own."