The Shamans were the priority. Luna had seen what their magic could do to the panther's Aether Shield, and she had no desire to experience that kind of assault firsthand. They needed to die first, before they could turn their attention to a new threat.

  The problem was that they were Level 8 and 9—the strongest opponents she'd faced so far. Their Aether Shields would be correspondingly powerful, capable of absorbing multiple arrows before failing. She couldn't simply shoot them once and expect them to drop the way the lower-level goblins would.

  Luna circled the clearing slowly, keeping to the deepest shadows, until she had a clear line of sight to both Shamans. They stood together near the back of the formation, maybe seventy feet from her current position—beyond her normal effective range, but well within reach if she used Hunter's Mark to extend it.

  She focused on the Level 8 Shaman first. Slightly weaker than his companion, and currently in the middle of channeling another spell. If she could drop him quickly, the Level 9 would be caught off-guard, forced to split attention between her and the panther.

  Luna activated Hunter's Mark, feeling a noticeable portion of her Mana flow out as the green targeting symbol appeared above the Shaman's head. Then she drew her first arrow, channeled Venomous Shot into it—burning more Mana in the process—and took careful aim.

  The arrow flew true, covering the distance in a heartbeat, trailing a faint green shimmer from the poison enhancement. It struck the Shaman's Aether Shield and punched through with noticeable resistance, burying itself in the goblin's shoulder rather than the throat she'd been aiming for—the last moment's twitch saved him from a more grievous wound. The caster shrieked in pain and spun toward her position, his half-formed spell dissipating as his concentration shattered.

  But it didn't fall. The Level 8 Shaman was still standing, still moving, still very much alive despite the arrow in his shoulder and the poison beginning to spread through his system.

  Luna was already nocking her second arrow. She released, and this one struck the Shaman's chest—but his Aether Shield had recovered enough to blunt the impact, reducing what should have been a killing blow to a painful wound that staggered the goblin but didn't drop him.

  "Archer!" the Level 9 Shaman shouted, abandoning his spell-charging to scan the treeline. "Furless one in the shadows! Kill it!"

  Three of the Wild Goblins broke from the main formation and charged toward Luna's position, crude spears raised. She dropped one with a quick shot—arrow through the eye, minimal shield resistance—but the other two were closing fast, and the Level 8 Shaman was raising his staff despite the arrows protruding from his body.

  Luna relocated, sprinting through the undergrowth to a new position before the Wild Goblins could reach her. She caught a glimpse of the main battle as she moved—the panther had used the distraction to kill another Warrior, bringing the total down to two, but the remaining Warriors and Wild Goblins were pressing it hard, keeping it from breaking free.

  The Level 8 Shaman was tracking her movement, she realized. His glowing eyes followed her through the trees with unnatural accuracy, and his staff was beginning to pulse with that brown light. Luna stopped behind a thick tree trunk, drew another arrow, and leaned out to take the shot.

  Her arrow struck the Shaman just as he released his spell. The creature's Aether Shield was weaker now, degraded by the poison spreading through his system, and the arrow punched clean through to bury itself in the goblin's throat. The Shaman toppled backward, staff clattering to the ground, magical energy dissipating harmlessly into the air.

  [Goblin Shaman (Iron) - Level 8 defeated]

  But the spell the Shaman had been casting was already in flight—a mass of compressed earth that hurtled toward Luna's position. She threw herself sideways, rolling behind another tree, and felt the impact shudder through the ground as the earth projectile struck where she'd been standing. Bark and wood exploded outward, showering her with debris, which were completely blocked by her Aether Shield.

  The two Wild Goblins pursuing her had caught up. Luna came out of her roll to find them almost on top of her, spears thrusting toward her chest. Her Class Form reacted before conscious thought could intervene—she knocked aside one spear with her bow, ducked under the other, and drew her hunting knife in a single fluid motion.

  The first Wild Goblin died with her blade in his throat. The second tried to backpedal, to create distance for another spear thrust, but Luna was faster. She grabbed his weapon arm, pulled him off balance, and drove her knife up under his chin.

  [Wild Goblin (Bronze) - Level 3 defeated]

  [Wild Goblin (Bronze) - Level 4 defeated]

  Luna cleaned her knife on the goblin's fur clothes and retrieved her bow, scanning for the next threat. The Level 9 Shaman was staring at her across the clearing, his expression twisted with fury and what might have been fear. His companion was dead, three of his Wild Goblin support were dead, and the situation had shifted from a controlled hunt to a desperate fight for survival.

  "Kill the elf!" the Shaman screamed, pointing his staff at Luna. "Everyone! Kill the elf first!"

  The remaining four Wild Goblins broke from the panther fight and charged toward Luna. Behind them, the two surviving Warriors tried to maintain their containment of the panther, but they were badly outmatched now—and the great cat knew it.

  The Shadow Panther lunged with renewed vigor, exploiting the reduced opposition. One Warrior fell with its throat torn out. The other backpedaled desperately, shield raised, trying to buy time for his companions to deal with the new threat.

  Luna didn't have time to watch the panther's fight. The four Wild Goblins were closing fast, and behind them, the Level 9 Shaman was charging another spell—his staff glowing with the green light.

  She needed to end this quickly.

  Luna activated Hunter's Mark on the Shaman, feeling her Mana reserves drop to perhaps half capacity. The targeting symbol appeared above his head, extending her range and locking his position in her awareness. Then she began to move, circling rather than retreating, forcing the Wild Goblins to adjust their charge while she lined up her shot.

  A Wild Goblin reached her position just as she released a Venomous Shot. Her arrow flew toward the Shaman, but the creature had learned from his companion's fate—he threw himself sideways, taking the arrow in the arm rather than the chest, his Aether Shield absorbing most of the impact.

  Luna ducked under a spear thrust, kicked the goblin in the knee to stagger him, and gutted him with her knife.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  [Wild Goblin (Bronze) - Level 2 defeated]

  In the meantime, the Shaman was casting, and his spell was nearly complete. The air around his staff shimmered with concentrated power, a mass of sickly green energy coalescing into something that would absolutely hurt Luna if it struck her. She had maybe two seconds before he released it, and she was too close to dodge for sure.

  A blur of shadow crossed the clearing.

  The Shadow Panther had broken free of the last Warrior and crossed the distance in a single impossible leap. Dark energy wreathed its front paw as it descended on the Shaman. The empowered paws connected with the Shaman's skull just as he was releasing his spell, and the impact shattered both the goblin's Aether Shield and the bones beneath it in a single devastating blow. The mostly-formed spell shot harmlessly into the air as the Shaman crumpled, dead before his body hit the ground.

  [Goblin Shaman (Iron) - Level 9 defeated]

  [Level Up! You are now Level 6]

  The warmth of advancement spread through Luna's body, but she forced herself to focus. The Shadow Panther landed heavily on the far side of the Shaman's corpse, its movements slower than before, clearly exhausted from the sustained combat. Three Wild Goblins and one Warrior remained—the last of the hunting party, scattered and demoralized by the death of their leaders and the sudden, brutal demonstration of what the panther could do when it wasn't pinned down by superior numbers.

  The Warrior turned and ran, abandoning his companions in a desperate bid for survival. One of the Wild Goblins followed suit. The other two, perhaps too stupid or too panicked to make a rational decision, charged toward Luna with spears raised. She killed them both in quick succession—two arrows, two headshots, barely any resistance from their Bronze-tier Aether Shields.

  The fleeing Warrior and Wild Goblin were already disappearing into the trees. Luna nocked an arrow and considered her options. Her Mana was less than half depleted, but letting them escape meant they could return with reinforcements—and she needed time to help the panther, not fight another wave of goblins half an hour from now. The Warrior she pursued and finished off with a knife in the back—not very chivalrous of her, but they had ganged up on a single animal, first. The last goblin had already ducked into dense bushes, which didn't save him from her arrow after she'd caught up close enough for her shot to be in range.

  No new level-ups, though.

  Luna returned to the clearing proper and approached the Shadow Panther slowly, bow lowered but ready. The creature's flanks heaved with labored breathing, and blood seeped from a dozen wounds—the spear in its hindquarter, the slash across its ribs.

  Yellow eyes tracked Luna's approach, burning with intelligence despite the creature's obvious exhaustion. She stopped perhaps fifteen feet away, close enough to speak but far enough to react if it decided she was a threat after all.

  "I'm not going to hurt you," Luna said, feeling slightly foolish for talking to an animal. But the creature was Steel rank and Level 10, sapient enough to make tactical decisions in combat, sapient enough to throw itself between her and a killing blow. It deserved to be addressed as something more than a beast.

  For a long moment, the panther just stared at her. Then, slowly, it pushed itself into a sitting position—wincing visibly as the movement aggravated its wounds—and regarded her with something that might have been curiosity.

  "You have my gratitude, furless one."

  Luna blinked. The words had arrived in her mind fully formed, comprehensible, clearly not her own thoughts. The panther hadn't moved his mouth—the communication was purely mental, transmitted through some mechanism she didn't fully understand.

  "You can talk?" The surprise in Luna's voice was genuine.

  "I have always been able to speak, after my Awakening," the panther replied in the tired voice of a young man. There was something almost amused in the panther's mental tone, despite its—his—obvious pain. "But you are the first furless one I have met who can understand me. The greenskins and the furless like you—they hear only animal sounds when I try to speak. Yet you hear my thoughts as clearly as if I spoke with a voice-box like yours."

  Luna's mind turned over this information, connecting it to what she knew about her Class. Animal Bond. The trait description had said "communicate with natural creatures," but she hadn't fully grasped what that meant until this moment. It wasn't just a general translation—it was something specific to her, a bridge between her consciousness and the minds of beasts that others simply didn't possess.

  "It's part of my Gift," she said slowly, working through the realization. "My Class lets me communicate with animals—with natural creatures. I guess it should work on someone like you. Someone who thinks and plans like..."

  "Like a person?" The panther's mental voice carried a hint of dry humor. "I am a person, furless one, even if I walk on four legs and lack the hands that your kind find so useful. I have a name, a history, and the ability to choose my own path."

  "My name is Luna," she said, lowering her bow completely.

  "Luna." The panther seemed to consider the name, turning it over in his mind. "You are a curious creature, furless one. Your scent is strange—not quite like the other two-legs I have encountered. And your ears..." His yellow eyes focused on the pointed tips visible through her hair. "You are not human, are you?"

  Luna touched one of her pointed ears self-consciously. "I'm an elf. Apparently. I only found out recently."

  The shift in the panther's demeanor was immediate and profound. His ears pricked forward with sudden alertness, and despite his wounds, he pushed himself slightly more upright to regard her with renewed intensity.

  "An elf." Wonder mixed with something deeper in his mental voice—recognition, perhaps, or the weight of old stories half-remembered. "I have heard tales of your kind from the elder protectors, though I never thought to meet one. The elves vanished from these lands generations ago, or so the histories say. Before even my grandmother's time, they walked away into the deep forests and were not seen again." He paused, studying her with those penetrating yellow eyes. "Yet here you stand, bearing their marks and understanding the tongue of beasts."

  Luna filed that information away for later consideration. Stories of elves, tales of their departure—there was history here, context she was missing about her own heritage. But for now, there were more immediate concerns than ancient mysteries.

  "You're hurt badly," she said, gesturing toward the panther's wounds. "I don't have proper medical supplies, but I could try to clean the injuries. Remove that spear head from your leg, at least."

  Her Nature's Blessed trait was supposed to give her information about plant properties, but she hadn't paid much attention to those so far and wasn't sure if she could find any with medicinal properties in short order.

  The panther regarded her for a long moment, and Luna had the sense that she was being evaluated—tested against some internal standard she couldn't see or understand. His yellow eyes searched her face, looking for something she couldn't identify, weighing her words against her actions.

  "You offer aid to a stranger," the panther said finally. "A predator who might turn on you the moment your guard drops. You risked your life to intervene in a fight that was not yours, against enemies that were dangerous for your Level. The greenskins' Shamans could have killed you with their magic, yet you drew their attention away from me anyway." His mental voice carried genuine puzzlement beneath the exhaustion. "Why would you do this?"

  Luna considered the question seriously. Why had she helped? She could have let the goblins and panther wear each other down, picking off the survivors, and minimize her risk. Hell, she could have finished off the badly injured Level 10 Steel rank from the distance instead of trying to treat him. That would have been the smart play, the efficient choice that someone like Roger probably would have made without hesitation. She hadn't even known the panther was sapient before she talked to him.

  "Because you didn't give up," she said after a moment's thought. "You were trapped and wounded and outnumbered, and you kept fighting anyway. You made them earn every inch of ground." She paused, searching for the right words to express what she'd felt watching that desperate battle. "Besides, you're not much different from me. When that Level 9 was about to shoot me with his spell, you threw yourself at him. You didn't have to do that. You could have let it hit me and used the distraction to escape. But you didn't."

  The panther was silent for a long moment, his breathing labored but steady. Then, slowly, deliberately, he lowered himself back to the ground and extended his wounded leg toward Luna in a gesture that spoke of trust hard-won and cautiously offered.

  "I am called Darkpaw," the panther said. "And I believe, Luna of the elves, that you and I have much to discuss."