If the impending sense of death hadn’t been enough to attract my attention, Aureus’ scream certainly would have been.
Our bond rippled as the little glutton pulled my attention to the shade of a tall oak tree, and my eyes landed on a set of piercing yellow eyes. I pulled ether from my core and pushed it through my lower body. Kicking the ground while releasing a burst of ether strained my muscles, but it was supposed to increase the distance between me and the threat beside me.
However, as it turned out, my proficiency with the movement arts was not high enough to move explosively. I was faster than usual, but the shadow that emerged from the tree's shade was even faster. It barreled forward, revealing the slender body of a feline. Pitch-black fur and vibrant, vicious eyes greeted me—preyed on me.
The feline closed the distance swiftly and pounced. I barely managed to lift the silvernit sword in time as the beast’s sharp, curved claws threatened to rip me to shreds. It landed softly and dashed forward again, this time clawing at my legs. Its strikes might have hit true if I hadn’t been retreating all along.
There were no other Blessed nearby, nor had I seen any other predators in the past few minutes. I was also too far from the Bastion to make it back alive.
My heart pounded so loud it drowned out the sounds of the world, while my mind conjured up one grim scenario after another—each one worse than the last. Discarding the dark thoughts, I focused on the battle ahead.
The feline was even smaller than the mature Bloodbath Deer, but it was just as strong—and faster. Deflecting a single deadly strike was already difficult, and I would have been long dead if not for weeks of combat training, both simulated and real... or the demoness’ daily bashing.
As much as I hated those beatings… I love you, you ol’ demoness, I screamed inwardly.
Death loomed overhead, but it wasn’t the first time. I’d been exposed to it for weeks. While it wasn’t the same as facing it in the wild, the demoness hiding in human skin had been stronger, faster, and scarier than this feline.
I continued to retreat, eyes flicking left and right as the beast shifted direction. It pushed left and disappeared into the thickets, only to leap at me in a burst of speed. Its claws shredded my shirt and left behind a red streak of pain. The wound wasn’t deep, but it made the danger real. Maybe, if I hadn’t endured worse beatings recently, I would have broken already.
But things were different now. Aureus stabilized my mind and materialized in my chest pocket.
He yipped, sharing images of a plan I would have dismissed under normal circumstances. But this was far from normal.
Will this work on a 4-Star Wild? I wondered, nibbling my lower lip until I tasted iron.
Is this even a 4-Star Wild?
One mistake and I’d die.
Taking a deep breath, I evaded several incoming attacks. Another red mark cut across my left arm, and it took everything I had to stop the beast from ramming its razor-sharp fangs into my calf. The worst part, though, was the beast’s growing momentum.
It seemed to grow stronger with every passing moment, and I found myself steadily losing ground. Slowly, uncertainty crept into the back of my mind. It took everything I had to refocus on the demoness’s movements, the arts I had practiced for weeks, and the ether I’d learned to control with precision.
Since my life was on the line no matter what I did, I expelled the ether from my core and circulated it through my body.
If this doesn’t work—No, it will work. It has to work! I gritted my teeth and shoved the fear of death aside. I wasn’t allowed to die after coming this far. Not when my life had finally begun to improve.
For the first time since the beast had leapt at me, I pressed my feet into the ground and surged forward. I brandished my sword and felt a familiar tug on Aureus’ bond. The beast roared in defiance and charged—but it froze for a quarter of a second and stumbled. The momentary loss of control shattered its momentum.
That quarter-second was all I needed. I gathered momentum and arrived in front of the beast, ramming my blade toward its throat. The feline sprang back to its paws and would have evaded the blow—if it didn’t freeze a second time. This time, the effect was even briefer, but my blade was already in motion, piercing through fur and flesh.
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The beast thrashed and tried to retreat once it regained control, but I wasn’t about to surrender my only shot at victory. The ether coursing through my body disappeared into Aureus’ bond. My Soulkin had already retreated into the World to recover faster—but Aureus had done more than I expected. And for that, I was eternally grateful.
Fright and despair replaced the viciousness in the feline beast’s eyes, yet I couldn’t bring myself to pity it. The beast had preyed on me. It attacked me first, and it would have killed me if I had been any weaker. Staring into the eyes of the thrashing beast, I pushed the blade deeper and twisted it. I watched with growing horror as the ferocious predator transformed into a scared kitten. The life in the beast’s eyes faded, and the strength in its formidable body diminished.
However, I didn’t withdraw the blade until the beast stopped moving. I twisted it once more and ripped downward, half-expecting the feline to trick me into thinking it was dead. But that wasn’t the case.
It was dead, and I had survived.
Looking down at my body, I realized that the fight might have been a lot closer than I had expected. There were more claw marks spread across my body—I counted seven—and I hadn’t known about three of them until now. The cuts were also deeper than they had felt earlier.
My clothes were torn and drenched in blood, while the wounds had become raging pits of pain as the adrenaline faded. The wounds stung badly, and the bleeding only seemed to worsen.
At least I wasn’t fighting a Bloodbath Deer. I shuddered and cursed my core for being empty.
If I had some ether left, I’d circulate it through the wounded areas to accelerate the natural healing process. Fortunately, I had prepared for a situation like this and purchased a good supply of bandages and a tube of blood-clotting salve. While not as effective as the serums made from Bloodbath Deer antlers, it worked—and was affordable.
I’d purchased the bandages and salve to ensure my mother wouldn’t see my injuries if I got wounded outside, but I could hardly hide my torn clothes from her.
“There’s nothing I can do about that,” I snickered, pulling my backpack aside to retrieve a large bag.
Lifting the dead beast pulled at my wounds, but it had to be stored one way or another. There was no way I would leave such a precious body behind!
As I shoved the corpse into the bag, I came to realize that it was a Prouncer—a 4-Star Wild beast considered the king of assassins. A nimble and silent hunter that, while not incredibly physically strong or durable, had the means to hunt unaware 4-Star and even 5-Star Wilds. Ether altered its body to merge more easily with the surrounding shadows while also silencing its steps.
I shuddered, realizing I could have easily died to the Prouncer if Aureus and I hadn’t noticed it in time.
To calm my nerves, I tended to my wounds. I covered the claw marks generously with the blood-clotting salve and used most of my bandages—though I had probably used way too much. Regardless, I felt a lot better once I had finished tending to myself. I picked up the backpack and corpse bag, slung them across my shoulder, and reached for the silvernit sword with my other hand.
“Erm… good thing nobody attacked me,” I muttered, catching myself acting like a stupid fool. Why in the Rulers’ names had I lowered my guard in the Windbloom Forest? The Prouncer’s death didn’t mean I was out of danger. I was still in a 5-Star Wild zone!
Tending to my wounds and ignoring the forest’s dangers had been incredibly stupid and reckless. It was most definitely not something I’d recommend. I was lucky my stupidity hadn’t been immediately punished.
A heavy sigh escaped my lips. I was exhausted, out of ether, and wounded. Aureus was also out of combat and wouldn’t be able to help me in an emergency.
It was time to leave the forest—and this time, I paid more attention to my surroundings.
***
“I didn’t expect to see you again,” the familiar face of the skinny merchant popped up from behind the counter.
He smiled vibrantly at me, but I could only grimace back.
“Not so soon, at least. Or at all, after I shouted at you.” The licensed merchant looked ashamed, but that could have also been a charade. “I shouldn’t have done that. Not every rookie has the equipment it takes to store infused herbs properly. Or beast parts, for that matter.”
He sounded genuine, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt.
“To be honest, I like your honesty. Sure, getting shouted at for something I can’t change doesn’t feel great, but a heated lecture is still better than getting scammed.” I shrugged lightly, and the corners of my lips tugged into a thin smile. “You could have lied to me, knowing I’m a rookie and know nothing about bartering. For someone like you, it would surely have been easy to convince me that the Herula Beetle parts and Starstripes were worth less than you offered.”
I’d researched the prices of several infused herbs and beast parts after I left the merchant’s shop the first time, and that was also why I returned: his first offer had already been fair. Sure, I could have negotiated—and I probably should have—but I’d wanted the money and forgot about negotiating.
The merchant’s smile cracked slightly, and he snorted. “I am a licensed merchant. Isn’t it only obvious that I am not going to lie to you?”
I highly doubted other licensed merchants would care about that. Sure, they had some rules to follow to keep their license, but they could tweak those rules and ride along the grey line that ensured their work was barely legal.
“That’s why I like you,” I said, retrieving the corpse bag and placing it before the skinny merchant on the counter.
“One corpse. Not dissected. I didn’t want to damage the best parts by accident.”
The merchant raised an eyebrow, opened the corpse bag, looked inside, then glanced at me in surprise as he sealed the bag again