The sixth dawn arrived with mist clinging to the trees, casting a pale gray light across the forest.
Elena crouched beside a dead beast, its fur still steaming from the heat of her last spell. Her blade dripped with blood, and her fingers trembled slightly as she wiped it clean on her sleeve.
She didn't stop to rest.
Didn't dare.
She straightened, breath heavy but steady, and checked her mana reserves. Low. Too low.
Her orb hovered behind her, silent but ever-watching.
She turned away from the corpse and kept walking.
'I have to be first, just like always.'
Her boots crunched against leaves and broken branches. Her legs ached with every step, her shoulders burned from overuse, and her mind buzzed from lack of rest. But her resolve remained intact.
'Push forward. Just a little more.'
Another beast—a fang-bear hybrid—appeared near a moss-covered log. Elena didn't hesitate. She dropped into stance, mana already flowing to her fingertips.
"Stone Shard," she whispered.
