Bloodnose

Before dawn, the target left its igloo. It hid its scent but wasn’t a beastkin—likely a demon or elf. Firefox tasked us with eliminating it and retrieving its spatial pouch.

“The demon is still there, watching both of us,” Greeneyes said.

Our biggest problem was uncertainty: neither we nor the demon knew who would win. If it had been confident, it would’ve attacked at night. So, we rotated guards and stayed ready to leave.

Sleeping huddling under a cold tarp was uncomfortable, but preferable to freezing.

“Cursed monster,” I said, but didn’t spit like I normally would have. I couldn’t afford to waste water.

The team worked quickly; in five minutes, the snow was melted and rations distributed. We set off after our target, following in parallel with the demon. Though trailing the demon slightly, the delay was acceptable.

Approaching would risk a two-on-one fight, which we wanted to avoid. The demon had killed the first team and was reluctant to face the target, suggesting it was powerful.

That was why I didn’t want to fight both at once. The demon had killed five of our people. Perhaps the target helped, but the demon had killed them. That was why we couldn’t fight both at once, and fighting the demon wasn’t our mission.

Greeneyes was my second and liked to talk. “Where do you think our target is headed?” Nothing out there but the White Waste.”

I trusted his instincts, and we tracked our target using his skills. As the stronger fighter with two valuable spells, I led the operation.

Where was our target headed? Once he reached the White Waste we would have to turn back or risk running out of supplies. Our consumption was high with the constant running and we had packed for speed, not a long expedition. Our target had a spatial pouch filled with food.

The demon continued its pursuit. The target reduced its pace, apparently intending for us to encounter the demon instead of engaging with each other. It seemed uncertain about overcoming the demon and attempted to have us confront it. Nonetheless, the target initially moved in this direction and maintained a consistent course without significant changes.

Greeneyes was right to be cautious—something had to be here. At the End of the World, there was only one possibility: a dungeon entrance. Our target was attempting to enter, which would make tracking him much harder.

“A dungeon entrance,” I said with confidence.

“I agree.” That was what I liked about him. He didn’t just say whatever he thought. He would let me think about the issue as well and reach my conclusion. We agreed about two-thirds of the time. The other third was useful in figuring out if there was a misunderstanding or some information one of us was missing. “The demon would be stronger there. We can push to fight the demon and be ready for our target to act.”

“We aren’t gaining ground. Our target can match our speed. Any faster and we would be too exhausted. The demon can outpace us both. We try to fight the demon; it will run away and cause us trouble instead. No, we need to slow down our target.”

No one said anything, since our target was too far ahead of us. We could sprint, but if we did that, catching up would exhaust us and we wouldn’t be able to fight.

“We have to move through the night and attack.”

“The cold will be brutal, and the demon doesn’t need to sleep. Moving stealthily will take even longer. By the time we reach our target, our blood will have frozen.”

“It’s the only way. We don’t stop. We will keep running. Eventually, our target will tire. We are beastkin. We endure.”

“We endure.”

We wouldn’t stop when the sky turned dark. We would keep moving towards our target no matter what. As for the demon, I would be ready to hold it off. My team had experience fighting together. We risked our lives in the dungeon to earn our levels and strength.

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Lazarus The Demon

I looked at my left hand. It still bothered me after it had healed. I could feel minor traces of lingering Mana from that attack. It would take time to purge them from my body.

Time was slowly running out if I wanted to win this battle of wills between a hunter and the hunted. Even those roles could be reversed in a moment. The being in front of me was no beastkin. I could tell that much. Even with its skills and equipment, it didn’t move like one.

No, it was something different, something new.

I hungered for that knowledge. To claim it as my own. The beastkin were boring, but this new creature was something I had never encountered before.

Its flight across these mountains was interesting. There was nothing out there. I had checked myself years ago. There was nothing but rocks, snow, and ice. A great place to hide, but incredibly boring.

I would have attacked again but hesitated for two reasons. The first being the beastkin. A fight against ten of them would be difficult and slightly dangerous. I preferred to target weaker opponents to ensure my victory.

Unlike the other creatures born in the depths, I knew what death was. They did not know such a thing. They were mindless beasts racing towards their deaths. But I was more, and I knew how dangerous a thinking being could be.

While I had killed many beastkin, that didn’t mean these were stupid or incapable of fighting. That they kept up their pursuit even after seeing me showed their confidence and determination. Both things were key aspects of the fight to come that I couldn’t ignore.

The second reason I hesitated to fight was the Mana I had sensed last night and the danger. The creature I was chasing wasn’t simple. It had tamed another depths-born. It had skills I had never seen or heard of before. That blade of fire was particularly concerning.

It cut into my body and burned me scaring me deeply. It had left a lingering wound, which was only a further warning for my caution. As long as I didn’t die, I would get stronger. However, that was the most important part.

Even in such a dangerous situation, it thrilled me to no end.

I would not die here. While my Danger Sense was all over the place, I knew I outclassed every individual present. If I were careful and patient, I would win.

The creature paused as it got darker and colder. My Mana regeneration increased slightly. The beastkin didn’t stop. I watched as they kept moving towards the creature.

We had been chasing the creature parallel to each other. Now they were moving to attack the creature directly. I could tell they were watching to see what I would do.

Letting them kill the creature before I could get to it would cause it to lose most of its Mana. I didn’t enjoy eating things that had already died.

I normally wouldn’t have eaten that dead beastkin I had come across, but I couldn’t afford to be picky out here. Every bit of Mana was valuable.

Thinking about the situation, I would let the two of them fight first, and then join in. The cold didn’t bother me, since I had Cold Absorption. It had taken a very long time to get that skill, but it was incredibly useful. Unlike other demons who roamed this wasteland, I didn’t look for the flashiest or the most powerful skills. But the skills that had the most utility, directing the Mana I consumed to improving them.

While many other skills were underdeveloped, my focus on Cold Absorption had been key for surviving where others of my kind would struggle.

The beastkin were closing in on the creature, and I was moving in behind them. The creature was racing up a mountain as the last vestiges of light faded away. I could sense their Mana though. They were now the hunted. The night and cold were my domains.

My Danger Sense was giving me warnings. I noted Mana covering the ground the beastkin was racing over. Something changed in the snow. The depths-born pet had done something.

As the beastkin reached the top of the mountain, I felt a surge of Mana. The sudden brightness of the sky made me avert my gaze. The wind howled. Flames suddenly erupted from the ground. The slope’s peak was ablaze with blue fire, and people screamed. Blue — that was unnatural.

The heat reached me and I staggered. My Cold Absorption suddenly failed. My Danger Sense was screaming at me, but where was the attack coming from? I couldn’t see properly. My vision was trying to recover. The heat was messing everything up.

I felt the air stir above me and swung upwards. “Ward!”

I had to use my Mana. I dove to the side blindly as the depths-born unleashed its breath attack where I had been.

“Fireball!”

The spell skill was too close. There was no place to dodge to. I screamed as my flesh burned.

“Fireball!”

I attempted to flee. Something struck me in the back. I tripped and landed on the ground. I reached back and grasped something I couldn’t identify. Held tightly, it broke apart like weak metal, leaving a piece lodged in me.

“Fireball!”

“No!” I roared and let my Mana explode out of me. The spell skill broke, and I expelled the ranged weapon. The explosion ripped my clothes to shreds. I had worn the skin of the beastkin to intimidate them.

My flesh slowly healed, and my vision returned at last. The bitter chill was returning, and the flames on the slope were gone. I spun around and hardened my hand with several layers of Mana. I intercepted the sword heading for my neck.

The sword cut through, and I lost my fingers on my left hand but saved my neck as I dodged backwards. I leaped backwards as something unleashed another breath attack at me. The beastkin were dead; only the creature was left.

I was going to kill it and eat it.

That was the natural way of things. The consumption of knowledge would strengthen me. The source of thɪs content is novel~fire~net

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