Primordial Expanse: I have the Strongest Talent!

Alex was excited, anticipating an answer from Mira, almost too impatient to wait and go inspect the beast corpse itself.

"Mutant class."

However Mira had to be the bearer of bad news. She let out a sigh, her shoulders slumping as the excitement drained from her.

Unfortunately, the beast was only a Mutant class leopard, rather than a Variant class.

Both Mira and Alex's faces sank in disappointment, as they had just spent the last few hours searching and stalking this thing, only for it to turn out to be a waste of time.

"All that effort… for nothing." Mira muttered, wiping her blade clean of the beast's blood before sheathing it.

Alex walked over, giving the fallen beast a quick glance.

He understood the frustration — he himself was just as frustrated, but it wasn't the end of the world.

"It's not a total waste. We've learned that these beasts are quite lazy, sleeping out in the open after eating a snack, not to mention we've learned more about how they hunt now, so we can track them down easier. Plus, even if it was a Variant class beast, we wouldn't be done yet."

Mira crossed her arms and shot Alex a sceptical look. "You always try to make things sound better than they are."

Alex shrugged, a slight smile on his face.

"It's called optimism!"

Mira chuckled, but her frustration still lingered.

"Well, let's hope the next one is actually worth the effort. I'm not sure how many more of these false alarms I can take."

Alex could tell that Mira was a little disheartened at the moment, so he decided to try and divert some of the negativity to himself to ease Mira's own mind.

"How do you think I feel, I have to kill a B+ rank Variant class beast! Where the hell are we gonna find one of those!"

"..."

***

The two of them stood in the clearing for a moment, catching their breath as they surveyed the area.

The air was thick with the smell of fresh blood and crushed foliage, obvious signs of the recent struggle that took place.

"I have an idea."

Alex came out of thought and looked at Mira with a smirk.

"Well, out with it then!"

Mira playfully smacked his arm when she saw how he was holding back from revealing his idea yet and just stared at her cheekily.

"We can use this corpse as bait! Leave it out in the open for the smell to linger and spread throughout the area! Any beasts nearby will surely come over to investigate, and if we're lucky maybe even a Variant class beast will!"

Alex's idea was rather simple and didn't take much processing power to think of, but it was also a gamble.

Their normal strategy would be to continuously stay on the move to cover as much area as they could, and by using the leopard corpse as bait, they were giving up any opportunity of finding beasts if they were to cover ground instead.

There was no guarantee that any nearby beasts would come over to investigate the smell of fresh meat if they just left it out in the open, so this could all be for nothing and an even bigger waste of time.

Mira considered Alex's plan, her brow furrowed in thought.

"It's risky." She spoke, glancing down at the leopard corpse.

"But it could work. The smell will spread far, and if a stronger predator is nearby, we might just get lucky. Heck, we might even lure multiple beasts in, increasing our chances!"

Alex gave her a reassuring nod. "Exactly. We can't keep roaming aimlessly, hoping to find a beast without the help of our spatial perceptions. This way, we will bring the fight to us, on our terms!"

Mira sighed, still unsure but willing to take the chance.

"Alright, let's do it. But if nothing shows up, you owe me another night like the last one, hehe!"

She gave him a teasing grin, and refused to elaborate further…

Though there was also a serious undertone to her words.

The two quickly set to work, dragging the leopard's corpse out into the centre of the clearing.

They made sure to leave it in an open area, where any passing predator would easily see it.

The scent of blood was already thick in the air, and Alex made sure to slice the leopard up a bit to let even more blood flow out.

The scent was carried by the faint breeze that swept through the trees.

"We'll set up a perimeter here," Alex said, scanning the surrounding area.

"We need to find a place to hide while we wait."

They moved quickly, finding a pair of sturdy trees with enough cover to keep them concealed.

Mira climbed onto the branches of one and perched her back and feet up against the main trunk.

This position would allow her to springboard off the tree and pounce extraordinarily fast at any beast that showed up in the clearing.

Meanwhile, Alex took a more passive stance but made sure to keep Virtue's Edge at the ready and his senses on full alert at any time.

Time stretched thin as Alex and Mira waited in their respective positions, the jungle becoming eerily silent around them.

The scent of blood continued to waft through the air, even filling up both of their noses now.

Their plan of letting the wind carry the smell was clearly working.

If even they could smell it like it was right in front of them, then the beasts would be able to smell it just as clearly from much farther away with their superior smell.

Mira shifted lightly on her branch, her eyes scanning the tree line.

"How long do you think it'll take for something to show up?"

She whispered to Alex, her voice barely audible.

"Patience," Alex murmured back, eyes still fixed on the clearing.

"Predators are cautious, especially if they sense something stronger nearby. They won't just rush in."

Mira considered Alex's words, and while they did sound trustworthy, there was just one thing she had to ask.