The tunnel air felt noticeably cooler the moment they stepped in. Their footsteps echoed softly on the slightly cracked road.

Their flashlights illuminated the darkness revealing the damage inside. Old maintenance pathways lined the walls, cracked cables hung from ceilings and water dripped somewhere in the distance.

Silver kept one hand near his pistol, and the other near his sword. Every sense remained alert. The confined environment amplified every sound, movement, and breath.

The deeper they walked, the more oppressive the tunnel became. Suddenly Ravenna stopped.

Silver did the same, turning to her.

"What?" He whispered unconsciously.

She raised a hand to her ear, listening. Silver remained silent. Several seconds passed in the suffocating silence then he heard it too.

A low distant growl came from the darkness. The sound echoed through the tunnel right after. The two remained silent as they watched the tunnel before them.

The growl came again, closer than before. This time accompanied by something else, a faint orange glow.

Silver narrowed his eyes.

The light was moving, slowly approaching them at an incredible speed. The tunnel temperature suddenly felt warmer. Ravenna’s grip tightened on her sword. Silver drew his pistol.

The glow grew brighter as it drew closer, until the creature stepped into view.

Both of them froze.

The beast looked nothing like they had expected; it resembled a wolf, yet was unlike one at the same time. Its body resembled blackened charcoal; burnt and cracked, as though it had crawled from a furnace. Glowing orange fissures spread across its entire body.

But the weird part was that the fixtures weren’t stable, they kept on moving around their bodies as though they had a mind of their own. Smoke drifted from its fur. The most disturbing were the protrusions, jagged spikes that erupted from its shoulders, spine, and limbs.

The beast stood nearly as tall as Ravenna’s chest. It wasn’t large but still looked somehow intimidating. Its eyes burned like literal flames.

Silver had already identified it the moment it came into view.

An elemental beast.

An actual creature. Silver couldn’t believe it, and the fact that they had found the infamous Fire Wolf was something else.

If his assumption was correct, then this was the rumoured elemental beast that had been causing turmoil in the green sectors, the one contractors had been desperately searching for.

Judging by its size, it was still young. Silver could feel its Tier, it was a Tier One, yet unmistakably elemental.

Ravenna whispered.

"...No freaking way."

Silver felt the same. Every contractor dreamed of finding an elemental beast, most never did. Yet here one stood, alone, exactly as the rumors described.

The wolf lowered its body while growling, its burning eyes fixed on them.

Silver slowly exhaled.

"Well."

Ravenna swallowed.

"Yeah."

Like a living flame launching through the darkness, the Fire Wolf instantly attacked. It moved like an explosion, one second it stood twenty meters away, the next it was already upon them.

The tunnel erupted into bright orange light as it suddenly got closer to him. Silver barely had time to react.

"Move!"

Ravenna had already moved. The wolf slammed into the spot she’d occupied a fraction of a second earlier. The concrete shattered and cracks spread across the tunnel floor.

The sheer force made Silver’s eyes widen. He knew elementals were strong, but this was on a different level. That thing felt stronger than most Tier two, almost at Tier 3.

Elemental beasts weren’t measured solely by tier. Their abilities made them monsters among monsters. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

The Fire Wolf landed gracefully, its burning eyes shifted between them, calculating who to attack first.

Moments later it attacked again. This time Silver met it head-on.

[Phantom Draw Lv3 Activated]

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three shots rang through the tunnel. The bullets struck perfectly; its shoulders, ribs, and necks. Sparks exploded the moment the bullet hit its body.

The wolf staggered but kept coming, unfazed by the bullets. Silver’s heart sank. The creature’s body was covered in those charcoal-like protrusions which was almost like a natural armor. The bullets had penetrated but not deeply enough.

The wolf crossed the distance anyway. Silver switched weapons instantly.

[Beginner Swordsmanship Active]

The wolf jumped, slashing down with its claws. Steel met claws and the impact rattled his arm. The beast wasn’t particularly large, but its physical power was absurd.

The wolf landed, smoothly turned, and attacked again. A blur of black and orange moved towards him at a speed no Teir one beast would have had.

Silver narrowly ducked. It opened its mouth and a load of flames erupted. The tunnel wall exploded as the heat broke the already breaking structure.

Burning heat washed over him.

"Damn!"

The thing wasn’t simply strong, it was fast. Fast enough to threaten even experienced contractors.

Ravenna entered the fight from the side. She slashed using all her strength, and the blade struck the wolf’s flank. A deep wound opened.

The beast snarled and spun instantly. Its claws swept toward her. Ravenna blocked it but the force threw her backwards. She slid several meters across the floor narrowly missing the fallen slab of concrete.

Silver saw it, the difference between them. Skill-wise she wasn’t inferior, the problem was physical power. The Fire Wolf possessed both elemental enhancement and beast strength.

They both knew that neither of them could afford mistakes.

The battle dragged on as the three opponents tried to gain an advantage over each other. Minutes passed of just continuous fighting.

The tunnel became a battlefield; fire scorched walls, sword strikes echoed through it and gunshots thundered.

Everyone was bleeding but nobody gained a decisive advantage. The beast simply refused to die.

Unfortunately for them, it had everything. Defense, attack power, and speed, it was a combination no contractor would want to meet. There was no decisive weakness in its body.

Silver understood why elemental beasts became famous, this thing wasn’t fighting like an animal, it was fighting like a predator born specifically to kill contractors.

As if to answer his desperate hope, an opportunity appeared the wolf lunged for him.

His muscles swelled and veins stood out beneath his skin as he clenched his fist. The ape tattoo burned underneath his skin.

[Primal Strength Lv1]

His fist crashed hard into the creature’s ribs.

CRACK!

For the first time, the wolf actually left the ground. The beast smashed into a concrete pillar and cracks spread from the impact point.

The entire tunnel shook. Ravenna’s eyes widened. Silver didn’t stop he couldn’t afford to. He rushed forward, sword descending.

The wolf recovered almost immediately. Their weapons collided again. Claw and steel sparked as they slid against each other. The wolf tried to bite him but missed by only a few inches. The battle became increasingly desperate for both sides.

Then Silver made a small mistake, that would have probably gone unnoticed but luck wasn’t on his side.