As they approached, Hirrus had feared that the clearing would be a thicket, full of overgrowth and thorny brush. He was at the same time pleased and displeased to see that this was a proper clearing, filled with low ferns and sparse bushes. The gray sky was visible through the opening in the trees. The clearing itself was pretty sizable, too, stretching out about a hundred yards long, but only about half that wide.

Of course, though, it wasn’t just going to be a proper length of clear land for them to make their way across. Against the north end of it was a large bush-like tree that appeared to have been carefully cultivated. It was a coniferous tree, but with softer foliage than the hard needles of the larger trees, and whatever attention had been paid to it had bent it over nearly sideways, causing it to become dense cover for a well-worn pocket beneath it. The branches on the underside of that pocket had been worn smooth of the pale green foliage, from something rubbing against them repeatedly.

It was a den.

And the creature that called it home was lounging on the ground in front of it, as if basking in the sun despite the overcast sky.

It was an enormous feline. This monster had six legs, each thick and heavily muscled, ending in large paws. As the creature rested, one of those paws flexed, and the retractable claws that briefly unsheathed were nearly two feet of curved keratin ending in a needle-sharp point. Hirrus couldn’t be sure until it stood, but it seemed the monster would be seven feet tall at the shoulder, and from the muscles around its neck and shoulders, its head would most naturally be upright above that, putting it at the perfect height to use its visible protruding fangs to bite a man’s head clean off without having to lean down or reach up.

There were two elements of the monster’s physique that were decidedly not feline. Its tail had a strange rat-like quality, hairless, pink, and scaly, in contrast to the dappled black and white pattern of fur that covered the rest of its body. The other was that atop its head, right between its ears, a huge rack of antlers sprouted up, branching nearly as wide as its muscled shoulders. It seemed a counterproductive addition to a creature that typically liked to squeeze into small spaces, but they made the beast strike a stunning silhouette, and Hirrus couldn’t deny that it made it look alien and frightening.

Peeking around the tree, Hirrus sensed its name and hit points percentage, though the latter was apparent from its obvious relaxation.

Kaitzer Starden, Primal Death

100%

Hirrus’s first conclusion was that this monster was here naturally. The den was proof that it called this clearing home, rather than being dumped out of a cart ahead of Hirrus’s arrival. As much as a part of him felt a curious thrill at wondering how his abilities would measure up to it, this wasn’t a productive fight. Killing the beast wasn’t going to be taking resources from Rumi, it was just slowing himself down.

And Hirrus had an unusual feeling that pitting himself against it might be unwise.

“Holy shit,” Alric whispered, head peeking out around the other side of the tree. “An RM is up this close to the road, and we’re the only ones here. I’ve never heard of this happening before.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Hirrus whispered back, grabbing Alric and pulling him back behind the tree.

“It means you fucking up Last of the Strong threw everyone’s whole week off,” Alric said with a shrug. “Whoever would normally be here when this thing spawned is somewhere else, claiming Last of the Strong’s territory. I don’t know what could be more important than an RM, but maybe that’s because I’ve only been playing for a month, so I don’t know what the endgame shit is that the guilds actually fight over.”

“That explanation doesn’t help as much as you think it does,” Hirrus said. “Start at the beginning. What’s an RM?”

“Oh right,” Alric said with a grimace. “They’re called Reputable Monsters, but people like abbreviations. They’re boss-level enemies that spawn out in the world, though they range from dungeon to raid level. I’m pretty sure RMs are what they’ve been throwing at you, but they lose a lot of power when they’re captured, so this thing will probably be the strongest thing you’ll ever fight.”

“Do we have to fight it?” Hirrus asked. “Is there no choice?”

“I mean, there’s rewards for killing one,” Alric said, “but if we can get around the clearing without waking it up, we could live and let live.”

“If this one is not allied with Rumi or his underlings,” Hirrus said, “then it might slow them down if they’re following us. And if it is valuable, it might draw their greed and distract their resources if we leave it alive. If there is no reason to fight it, that might be reason enough to leave it.” Hirrus tilted his head to the left and led the way, creeping through the underbrush around the clearing.

“They were a big deal when Conquest of Souls came out, because overworld rules meant guilds could zerg the shit out of them instead of needing to coordinate a raid team,” Alric continued, though he followed closely behind Hirrus and kept his voice down. “They were also more valuable at the start of the game because nobody had their Arcana, but the raid-level ones can still drop legendaries, so there should still be a team out here.”

“You think this one is raid level?” Hirrus asked, gesturing for Alric to keep his voice low.

As they circled around. Hirrus had chosen to go around the left side of the clearing, meaning they were passing in front of it rather than behind it. It was riskier, and had a higher chance of them being detected, but passing behind would have set them on the other side of the bent tree that served as its den. Hirrus was more concerned about losing line of sight with the beast than he was about slipping under its nose.

“It’s certainly spooky-looking enough with the antlers and the muscles,” Alric whispered, turning and squinting at the feline face of the giant monster. “And the name. I can’t imagine they’d waste the name ‘Primal Death’ on something a level 50 could solo. Even though the rest of the name is kind of silly.”

“Silly how?” Hirrus asked. One of the monster’s ears flicked, but Hirrus could see a big horsefly buzzing around its head, and so he tried to stay calm.

“I don’t speak German, but thanks to the American Education system, I can recognize that Kaitzer is obviously a play on kaiser and katze, German for king and cat,” Alric explained. “And the other bit is from a meme. It’s the first few syllables of the German equivalent to going ‘pspsps’ for a cat’s attention.”

The monster’s ear flicked again in Hirrus’ peripheral vision and he almost ignored it, attributing it to the fly. But when caution got the better of him, he felt his blood run cold when he saw that the giant triangular ear didn’t just flick.

It had turned.

The ear was now pointed directly at them.

Alric saying “pspsps” had earned him the monster’s attention, even through its slumber.

Hirrus held up a hand to stop Alric from saying anymore, and held his breath, hoping that if they went completely silent, the beast would go back to sleep.

Instead, there was a low rumble, and the huge muscles on the giant cat’s arms and shoulders flexed. Giant paws tensed and curled, revealing four sets of huge claws. A single eye nearly the size of Hirrus’ head flicked open, revealing a yawning expanse of blackness. In a moment, it contracted to a feline slit on a field of hazel-green. The contraction meant that Hirrus could see with perfect clarity the exact moment that the giant eye spotted them.

The monster was on its feet in a flash, faster than Hirrus could react on even his best day, the six separate impacts of its paws hitting the dirt was like sudden thunder. The comparison seemed all the more apt as arcs of electricity jumped between the tines of its antlers.

As it stood, Hirrus saw that its three sets of legs were different lengths. Its hind legs were shorter, and its forelegs were longer, giving it a strangely upright - almost human - stance. It oriented on them and its rat-like tail thrashed for a moment.

Despite the bestial appearance, Hirrus could see the predator intelligence in its eyes.

It was calculating whether what had awakened it was prey or threat.

Hirrus was reminded of his uncertainty of whether fighting this thing would be a good idea or not. As if to underline that point, the black slits of its pupils expanded again, the universal feline sign that it was prepared for play time.

It had identified them as prey.