“Fuck off!” a curse escaped my lips as the deer’s hooves threatened to squash me, but I threw myself on the ground again and rolled to the side. Sensing an opportunity, I sliced the beast’s injured leg once more, ramming the silvernit blade as deep as I could.
The Bloodbath Deer must have taken that as a challenge, as it lowered its head to impale me with its tiny antlers the moment I tore the blade out of its body. Its head smashed down, and it got too close to my chest as I gathered every ounce of strength in my body to push left. I kicked the beast in the chest and felt its ribs shift, but I could barely push it to the right.
Leaping to my feet, I clutched the silvernit sword with both hands. I was trembling and felt like I was about to lose control of my body, but how could I stop here? How could I give up now that I’d already come this far?
My bond with Aureus flared, and I felt something shift. The glutton was doing something, yet I couldn’t quite tell what it was. All I could feel was… clarity. Aureus’ presence within me grew, and my mind cleared up from one moment to the next. The next thing I knew, I was charging ahead, pumping ether into the silvernit sword. The Bloodbath Deer charged into range, but I didn’t focus on evasion this time. I lifted my vibrating sword with both hands instead and swung it down as the deer crossed into my reach.
I was taller, heavier, and had a longer range of attack. Plus, I had painstakingly tempered my physique.
With all those advantages, I could have defeated the juvenile Bloodbath Deer, but it was the silvernit sword that decided it all. Filled with my ether, the sword’s durability and sharpness reached a higher level. It even felt faster as I swung it down—fast enough to avoid the juvenile’s antlers and to cut into its skull instead.
I was certain the silvernit sword wouldn’t make it—that the blade would never carve deep enough into the Bloodbath Deer’s skull to kill it, yet the bond consumed my hesitation. It filled me with unending confidence, allowing me to stay strong and to focus my full strength on the attack. I felt something leave my throat and realized only later that it was a defiant roar. Then I pressed the blade deeper into the skull. It didn’t split apart, but something crumbled—shifted—and made space so that the ether-infused blade could dig deeper.
I met the Bloodbath Deer’s eyes and saw nothing but hatred and hunger. It pushed forward, continuing its ferocious approach to ram its antlers into my shoulder, but all it did was worsen the beast’s situation. It helped my blade cut even deeper until I reached something.
Was it the beast’s brain tissue? I couldn’t quite tell at first, but the juvenile Bloodbath Deer’s response was instant. It thrashed around, trying to escape, only to stiffen after a violent bout that didn’t last longer than a few seconds. My arms creaked and felt heavier than ever after the quick exchange with the Bloodbath Deer. Not even one of Daniel’s hellish workout routines was that bad. Even my legs threatened to cave in beneath me before the dying beast, but I managed to catch myself.
I ripped the silvernit sword free and thrust it into the beast’s heart, ending its suffering after two long seconds that felt like forever.
As the light in the beast’s eyes faded, so did the adrenaline surging through me. My body felt suddenly much heavier, and exhaustion caught up to me, but I couldn’t hide my smile. I did it. I had defeated a 2-Star Wild without getting injured. The beast didn’t even scratch me once!
Aureus’ happiness struck me square in the face, bringing a smile to my lips. The glutton’s emotions were simply too contagious and potent. How was I supposed to feel bad when my Soulkin was over the moon?
“Good job,” Daniel called out from behind, but he looked like he had more to say.
Really? Are you seriously going to lecture me now? I cursed at him in my head when I caught a whiff of his hesitation.
There was no need for him to hesitate to lecture me. Daniel never cared about my feelings when he talked trash about my fights, so why would he start caring now?
Daniel’s lips parted, but he said nothing. He turned his head and nibbled on his lower lip, looking conflicted.
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What’s wrong with hi—…
Suddenly, Aureus’ presence encompassed my entire being. My mind was wiped clean of any thoughts, and all I could feel was the glutton’s sense of urgency rising within me.
I swung around, ignoring the pleas of my worn-out body, to face a taller crimson-furred beast with massive antlers as it emerged from a set of bushes nearby. It turned to me and looked down at the dead juvenile before looking back at me with the hatred only a mother or father could harbor.
Goosebumps covered my entire body as the mature Bloodbath Deer charged ahead. For a moment, I thought Daniel would intervene and kill the beast before it could kill me, but I couldn’t rely on that. Daniel hadn’t looked my way, nor had he unsheathed his weapon. He wouldn’t be fast enough.
My danger sense perked up, and I moved as the mature Bloodbath Deer charged — at me. But as I took my first step backward, something flashed before my eyes, and the Bloodbath Deer towered before me a moment later. The beast stared deep into my eyes and lowered its head, ready to charge, only for something odd to happen.
My World stirred as a familiar chirp resounded through me — through my entire being — and time around me seemed to come to a sudden crawl. I could see everything happening with shocking clarity. And rather than feeling fear or anxiety as death inched closer, I felt a sense of power wash through me.
An ear-deafening shriek rang out from my chest pocket one moment, and the mature Bloodbath Deer stiffened the next. It froze in its tracks.
While I couldn’t quite tell what was happening, my instincts screamed at me and urged me to act quickly. I drove my feet into the soft soil and shifted gears to propel forward as fast as I could. The mature Bloodbath Deer was still unmoving, but it stirred — threatening to break free from its invisible restraints — just as I reached it, facing the beast head-on.
There was no time to hesitate — not that I needed it. I was already in full motion before I even fully registered what had to be done, let alone how I knew the Bloodbath Deer would be able to move again at any moment. The sword carved through the air in a beautiful arc and found its target, slicing through its neck.
Not even a quarter of a second later, the beast moved again and smashed into me. Warm blood poured everywhere, and I lost hold of my sword as the beast barreled into me, throwing me to the ground. The Bloodbath Deer followed me down, and I was certain its pointed antlers would poke me to death.
That never happened. A heavy weight pressed me firmly into the ground, yet I didn’t feel the stinging pain of being impaled. The Bloodbath Deer writhed on top of me and thrashed around, its head and antlers missing my face several times by a hair’s breadth. All the while, warm blood poured onto me, drenching my clothes until the beast stopped moving.
“Shit. Are you okay, Adam?” Daniel’s voice rang muffled through the air. It was barely a whisper in my ears until he screamed. “Fuck, Adam, talk to me!!”
I struggled to move and could barely muster a groan before the heavy corpse weighing me down was removed. Daniel’s hazy frame appeared above me, his eyes scanning me from head to toe. He took his time pulling me upright, only to continue his inspection until he was close enough that I could punch him in the face.
“Didn’t you say you would protect me?” I cursed weakly, grimacing at the pain that surged through my fist as I pulled back.
How could someone’s face be this tough? That wasn’t fair.
“I…” Daniel grumbled something incomprehensible and turned away once he was sure the Bloodbath Deer’s antlers hadn’t caught me.
“Forget it,” I sighed tiredly. “At least you stopped it for a second. Was that your plan, you dickhead? To test my instincts or something?”
“I noticed something, so I didn’t intervene,” Daniel said, shaking his head as he squatted down in front of me. “I did not do anything. In fact, I stayed where I was and didn’t act because the Bloodbath Deer stopped out of nowhere.”
That bastard had the gall to look at me all serious, while I was still digesting the fact that his inaction nearly cost me my life.
“In the Rulers’ names, Adam! Do you not understand what just happened?!” Daniel asked in an exaggerated tone, almost excited, but I could only roll my eyes.
“Yeah, I nearly fucking died because I was stupid.”
And you didn’t help me, you moron!
“That’s not what I meant, dude!”
“You didn’t protect me like you promised,” I repeated.
Daniel groaned but nodded after a moment. “...I could have intervened a moment earlier, but that is beside the point!”
How was my near-death experience beside the point?!
“How did you not notice the older Bloodbath Deer?”
Daniel cursed something unintelligible, grabbed my shoulders, and shook me violently. “Adam, can you please shut your damn mouth for a moment? Please?!”
I felt like shouting back, but my mouth snapped shut.
“Thanks,” he remarked snarkily, taking a deep breath before asking again. “Do you know what just happened?”
There were many things I wanted to say. However, I could guess what he was talking about, and it was definitely not his inaction.
“Aureus happened,” Daniel said. “That was your Soulkin, wasn’t it?”