The Wagur’s tusk nearly impaled me as the beast whistled past. It was too close for my frail heart to handle, yet it was exactly what I needed to ram the silvernit sword into the Wagur’s chest. I could have worn down the beast, exploiting my advantages until the Wagur didn’t have any strength left to fight, but that wouldn’t have helped me as much.
I desired efficient combat, and that was exactly what I delivered. The Wagur didn’t slow even as the blade’s tip pierced through its tough hide and muscle. It drove deeper into the ferocious beast and nearly tore the silvernit sword from my grip. Twisting the blade, I tore it free and spun back toward the beast as its legs buckled. The Wagur collapsed to the ground, still thrashing, desperately struggling to survive, but I closed the distance and thrust the blade back into its chest, piercing its heart.
Watching the life fade from the beast’s eyes—knowing my actions caused its death—was still hard, but that was probably for the best. I would feel worse if the deaths I caused didn’t affect me. If I had already grown accustomed to killing.
Still, I was doing better. This was the fourth Wagur that had charged me, and I no longer vomited like a sick fool. Not that there was anything left in my stomach to vomit up in the first place.
“That was good enough,” Daniel commented as he appeared beside me. He stored the corpse, preserving it using one of his many ether armaments, and turned to me. “But you shouldn’t rely too much on your enemy’s momentum. It makes sense with a beast such as a Wagur, but not all beasts are as foolish as they are. If you know the beast you’re facing, you can make use of its momentum, but some will steal your blade if your first attack doesn’t kill them. They will disarm you, using the same momentum you’re trying to exploit against you. What then? What are you going to do once you’re out of weapons?”
I highly doubted something like that would happen often, but I made a mental note nonetheless.
Listening to Daniel made it sound like I wasn’t improving, which was something I could only agree to. So why was Daniel smiling like that?
His lectures were curt, his tone on the cusp of sounding unfriendly, yet his features were beaming. He wasn’t smiling, keeping the corners of his lips under control, but I’d known him long enough to tell when he was happy.
“Instead of focusing on an instant kill, you can go for their legs to slow them first. Cutting their tendons should be easy for you since you’re quite dexterous and swift. Your swordplay is decent for a rookie, but you might want to reduce your movements. It looks like you’re trying to maximize your efficiency, yet you haven’t even mastered the footwork I taught you last week.”
You taught me hundreds of things in the last few weeks. Obviously, I haven’t mastered everything!
Even though I felt like complaining a lot more about Daniel’s ‘tips and tricks,’ I kept the curses to myself. Daniel meant well, even if he contradicted himself occasionally. Did he want me to fight efficiently and deliver a quick death to my enemies, or did he want me to slow them down, harming them unnecessarily, before delivering the final blow? It wasn’t as clear as I’d have liked.
All I knew for certain was one thing: I had to survive no matter how dirty I would have to fight. Delivering a quick death when I had the chance sounded fine. However, if the opportunity didn’t arise, I should fight in a way that allowed me to survive—whether that was through retreat or a bloody massacre.
Right?
Am I really thinking like that? Is that who I’ve become?
I scoffed at the swift switch in my mindset. Only a few hours had passed since we left the Bastion, yet everything felt so… different. So complicated, yet simple. I needed strength if I wanted to survive outside the dome’s protection. And to ensure the dome wouldn’t fall, I had to protect it in return. Repay the favor the Rulers provided to me and those I held dear with their sacrifice.
Daniel continued rambling his tips and tricks, which was nice of him, but I was too focused on the blood on my hands. The kills I’d made. Living a life of false peace—only hearing about death, destruction, and chaos in the background as an unBlessed—was simple but also wrong. Yet, as much as that life of peace had been a farce, it was hard to let go of it entirely. It was harder to be a Blessed than I expected.
Maybe if my Mom and Dad had been Blessed, I wouldn’t have been like this… so soft. I grimaced, discarding the thought after a moment.
Minutes of silence passed, and we moved on.
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“Do you want to return? You should be tired now. Not necessarily physically, but mentally for sure,” he offered, but I shook my head. I wanted to keep going. I had to.
“How about I hunt something for you this time? Show you how things are done once you have more experience and an Awakened Soulkin,” Daniel offered, his mischievous smile setting me off as he pointed at crimson-furred deer grazing in the grass not even thirty meters ahead.
“A Bloodbath Deer,” I gasped softly, which earned an approving nod.
“A juvenile,” he added.
With a quick review of the information I’d acquired in the last few weeks, I stepped forward, clutching the silvernit sword even tighter than before.
“I want to hunt it,” I muttered.
Bloodbath Deer was an ominous name for something as beautiful as the crimson-furred beauty grazing before us, but it deserved that name. Once fully grown, a Bloodbath Deer’s antlers transform into a massive problem. Their antlers have anticoagulant properties that are enhanced by ether. A single scratch is all it takes to create a continuous stream of blood. The UnBlessed are certain to die, as far as I could remember. The Blessed, on the other hand, can stop the bleeding by circulating ether through the wounded spot for several minutes.
Yet, depending on the wound’s severity, several minutes might be too long.
Getting impaled by a Bloodbath Deer is a death sentence according to the Beastrology, and extreme caution is advised if one dares to hunt one.
But as dangerous as they were, they were just as valuable. The antlers are precious and serve as the main ingredients for various medicinal preparations. Ground to dust and properly processed, they are turned into medicine that interrupts the formation of blood clots. Conversely, serums to create the reversed effect also rely on the Bloodbath Deer’s antlers and other valuable resources. Their meat is also delicious and highly nutritious as a 3-Star Wild beast once it hits maturity, and even their blood is used in serums on occasion.
Regardless, they belong to a minority of Wild beasts with special traits and are thus more dangerous, even if their raw physical prowess doesn’t quite reach the standard of most purely physical Wild beasts. I considered capturing the juvenile, as it was probably only a 2-Star Wild, but decided against it after a moment when I recalled the Beastrology advising against it.
Binding them is a ‘bloody problem’ not only due to their antlers but also their relentless aggression, which is also what transforms them into formidable prey in the open. They don’t fear death—or anything, if some comments in the Beastrology are to be believed.
“Are you sure? I can interfere if something happens, but I cannot promise anything. I’d rather have you fight something that breaks your bones than a Bloodbath Deer,” Daniel responded.
“You won’t always be there to help me. I need to do this.”
“Fine. Do whatever.” He grimaced but motioned me to keep going. “I have a blood clotting potion and some healing vials, but they don’t make you invincible. Avoid its antlers, please!”
Yeah, right, because I was thinking of jumping into the juvenile’s tiny antlers. Is that not how you kill them? I rolled my eyes and turned to the beast.
Was I too ambitious? Arrogant maybe even? I had no idea, but I wanted to give this my all.
My fingers coiled tightly around the sword handle until the white of my knuckles was clearly visible. I lowered my body, picked up a small stone with my empty hand, and skulked toward the Bloodbath Deer. Daniel was definitely following me, though I couldn’t hear a sound behind me. Still, knowing my friend was near me granted me power. It encouraged me, just as Aureus’ emotions did. Our bond was firm and never really closed. Yet, right now, Aureus didn’t bombard me with his feelings. He reassured me and helped me keep my mind clear and focused on the battle ahead.
Closing in on the Bloodbath Deer wasn’t difficult. It didn’t hear me and approached a tree trunk to rub its back against. The beast acted nonchalantly, as if the rest of the Windbloom Forest was part of its domain, and didn’t seem to notice anything even as I brushed past a nearby shrub. My heart skipped a beat, and I threw the stone into a faraway bush. The Bloodbath Deer tensed and jumped around. Crimson eyes filled with seemingly endless wrath stared into the bush. It released a croaked noise resembling a bleat and approached the bush, all while I inched closer from the other side. It felt like every step was thunder, and I was certain the beast would turn to face me at any moment, yet it did not face me until the distance between us dwindled to less than five meters.
The instant it turned in my direction, I made my move. I kicked the ground and charged ahead, sword brandished to attack.
The juvenile Bloodbath Deer turned to me and bleated in surprise, yet it didn’t back off as it sighted the unknown perpetrator. It lowered its head, antlers pointed my way, and charged. The only problem? It was still a juvenile and at most a 2-Star Wild. If it had been purely physically built, a moment would have been enough to surpass me at top speed, but the Bloodbath Deer was not a normal Wild beast. It had a special trait that required a considerable amount of ether, which would normally temper its physical strength.
My body stayed as low as possible as I slashed the beast once. The sword edge struck the antlers by chance, forcing me to shift the blade slightly to continue my attack. While the strike was far from perfect, the blade cut into the beast’s front leg and drew blood. I twisted the blade once I was certain it wouldn’t cut deeper and ripped it out. Leaping out of the Bloodbath Deer’s path saved my life. Twisting my body to attack and leap into safety was far from comfortable, yet dying to the Bloodbath Deer would’ve been worse.
It bleated and shifted much faster than I could react. I rolled on the ground and scrambled to my feet, but the Bloodbath Deer was already above me.