When he heard Marin, Rocky turned around and asked, "Anything else?"
"Well... Th-thank you!" Marin stammered, an awkward expression on his face.
"Since I just finished the operation, it's too early to tell whether Verdanim is out of danger. Take care of
it for the next few days. Don't thank me yet. What if Verdanim relapses? You'd definitely kill me then."
Rocky chuckled and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Come on! I'm not that unreasonable." Knowing that Rocky said that on purpose, Marin felt wronged
and frowned.
With a faint smile, Rocky turned to leave. Though he said nothing, Marin understood what he think of
her.
"That annoying guy..." Marin murmured angrily, staring at Rocky's back. But she was glad Rocky had
saved Verdanim, even if she didn't know a way to express it with the other emotions at war within her,
chief among them being worry.
As Rocky was walking back to his place, he felt that a pair of eyes were staring at him. He turned
around abruptly, but there was no one there.
Frowning, he studied the area but saw nothing out of the ordinary. As he turned away, a pair of deer-
like eyes flashed in the darkness.
After returning to his room, Rocky shoveled bags of soil to feed the three Dark Heaven Insects. When
the Dark Heaven Insects were full, he checked them by the Stroking Evaluation Skill. The examination
revealed they were in good health. When he was done, he put them back into the nest. Rocky turned to
Uriah and Little Rubygon. "We're all set here. I think it's time for us to go for a little hunt."
They left and headed into the nearby forest. They'd gone a good way when Uriah stopped, spun to the
left, and roared.
"What's wrong, Uriah?" Rocky crouched beside Uriah and stroked the beast's head. Ready to send
Uriah after whatever bothered the beast, Rocky followed Uriah's gaze, but he saw only shadows within
the deeper darkness of the trees.
"All right now! Let's go!" Thinking Uriah was simply in a bad mood, Rocky stood and directed the two
beasts to continue on.
As they walked, Uriah still shot looks over its shoulder. Or it would stop and turn to peer into the
darkness.
Uriah's constant vigilance disturbed Rocky. This was not like Uriah at all.
When they reached the area where wild spirit-manipulated beasts frequently appeared, Rocky chose a
suitable spot for a trap. He set a bottle with a drop of magical saliva down in the middle of the space.
Satisfied with the trap, Rocky led Uriah and Little Rubygon to a clump of trees and brush that would
provide adequate cover. Rocky leaped up among the branches. He settled down to wait for his prey.
Hunting was a good way to train a spirit-manipulated beast, to build its strength or to gain fighting
experience. It also improved the coordination between a spirit-manipulated beast and its master.
However, most spirit manipulators wouldn't dare to take their spirit-manipulated beasts to such a
dangerous place for a hunt. For ordinary spirit manipulators, entering this place meant meeting their
death. Rocky cared for none of that. He wanted to push the limits, to make certain he had the best
spirit-manipulated beasts, and that his control of them was flawless.
Rocky was broken from his thoughts by the appearance of a wild spirit-manipulated beast at the first
grade of the two-star level. The beast followed the trail of the magical saliva.
Rocky let out a low whistle. Understanding the signal, Little Rubygon dashed from the hiding place. In a
flash, Rubygon had closed the distance and bit into the wild beast's neck.
The wild spirit-manipulated beast, however, was equal to the task. It whipped around and shook itself
violently, dislodging Rubygon from its neck. Roaring in defiance, the wild beast faced Rubygon, claws
out. Its claws could tear through flesh and bone. Undaunted, Rubygon charged the wild spirit-
manipulated beast again. The beast swiped its claw at Rubygon's head. At the last moment, Rubygon
ducked under the blow, snatched the wild beast by its upper arm, and shook the beast like a rag doll.
The beast yowled. Desperate, the beast struck with its other claw. The blow swiped Rubygon's side.
With a pain-filled cry, Rubygon released its hold on the beast's arm. The two backed off, circling each
other before charging again.
The fight continued for a few moments longer, ebbing and flowing to either side. But eventually the wild
beast's superior strength won out. Though exhausted and badly injured, Rubygon did not surrender.
Rubygon still bared its teeth and showed its claws.
But the threat did little to dissuade the wild spirit-manipulated beast. It had recognized Rubygon's dire
situation. The beast's lips curved wider than before. It threw its head back and let out a howl of triumph.
The cry had barely ended before the beast leaped toward Rubygon. The wild beast was still in midair
when a great shadow appeared beside Rubygon. A blast of flames shot up at the beast.
Twisting in the air, the wild beast managed to avoid the flames. When the beast landed, it took one look
at Uriah beside Rubygon and turned tail to flee. Uriah's second flame blast struck the beast as its back
turned, setting the beast afire. In moments the beast crumpled to the ground. Dead.
Uriah turned and licked Little Rubygon's wounds to heal them.
Rocky leaped down from the tree. He strode past the smoking carcass toward the bottle of magical
saliva. The bottle shook before Rocky reached it. Rocky froze. The bottle raised from the ground. With
a fearful cry, Rocky leaped after the bottle, but it flew up in the air above his fingertips.
With a roar, Uriah leaped above Rocky and swiped at the bottle. But the bottle spun away from Uriah's
outstretched paw and darted away toward the trees on the left.
Rocky could only stare as the bottle flew seemingly of its own accord.
But he knew there was another reason. A reason he wished was not true.
Seeing the bottle fly away, Uriah shot up flames. The two fire balls roared past the bottle toward the
darkness.
As the fire grew, it silhouetted a giant spiritual beast. It had long slender limbs that glinted with rainbow
colors.
"The Rainbow Glow Unicorn!" Rocky yelled even as he dodged the flames.
But before Rocky could react the beast had disappeared. The bottle of saliva, however, still zipped
through the air, trailing the beast. Uriah gave chase. "Stop, Uriah! Let it go!" Rocky yelled.
Uriah let out a frustrated roar but stopped. With a groan, it followed Rocky. Uriah looked at Rocky with
a concerned expression, one of doubt, one that said it wondered why Rocky had stopped it.
The bottle drew to a halt in the midair. Then it, too, was gone from sight.
The encounter brought Rocky to a conclusion. It wasn't the magical saliva that had drawn the Rainbow
Glow Unicorn. Its attack had been too precise, too measured. Too planned.
"It seems that the Rainbow Glow Unicorn has been following us along the way," he murmured to
himself. Stunned, he thought back to the day's events, staring at the space that once held the Unicorn.
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