《Will of the Beastmaster》


 01 | The Undying

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    ¡°My deepest apologies, young master.¡±


    Those were the last words I heard from my most trusted aide, Edran, after he and other of my retainers assassinated me. The memories before this moment flicker like dying embers¡ªbrief, elusive flashes of betrayal and fear. The only memories that were clear as water were those very words, and the fact that I was set to be killed by none other than my own family.


    Four stabs, all of them directed at my chest, all of them with the earnest intent to kill. An unfamiliar fire coursed through me, igniting a primal fear that clawed at my insides despite my lack of training, that is just how much ferocity they exuded when they tucked in a knife in me like it¡¯s a common thing to do.


    Fourth stab, that¡¯s when they let go of the knife stuck in my chest, I had one last look at Edran, and what I saw was a pair of eyes with no regrets, no guilt, nothing.


    ¡°If you¡¯re angry, blame neither us nor the one who gave the order, blame yourself for being born.¡±


    Those were his last words before they left, with me clutching to the knife in my chest, writhing in pain all confused and tortured by the imminent death I¡¯m facing. In that agonizing moment, I almost welcomed death, believing it to be my only escape from a life filled with regrets.


    Well, that¡¯s what I am supposed to think in this situation.


    Unfortunately for them, they underestimated me once again, assuming I was oblivious to their actions. Like all those drunk on their own strength, they grew arrogant before someone they deemed weak, convinced the advantage would always be theirs. But that¡¯s the flaw of the powerful¡ªtheir complacency becomes their undoing.


    You¡¯ll see.


    I tried to stand up while holding the knife stabbed directly into my heart, since removing it would let me die faster by blood loss. Controlling even my breathing became more difficult the more I walked, however, I must move forward toward my only lifeline right now.


    I was able to fool Edran into bringing me close to the spot near the river where I hid one of the most treasured elixirs of our family, the Elixir of Vitality.


    [Elixir of Vitality. These vials of bluish liquids are products of concoctions that takes several ingredients from legendary beasts to make. It is so important that wars were waged, and people were killed just for droplets of this miracle drink. Not only they heal on a near-death level, but they also provide different enhancements on the body.]


    Taking the elixir I had hidden in a rock nearby, I removed the cork and prepared to drink. Needless to say, I had to remove the knife stabbed on my chest. Bracing with all my determination, I plucked the weapon out. I had to bite my lips from the excruciating pain because I don¡¯t want to attract unnecessary attention. Blood spurted like a fountain from my chest, and I instantly gulped down on the elixir.


    At first, I felt dizzy from the continuous blood loss, but true to the word, after just a few moments, all of my injuries vanished like the wind and I also felt a surge of strength inside me like I¡¯m being renewed. It truly deserves its moniker as the ¡°miracle drink.¡±


    ¡°Phew.¡± I had surmised that I will be having near death experiences in this plan, but I guess you always underestimate things you¡¯ve never experienced before. Thinking back, I had thought that they would execute me three days later, Edran must have noticed something, so he changed plans. Sharp as ever huh. Good thing that I hid a few elixirs like this in different other locations, although the process was tedious and extremely dangerous, it was all worth it.


    This was a fatal mistake by Edran, thinking that I would die eventually and leaving me clutching to dear life. They must have thought of me as extremely weak and that I wouldn¡¯t have lasted long. Thinking back, I guess this was supposed to happen after all, considering that I am a Rattusian, and that the kill order was probably from my stepfather.


    [Rattusian. A variant of the beastkin race that is characterized by a single pair of continuously growing frontal teeth. Most rattusians are small with thin limbs and long tails. They have high reproductivity which sometimes result in overpopulation. They are also physically weak that causes them to live by groups to increase overall resiliency of their clan.]


    Well, this will be regrettable, but I will make sure to see you again, Father.


    For now, I need to ensure my survival. The location Edran brought me was near a river, they must have thought of throwing me into the river as a back-up plan in case something happened. This is among the most dangerous places after all, and knowing Edran, I¡¯m sure he has numerous back-up plans with him that would adapt in different situations.


    But because of that, I had access to freshwater, so I don¡¯t have to worry about losing too much moisture. Another thing to take care of is that since I am fully healed now, I have to ensure my basic necessities just by myself. I am not royalty anymore and I won¡¯t be having other people do and bring things for me. The only one that I can rely on now and in the future would be me. Well, no betrayal at least.


    The next thing I have to worry about could be more of a threat than the stabbing that I experienced. I have read numerous books detailing all the horrors and dangers this place has. Even the word ¡®dangerous¡¯ would be and understatement for the tales brought back by those extremely lucky enough to get out of here.


    The ¡°Hallowed River¡± slithered nearby, its waters a deceptive mirror reflecting danger, a treacherous vein running through the heart of the Kyuram region. Naturally, this is the best place to dispose of a body since they think that I would just be eaten by other monsters here after dying. And they did not have to worry about their safety as well since they¡¯re hardened veterans in these types of situations, I assume they have their own escape route already; though I¡¯m not fully sure if they did escape, knowing the hazard level of this place.


    Of course, I could be eaten by monsters here, even if someone was alive and healthy in this place, they would surely still die by different means, from the poisonous patches of soil, acidic quick-sands, carnivorous flora, to the extremely hazardous beasts. No one in their right mind would just wander here, even the most skilled of professional adventurers would hesitate in entering this forest. It surely lives up to its reputation¡ª


    Forest Macabre


    Unfortunately for my killers, they have overlooked one crucial point in this situation¡ª they didn¡¯t have complete information of my capabilities. Yet I¡¯m relieved of that fact, since it gave me several opportunities to take advantage of them, particularly on this situation. Though I am still thinking that maybe this was a part of Edran¡¯s plan, or maybe they were just that confident; whatever it is, they failed to kill me.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    True, the forest had a reputation for mercilessly claiming the lives of any foreign creature that dared to wander into its depths. Its soil alone was a death trap, teeming with dangers invisible to the untrained eye. However, I recalled a curious tale from Datorni Gabard¡¯s renowned work, The Forest of Death. In his explorations, he once encountered a goblin, seemingly oblivious to the perils that surrounded it. Gabard had been certain the creature would meet a swift end, tripping one of the forest¡¯s countless traps, or succumbing to the malicious flora. But, to his astonishment, the goblin moved as though the forest bowed to it. It strolled across the lethal soil like a king on a red carpet, and the very plants that would strike terror into the heart of any beast recoiled in its presence, almost as if they feared it.


    This behavior baffled Gabard, and he observed the creature closely, studying its every movement. What could explain such a bizarre phenomenon? After careful analysis, he uncovered a single trait that distinguished this goblin from all others¡ª


    Primordial Blood.


    It wasn¡¯t just an ancient legend or a myth to be dismissed; the blood carried within it an untold power, a force that could bend even the mightiest of nature¡¯s threats to its will. With Primordial Blood coursing through its veins, the goblin became untouchable in the very place that should have been its tomb, or so it says in the book.


    No books or information from the Palace¡¯s Grand Library provided details on the origin of Primordial Blood. The only definitive text was from an ancient scroll with no title stating that the blood was from the origin beasts. Although, information regarding the blood¡¯s effects were not that scarce.


    I remember when I became aware of my surroundings, my stepmother told me that I was destined for great things as I had primordial blood flowing in me, and everyone in the palace was so kind and caring to me. However, ever since they found out that it cannot be transferred to another beast, they started showing their true colors. Life after that could not even be called life anymore, there were rare times that I wished they didn¡¯t discover anything about the blood, that they would just move on and live together happily again.


    But that¡¯s just wishful thinking, I was bestowed with an early awareness of how cruel the world is. Beasts are all generally alike, we have this instinctual desire to be the most powerful, and because of that, the standard of society is strength. If you¡¯re weak, you have no place here. This continent of beasts is like a giant predator-prey battlefield where the strong kills the weak. The weak is always the loser, the weak will never survive, that¡¯s the faith of the beastkin. Therefore, my stepfather¡¯s order of assassination on me is just natural.


    Natural for the strong, that is.


    Well, since I¡¯m here and I have this blood, I guess I need to make full use of it, I learned that one of the greatest characteristics of having primordial blood is that even with huge amounts of bleeding, as long as you have at least a drop of primordial blood, you will never die. That¡¯s how much life and vitality this type of blood has, and that I think, is the reason why my family wanted me dead. One could say that it¡¯s one of their strategies in monopolizing authority, they dispose of things that threaten their position. And of course, since they fear that if someone stronger appears before them, they would appear ¡®weak¡¯, which any beastkin would never tolerate.


    I am the only one to have this kind of bloodline, even my stepfather didn¡¯t have at least one drop. I¡¯m not too sure as well why I was born with it but my personal aide, Leopold who died protecting me said that I was blessed by the original beast.


    Nevertheless, I cannot remove the possibility that there might be other reasons for my assassination. I heard that there were some political conflicts with the other races and internal disputes within the clan. There¡¯s also the fact that the battle for inheritance is near and I can say for sure that my stepsiblings will do anything on anyone for the throne.


    I really have a lot of questions in my mind, but I understand that I will get them once I start exploring this world. I never got to see things outside the palace since I was young, I was once regarded as a precious treasure of our clan so they did all they can to make sure no harm befalls me, that includes the action of ¡®going out¡¯ was within the palace grounds only.


    To be fair, being royalty came with more than just a few minor perks. The greatest advantage was my access to the kingdom¡¯s finest resources¡ªbooks, food, wealth, you name it. I made sure to fully exploit these privileges. Given my frail body, I had to compensate in other ways¡ªby sharpening my intelligence, honing my resourcefulness, and refining my wit.


    Well, it''s nothing more than a distant memory now. Despite any reasoning or justification, my family still sought to kill me. For that, I¡¯ll be sure to return the favor¡ªwith equal ''hospitality.'' After all, isn¡¯t it customary to give gifts in return?


    I¡¯ll make certain everyone receives theirs, especially my stepmother. She saw me as nothing more than a tool, a pawn to gain the king¡¯s favor. Foolishly, she believed she could possess the Primordial Blood by somehow transferring it to herself.


    Currently, I am thinking of trying to forage for materials to build a temporary home here in the forest. Yet, I think it will prove to be difficult since I must be wary at all times for all types of dangers that the forest presents, but I noticed that ever since I got here, even after Edran and the others left, I have not sensed any monster around.


    Suspicious. Monsters of the Forest Macabre are known to be aggressive and are adept at sensing prey, I had been bleeding just a few moments ago so my blood should have been a trigger for their extreme senses, yet I have walked parallel to the river for quite a while already and there is still no presence, either from land, air, nor water.


    I tried to list all of the factors that could be the reason why I am not being pursued or detected,


    Is it because I am a Rattusian? I¡¯ve read before that this Forest only houses beta to apex predatory monsters. Uhm. Probably not, us Rattusians does not have any presence-removal traits.


    Did Edran and the others casted some kind of spell on me? Well, why would they? And if so, wouldn¡¯t it be better if it were for ¡®attracting¡¯ monsters?


    Is it because of my blood? Did Gabard¡¯s idea proved to be true after all?


    Right now, that is the most possible explanation. However, how can I prove this theory if there is no monster nearby?


    Just as I pieced together my thoughts, a shadow flitted past¡ªa dark blur darting into the river. My heart raced and instincts sharpened. It went into the river, it was so fast that I was not able to even see even the shape of its silhouette, it just appeared like a black thing speeding to the waters.


    After a few moments, the ¡®thing¡¯ that resurfaced turned out to be a Pantherian, trying to swim towards the edge of the river.


    [Pantherian. A variant of the beastkin race that is characterized by a muscular body with powerful forelimbs, along with stripes that differentiate their clans by its color. They have long and heavy tails that acts both as a weapon and a balancer in combat. They are also very aggressive even with monsters stronger than them.]


    But, as a part of the Forest Macabre, naturally the river is not normal as well. The water in it is deceptive enough to look like it is safe, yet tales from books tell that people who survived the forest had one advice for anyone daring to go inside.


    ¡®Pay your respects to the Hallowed River¡¯


    I am not still sure as to what It means but obviously its common sense to just avoid it. The Pantherian, being submerged to that very river is desperately swimming to get out. From what I know, Pantherians are supposed to be good swimmers since some of their prey also includes water-dwelling beasts.


    So, the question begs, what is keeping the Pantherian inside the river?


    My mind was occupied for just a moment when all of a sudden, a vine burst out of the waters and tried to lash at me. Instinctually lowering my body, I managed to avoid a hit, although when I heard a crash and looked at the direction the vine went, I saw what looked like ten or more trees destroyed.


    It was the first time the forest had truly turned against me, and the realization hit me hard. If I hadn¡¯t dodged that strike, I wouldn¡¯t be standing here¡ªI¡¯d be nothing more than a lifeless heap, devoured by whatever lurked in the shadows. My legs buckled under the weight of that thought, trembling as fear crept up my spine. I collapsed to my knees, my strength drained, heart hammering in my chest.


    I don¡¯t want to die. I don¡¯t want to die, were the thoughts running through my mind at the moment.


    At that instant, I forgot that the vine was still there.

 02 | Death Awaits

    GROOOOAAARRRR!! GROAAAARRRRR!!


    The Pantherian''s roars echoed through the forest as it thrashed against the creature''s grip, desperately trying to break free.


    The situation kicks in and panic started clawing at my throat, paralyzing me, but I fought to keep it at bay. My heart thundered in my chest, each frantic beat a reminder of the danger surrounding me. I refused to let fear consume me. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to center my thoughts. I couldn¡¯t afford to succumb to weakness.


    My gaze swept through the dense trees. I needed to get away from the river as far as possible, so my only way out would be to venture inside the forest. Though there are still lingering thoughts of fear for the forest itself, right now I had to weigh in what to avoid most in my current situation.


    And the most dangerous thing right now is the river.


    Just as I was about to move my body, a vine grabbed my ankle and lifted me high up in the sky.


    AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!


    Huff, huff, WHAT IN TARNATION IS THIS?! The fear was too intense that I just noticed how I soiled my pants, heavily I was tossed about like a rag doll, the vine treating me as if I were nothing more than a toy. Though, after a few seconds of thinking about how I would die, my fear started to disperse. I began to rely on my senses again to assess the situation, focus came back to me to see what I can use to my safety and benefit.


    In this sense, after easing some of the fear and somewhat recovering from the tension, I immediately tried to observe my surroundings fully well. And what I saw was quite a sight to behold, I am having an aerial view of what seemed to be the entirety of Forest Macabre. It stretched endlessly before me, a sprawling sea of green that seemed to merge with the sky, its towering trees whispering secrets in the wind.


    Massive.


    That was the perfect word to describe the forest¡¯s reach, it was akin to looking at the horizon of the never-ending ocean in the pictures from books. It was hard to imagine how deep was I in the forest that I almost lost hope in going outside. However, there are individuals out there that still needs taking care of, both for the good, and the bad.


    And so, I mustered up my motivation and tried to rotate at the instant to see if there are places where the forest ends. Pain struck me as I had to do it in the short amount of time when the vine paused in mid-air, yet I struggled enough so that I can see where I should be moving forward.


    Well that is if I survive here.


    No, I will survive, to hell with this forsaken forest.


    And then I saw.


    A side of the forest where it is not large enough, where it did not reach the horizon. There I saw some kind of tower. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s part of the forest, but I can only hope for the best. Remembering the direction, I must now think of a plan since that direction is on the other side of the Hallowed River.


    Up. Suddenly, everything is going up very quickly. It was so fast that I had a hard time breathing due to the intense change in air pressure in the surroundings.


    Or rather, I was going down. And it was too late for me to realize it as my body slammed the ground hard enough that I may have broken a lot of bones. Coughing up blood, I felt the vine still clutching at my ankle, tightening the grip can only mean one thing, it¡¯s going to do it again.


    Difficult as it may be, I had to try removing its tight hold, I desperately moved my body upright so that I can release myself. Moving my body proved to be extremely painful after the shock that I received, I can feel several concussions all over, but I grit my teeth as if to numb the pain since I don¡¯t want to experience getting flung up again.


    Yet something happened. As I was about to reach for the vine, it trembled, it then unfurled itself, and quickly got away from me, after then finally submerging itself again into the waters.


    What? It was a strange situation, very strange. Snapping out from my shock, I quickly looked at my hand, desperate to see what might have made that dangerous vine afraid, I had the thinking that whatever it was, it was my only salvation from this perilous situation I¡¯m in.


    Looking at my hands, I saw the only thing that bathed my hand, my blood. I tried looking for anything else, there¡¯s my fur, my skin, nothing else. I was both relieved and alerted, relieved that even though it only happened once, there¡¯s a high chance that I can use my blood to ward off beasts; but still alerted because I had several questions, especially on why the vine wasn¡¯t afraid earlier. It was then I was struck with a memory--


    It seems that Gabard was right all along,


    ¡®Forest Macabre fears Primordial Blood.¡¯


    It was the single statement at the end of the last chapter of his book. And up to this time, nobody was able to prove it because in the first place, primordial blood is ultimately nonexistent in this world. Also, since the forest was extremely dangerous, only a few beasts are brave enough to enter this despicable place.


    No, this information is lacking. I don¡¯t know yet if the forest itself is fearful of the blood. But for now, I can consider beasts are generally afraid of it.


    PUHAA!


    What snapped me from my thought process was the Pantherian earlier resurfacing from inside the river. Seems that he was still struggling all this time. As expected from a Pantherian, such strong tenacity. Nevertheless, it was still wresting and holding for dear life.


    I noticed some bruises on its face and some lashes as well; I guess it had to fight the creature holding it down underwater. And I didn¡¯t need to think deep to see who had the upper hand since now, I can see multiple vines entangling its body, from its upper limbs to its neck, choking the poor creature.


    Then the Pantherian looked at me. With its fierce and dauntless eyes, it glared.


    Yet, I didn¡¯t feel any anger, there was no bloodlust, no killing intent. What I felt was different, it was different from the time Edran had looked at me. It was different from the looks of my executioners. Yes, what I felt was otherwise.


    It was helplessness.


    It was a look of weakness, of submission, of defeat. It was as if this creature is begging for mercy, the glare that was supposed to make other beasts kneel in fear is nowhere to be found. This is the feeling that I have as I was looking at the Pantherian as it continued to fight off someone stronger. It was a new experience for me, being immersed in books and learning the characteristics of different creatures outside the palace. I never had this kind of experience, this feeling, this understanding of the emotions of other beasts.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Then it dawned on me. That I was presented a choice. On one hand, I could leave the Pantherian as it is right now since it can also act as a decoy for me. On another, I can help it in escaping from the river, knowing it could turn on me if freed.


    I¡¯m having doubts about helping it since there¡¯s the chance that my blood won¡¯t work on it, and if I were to successfully save it, I¡¯ll probably be its next meal. However, if I don¡¯t help it and it somehow escapes, I¡¯m pretty sure I will have a stalker for life.


    GROOOOOOAAARRRRRR!!!


    A roar louder than before. I looked back at the Pantherian and saw that it is starting to slowly sink deeper into the river. I guess it doesn¡¯t have long enough. The renowned stamina, ferocity, tenacity, and endurance; all of these traits were powerless in the face of a stronger creature.


    In this case, not only does the Pantherian have to battle a creature with a stronger and more flexible body structure, but it also has to deal with the river itself, being able to swim does not necessarily grant you advantage over other creatures, just like other skills like [Flight] and [Dig], it just gives you an ¡°entrance¡± to another environment, nothing else. The creatures borne from their own environments will always hold significant advantage, that is one of the few truths of this world.


    I guess I may benefit from this one huh.


    I made my decision. I had to first wipe the primordial blood off my hands to make sure I don¡¯t scare off the Pantherian just in case. Then. I started to approach the river, slowly but cautiously, I tried not to run too fast because there might be other creatures besides the one with vines lurking inside the river.


    When I arrived at the bank of the river, no other monsters appeared, so I got to thinking that maybe the vine beast is like an acting king of this portion of the river, or maybe even including the nearby territory. As such, I factored that out when I tried to reach for the Pantherian.


    ¡°Endure more! Swim faster and take my hand! I¡¯ll take care of the vines around you!¡± I shouted even though I don¡¯t know if this creature would understand me. Even without referencing the books I¡¯ve read, I¡¯m pretty sure that living things in the forest had other means of communication other than creating their own language. But right now, I don¡¯t have much choice but to rely on communicative signals like reaching my hand, hoping that the Pantherian would understand me.


    Fortunately, it seemed that my message got through as the Pantherian seemed to have mustered his last remaining strength and swam as hard as he could toward my outreached hand. Although¡ª


    GRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRR!!!


    Suddenly, the stripes on its body changed its color from black to red, its eyes also emitted some kind of smoke like it was burning. It then swam faster as if the vines holding it down and the raging counterflow of waters aren¡¯t there. A reddish aura is now covering its whole body, and even I can sense the dense bloodlust in it even though I¡¯m just looking.


    So this is berserk. Quite intimidating I see.


    [Berserk. A characteristic of selected beastkin that lets them tap into dormant instinctual power at the cost of their sanity. Beasts that go berserk will only accomplish the last goal they set in their minds and would ignore anything else; anyone who interferes with them will be considered an enemy, whoever or whatever it is. Once they¡¯ve completed the goal, they will lose a significant amount of strength and will most likely fall unconscious.]


    The berserker state of the Pantherian looks so different from its normal state. The ferociousness almost blends in the air and you can just feel it. Now I would have to deal with it once it reaches my hand, I dug my arm and feet deep on the ground just in case I get pulled in by its power, even though I doubt this could offer any resistance.


    This should be enough for me not to get pulled in the river.


    With all its power dedicated to its goal, it finally reached my hand and grabbed it. Hugk! As expected, I was dug out from the ground and was pulled off, skidding my feet as I was dragged and creating two valleys of eroded earth. That¡¯s just how much power the Pantherian¡¯s hand had. And here I thought I¡¯ve made enough approximations. It seems that I still underestimated a berserker¡¯s power.


    Fortunately, I was able to provide enough resistance that I stopped being pulled just a few distance away from the river. The Pantherian then lost all its strength and fell unconscious, it still held my hand probably out of instinct alone since it was just hanging for dear life. However, I still had to hold tightly and resist with all my might because much to my surprise, had I not noticed the Pantherian losing its ferocious aura and its body coming back to its normal appearance, I would have thought that I was still being pulled by a berserker. The vine did not lose either to the berserker and is still vehemently trying to bring it under water.


    I bit my forefinger hard enough to wound it and let a few drops of blood flow, then I reached for the vine trying to choke the Pantherian¡¯s neck. Before I can even get near, the vine squirmed and unfurled itself as fast as it could and then dropped back into the water. I did the next one on its left arm and the same thing happened, however, this time, another vine popped out and latched onto its right leg.


    Ugh. This is irritating. There, I realized that whatever this creature is, it is desperate and will keep on sending these annoying vines as long as it¡¯s not near me. More than that, I also felt a stronger pull from all the vines entangling the Pantherian¡¯s body, dragging me nearer to the river.


    ¡°HUAAAAHHHHH!!¡± Its already taking all of my strength just to make sure that my feet stay on the ground, yet I had to deal with a persistent vine monster. You are just so annoying! I then bit more of the skin on my forefinger so that more blood would flow out. Afterwards, I applied the outflow on the Pantherian¡¯s body, from its neck to its limbs, to almost the whole of its upper body.


    That eased the pull somehow, but I can¡¯t slack here since I¡¯m almost at my limit as well, I¡¯m very well aware that I do not have the same strength and endurance as a Pantherian, I am also not a berserker so there¡¯s no choice for me but to wisely preserve and utilize my energy and stamina.


    I dug my heels into the ground, the force of the Pantherian''s weight nearly dragging me down with it as the vines relentlessly pulled it deeper into the river. My hands clutched its arm, feeling the strain in my muscles as I tried to anchor myself, fighting the current and the writhing vines in a desperate tug-of-war. The creature¡¯s body was heavy, its fur soaked, and the pull of the river was relentless. Every inch felt like a battle.


    With one hand still gripping the Pantherian, I bit into my finger, hard enough to feel the sting of the cut. Blood welled up, dripping down onto the vine latched around its waist. I smeared the blood quickly, rubbing it over the tight coils binding the Pantherian¡¯s body. The vine shuddered beneath my touch, recoiling as if burned, loosening its grip slightly. It wasn¡¯t enough.


    The vines around its legs pulled harder, dragging us both toward the water¡¯s edge. My feet slipped, and for a moment, I nearly lost my footing. But I held on. I gritted my teeth and forced myself forward, my free hand quickly moving to the Pantherian¡¯s arm, smearing more blood along the tangled vines. They writhed and squirmed in response, recoiling further with each drop of blood, but they were stubborn.


    I could feel the Pantherian¡¯s body starting to shift, the vines slowly losing their hold, but the pull from the river grew stronger, the vines clenching tighter around its legs and waist. My arms trembled as I fought against the pull, the veins in my neck straining with the effort. I was almost out of strength.


    ¡°WAAAAAARRGGGHH!¡± I hissed through gritted teeth, more to myself than the creature.


    With another bite into my already bleeding hand, I smeared a fresh stream of blood across its waist, pressing hard against the vines that clung to its torso. They hissed and slithered, recoiling faster this time, wriggling back toward the water as if in retreat. But I wasn¡¯t done yet. There were still vines coiled tightly around its legs, pulling it downward with all their might.


    I lunged forward, digging my feet into the ground as deeply as I could, reaching for the Pantherian¡¯s legs. The vines felt like living chains, tightening even as I smeared my blood along them. They fought back, pulling harder, but my blood worked its magic. One by one, they snapped free, hissing and slithering away like snakes retreating from a fire.


    My muscles burned, and my breath came in ragged gasps as I finally managed to pull the Pantherian clear of the riverbank. The last vine loosened its hold, slipping off and slinking back into the dark waters, defeated.


    Exhausted but victorious, I collapsed to my knees beside the Pantherian, my hand still bleeding, the scent of my blood heavy in the air. The Pantherian lay motionless, but it was free. The vines wouldn¡¯t dare come back¡ªnot with the stench of my blood warding them off.


    And with this¡ª


    I¡¯ve done my job.


    However, I¡¯m not someone kind enough to do something without expecting anything in return.


    I guess I¡¯ll move on to phase two.

 03 | Creature from the Trees

    After some time, the pantherian started to regain its consciousness. That was the time where I was brought back to reality that I am with an extremely dangerous being. Pantherians are described in books as not only aggressive but cruel monsters. They are heavily discriminative towards the weak and would ruthlessly kill any beast that it deems unworthy.


    It is said as well that they like challenging beasts or monsters that they consider as strong and will not back away until the provocation is accepted. This has been reported to be always the case where either the pantherian or its opponent is dead.


    ¡°I see now why the population is relatively low. Damn battle maniacs.¡±


    ¡°Urgh. Grrr. Grrhaa. Grr.¡±


    Just from the groans and muffled sounds that it produces, one can tell that pantherians are born to be fierce beasts. The ability to send shivers by just creating those meaningless sounds is shocking to a degree.


    I wanted to run. I seriously wanted to run at this point. Who would want to be in a situation where you¡¯re beside something that you saved but might also kill you? Yet considering my options, being near the river is probably my wisest choice right now, my last resort would be jumping in the water as the creature that¡¯s presumably alone won¡¯t be able to get near me. If this pantherian ever follows me, the blood would wash out and it would be attacked again.


    ¡°Ugh. Grrhaaa, who¡¯re you?¡±


    Huh?


    ¡°Grrhaa, grrhaa. Oy, didn¡¯t you hear me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the one who pulled you out of the river because you were being attacked by a monster full of vines.¡±


    That¡¯s the simplest description that I can give to him since I¡¯m not sure what answer this pantherian wants. I can¡¯t still ease the feelings of fear inside me, but I can¡¯t show weakness to a pantherian, knowing that I might die if I just whimpered about.


    ¡°Grr, haa, haa, Haaa. I remember¡ªI remember going berserk. What happened?¡±


    ¡°Was that berserk? Well, you were being drowned by the monster and after you¡¯ve gone berserk you suddenly had a boos¡ª Wha¡ªoy! What¡¯s happening to you?!¡±


    It was already suspicious that even after some time of recuperation, this pantherian was still panting as if it¡¯s still in a fight. But right now, after it managed to somehow try to get up, it immediately fell down as if it just received a faint-worthy punch.


    ¡°Grr ¡­ Grrhaa .. Grrraaaaaah ¡­ GRRAAAAAAAARRRRR!!¡±


    ¡°Oy! What¡¯s gotten into you?!¡±


    ¡°GRAAAAAAAHHH!! WHAT IS THIS?! MY BODY! MY BODY¡¯S IN PAIN! MY WHOLE BODY¡¯S IN PAIN! GRAAAHHHHH!!!¡±


    Just what is happening? I had to think fast. It was just okay earlier and this pantherian was almost about to get up, then how it is that he just felt pain all over his body?


    Wait, all over his body?


    Oh, I see.


    The blood. Must be the blood.


    This would add reliability to my theory.


    Thinking about it, removing the factor that he was tired from fighting and swimming earlier, the only possible thing that could bring pain to a pantherian¡¯s body would be my blood. It¡¯s all over its body so it must be what¡¯s causing the excruciating pain right now.


    ¡°Oh.¡± If my blood is really the cause, would this also be a result for those who will be subjected directly to primordial blood? I, for one see this as an advantage since I¡¯m in unknown grounds, this will even grant me a huge opportunity to have the forest under my rule if I use it to its optimum potential.


    Yet I cannot be complacent, there are still several unknown factors at play here. There is the major concern of what might be the physical status of this pantherian before he plunged in the waters. But one thing¡¯s for sure, I need this pantherian.


    ¡°Look! You got so much blood on you! Maybe there¡¯s a wound somewhere that still did not close.¡± And here I was stopping myself from looking disgusted with how I need to keep up this act. I just hope that the immediate excuse that I made would suffice, I have no idea how intelligent these beasts are since the books only elaborated their physical might and personality.


    ¡°Grruughh, grrhaa. Graaahh. You, you¡¯re not a native of the forest.¡±


    Saying those words coupled with a piercing glare could¡¯ve killed any ordinary beast. Just by having eye contact made me remember the berserker just a few moments ago. However, I can¡¯t back down here¡ª


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m from a place approximately south of the forest, I can¡¯t really tell you the details but never mind that, you need immediate treatment with all of that blood on you!¡±


    ¡°Grrgh, grrughh, this is not my blood. I don¡¯t kno¡ªgrraah, haa, haa¡ªknow what your motives are but you need to remove all of thi¡ªgrrugh gruugrrhh¡ªthis blood from me. It¡¯s draining me¡ªgrraahh, groaaaahh¡ªits draining me of life, of strength! GROOAAARRRR¡±


    I smiled. Well, I almost smiled. Lately, I¡¯ve been so easy to express my emotions.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Alright, I understand. Looks like the monster won¡¯t be resurfacing soon so Ill just get some water from the river. Please try to hold on, Ill be as quick as possible.¡±


    Work. And I just had my rest after that grueling battle. This better be all worth it.


    I had some difficulties standing up due to the accumulated stress in my body. But I had enough strength to at least do this much; I¡¯ll just use my clothes to absorb water and use that to remove the bloodstains. It appears that the pantherian suspects me of being a non-native of the forest, but on the other hand, it is also unaware of the source of blood all over its body; maybe it thinks that the blood was from the monster with vines.


    I had torn a piece of my clothing earlier and dripped some of my blood on it to serve as my failsafe just in case I get attacked again by the vines. I have to think of other strategies to protect myself particularly on the instance that there are beasts that are immune to my blood. Kneeling in front of the riverbank and my blood-soaked cloth ready, I immersed my clothes in the water, I had to dip my clothes multiple times just to make sure I get the maximum amount of moisture, since I don¡¯t want to be wasting my time and strength running back and forth from the river.


    ¡°Here, I will start wiping off the blood now, please endure a little more.¡± I started removing the blood first from pantherian¡¯s head to its upper body, I tried to stay away from its limbs and plan to deal with it later because there¡¯s still some lingering fear in me; I needed to be cautious just in case this pantherian attacks me once it is able to move.


    ¡°Grraaaaaaaaagghhhh!! Grraaaaaaaahhh!!¡±


    Every time I moved my hands to wipe of parts of the bloodstains, the pantherian would let out a growl full of blood-curdling pain. And every time it does, it slightly moves some of its body parts, including its limbs, out of instinct probably. This is not helping my worries. Let¡¯s just hope that it would be grateful for what I¡¯m doing.


    It¡¯s a good thing that the pantherian is slumped with its back facing upward, since I¡¯m not sure what expressions I might be making while removing the bloodstains and looking at its enormously muscular body. I should consider this as training for me since I might encounter other beasts in this forest, especially those that even the ever-aggressive pantherians would avoid.


    ¡°Grrrrr¡±


    I heard a growl, a growl so deep and ominous it could have been mistaken for a curse. And it was not from the one in front of me. It came from the trees; the trees were hiding a creature, a creature that might be worse than the monster with vines.


    A caught I sight of it, a glimpse to be exact. And then it looked at me, in the eyes. It had bloodshot eyes that saw through my very soul. There were only a few beasts and monsters described in books that were this fearsome. It¡¯s akin to looking at death itself, where you can¡¯t even do anything but just wait for it to take you. Whatever it is, it¡¯s definitely something to run away from. My mind was screaming that I move, that I run away, but my body seemed to have submitted itself to its power. I just froze there, maintaining my eye contact on something that only eyes I can see.


    Then all of a sudden, I was relieved of the intimidating sensation, I was able to look away from the predatory look that rendered me immobile for a few moments. Though I was confused on the cause of the release, I was able to understand something¡ª


    It was an ability.


    The feeling that I had was probably a nature-specific ability. If I had to surmise, it¡¯s an ability where it induces the target into a state of paralysis by intimidation. It was elaborated in the books that I¡¯ve read that these kinds of ability fall into the class of what they call ailments.


    [Ailment. A status effect of the body where one is subjected to the following: mobility impairment, senses impairment, ability impairment, intimidation, charm, weakening, or anything that would reduce a beast¡¯s capability to fight. The strength and duration of ailments are dependent on its caster¡¯s capabilities and proficiency, but they can still be countered by other abilities or natural defenses of certain beasts or monsters. Also, potions or elixirs of high value are able to generally cure, remove, or even immunize individuals from ailments.]


    Now that I¡¯m free from the ailment, I was able to look into the creature more. It¡¯s still hiding in the trees with its eyes still locked with mine, I have a fair guess of what creature it is, but you can never be too sure. It might be one of those beasts that are masters of illusion and mimicry, it could also be one of those that produces disposable pawns for scouting.


    Thus, I badly need more information. Knowledge is power and information will be my greatest weapon here. I can only be confident in surviving here if I have enough knowledge of the entire Forest and its occupants.


    While I was pondering with my thoughts, I heard the gruntle of the pantherian in front of me and was instantly brought back to what my task is.


    ¡°Grrughh¡ªwhat¡¯s with the pause?¡±


    Should I say it? I might trigger its battle instincts.


    ¡°You see, there¡¯s another creature who seem to be full of hostility directed towards us. Its hiding in the trees just in front.¡±


    Shock was evident in the face of the pantherian, and since it can now move its head, it immediately tried to look to the direction that I said, verifying the truth of my words. Once it saw the creature in the trees, the pantherian¡¯s eyes enlarged with surprise but then instantly narrowed as if to measure its opponent. The instantaneous change of emotions prompted me to hasten my activity and assure the pantherian¡¯s mobility.


    ¡°Gugh! ¨C Make it quick, I¡¯ll endure it, so just make it quick.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes. I¡¯m already doing my best here.¡±


    Even though it was painful at first, the pantherian seemed to have redirected its attention to the creature that it no longer had to growl and shout from the pain. While I was wiping away the remaining bloodstains, its face is just focused on that spot of trees, eyes locked to whatever it is hiding itself from sight. I was almost finished wiping all the blood from its left arm when¡ª


    ¡°Grrrrr¡±


    That horrific growl was heard once again, and looking at its source, the creature in the trees started moving towards us. Its silhouette showing it has a muscular body just like the pantherian.


    I almost smiled again. Just like I thought.


    But I really need to fix these facial muscles of mine


    ¡°You can¡¯t move.¡±


    And what emerged from the trees is a creature with a large build of muscles and stripes of yellow and black all over its body.


    It was another pantherian.


    ¡°I thank the Origin Beast for giving me this opportunity. Now, Hiten, I believe we were fighting, or something like that?¡±


    So it was Hiten. Glad to know I knew its name before I possibly die by being involved in this conflict.


    Since I was not restricted anymore with any ailments, I tried to still wipe away the remaining bloodstains on Hiten¡¯s body. I need protection more so now that another pantherian is in play, because even if I have this blood, I¡¯m not completely sure if it works on a berserker pantherian that defies physical limitations. Just as I was hurriedly finishing the stains, Hiten¡¯s left arm that is now free from blood took the wet clothes and attempted to wipe off blood from its other limbs.


    And as expected, a beast that waited patiently until the right time wouldn¡¯t let its enemy recover from its impairment, it would obviously contradict its actions up this point. The unknown pantherian instantly ran towards Hiten at a speed comparable to how I first encountered Hiten, when it almost flew in front of me into the river.


    ¡°Do you honestly think I¡¯d let you do that?¡±

 04 | Berserkers Value

    The distance between us and the assaulting pantherian was reduced almost instantaneously. As what you would expect from a pantherian with full energy, it was as if the beast teleported in front of us.


    Its hand outreached, it tried to take the clothes from Hiten. It must have understood almost everything for it to go after the cloth first rather than Hiten. That was rather clever for a pantherian, as I may have to change my mindset on how beasts or monsters inside the Forest Macabre behaves.


    Since it was never explained in the books how intellectual beasts are in the Forest, I would set my standards for this unknown pantherian first, for it clearly shows signs of good battle sense and decision-making.


    Consequently, this might also lead to the possibility that the beasts inside the Forest are more organized than what was previously thought. Yet if so, then wouldn¡¯t that raise the difficulty of the Forest even more?


    But why are there no records of collectives within the forest, no tribes, no groups clinging together to survive?


    Is it because no one has lived to tell the tale yet? Is it because they¡¯re experts at hiding?


    Oww, my head. Huuuu.


    The unknown pantherian closed its distance even more and it almost grabbed the clothes, but Hiten managed to take away the clothing from being caught. Surprisingly, Hiten then dropped the clothing and at the same time grabbed the hand of the unknown pantherian before channeling his berserker state again. With its glowing red stripes and streaked eyes, Hiten managed to turn around and throw the unknown pantherian away.


    ¡°GRRROOAAAAAAAARRRR¡±


    The throw was strong and relentless, and it left the unknown pantherian shouting as it was sent away, just imagining anyone being tossed like that gives an assurance of instant death, especially here in the Forest where opportunity presented is always taken in every way. Although, I have this feeling of irrational confidence that the hurled pantherian will not be facing its demise.


    True to my thoughts, and if my eyes are not deceiving me, that very same pantherian began exuding the same aura that Hiten had earlier, its stripes also changed color with the same black-to-red transition, and its eyes glowed a reddish light as well. It was quite amazing to see a beast doing berserk mid-air. Though I think berserk was not really necessary, knowing that the physical prowess of pantherians would allow it to dexterously land safely on the ground after being tossed like that. If I had to guess the reason for it berserking, it must have sensed Hiten¡¯s desperation and decided to make no concessions.


    Then it happened; when the berserking unknown pantherian was in mid-air, when Hiten whose goal now was to remove all bloodstains on his body, and when I was in awe of the both of them and thought of how great it would be if I can do berserk as well. That¡¯s when it happened.


    A vine sprang out of the waters, then another, and another. Those same vines that almost killed Hiten and I.


    That was too fast. I had to refocus myself on the current situation, while Hiten seems to have completely retired all of his attention to the removal of blood. I need to be wary of any changes that might happen from the characteristics that the vine monster has shown earlier. Beasts and monsters generally are combat oriented creatures¡ª


    Well, I would have been glad if I were combat oriented.


    And because of this, beasts and monsters are experts at adapting well to the circumstances of the battlefield, and this creature, who only shows its vines to fight, is no exception.


    One of the vines speeded towards the nameless pantherian and tried to attack it while its in mid-air. Not shocking though, it¡¯s the only prey in the area right now that it could actually ¡°touch.¡± Hiten is still covered by bloodstains in some of its limbs and those vines knows that I am the source of the blood.


    Yet, proving to be among the strongest beasts, the unknown pantherian somehow ¡°kicked¡± the air and effectively dodged the vine. The vine, on the other hand, did not stop its pursuit and continued to assault the pantherian. It could be an easy fight for the pantherian in its berserk state to fight against a single enemy, however, it is a different story if there are multiple enemies simultaneously attacking from different directions.


    ¡°GROOOAAAAAARRRRR!!!?¡±


    The shouts of the unknown pantherian could be heard from my position. And what is more amazing is that even the hits and parries between the two can be heard as well, that is just how much impact each strike has.


    I might get involved with this, since I have to protect Hiten at all costs. I held onto the blood-soaked cloth that I had prepared earlier just to be sure. But even with this, I am still not confident in my safety, what if its potency decreases once its dry? Once I single out all the unknown factors, I cannot afford to spare any resource that I have just to secure my survival. This is the Forest Macabre, a jungle that kills.


    Hiten¡¯s almost finished with removing all the bloodstains on its body, so probably the berserked state would go back to normal afterwards. And then I need to proceed cautiously with what to say next, so that we would not elevate the already dangerous situation that we are in right now.


    ¡°GROOOOOAAAAARRRR¡±


    With roar after roar, the pantherian fighting the vines seems to be able to hold its own, contrary to what was predicted. During the battle, a vine lashed out at its head, yet the pantherian crossed out its arms in front to block the attack. It then held onto the vine and used its force to dodge another vine aiming at its legs.


    Flinging itself to the movement, the pantherian let go of the vine it was holding and did the ¡°air kick¡± again, propelling itself downwards to evade a multi-pronged attack of the vines from different directions. However, another set of vines were waiting for its trajectory and aimed at its limbs. Nevertheless, the pantherian prepared itself and attempted to claw the vines that were trying to attack it; it was not effective at all, the vines were cut into pieces, but they were instantly replaced by more and more vines, surrounding and cornering the distressed pantherian.


    Even with the hopeless situation, the pantherian still struggled throughout and ravaged all the vines it can cut with its claws and bite with its fangs. It desperately fought with all its might despite the overwhelming disadvantage. But however strong a beast may be, the factor of being outnumbered will still be a major strategic consideration in any battle. This is the general tactic of weak against the strong, by increasing the combatants, the whole has a higher chance of survival.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    But that kind of situation is not the same for the pantherian and the vines. Those vines are not ¡°weak¡± in this case, just by remembering the destructive force of a single vine made me make a mental note of not underestimating its power. These vines are strong even without the numbers, even without the advantage of numbers.


    Therefore, the question in this case is, what happens when the ¡°strong¡± outnumbers you?


    Well, the answer will lie on what the pantherian would do. If I remember correctly, that pantherian initiated berserk when it was in mid-air after being thrown by Hiten. It is safe to assume then that its goal would not be defeating the vines, but something related to Hiten,


    Hmmmm. Maybe it¡¯s defeating Hiten? But what accounts for ¡°defeat? Is it to kill, to incapacitate, to make your opponent surrender? Seriously, I have no idea how general or specific these goals are for berserkers.


    But if that is the case, that pantherian would be fighting until it dies. Woah, that would actually be great, yet I doubt it happening; judging from the willpower that Hiten displayed earlier while on berserk, pantherians have the capability to increase their tenacity as well.


    With increasing bruises and wounds from trying to deflect the never-ending onslaught of vines, any ordinary beast¡¯s will should have faltered by now, and they would usually create an expression of either anger, fear, or worse, despair.


    The pantherian, however, expressed none of these emotions.


    ¡°GROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRR!!!¡±


    Dauntless determination. It was etched on the face of the pantherian as it clawed, ripped, and slashed its way out of the encirclement. With its sharp eyes centered only on Hiten, the pantherian created its own path and rushed through the ravaging vines that continue to strike at all points. It¡¯s scary to think that an ability like this could remove the basic instinct of fear inherent in all beasts and monsters and drive them into a frenzied state.


    Probably out of impatience, the pantherian jumped and kicked the air in order for it to shoot itself towards Hiten; with its claws outstretched in front of it, the pantherian intends to finish Hiten as fast as it could.


    Hiten is almost finished wiping all of the bloodstains on its body, yet it still continues to wipe literally every spot of blood present on its body. This is bad. I fear that Hiten¡¯s berserker state ignores other factors outside its designated goal, because if it is the case, this is a miscalculation on Hiten¡¯s part, the ¡°goal¡± set when going berserk seems to follow through on every detail set by its caster.


    There are just a few blotches on its left leg that remains, but the unknown pantherian is closing in real fast.


    *SLASH*


    ¡°GROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRR!!!¡±


    A vine was able to penetrate the physical defense of the unknown pantherian, it was able to hack off its left arm. Blood instantly splurted out as the pained roar was heard throughout the surroundings.


    Thinking that the unknown pantherian would somehow slow down due to its fresh injury, I thought wrong. I have underestimated a beast¡¯s capabilities again. The pantherian even went faster as it braced and fought all the way to Hiten. It was just a few moments away from its target, a few moments of desperation and it would achieve its goal.


    This is the part where I must make my move. I started running, gripping my only weapon at hand. I will make sure that everything falls into place and no considerations will be given. With all my might, I broke to a sprint, the fastest sprint that my weak legs can get.


    I won¡¯t make it.


    The outstretched hand aimed at Hitens head. It will hit, and Hiten¡¯s head will be destroyed, the hand will come into contact and will be the end of Hiten. This time, Hiten will die¡ª


    ¡°Guogh!¡±


    Hiten was done. All of the bloodstains on his body were removed and the stripes started to fade from their reddish glow. Eyes that lost their intense shine meant that the berserk state was gone. And Hiten finished the set goal.


    And as for the other pantherian,


    Death.


    Two vines were impaled on its body, one on its neck and one on its chest. The hand did not reach Hiten, although almost, the vines proved to be faster and stronger than the berserkered determination of a pantherian. Afterwards, the vines immediately reeled in its prey and plunged back into the waters.


    That¡¯s one.


    At least I made it.


    Some of the vines also aimed at Hiten since all of the blood was removed already from its body. Fortunately, I made it in time to intercept the would-be attackers by intensely swinging my failsafe blood-soaked cloth in front of them. Since Hiten used berserk again, it probably would fall unconscious anytime soon.


    And it did fall unconscious. After making sure that all the vines are gone, I took Hiten and laid its body on the ground, this time with its face facing up. Now, I have to play the waiting game again. I have realized firsthand the hardship of waking up a berserker after they used berserk. Earlier, when Hiten fell unconscious for the first time from berserking, I tried different methods of waking it up; from punching its face to biting its fingers off. And even with that, Hiten remained fast asleep.


    So for now, I will take this opportunity to rest and collect my thoughts. I gained a lot of insights from all of this.


    First, berserk removes all physical limitations on the body and improves overall combat ability.


    Second, berserk will command the body to fulfill its casters last goal in mind to the last detail.


    Third, berserk will consume all energy inside a beast¡¯s body, rendering them unconscious after being released.


    A double-edged weapon where you must use only as a last resort. The consumption of energy afterwards leading to fainting is indeed a setback, it¡¯s understandable as well since the power given is something to be reckoned with.


    ¡°Haaa, I¡¯m so sleepy right now¡± But I can¡¯t sleep here, who knows what might happen in just even a short time that I slept.


    But maybe closing my eyes would be fine¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°Grruughh¡±


    ¡°Wha¡ªwhat¡¯s that?!¡±


    That was bad, I felt asleep!


    I checked my surroundings to make sure nothing¡¯s amiss. Sleeping is the last thing that one would do inside the Forest Macabre, who knows how many beasts or monsters are lurking around, waiting for a moment of weakness from unknowing prey.  Thankfully, we¡¯re near the Hallowed River and it somehow lives to its reputation as one of the most dangerous locations inside the Forest, where beasts and monsters alike have learned to avoid over time. I sense no creatures nearby, that¡¯s understandable, any ordinary beast would have probably ran away after the extreme scene earlier.


    ¡°Gruughh.¡±


    And this is what have woken me up, I¡¯m not sure how long I have slept, but I have to act now.


    ¡°Oy, oy Hiten, you need to wake up now.¡± I tried nudging its body a little, and even that act alone was so hard for me.


    I mean, just what is inside this body? Are there minerals inside? Why is it so heavy?


    ¡°Grrr. You, you again huh. Wait! Where is Gedin?! You, run away! You¡¯ll just be a nuisance.¡±


    ¡°I see that you¡¯ve recovered already considering the fact that that¡¯s your initial conversation. Don¡¯t get excited, if you¡¯re referring to the other pantherian, he¡¯s dead. He got caught by the vines from the river.¡±


    ¡°Wha¡ªhow? Oh. That¡¯s possible, but you¡ª¡±


    ¡°GUOGKH!¡± Hiten¡¯s hand then choked me, clutching it.


    ¡°Speak. Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Gukh. I told you I¡¯m from the sou¡ªGaakh!¡±


    ¡°I asked who you are, not where you are from.¡±


    Hiten¡¯s eyes were full of suspicion. It was like what I felt from that Giden earlier, I was being subjected to that skill again, but this time, I can¡¯t look away since my whole head is locked by hands big enough to cover my whole face. Well, I don¡¯t care about all that, because what I see right now is something I already saw before, something that was etched to my mind the moment I promised myself to survive. Hiten¡¯s eyes were the same.


    It was the look of disdain.


    It was the look that Edran gave me as a parting gift.


    It was the look that told me that I am unworthy, that I am useless, that I am weak.


    I hated that.


    Now Hiten, let¡¯s kill you

 05 | Strength & Arrogance

    ¡°You dare glare at me?!¡±


    Hiten tightened the hold on my neck. My ears twitched, betraying the panic I tried to hide. Damn, I had to learn to keep these reactions in check, lest my head would come flying someday.


    ¡°Gahk. Al¡ªguh¡ªAlright. I can¡ªahk¡ªI can¡¯t speak! Pain!¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re in pain. And more will come unless you start speaking.¡±


    Can¡¯t ¡­ breathe ¡­ curse this brute!


    That was just irrational, ordering me to speak while slowly removing my means to do so. Up till now, I have only witnessed pantherians as they do battle and how they try to survive, but I guess I lacked information on how they deal with other things outside of battle, especially on how they handle those who they consider as inferior species.


    But, well, Hiten suspecting me and doing something like this was well within my expectations.


    Pointing my finger behind Hiten, I triggered one of the most basic instincts of beasts and monsters¡ª ¡°fear for the strong.¡±


    ¡°Va¡ªughhk, Vine!¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    The grasp was instantly removed and Hiten, turning back, went into battle mode again. The stripes on its body started to faintly glow, raring to go berserk again. That¡¯s just how much trauma the situation earlier brought¡ªa successful provocation of a beast following the law of the Forest.


    ¡°Grrrr. Why you¡ª¡±


    But of course, there was no vine in that direction. Mustering what little bravery I had left and stopping the urge to run away, I inhaled as much air as I could and firmly said the words that would save me.


    ¡°I know how to defeat that vine monster!¡±


    For a moment there, Hiten did not utter a word. But the blaze in its eyes and the faint glow of the stripes on its body tells me that I am not safe yet.


    Where is it?! I thought about following up on my plan, but it was then that Hiten finally spoke.


    ¡°You think I¡¯ll let you fool me twice?¡±


    I managed to get a glimpse of how fast Hiten¡¯s hand moved and how it moved to claw my head off. Following through with my plan, I shouted again.


    ¡°It¡¯s my blood!¡±


    I closed my eyes while saying those words. Even though I had predicted a high chance that Hiten wouldn¡¯t kill me after hearing what I said, I could not remove the fear that, on the off-chance, the pantherian¡¯s hand would still follow through with the murder.


    At the same time, when all is quiet again, I opened my eyes and one of Hiten¡¯s claws was just right above the skin on my neck. I looked at Hiten¡¯s face and still saw the same look given me earlier. There is still that condescending look for the weak. Fortunately, I was able to control my facial expression this time, and with death avoided, I spoke again.


    ¡°My blood can kill the monster. I will prove it to you by jumping off the river.¡±


    There was a change in Hiten¡¯s eyes. For a moment, it grew, then it went back to normal again. Even though Hiten tried to hide it, there was shock evident on its face, even for a short time. This gave me the confidence that I got through to this pantherian, and true to my predictions,


    ¡°Do it.¡±


    I won¡¯t die by just jumping off the river. Although I had never experienced it, the books mentioned that Ratussians are adept at swimming, since some of our kind live near swamps or muddy waters. Generally, we Ratussians can live anywhere as long as we remain hidden from our many predators.


    But that is not what I want, I needed something more valuable than not dying today.


    ¡°I will do it, but you have to answer two of my questions.¡±


    ¡°Heh. You think I can¡¯t just rip you off and use it against that monster?¡±


    ¡°But do you know how to use my blood? You think you can just spray it and the monster will die?¡±


    ¡°Guh.¡± Hiten was struck with that statement, most likely this pantherian raised my value now because of that idea.


    I¡¯m not sure how intelligent pantherians are, but it seems Hiten is not much of a thinker. This would make things easier for me as long as the cards are played right.


    ¡°Do not worry, my questions do not involve you or any of your species. I will just be asking the location of two things; you just need to tell me where to go.¡±


    Then I saw Hiten make a smirk, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s supposed to be hidden but Hiten¡¯s face immediately returned to normal afterwards.


    Ah, I see. Most likely, Hiten was trying to outwit me, thinking that after I tell how to kill the monster, I¡¯d be useless, and my blood would be taken. It is likely Hiten thought of this idea after hearing that I will be leaving the premises after teaching the method of murder.


    What a wonderfully easy fellow.


    ¡°Where do you want to go?¡±


    ¡°How would I know that you are telling the truth? I know your disposition; you can just lead me somewhere and kill me there.¡±


    ¡°And how would you know you¡¯ll still live even if I let you go? If you¡¯re smart enough to make a deal with a pantherian, you should know how this Forest is a like a monster itself, no matter where you go, you would die.¡±


    ¡°I have my ways.¡± You don¡¯t need to know something when you¡¯re going to die anyway.


    ¡°Ways, huh. You are quite interesting for a Ratussian, you¡¯re supposed to be just crawling from the swamps and bogs, yet you¡¯re a beast that has clothes, and you can talk straight. Others like you are just food and slaves to us, you know?¡±


    The shaming was so intense that I had to inhale deeply to control myself¡ªmy mouth, my expressions¡ªfrom revealing the emotions boiling inside me. Reminding myself of the victorious outcome of this plan, I continued to entertain this idiot.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°So, how would I know if you¡¯re telling the truth?¡±


    ¡°Hah. Alright, I will swear on my Signus that I will be telling the truth.¡±


    Just as I was trying to remember the familiar word, Hiten ripped the skin on the left part of its chest. It was a surprise how Hiten did not even flinch at tearing its own flesh, you can see the layer of raw muscle from the spot while blood instantly poured out of the incredible wound.


    Ah. I remember now, so that¡¯s a Signus.


    [ Signus. A symbol of dominance or leadership on all major tribes inside the Forest Macabre. It is a tradition to etch a symbol on the body of the tribe¡¯s chief, in respect to the Origin Beast that is worshipped as a god and believed to have created the Forest. The Signus are different for each tribe in different aspects; like the method of etching, the material used, and the appearance of the Signus itself. The Signus, as it acts as a symbol to the connection of the Forest and its inhabitants, holds an extremely high value and can be used in agreements and pacts.]


    After the skin was ripped off, Hiten showed it in front of me and a symbol suddenly emerged from it. The symbol had two long and thin inverted triangles standing parallel to each other, each having a vivid color of red.


    ¡°This is the Signus of my Crimson Fang tribe, as the chief of the tribe, it is in our tradition and pride that oaths done in using the Signus as the symbol of witness are irrevocable and inviolable.¡±


    Oho, he was a male. I remember from the books that the Crimson Fang only designates males as chiefs, I pondered through the question of Hiten¡¯s gender earlier because male and female pantherians only have small differences. The books said that their differences lie in their strength and temperament, and that did not help me since there was no situation usable for comparison.


    ¡°With this, I am making an oath to you that I will be telling the truth to those questions as long as it is within my knowledge and capabilities. Weakling, I hope you understand the gravity of this and not be thinking of underestimating the value of the Signus.¡±


    ¡°Do not worry, just by the fact that you tore your own flesh, I already took this seriously.¡±


    And Hiten handed me the Signus. At that point, I¡¯m not too sure whether I would be grateful or grossed out because this is the first time I encountered this kind of custom. Yet just by touching the skin and looking at the symbol, I began to understand what it truly means to have something to take pride on. This seemingly useless piece of skin emanates a sense of life force that is honed and polished by years of tradition and belief.


    What if Ratussians have something like this?


    I was distracted for a moment. It was until Hiten talked to me that I was snapped back to the current situation.


    ¡°Oy weakling, I already swore an oath, don¡¯t waste my time any further.¡±


    ¡°I understand. Where should I go in order for me to reach the Scarlet Rose and the Engraved Sanctuary.¡±


    Hiten¡¯s eyes narrowed further, it was understandable as the locations that I needed are not common. In fact, the Engraved Sanctuary up until now is not believed to be real. But I need those locations in order to improve my chances of survival and development, lest I were to proceed with my revenge.


    ¡°Those are quite interesting places you want to go, weakling. And I guess you won¡¯t be answering me if I ask why.


    The Scarlet Rose can be reached if you travel alongside the Hallowed River and turn left once you encounter a group of roots blocking your way. From there you just have to proceed straight until you see thick fog, that is the general territory of the Scarlet Rose.


    For the Engraved Sanctuary, the only direction that I can give to you is to go East from here. There are many illusionary defenses set by the guardians of the sanctuary that its technically impossible to find its exact position, and that goes even for a native tribe chief like me. It will be up to your luck if you try to find it.¡±


    Those instructions were sufficient enough. All I need to do now is to create a plan once I get to those places.


    Since I got all of the things I need, it¡¯s time to wrap up my plan.


    ¡°I understand. Thank you for those directions, now I will do my part of the deal, please listen and watch carefully.¡±


    I tried to look as sincere as possible there, but I guess it was not effective since the look of Hiten didn¡¯t change from that of suspicion and disdain. I guess it doesn¡¯t matter, it was not as if it will have an effect on what will happen next.


    I kept the Signus with me and turned around. After walking a few steps,


    ¡°I hope you¡¯re not thinking of escaping, especially with my Signus with you.¡±


    I stopped and faced Hiten again, there is now a considerable distance between us. So far, everything is going smoothly according to plan.


    Now, I just need to stall for time.


    ¡°Please, I am not dumb enough to try outrunning a pantherian.¡±


    I smiled. This time, intentionally. It¡¯s because I can somehow sense it, the movement of my greatest weapon right now. I can hear the bubbles of the water, and unlike earlier, the feeling that I have was not of fear, but of relief and satisfaction. It is a first ever since I got in the Forest that I am happy for a situation that I am in.


    I then cut my finger and let my blood flow. I was used to this right now that it was not painful anymore and I have also adjusted to the effects of blood loss. But what¡¯s more entertaining right now was the expression that Hiten is showing.


    ¡°You, that blood. ITS THAT FORSAKEN BLOOD!¡±


    The seething anger on his face was priceless. What was more satisfying was the fact that even though he wanted to kill me, he couldn¡¯t because he remembered the experience of being exposed to this blood. At this point, his anger wasn¡¯t really about discovering the culprit, but about the fact that there was nothing he could do. The next words that he uttered were so heavy, I think even that Giden would be intimidated.


    ¡°I swear to the Origin Beast, I will kill you, and I will be killing you in the most brutal way. You dare do a sacrilege to an oath with my Signus! Be sure to prepare your last words, weakling!¡±


    ¡°Not unless you die first.¡± I was brimming with confidence as I said those words.


    His anger visibly faded and replaced with a smirk. He let out a snort at the confidence displayed to him.


    ¡°Hahahahaha, and how would I die? Don¡¯t tell me you will be the one to kill me?¡±


    And the weapon that I was waiting for erupted from the waters. Just like earlier, multiple vines immediately attacked Hiten from all angles. Of course, I held onto the cloth that I have for my safety, even though I¡¯m pretty sure this monster already knows that it should avoid me, I won¡¯t take my chances.


    Hiten, on the other hand, was experiencing the same thing that Giden did before. Just by looking at the fight, Hiten was obviously on the losing side. Against those rapid, weighty attacks, it was really hard to stand your ground, even for a pantherian chief.


    Honestly, the best strategic action here was to leave right away and ensure no risk of getting dragged to a meaningless fight. But the reason I hadn¡¯t done so was just to see his face as he got dragged down into the river. I wanted to see the face of the ¡°strong¡± at its weakest. How they will look once faced by reality that they were outdone by a ¡°weakling.¡± I need to see that look.


    However,


    Why is he not activating his berserk?


    I noticed this during the fight, and it somehow ignited my curiosity. Why is Hiten not using his berserk? Is there something like a limit to how many times it can be used? Or is it using something up from within the body? Wouldn¡¯t it work if it got exhausted? This information may be valuable if I had to deal with another tribe of pantherians and other beasts that can do berserk.


    Questions like these started to pile up again, and before I could even think of a plan to extract information¡ª


    ¡°GRRRROOOOOAAAAAARRRR!! IF I DIE HERE, I WILL MAKE SURE YOU JOIN ME, YOU CURSED RATUSSIAN!¡±


    And there it was, the berserk state of Hiten. Yet, something seems amiss, the stripe¡¯s glow was not as shining as before, and instead of blazing eyes, Hiten¡¯s were something akin to someone unconscious, with only white as its color.


    Hiten then started to run toward me. Yet even before taking two steps, he stopped. No, it was just like Giden¡ªhe was stopped. The vines that were attacking him was able to get past his defense and stabbed through his body. This time, though, there was only one vine. It pierced through the part where the Signus was torn apart.


    There were so many questions from that last scene; was the strike alone in that part of Hiten¡¯s body enough to kill him? Was it a weakness? Why was the berserk different? Or was it really berserk?


    Before I could even sort out the questions, there was a looming feeling inside me while the vines started reeling in Hiten.


    I was disappointed.


    The expression I had been waiting for did not appear.


    Instead, a look of fierceness and determination was all I saw.


    There was no helplessness, no fear, no defeat.


    I was not victorious.