Leo’s body erupted with energy the instant his instruction was recognized by the System. The rush of power devoured his entire being while his skin developed an almost imperceptible golden sheen. It was odd, so very different from Limit Break’s passive effect or even the boost provided by Reinforcement. Hell, even his almost empty reserves filled up ever so slightly.
Not every change was positive, though, as he could feel a phantom weight hanging over his soul. Nonetheless, it wasn’t the time to worry about the consequences. He had prey to hunt.
Come on…
As if guided by his thoughts, the bushes in the distance almost parted as two figures charged through them on all fours. One was half as large as him, while the other barely reached the top of its companion’s legs.
They possessed a boar’s traditional build, yet their appearance was anything but natural. Their fur was dark as night and spiked like a hedgehog’s spine. He had no doubt in his mind that touching it would hurt like hell. Although, even worse were their snouts, where two sharp teeth stuck out of their mouths, ready to cut down anything in their way.
Duskboar (Voidling) | Rank: F | LVL: 3
Mutated boars, of course. Leo grimaced, keeping the rifle’s sight right in front of his right eye. Steady your breath, hold the gun tight, and never let the target leave your sight. His foster father’s words rang in his head as his finger inched toward the trigger.
And shoot, son.
The first bullet left the chamber with a bang, and the larger Duskboar squealed as the projectile hit it right beneath its snout. Yet the beast didn’t stop, so he immediately flipped the bolt of his rifle, another bullet ready as he took aim.
Again.
The bullet shot forward, earning a growl from the monster as it finally neared his position.
Fuck! he shouted internally, throwing his body to the side as the two boars charged past him.
Even with the newfound power from Limit Break, Leo hissed as the wounds on his back flared to life. It wasn’t as bad as before the boost, and he understood perfectly what would happen once he disabled Limit Break.
Focus!
He scrambled to his feet and retook aim, the boars only now managing to stop after kicking up a cloud of dust. They dashed forward again, and at that moment, a third shot left the rifle’s barrel.
The bulkier boar squealed loudly as it lost its footing, sending its body rolling on the ground. He fired again, never one to waste an opportunity, even if the secondary monster was just a few meters away.
And now!
Dropping the rifle, he snatched the dagger from his belt and dashed toward the monsters. Once he was a few feet away from the smaller one, he jumped, sailing above the beast. Blood flowed freely down his back as he landed next to the fallen boar. He paid the pain no mind as his weapons of death descended on the boar.
His claws instantly began to siphon Essence from the beast while he stabbed the Duskboar’s head over and over again. The Voidling stood no chance against him and stilled a moment later, a notification popping up in the corner of his vision.
Later! he growled, ripping his claws out of the monster and turning to face the remaining Voidling. It glared at him with an intensity he didn’t expect from an almost mindless beast. Need to end this quickly; I can’t have much time left on Limit Break. The golden sheen is practically gone at this point.
His eyes darted to the discarded rifle for a moment, a plan forming within his mind. I still have one bullet left, just in case.
Suddenly, the spikey fur on the boar’s body stood up, straightening even more. The beast growled and charged again. Revenge seemed like a popular motivation for Voidlings that worked in groups.
At least some of their instincts remain natural. Leo retreated a short distance, drawing closer to a large tree behind him.
The boar grew closer too, and when it was no farther than a meter, he rolled to the side, getting away without a scratch, or at least he should have. Instead, when he dodged, dozens of fur needles shot from the boar’s body, piercing his skin in just as many places.
“Argh!” Leo screamed, collapsing to the ground along with the boar that hit the trunk of the tree head-on.
Gritting his teeth, he crawled toward the fallen monster and stabbed it right in the eyes, his claws sinking into the soft flesh behind them. The beast’s screech probably echoed through the entire forest, but he didn’t care. He only tightened his hold, almost ripping the top of the monster’s skull off its body.
And then, without warning, the golden sheen disappeared, cutting off the constant flow of power.
Leo gasped, collapsing next to the almost-dead Voidling. White-hot blades stabbed into his muscles as pain ripped through his body, making everything around him hazy. Even his soul wasn’t spared; the invisible weight vanished, replaced with a void he had never experienced before.
And yet, as he lay there, squirming on the ground, he still somehow noticed a few lines in the corner of his vision.
Duskboar (LVL: 3) slain | Experience awarded | 2 Ether gained
Passive Limit Break disabled. It will activate automatically once you recover enough.
Duskboar (LVL: 2) slain | Experience awarded | 1 Ether gained
Level 4 reached. Class attributes distributed. Please assign your 2 free attributes.
Might and Soul, now! Leo screamed, ignoring the part about Limit Break.
The System listened immediately. Every inch of his being shuddered as the mysterious entity completed its job. It didn’t help much, but the strain on his body lessened ever so slightly. Even some of the hollowness inside his soul was eaten away by a small surge of Essence.
He took a deep breath and climbed to all fours, his gaze fixed on the backpack and rifle a few meters away.
Come on, body. Don’t fail me now. He clenched his teeth as he crawled toward his equipment and then dragged himself back toward the shack. The fur needles still pricked his skin, and his back burned, but he didn’t stop until the door was shut and blocked by one of the chairs.
How the fuck am I still alive? I probably spilled more blood than a donor could give during an entire year. Leo chuckled, coughing out blood as he removed the last of the annoying needles.
Now to cover my back. Hopefully, it won’t take too long to heal. He winced as he mummified the upper part of his back and chest, the entire roll of bandage gone in one go.
Dropping his head against the wall, he closed his eyes.
Even injured, the fight played out pretty well, primarily thanks to the rifle. Hell, he could have ended it without getting littered with holes if he had known about the Duskboar’s ability to shoot its own fur.
No matter. What happened, happened. I can only learn from this and be more careful in the future. Well, that, and maybe stop fighting when I’m almost dead on my feet. Leo grunted as his eyes opened and landed on the rifle in his lap.
“If it weren’t for you, I would probably be dead,” he murmured and released the empty magazine. “Let’s fill you up. I have to rest for a bit anyway…”
An hour, maybe two, had passed since he locked himself inside the shack. He didn’t move once from his place on the floor, giving his body and soul a fair chance to recover. Passive Limit Break had also activated a while ago, bolstering the healing quite a bit.
Not that Leo stopped bleeding altogether. The entirely soaked bandage that covered his upper body proved that much. Nonetheless, the hollowness disappeared from his soul. And even though his body still ached everywhere, it didn’t send him screaming after every move anymore.
Overall, I should be ready to go. He sighed, stretching his body and throwing a simple black shirt over his head. After taking Essence from those damned boars and birds, he added as an afterthought.
Upon leaving the shack, Leo trudged toward the mutilated bird first. The beast quickly lost its Essence, barely giving him another hour of satiated status. He looked around the forest floor, scowling, searching for the first Seeker he killed.
“What the…” The scowl turned into a frown when he noticed the Seeker’s dead body. The head remained crushed with the insides spilling out, but now the corpse gave out an almost unnoticeable ruby glow.
Crouching next to the body, he scanned it from head to tail, flipping it over with his claws. The glow it released just didn’t make sense. The other Seekers didn’t have it before or after death.
So why are you so different? Even Identify isn’t saying anything…
“One way to find out.” Leo shrugged and let his claws do the dirty work.
The frown on his face deepened as the body collapsed into dust. The small pile still glowed from within, and he quickly dug into the dust. His hand almost instantly touched something hard.
“Huh?” He had no words as he uncovered a small ruby crystal. It pulsed with life, and Leo snapped his hand away, not sure what he had discovered.
All right, Identify, be helpful for once.
Unattuned Crystallized Essence (Common):
When a creature dies, their residual Essence can try to withdraw back into the soul in a final desperate attempt to survive. This process never works; instead, the overflow of energy forms a sturdy crystal, storing the last of Essence inside. This particular energy was never attuned to any specific affinity. It can be used as a vital ingredient in a large number of crafts.
Warning: When filled with too much foreign Essence, the crystal will destabilize and, shortly after, create an explosion more prominent than its size suggests.
Leo frowned as he rolled the crystal between his fingers.
That’s… a lot of information.
The surface didn’t feel any different from a typical rock lying on the ground—it was just as rough, unpolished, and cold to the touch.
So it can act as a small grenade and an ingredient. Lots of uses for a common item. A useful, if dangerous, object from what Identify had just told him.
Not that he knew how to channel Essence into another object, and he didn’t fancy trying it out on a crystal that could explode in his face.
Maybe after I gain a bit more control…
Leo slipped the crystal into his pocket and moved to drain the two Duskboars. Although he didn’t gain any more crystals, the bulkier boar left behind a part of its sharp tooth that he immediately placed in his backpack.
All right, back on the move. He sighed and used his right hand to heft his backpack up. There was no need to aggravate the back injury any further.
Time passed as he traversed along the same path he used before the events near the shed. And even after all that had happened, he allowed a small smile to form on his face. He might have suffered, but in the end, he came out of it stronger, much stronger, and with some knowledge he didn’t possess before.
Leo hid behind one of the many bushes as he scanned the long asphalt road and the empty farmlands in the distance. He might have made a slight miscalculation when he had chosen this path. In particular, he forgot about all of the cars driving down this road when the Outbreak happened.
Every few meters, a car stood at the side of the road. Some managed to drive into a tree, while others fell into a ditch on the other side.
A few cars even had the misfortune of colliding head-on with vehicles approaching from the other line. Those always ended up half-crushed or blackened from a fire that might have started after the crash.
Even if this sight was particularly hard on his memory, it didn’t make him hide behind a bush. No, this honor fell to the few Voidlings trapped inside the cars and the numerous other Cursed Humans that walked along the road. Their familiar screeches once again filled the silence as they went from car to car, probably hoping to find another meal.
Leo gulped. This can either end very well or in a total disaster.