The Shadow Leopard of Black Flame Cave
Bang!
The Shadow Leopard’s first strike shot out with unbelievable speed and slammed into the very spot where I had been standing. The stone floor exploded outward, fragments spraying in every direction as if a bomb had gone off.
So fast!
Even with the heightened dynamic vision of someone who had reached the Peak Realm, I could barely track it. If I had still been the man I was before my regression, that first attack would have killed me instantly.
“Scatter!”
My shout echoed through the cave. But the Shadow Leopard was already preparing its second attack. Its massive body compressed, then sprang into the air with terrifying force.
Whoosh!
A black shadow raced along the ceiling. No, it wasn’t merely moving there. The Shadow Leopard’s body itself had fused with the darkness, hanging upside down from the cavern roof as if it belonged to the shadows.
“W-What the hell is that!”
Duseong’s voice cracked with shock. Everyone stared in disbelief at movement that seemed to defy all natural law.
Grrrrr.
The Shadow Leopard’s red eyes flashed. Its target was Jinwoo, the weakest among us.
“No!”
Hwaung instinctively stepped in front of Jinwoo.
Thud!
The Shadow Leopard dropped from the ceiling and smashed head-on into Hwaung’s shield. The impact shook the cave to its foundations.
“Ghk!”
Hwaung’s knees buckled. The blow was so vicious it left a crater in the ground, but he clenched his jaw and held on.
Crack!
Still, the shield couldn’t withstand it. The shield reinforced with iron over boarhide tore apart like paper.
Rrrrgh.
The Shadow Leopard growled low in its throat, and that sound alone sent a primitive terror flooding through me. Jinwoo’s legs trembled, and Duseong’s hand shook around his sword hilt.
It’s overwhelming us with sheer presence.
I assessed the situation coldly. The pressure exuded by a Human Class beast wasn’t just fear. The killing intent pouring off the Shadow Leopard was itself a weapon.
Shhhhh!
In the next instant, black mist erupted from the beast’s body. The interior of the cave was swallowed in darkness in an instant. Even the torches lost their light.
“I can’t see anything!”
“Dasa-hyung! Where are you!”
My comrades’ frantic voices came from somewhere within the blackness.
Then it happened.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Something burst forth from the darkness. Shadow spears. Dozens of them, stabbing toward us from all directions.
“Move!”
But my warning was too late.
Thunk!
“Khaaaah!”
Hwaung screamed. A shadow spear pierced straight through his shoulder. Thanks to the protection of his beast-hide armor, he was able to endure it at all.
“Hwaung!”
The moment Hwaung was struck, Duseong slashed at the Shadow Leopard.
Swish.
But his sword cut only empty air. The shadow the beast had created didn’t respond to physical force. Because he was flustered, Duseong failed to pour refined internal energy into the strike.
Thunk! Thwack!
More shadow spears sprang up, grazing Duseong’s side and thigh. Not deep enough to kill, but enough to slow him down.
“No... at this rate...”
Despair leaked into Duseong’s voice.
That was when it happened.
Wooooong!
The Dragon Pearl in my dantian reacted. It had sensed the Shadow Leopard’s energy and awakened on its own. Carefully, I drew up the fire dragon’s qi.
Fwoosh!
Crimson light rose from my body. The fire dragon’s power blazed outward like a small sun, illuminating the space around me.
Kiiiii!
For the first time, the Shadow Leopard let out a pained shriek. As the darkness receded, its form was revealed. It had already encircled us. The main body stood in front, while four shadow clones blocked every side.
“Four clones?”
This was beyond my expectations. A normal Shadow Leopard could create at most two clones. But this one had produced four.
A mutant?
Ka-aaagh!
The Shadow Leopard roared in fury. It clearly hated the fire aura I was releasing. Its true body and all four clones lunged at me at once.
“Jinwoo! Take the oil jars out of the bag!”
I issued the order in a flash and swung my sword wide.
Scarlet Moon Slash.
A crescent of crimson sword light flew out. It was one of the Kunlun sword styles, altered to suit my own hand.
Bang!
The sword qi struck one of the clones head-on. The clone dispersed like smoke. But the other three, along with the main body, did not stop.
“Duseong! Spread the oil on the cave walls!”
“Huh? Y-Yes, sir!”
Duseong took the leather pouch full of oil from Jinwoo and began splashing it across the walls. At that very moment, the Shadow Leopard’s true body charged at me.
Clang!
Direct collision.
My sword and the Shadow Leopard’s claws crashed together. The impact shook the cave and sent chips of stone raining down from the ceiling.
Damn... what strength.
Even with my internal energy at the Peak Realm, I was being pushed back. The raw power of a Human Class beast was far greater than I had imagined. Then, something completely unexpected happened.
“Aaaargh!”
Ignoring his injuries, Hwaung hurled his body into the Shadow Leopard’s flank with a full-force tackle.
Thud!
Of course, to the Shadow Leopard it was barely more than a tickle, but it was enough to throw its balance off for an instant. Duseong did not waste that opening.
“Haah!”
The same motion he had repeated thousands of times over the last few days.
A single flawless strike, simple yet loaded with internal energy, sliced into the Shadow Leopard’s hind leg.
Shrrk!
Blood burst from the beast’s back leg.
Drip, drip.
The Shadow Leopard’s black blood hit the floor with a corrosive hiss. The blood was acidic.
Graaaah!
The beast felt pain and turned furious. Its pride was clearly wounded at being injured by insignificant humans.
Rrrrrrumble...
Suddenly, the entire cave began to tremble. The Shadow Leopard had started to unleash its true power. Shadows writhed like living creatures. The darkness on the walls, the ceiling, the floor—all of it began to merge into one.
“This is...”
Even I was stunned. Shadow manipulation on this scale was close to Earth Class level, far beyond what a Human Class beast should have been able to do. A massive mass of shadow surged toward us like a tsunami.
“Dasa-hyung! We’re ready!”
Thankfully, Jinwoo had finished spreading the oil.
There was no more hesitation.
“Everyone back!”
I drove the Dragon Pearl’s power to its limit. Pain seared through my dantian as if it were being burned alive, but I forced it down.
Flame God Art.
My entire body became fire. No, I became fire itself.
“Burn!”
I swung my sword with all my strength. Flames rode the blade’s wind and scattered in every direction.
Whoooosh!
The oil ignited. In an instant, the cave interior became a sea of fire.
Kiiiii!
The Shadow Leopard gave a harrowing scream. The massive lump of shadow dissolved like smoke before the flames.
Light and heat.
Those were the things the Shadow Leopard feared most, and they were now crushing in on it from all sides.
“Now!”
I prepared the final blow. Not the Sword of the Eighteen Ji, not the Kunlun sword style, but a purely instinctive movement dictated by the Dragon Pearl in that instant.
Extinguishing Shadow One Sword.
One sword to annihilate the shadow. I concentrated every ounce of internal energy into the blade. The sword turned red-hot. No, it was no longer a sword. It had become a blade of judgment forged from flame.
“Disappear!”
BOOOOM!
The fire-wrapped sword pierced the Shadow Leopard’s neck with perfect accuracy.
Grrrk.
Time seemed to stop.
The Shadow Leopard’s red eyes filled with shock.
It stared at me as if it couldn’t believe what was happening.
Then—
Thud.
The beast’s massive body collapsed. The black mist vanished completely, and the flames slowly died down.
Silence fell.
“W-We did it...”
Duseong sank to the ground and muttered in disbelief.
“We really... killed a Human Class beast...”
Hwaung also collapsed backward, breathing hard. I, too, dropped to one knee. It was the aftereffect of pushing the Dragon Pearl’s power to the limit. My whole body felt scorched.
“Jinwoo! Check Hwaung’s injuries!”
Jinwoo, barely recovering his composure, rushed to Hwaung’s side. His hands trembled as he performed first aid, but his movements were astonishingly precise. After checking Hwaung’s condition, he treated Duseong as well.
“They aren’t deep. They’ll heal quickly.”
Jinwoo’s calm voice brought relief to both Duseong and Hwaung.
Gripping my sword as a support, I got back to my feet. Then I walked over to the Shadow Leopard lying crumpled on one side. Now that the hunt was over, it was time to harvest.
“I wonder what kind of Illusion Stone this thing’s carrying.”
It had clearly been no ordinary Shadow Leopard, but a special variant. Its stone would surely be unusual as well. I slit open its belly with trembling hands.
“This is...”
An Illusion Stone appeared inside the beast’s body. But it was nothing like a normal one. Black and red were blended through it, and faint light flickered deep within.
A special Illusion Stone... top grade, too.
I had only seen stones of this quality a few times, even in my previous life. The corners of my mouth lifted.
“Hah... this was worth nearly dying for.”
The battle with the Shadow Leopard had been far fiercer than I had expected. But we survived. And we grew. We had taken our first step toward becoming true beast hunters.
“Dasa-hyung, look over there.”
Following Hwaung’s finger, I saw a mountain of bones stacked in one corner of the cave. Looking closer, they were the remains of Livestock Class beasts.
“The Shadow Leopard must have eaten every Livestock Class beast in this den.”
“So that’s why it was empty.”
Duseong nodded.
As we pushed deeper, we found something unexpected.
“This is...”
A massive stone gate blocked our path. Strange patterns had been carved into it, and in the center was a round hole bored straight through the stone.
Woom. Wooooom.
The energy radiating from the gate was on a completely different level from the Shadow Leopard’s.
An Illusion Gate?
No. It gave off a different feeling entirely. But with our current strength, even approaching it would be dangerous. There was a saying well known among beast hunters.
Curiosity tears beast hunters apart.
Excessive curiosity was something you could never afford.
I looked at my two disciples and said, “Let’s get out of here for now. Anything beyond this point is too dangerous.”
“But Dasa-hyung, what do you think is inside?”
“Duseong, greed is a luxury. This is beyond what we can handle.”
At my firm words, Duseong nodded as well. We carefully withdrew from the cave. Once outside, the sunlight was blinding.
“We’re alive... we really survived.”
Jinwoo let out a relieved breath.
“Good work, everyone. Especially you, Hwaung. How’s the injury?”
“It’s much better now. Jinwoo treated it well.”
Hwaung answered with a grin. Though he had been injured, there was something different in his eyes now. A look of someone who had learned something in real combat.
“Dasa-hyung, I think I understand now. Real defense isn’t just blocking attacks. It’s protecting your comrades.”
“A good realization.”
Duseong chimed in as well.
“And I’ve learned something too. Swordsmanship isn’t just about cutting. What matters is focusing on every form and putting all your power into it.”
“Exactly. Especially when hunting beasts.”
Even Jinwoo had grown by a step.
“I... learned how to overcome fear. And that when a comrade is hurt, there’s no time to be frightened.”
I looked at the three of them with satisfaction.
I thought I might have rushed them too much, but they’ve surpassed my expectations.
Real combat was, as always, the best teacher. Of course, today we had also been lucky. We knew the Shadow Leopard feared light, and I had prepared the oil bags just in case, which had made the victory possible.
Bringing the oil was the perfect move.
To be prepared for the unexpected—that was survival.
For beast hunters, that kind of thorough preparation was always necessary. If I hadn’t gone through all those experiences before my regression, I wouldn’t have been able to make preparations like this now.
But that’s skill too.
I toyed with the special Illusion Stone in my pocket.
What could I make with this?
Several possibilities came to mind.