The world blurred in an instant and Rain’s eyesight lost the wide range it had possessed a second ago.

This was it? Really?

What about all the points he’d assigned to his Durability Attribute? How come they had just vanished like a candle flame in the midst of a tornado?

It was only a headbutt… That was all it was. A headbutt. And it felt as though he had run as fast as he could face-first into a mountain.

Was that how much his and the values of the madman’s Physical Attributes differed? Were they really worlds apart?

Gosh, it was annoying. If only he could feel his lips, he would have made them part, allowing the harrowing scream of agony brewing up within his esophagus to escape. A rather understandable one too, since, surely, there was blood gushing out of his forehead and nose. Maybe the latter was even broken. The sensation of a pulsing sting lay there.

Shit. A broken nose was not a good thing, was it?

Maybe he would heal? He had the Mark, right?

Did it work that way, though?

His injuries had disappeared when he’d drunk the blood of the Mutated Coyotes, but that was probably because he was, at the time, ticking the condition for achieving the Mark of Caduceus. During his fight with the Anaconda, his injuries had not healed in any way until he’d turned into the Shadow of Asklepios.

All in all, that meant that his first healing had been like a bonus for taking a step into the unknown.

On the other hand, his blood could seemingly cure others, as seen with J, but if he wanted to cure his own wounds, he most likely would have to grab hold of the Mark’s power.

Rain would have taken into consideration drinking his own blood, but he was already technically doing that. His mouth had been busted, and as such his tongue was filled with the metallic tinge of his own blood. So he’d already been gulping down his blood for a while now, and nothing was yet to change. It was obvious that it was futile. His only option was calling for the Mark.

But… He couldn’t do that.

What sacrifice would he have to offer? Whose heart would he have to eat? Would it be J’s, since she was the only animal here? Tsk. There was no way he would ever do that.

Ah. I seem to be losing my hearing now too.

His sense of pain was still there; after all, his brain was transmitting the one filling his head well enough to him, so he knew, considering that he’d died once already, that he was not on the verge of death. In other words, the madman’s stake was yet to be plunged into him.

Is it because of J? Rain wondered, countless stars in his view as he gazed up into the darkness infested ceiling. It can only be J. If not I would most likely be dead by now. She’s doing something, isn’t she?

He suddenly wheezed with laughter—he was not sure if that made it to the outside world, though.

One hit. Shit. I’m losing my consciousness over one hit? How pathetic, Rain. This is the whole Chimera Anaconda fight over again. No. This is way worse. I don’t even know this guy, so why am I in this situation? At least I went to the Anaconda myself, I take full responsibility for what had happened, but what is this? This is so comical it’s annoying.

This guy isn’t even half as strong as the Anaconda, but he’s able to deal you this much damage? How are you going to find your family, your memories, this way? At this rate you’ll die before you even get far enough to achieve anything substantial.

Dammit. That whole talk about being satisfied with just avoiding danger seems to have come around to bite me in the ass. Even my Attributes… This is a wake up call, isn’t it? Each of my Attributes complements the other, whether my fighting style relies on my Speed Attribute or not. If only I had enough point value in my Strength Attribute, then I might have been able to knock him out with that attack. Or at least dealt him some damage.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Each Attribute is just as important as the other, and so is retrieving my memory dependent on my survival, which is also dependent on my abilities. Nothing should be undervalued. Let that stick, Rain. Let that stick.

Maybe it was because he had come to a bit of an enlightenment, but for a moment there Rain thought he saw J sidle upon him with relief on her face, as though everything had been settled and he would be safe. Perhaps he was hallucinating. Considering the part of his body that had been hit, that wasn’t so far fetched now, was it?

Rain was unable to fully understand what was happening, and a heartbeat later his senses shut down entirely so that he was unable to see even the faintest thing any longer—besides a screen of darkness that seemed to stretch on forever. At least that was until his brain flicked its switch completely off too.

###

J had perked up her senses ever since she’d smelled the scent of someone unusual walking in through the door of the bungalow. And when she’d found out that the person was someone who seemed to bear ill intentions towards her Companion, naturally, she poised herself to attack him. She had sworn to herself to protect Rain no matter what, even if it cost her life. After all, it was only because of him that she still had a life to hold on to. There was no way she was letting anyone take him away from her.

Although, at the moment she’d set herself to get on with it, a sensation crept upon her spine from behind. She turned in response, and found an expression of determination lying on Rain’s face.

He wants to do it himself, J told herself. He has a plan.

And as such, she did not think twice before leaping out of the way, opening a path to victory for the man she owed her life to.

But… There was something wrong. Rain had successfully attacked the man and was smiling, but it felt like he had been trapped. Could it be…?

In that instant, the uninvited malice-filled stranger sent his head into Rain’s, causing his body to lean backwards limply as though devoid of life; the only thing that kept him from falling to the dusty, weed infested floor was the fact that his hands were being held tightly.

That scene did not provide J with delight, and she made sure to let her feelings be known.

The hairs on her skin stood erect, her ears perked up, her tail stiffened, and her fangs and claws exposed themselves. A second later she pounced towards the malice-filled stranger, her sharp blades gifted to her by nature itself aiming for the man’s chest. He had no choice but to release Rain from his grip and retreat backwards to avoid the slash.

J was satisfied with that for now. As long as Rain wasn’t close to that man she was fine with that.

The malice on the man’s face intensified. “You mongrel!” She wasn’t. “I do not have the time to engage you. Begone!” J remained—growling. “Are your ears of no use?” The man pointed his stake towards Rain who was lying halfway unconscious on the floor. “I only wish to take his life. Leave and I shall spare yours despite your insolence.”

Of course J had no intention of listening to that nonsense, even though it was basically suicide.

Growing up, she had never for once been good at hunting. The only things she could catch were falling leaves. After all, her senses were far duller than those of the average Jaguar.

Unlike her brothers and sisters, who developed dominance and aggressiveness in the art, she grew more and more passive and timid as time passed and more failures piled up. And before she knew it her paws no longer moved her body towards the hunting grounds. At the end of the day, her life was only sustained by what little affection her mother and siblings had for her by leaving some flesh of their hunts whenever they could.

Then the Plexus came, taking her far away from her family and putting her in a foreign zone, but in return offering her two ways to become better than her current self: Mental Mutation or Physical Mutation.

She went with Mental, all because of her belief that it would grant her a greater hold on her senses—it was what she lacked after all.

And it did.

Being Mentally Mutated made her smarter and blessed her with the ability to effectively decipher an animal’s pattern of movements a lot more quickly than before. What it did not do, though, was offset her fear for the hunting grounds. Her constant failure had seeped so deep into her bones that she feared failing more than hunting. So whenever she came across an animal, she ran instead.

Days went by in hunger, and in her quest for seeking any carcass that had been left about, she stumbled upon Rain.

He saved her.

The hunting grounds still feared her, but if venturing into it was what she had to do to protect the one who had fed her and kept her alive, then she would venture into as many as possible, even if it would cost her life.

She crept forward.

The malice-filled man gnashed his teeth. “Blame your foolishness for your death!”

Although, just before anything ensued, a figure slowly materialized out of the man’s shadow. It was first pitch black, then it had a shape—a lady’s one—and, lastly, Alice came into view.

Noticing this, the man tried to turn around quickly, but before his body could respond to his desires Alice sent a chop into his neck, causing his eyes to roll into the back of his head as his large body dropped to the floor—knee first.

Instantly, J swerved around and hurried to Rain’s side. His eyes had still been open then, but a second after her appearance it closed.

He wore an expression of relief, and that incited a purr from J as she stuck out her tongue and licked off the blood that had ruined his handsome face.