The journey back toward the rocky outcrop was far slower than their earlier movements through the forest.

Not because Smoke lacked speed.

If anything, the shadow wolf could have crossed the distance in mere minutes if Liam had ordered it. But rushing through unfamiliar terrain while carrying water, preserved meat, and medicinal supplies would have been reckless. One wrong step, one hidden demon, or one unstable patch of ground could cost them everything they had spent hours gathering throughout the morning.

So instead, Liam had Smoke maintain a controlled pace through the forest while remaining within the heavier patches of shade whenever possible.

The shadow wolf moved with steady precision beneath the canopy, his massive paws barely making noise against the forest floor despite his size. Liam sat firmly on Smoke’s back with the makeshift water container secured carefully while his eyes continuously scanned their surroundings.

The forest itself had become noticeably more active compared to earlier.

The deeper silence that once lingered hours earlier was gradually fading away. Small wildlife could occasionally be heard moving through distant bushes, insects chirped within the undergrowth, and now and then Liam caught faint traces of demonic Myst drifting somewhere farther within the trees. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Still, he remained cautious.

Because calm environments in Nalim rarely stayed calm for long.

And unfortunately, that caution proved justified.

Even with all their careful movement, they were still attacked by a herd of Skivoks.

Horror-class demons.

The creatures moved on all fours and stood roughly four feet tall and nearly seven feet long. Their skeletal frames were impossibly thin, with grayish skin stretched tightly over visible ribs and joints as though starvation had hollowed them out long ago. Their grotesque heads bore two forward-facing eyes and another pair resting on each side of their skulls, constantly twitching independently as if struggling to focus on a single target.

At the center of their faces were four deep, gaping holes that served as nostrils, constantly flaring as they sniffed the air for prey. Their mouths formed perpetual grins far too wide for their skulls, exposing endless rows of jagged teeth layered deep into their throats. And despite their emaciated appearance, their elongated limbs ended in razor-sharp claws curved like hooked blades.

The creatures emerged suddenly from the surrounding brush and trees, moving with disturbing speed despite their awkward bodies.

Their clicking growls echoed through the forest as they circled Smoke from multiple directions, trying to close in around the shadow wolf while staying just outside immediate striking range.

These demons had clearly decided to make Liam’s life difficult by attacking him and his summon.

Unfortunately for them, Liam had absolutely no patience left for that kind of inconvenience anymore.

He had no intention of allowing a bunch of cross-eyed, corpse-looking demons to ruin hours of work and effort he had spent securing resources this morning.

Especially not after everything else he had already dealt with since the assessment began.

Therefore, the moment the Skivoks revealed hostile intent, Liam immediately ordered Smoke to maintain his pace forward while he handled the demons himself.

Without hesitation, Liam slid off the shadow wolf’s back and landed lightly against the forest floor despite the dull pain shooting through his injured thigh.

Smoke continued moving ahead exactly as instructed while Liam trailed slightly behind him.

Then the Skivoks attacked.

The creatures lunged from all angles almost simultaneously, their long limbs propelling them unnaturally fast between trees and roots. One came low toward Smoke’s hind legs while another launched itself from a tree trunk directly toward Liam’s side.

And that was when Liam made them pay.

His dagger flashed instantly.

The blade cut cleanly through the first Skivok’s neck while a burst of flame erupted along the edge, burning through the creature’s core almost at the exact same moment.

The demon barely had time to shriek before its body collapsed lifelessly across the forest floor.

Another came immediately after.

Liam twisted sideways, avoiding the creature’s claws by inches before driving his second dagger upward beneath its jaw. Inferno Edge flared briefly. The flames pierced through the demon’s throat and reached its core in one clean strike.

He didn’t waste movements.

Didn’t waste Myst either.

Every motion was direct, efficient, and lethal.

Whenever a Skivok lunged, Liam countered instantly. A slash across the neck. A blade through the skull. Flames igniting only long enough to destroy the core completely before vanishing again.

The Horror-class demons kept trying to overwhelm him through numbers, crawling over roots and trees with twitching, unnatural movements while their distorted shrieks echoed around the outcrop’s surrounding forest.

But Liam simply kept cutting them down.

At one point, two Skivoks attacked together from opposite sides. Liam ducked beneath the first, drove his dagger into its chest, then pivoted immediately and severed the second creature’s head completely before its claws could even touch him.

Dark blood sprayed across nearby bark and roots.

Another demon tried leaping onto Smoke from behind.

Liam stepped in front of it before it could reach the shadow wolf and slashed upward with enough force to split its face open diagonally. Flames surged through the wound immediately after, destroying the creature before it even hit the ground properly.

Eventually, the Skivoks began realizing something important.

They were not hunting prey.

They were throwing themselves against something vastly worse than themselves.

One by one, their aggression began shifting into panic.

The creatures started retreating backward into the forest, snarling nervously while crawling away between the trees. Others hesitated entirely, no longer daring to charge forward despite their numbers.

And what truly forced them to retreat was what happened moments later.

Liam had stopped moving entirely beneath the shade of the final massive tree before the rocky outcrop finally came into view ahead.

He simply stood there silently with both daggers lowered at his sides while darkness and shadow partially concealed his figure beneath the canopy.

But his eyes remained visible.

Cold and sharp.

Filled with enough murderous intent to make even Horror-class demons instinctively recoil.

To the Skivoks, it no longer felt like they were facing a human.

Standing beneath those shadows with blood dripping from his blades and flames faintly dancing along the dagger edges, Liam felt more like a higher-ranked predator than prey. Something far more dangerous than themselves.

The remaining Skivoks retreated almost immediately afterward, disappearing deeper into the forest with uneasy growls while refusing to approach the outcrop any further.

Liam watched them leave for a few seconds before finally exhaling lightly.

"...Annoying things," he muttered quietly.

Truthfully, most of his hostility came from the lingering irritation he had been carrying since the assessment began.

Everything so far had been inconvenient; the swamp, the evolved Gravecoil, the aquatic demon, the injury, the wasted Myst...

And now these things.

At this point, Liam found himself becoming irritated by even the smallest inconvenience. And unfortunately for the Skivoks, they had chosen the wrong time to test his patience.

Once the area finally quieted again, Liam dismissed his daggers and continued making his way back toward the rocky outcrop.

Eventually, after navigating through the uneven stone pathways and narrow inclines surrounding the formation, Liam finally returned to the hidden crevice leading toward the cave chamber.

Getting back inside, he found that Smoke had somehow already managed to transport everything safely through the narrow entrance.

The wrapped fish, the deer meat, the medicinal pouch, and even the hollowed wooden water container were all resting safely inside the chamber.

Liam paused briefly as he looked at the arrangement.

Even now, he honestly wasn’t sure how Smoke had managed to fit everything through the crevice without damaging it.

But ultimately, he decided he didn’t care enough to ask.

As long as he didn’t have to deal with figuring it out himself, he wasn’t about to question it.

Not that Smoke would answer anyway.

The shadow wolf still couldn’t speak regardless of how intelligent it was.

And with everything finally secured, Liam immediately began sorting the supplies properly.

He moved the water container and the medicinal pouch toward the coldest corner of the chamber where the air remained damp and cool from the surrounding rock. Keeping them there would help preserve both the herbs and the water for longer.

Afterward, Liam shifted his attention toward the wrapped fish and deer meat.

Because now, he was about to make use of memories that originally belonged to his father... and knowledge taught to Marcus long ago by Liam’s grandfather.

"Let’s get this over with," Liam muttered quietly as he gathered the remaining tree branches and dry bark he had collected earlier while searching for medicinal plants.

Without wasting time, Liam began preparing a small smoking pit near the center of the chamber where ventilation through the crevice would prevent the smoke from completely suffocating the interior.

He carefully stacked stones together into a shallow circle before placing smaller twigs and bark beneath thicker branches. Then, using a controlled spark of fire Myst from his fingertip, he ignited the wood.

The flames remained small and controlled.

He wasn’t trying to cook the meat directly.

Only create enough heat and smoke to dry and preserve it.

Once the fire settled properly into glowing embers, Liam cut thin strips from portions of the deer meat and prepared the fish carefully, removing unnecessary organs before cleaning them thoroughly with fresh water from the container.

Then he suspended the meat above the smoke using sharpened branches and vines tied between sections of the cave walls.

The process took time.

Slowly, the chamber began filling with the scent of smoke and cooking flesh while the fire crackled softly beneath the hanging meat.

Liam adjusted the positioning repeatedly to prevent the flames from touching the food directly. Too much heat would ruin preservation entirely.

So instead, he let the smoke do most of the work.

Hours passed quietly.

By the time the smoking process was finally complete, the fish and meat had darkened noticeably while becoming far drier than before.

Not perfect preservation.

But enough to last several days if managed properly.

Satisfied with the result, Liam wrapped the preserved meat once again using fresh broad leaves before securing everything tightly with vines. He stacked the bundles neatly toward the back of the cave where the temperature remained cooler and safer from insects.

After finishing all of that, Liam finally allowed himself to keep one of the smoked fish aside for himself.

He sat near the low-burning embers with his back resting lightly against the rough cave wall while holding the fish in one hand.

For a while, the chamber remained completely silent aside from the soft crackling of fire and Smoke quietly settling near the entrance.

Then Liam finally took a bite.

The taste was smoky, slightly bitter from the herbs and wood used during preservation, but still far better than eating raw meat.

And right now, that was more than enough for him.