Althord and his group were tracking Ryu and the others. They have a hunter in their team who had a Black Leopard as a beast companion. Using Ryu\'s and the other\'s scent, they were led deeper into Tiamat\'s Lair.

Althord wasn\'t worried, though, since they brought along plenty of provisions as well as a water mage. This time, Clyde wanted the hunters\' team to find the exit deeper into the danger zone. He must also notice that the beasts near the protective zones were empty, and the only way to acquire meat was venturing into the Queen of the Dagon\'s turf.

Althord felt like he was so close to Seraphina. He could almost taste her sweat amidst the heat, and his cock tightened against his pants at the thought. Just imagining her beautiful face between his legs was enough drive for him to continue forward.

But unfortunately, a Sandstorm hits and they had no choice but to set up an emergency tent to take cover from the clouds of whirling sands. To make matters worse, no one rested a wink when all sorts of little creatures took refuge in their tent. It was especially bad when one of them killed a Chimimera, and its greenish gore attracted hundreds of them in their tent.

Came morning, almost half of them were dead from poisoning. It was a good thing that they kept the water mage alive.

"Althord, this is not looking good," said Fibble, the only hunter in Althord\'s group. Every group of hunters had at least one hunter for mapping and tracking their surroundings. "Should we go back?"

"And then what?" Althord spat. "Are you the one who\'s going to face Clyde\'s punishment?"

Fibble pressed his mouth shut. If they didn\'t find the exit this time or at least bring in enough beast to last them a month, then Clyde promised that they\'d be punished by Reyna. And everyone knew what punishments awaited them in the hands of the Demoness.

"Stop wasting time and track Marcus and the others. We are already here in Tiamat\'s Lair. We might at least collect beasts\' meat and search for the damn exit."

Althord then walked ahead while Fibble looked at the blistering heat above before he summoned Tar, his Black Leopard\'s Rank-B beast companion.

To become a hunter, you needed a beast companion through a blood pack, and they become part of your soul. The beast, in turn, would do all that you ask in exchange for you to help it grow in Rank by feeding it beast\'s cores.

However, mana was required to maintain them on land continually. It was also one of the reasons why most hunters didn\'t summon them unless necessary.

Fibble was already a Rank-A hunter, but Tar was just a Rank-B.  Beast companions were really hard and slow to grow. You needed an enormous amount of beast cores to level them up. Or at least a few Rank-A beasts or an S which was near impossible to acquire if you\'re a solo adventurer.

But even in groups, the beasts\' cores were usually sold, and the price was split between everyone. It was also one of the reasons why Hunters prefer to venture alone. At least they could level up their beast companions much faster, even it was dangerous.

"Let\'s go. Tar, go find their scent."

Tar growled and leaped forward while the group followed it with lightning steps.

But then Tar abruptly stopped, and its snout whiffed the air as it shifted its head left and right.

"What\'s wrong?" Fibble asked.

Tar bent on its paws and raised its butt in the form of a fighting stance. A snarl ripped from its jaws when collective clouds of dust blew their way.

"What\'s going on?" Althord asked in an irritable tone. "What\'s the holdup?"

"Something not right," muttered Fibble as he looked at the sudden gust of sands.

"We don\'t have time for–" Althord\'s voice disappeared when a giant silhouette loomed over them.

Tar whimpered and leaped behind Fibble when the dust settled, and a mammoth appeared like the beast Ryu and the others saw yesterday.

Everyone caught their breath when the giant covered in locks of hair looked their way. Its eyes were hidden under its long thick fringe, but its size and the two enormous horns flanking its head were enough to leave them shuddering.

"W-what. . ." Althord gulped. "What is that?" he never saw something like it in his more than two months in the Oasis. It meant that the beast only roamed deeper in Tiamat\'s Lair.

Fibble couldn\'t even shake his head and say anything when the beast\'s head turned to them. Then it blew an enormous sand from its large snout and walked away like nothing had happened.

.. .

.. .

Althord shook Fibble\'s shoulders to wake him up. "What is that thing?" he repeated.

Fibble finally regained his bearing and stuttered, "I-I. .. I don\'t know. It\'s also the first time that I saw a beast like that."

"Should we attack it?" another asked.

"Are you an idiot? That thing is huge," said another.

"But with its size, it\'s enough to feed everyone at least two weeks!"

Althord\'s eyes shone. If things get ugly, they could return to the Right Oasis with that beast\'s meat as an offering to Clyde.

Looking at the mammoth, Althord only saw how tender its meat was. It was like a walking steak in his gaze, and he licked his lips.

"Let\'s kill it," Althord said.

Fibble frowned. "Are you sure? It might be a Rank-A."

"With so many of us and one of it, I think we could manage." Althord gripped his spear, and the rest followed his lead.

"But what if it makes so much noise?" Fibble was worried, and when Tar whimpered, he knew that the mammoth should be left alone. "We can\'t afford to alert Tiamat."

Althord sneered, "Fine, you stay here and complain. We\'ll go and finish that thing before it got the chance to open its big mouth."

Fibble let out a word of protest that only went to deaf ears as everyone leaped from the ground and simultaneously attacked the mammoth. It was probably due to hunger or confidence or maybe the dose of both that everyone except Fibble decided to attack it.

However, the mammoth\'s eyes glowed red, and with it, its nostrils puffed plumes of smoke, and a loud battle cry shook the earth, tearing from its enormous mouth.

RoOOaArR!