The Primordial Dragon Artificer System.

Augustus and his two companions tracked the horse with two people riding on its back from afar.

These people must be very daring or very foolish. They were moving out of the outer section of the forest into the deeper part. They must have something up their sleeves.

Augustus wasn't stupid. And he knew people didn't act randomly. Most of the people who have survived thus far are people from stable backgrounds with a solid foundation in the martial arts, and are likely to join a Sect to start their cultivation.

In this world, children were initiated into the cultivation as early as twelve years. They will first get contracted to a magical beasts to aweken their powers before they can embark on the path of cultivation.

But the method of contracting the magical beasts was monopolised by sects and the royal family. If anyone else wanted to join the crew of cultivators, the sects were their only salvation.

Hollen and his group arrived at Rune's camp and found nothing other than trodded grass showing signs of the place being occupied before.

Nevertheless, they soon found the horse tracks and followed them. But because it was dark outside, their pace was slow.

....

Let's start from here. Lenthandra said as she sensed some formidable beasts up ahead. As for the people tracking them, she didn't mind them at all. She knew between her and Sigrid, none of them was a threat.

After tethering the horse behind, they swiftly moved in the direction of a wild boar not far south from their position.

The boar was sleeping behind a brush of bushes. This place was its territory.

The commotion of rushing feet awoke it. It snorted and growled, alert of the invading party.

Rune saw the boar as it stood its ground, having scented them before it saw them.

It stood as tall as a house with a mascular body that threatened to undo him.

Sigrid drew closer a step behind him, ready to support him in case of an emergence.

The boar charged forward, its head held low. It came in fast that Rune had barely enough time to react. He jumped up and soared over the charging beast.

His heart pounded and instincts took over.

He drew his sword and swiped at the beast's rear end , cutting deep into its sinew.

The boar roared with fury, turned and charged at its assault. Rune went beserk. He sheathed his sword and charged the boar head on.

Boom!

His fist clashed with the boar's head sending them both staggering back. The boar had a weird look in its eyes.

Rune's hand trembled from the pain and force. He gritted his teeth and closed the distance between them.

Before the beast could recover..

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three more punches sent the beast to the ground dead.

Rune was sweating heavily. His fist was a messy of tattered flesh that was healing at a rate visible to the eye.

Sigrid was shocked. She knew that Rune had grown very strong but not to this extent.

Sigrid: I don't think I can kill a beast with just my punches! This is beyond his age! How is this possible?

Sigrid wasn't jealous, just chocked and surprised at the rate at which Rune was growing strong.

" Hmm that's not bad at all, a bit brute but effective nonetheless." She said instead of what she really thought.

They moved further into the forest after Rune stored the beast into his Storage Space.

They encountered a few more beasts ranging from boar's to bears. Each of them stronger than the last.

" Something feels off" Sigrid whispered to Rune.

It's a Black Hell Thunder bird up ahead. It has evolved to the Gold Blood cultivation level. Same stage as you Sigrid, but beasts are superior to humans of the cultivation level. You should be careful. Lenthandra informed them before taking off into the distance to hunt on her own.

The two cautiously approached the beast. They had no idea of the capabilities of this evolved beast unlike the ordinary beasts they had encountered before.

Screech!!

An ear splitting screech bombarded them before they had even planned their attacking strategy. The Bird came in fast slicing through the air.

A ghast of wind and lightning sent the two flying back and disgracefully landing heads first in the ground.

The attack came in so fast and unexpectedly that they had no time to react. This was the speed and power of a Gold Level magical beast.

Sigrid was first to recover. She had only gained superficial wounds, otherwise, she was just fine. She charged at the bird that had turned for another strike.

She wound her bow and with the easy of an experienced archer, sent three arrows hissing at the bird.

The Black Hell Thunder bird aptly banked to the left not expecting an attack, but unknowingly ran into two more that followed behind the first. They ruthlessly tore through the left wing. The bird fell unceremoniously to the ground.

Rune, who had recovered just a few breaths after Sigrid, rushed in with his sword. He chopped off the other wing as the bird thrashed about on the ground.

An arrow headshot halted the screeching and thrashing of the bird.

Good job, it gets easier with each fight. Continue working together. Lenthandra had followed up on the battle through Rune. And she felt proud at how formidable the two were becoming.

And so time passed. They hunted the beasts, stored the carcass, gaining experience of battle and horning their teamwork.

....

Augustus and the two girls had taken the horse left behind by the people they were following.

Just from the breed of the horse and the casual way it was left behind, the owner must be of very high status.

Augustus and his company, coming from merchants families, new the value of this horse, and had already guessed at the circle of people the owner resides in. It was a person they wouldn't dare offend no matter what.

"Augustus?!, how peculiar that I find you leading my girlfriend's horse!"

A harsh voice echoed around the forest. Sanders had caught up to the three merchant's children.

" Your highness, we came across this horse wandering on its own, but we assumed the owner must be in that direction from the tracks left behind" he humbly explained. He didn't dare say that he untethered the horse because any misunderstanding between the two and his head may be the least of his worries.

The two girls behind him vigorously nodded their heads in secondment.

Sanders sneered at them and send one of his clonies to fetch the horse. With a click of his tongue, he led his party in the direction where the tracks led.

In no time, they came to a devasted place . Tree branches were twisted and some even on the ground. Speaking of the ground, there were cracks like some beasts had been at it. Blood was splashed around the crater, where, presumably, the defeated opponent fell. From the size of the crater, the beast was big.

But what puzzled them the most was that there was no sign of the beast!

After some time, they moved on tracking the traces of Sigrid and the other person she was with. Sanders never assumed that it could be that brat.

They came across more and more battle sites like the ones they had come across first. But these ones were more dramatic.

Some even had frost covering the ground and tress, setting everything in a white battle landscape.

Some had a lingering smell of poisons and some had all kinds of trees and roots emerged from the ground.

The more they moved on, the more they got scared and even began doubting their persuit of Sigrid.

Augustus and the girls had followed not far from behind, witnessing the bizzare battle sites that send shivers down their spines.

This was beyond all of them. Not anyone among them could exhibit such strength to leave a landscape in these states they had witnessed for the past few days.