As he stepped onto the bloodstained soil, Dharen recognized a particular Nulzan in the distance. Though he still had some slight difficulty in recognizing individual Nulzan, it had become easier as the days passed than he had initially imagined it would be. Some of that, he attributed to aid from his Blessing; it allowed him to interpret mannerisms, not just language, allowing Dharen to read body language more accurately and thus read more into each individuals’ personality. That gave him a starting point from which to begin to recognize various Nulzan that he interacted with. Though he had to admit, it certainly helped that this Nulzan must have been the runt of the litter.

He made his way across the field, walking around the sparring creatures - drawing not-inconsiderable attention in the process. Though the village’s inhabitants had grown more used to his presence, he had still only been around for less than a week. It was hardly enough time to get used to a member of another species walking through your village, let alone a member of an enemy species.

Stares bored into his back, causing hairs to rise from the nape of his neck. Confident though he was in his own abilities and strength, he had to admit to some trepidation at walking through a field full of dagger wielding monsters - some of which had likely been out for his blood only recently. While he had walked among the Nulzan within the village following his defeat of the juvenile Sky Serpent, many of those Nulzan had not been warriors in truth. However, if he was to earn the respect and allegiance of the Hunters, he could not allow his nerves to affect his actions and conduct. That, along with the considerable weight that the chieftain’s favor held, caused him to walk through the field and resolutely weather the persistent stares.

Regardless, he would want them all to be watching soon anyway.

By the time that he had crossed the field, the only Nulzan that were not looking at him were those too engrossed in their own spars and the group that he was approaching. They had formed a semicircle around two dueling Nulzan - and things were not going well for one of them.

They each held the customary dual blades of the Nulzan within their upper hands’ grips, leaving their lower arms free. The duel - if it could even be called that - had quickly become lopsided. The smaller Nulzan desperately fended off the advances of the other, much larger Nulzan. Meanwhile, his overbearing opponent pressed the advantage with vigor, leaving numerous shallow cuts across the surface of his body. It was clear that this was not a normal spar - this was a punishment.

The smaller Nulzan fell to his knees, blood pouring from his wounds. His foe pushed him aside contemptuously, turning aside as he lost interest - meeting Dharen’s eyes. He turned back to his defeated opponent, gesturing towards Dharen.

“Look, your hero is here,” Dharen heard him say. “The one that you like to talk about so often. Maybe he’ll kill me like he killed that Sky Serpent?”

He laughed. “Though we all know that no light-bringer could take that creature down without cheating somehow. Especially not one who can only run away from battle.”

Dharen began to understand the situation in greater detail. The smaller Nulzan, who had accompanied him as an observer in his hunt for the juvenile Sky Serpent, must have spread word of what he had seen - Dharen rupturing the creature’s skull in a single blow, shattering the nest and sending it carpet the soil below. Though he had, in truth, cheated slightly in his battle with the Sky Serpent in order to guarantee it a quick death. Regardless, he was surprised to find that any creature that so relied on stealth and speed would care about ending a fight in such a manner.

Though, that was not the real problem. As he grew closer, Dharen could see the hate reflected in the Nulzan’s eyes - whether towards him or merely his species as a whole, he did not know.

Whatever the case, Dharen could not afford to lose the respect of the gathered hunters by backing down. He had planned to provide a show of strength in any case; this development just indicated who would be the unfortunate recipient. It would do well for his recruitment efforts for them to see exactly who they were dealing with - and he would rather face a blade here than find one in his back when he needed it. Despite his good relations with the chieftain, these were monsters after all.

Perhaps they would forgive him if he chose to be a little monstrous - but many might not forgive who they saw only as a light-bringer, a human. Especially not one that would allow himself to be so publicly disrespected. He would have to convince them otherwise.

Stolen novel; please report.

Truthfully, he had been extremely on-edge lately, and was happy to be given the opportunity to let off a little steam. While he had felt slightly better following his recent battle with the group of humans that had come through the teleporter, his agitation had reached new heights after his time delving within the Fear Seed. Despite the increased power that it gave him, there was something about it that sent his emotions into a tumultuous whirl - as if his emotions were no longer entirely his own.

With this in mind, he strolled casually towards the challenging Nulzan.

“We can spar, if you’d like. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure that I don’t kill you,” Dharen said in an instigatory fashion. After all, the belligerent Nulzan had already shown disrespect of his own. He would be remiss to forget to return the favor.

“How kind,” the Nulzan said, almost spitting out the words. “But without that hammer of yours, there’s little chance that your kindness will be necessary. Don’t worry - I will not kill you either. You have the chieftain’s favor. Still, you may wish that you were dead.”

Dharen summoned his borrowed blades from his Spatial Ring. Immediately afterwards, he tossed them to the side contemptuously. In truth, he had a few various other weapons stored within his Spatial Ring should he require them, but it was the show of confidence that mattered. Of contempt. He had already begun to suspect that his opponent had been present upon his first encounter with the Nulzan - perhaps he had even been witness to Dharen smashing the single deceased Nulzan’s head to a pulp. It would certainly explain the anger. Perhaps it would be best if he didn’t find out that Dharen had later proceeded to eat part of his brain.

In reaction, his adversary grew incensed at Dharen’s derisive display. Unwilling to lose out to his opponent's show of confidence, he threw aside his own blades, raising his arms in a combative stance. Dharen inwardly laughed, as he knew that - despite the Nulzan’s advantage in possessing claws and extra arms - he actually had the greater position in a weaponless brawl due to the sheer differences between their Strength attributes.

He had been perfectly willing to fight unarmed versus the hunter’s daggers to make the difference in their abilities even clearer, but this would work just as well for his purposes.

As he grew closer, he noted a small aura that emanated from his challenger - comparable in strength to Dharen’s own. Considering that Dharen had missed one opportunity to increase the power of his aura, that put his opponent at somewhere between level five and ten - meaning that he had two Boons, should he choose to use them. For the moment, Dharen held back on using his own, as he would prefer to wait until he determined that their use was actually needed.

The Nulzan hunter waited, eyeing Dharen, hesitant to make the first move despite his indignation.

Dharen was only too happy to oblige him.

With a burst of speed, Dharen was before him. Yet, rather than throw a punch, he simply stood in place for a moment.

Unable to resist, his opponent slashed out with his lower claws in a quick one-two strike. Yet, at the same time, he held his upper arms back in a protective stance. It was clear that despite his remarks, he was taking this spar seriously.

Dharen twisted, his high agility allowing him to maneuver his body just barely out of range of the Nulzan’s claws. Wind whipped past him, as the air was rent by their passage, brushing against his side.

Seeing how close his swipes had landed, the Nulzan pressed forward with a flurry of strikes. Each one was a near-miss; it was as if only a hair’s breadth lay between his claws and the flesh of his opponent. Yet, each time, the perilous blows amounted to nothing.

Dharen felt a grin find its way upon his face as the spar continued. He had not yet had a chance to utilise his new agility to its utmost; though the previous fight had allowed him to see some of its effects, it was here that he saw it in truth. The fact was that, despite the Nulzan’s clear formidable nature, Dharen was only toying with him. Making a point.

Finally, Dharen let loose with an attack of his own. As he dodged another incoming swipe, he launched a powerful punch towards one of the Nulzan’s upper arms as they were held defensively before him. A crack resounded as fist met flesh, fracturing bone.

His opponent staggered backward at the impact, his right upper arm cradled within the other.

A dark haze began to faintly appear around the injured Nulzan, visible only to Dharen’s eyes. Fear. Whether it was gaining Feast of Terror or merely a result of forming his aura, he had obtained the ability to detect Fear in a far more accurate manner than before - by simply seeing it visibly collect in the air around an individual.

He stepped forward, noticing a spike in the haze’s solidity as he did so. With his opponent's fear spiked, a green tinge enveloped his adversary's claws as the Nulzan activated a Boon. At the same time, Dharen found his mind thrown into a world of nightmares as a result of a second Boon - the sky blackened and twisted, menacing apparitions appearing around him. He found himself somewhere else, lost within a new reality.

He grinned once more, a hint of a maniacal edge marring the expression.

That had been a mistake.

He refused to be under anyone’s mental control ever again.

Miasmic Cloak activated, grasping him with its hands of shadow, concealing his frame beneath its cloak of darkness. The world returned once more.