The first thing Meera had to do was change her vantage point. From where she was, visibility was low, and she needed to ensure she didn’t get ganged up by all three of them. Despite her newly attained skills, it was better to make sure she took care of them one at a time.
She climbed up a few branches, letting her hop to the next tree. From there, she jumped to the next, and so on, until she had pretty much come to the other end of the village. A large collapsed hut was here, with nothing more than ash where it once stood. Worst of all, there were the half-charred bodies of its residents—two adults and three children. These poor folks had been inside when these hounds or their masters set the hut to flames.
Her heart went out to them, especially the children. Just what sort of monsters are these?
Well, it was time these hounds paid the price for it. She pulled off one of her chakrams and waited until her first target appeared. The monstrous hound, looking like a miniature flaming mountain, walked through the street and was about to turn when Meera threw her chakram.
It wedged itself into the tree a few feet from the monster. She wasn’t trying to hit the beast, only to get its attention, which it did. It jumped and snapped toward the shiny chakram, which glinted in the night.
As it moved cautiously towards the chakram, Meera waited patiently, hand at the ready. Right when the monster was about to rip the chakram out of the tree, she recalled it. The chakram came whizzing back, ripping through the monster’s teeth and almost taking off its lower jaw.
She heard a notification bell and was about to look at it when the beast howled, looking directly at her with his burning eyes. A moment later, the other two hounds showed up, running not for their kin but for her. Somehow, they knew where to find her.
Three fireballs raged toward her. Meera jumped down just in time, and something told her she would have stayed rooted to the spot if not for her new skill—Wild Instincts. It forced her into action, saving her life. The hounds dashed for her, and the sulphuric smell they reeked was overpowering.
She would have gagged if she had the time. She wanted to run into the forest, but they would have burned it down to hunt her. She didn’t want to be trapped in the woods with smoke and reduced visibility. Her best option was to fight them here. So, she ran around the burned hut with the bodies.
She hoped Wolf Speed would do its trick, and it did more than that. Meera ran faster than she ever had in her life. She ran at the speed of an Olympic athlete. She had to slow to make the turns through the still-standing houses. She knew one beast was on the verge of going down, so she stopped, waited with chakrams in both hands and launched them the moment the beasts showed themselves. Luckily, the one with the ripped jaw was in the lead, and both chakrams tore through it, killing it instantly. The other two paused seeing their brother go down. Meera did not wait that long. She recalled her chakrams and ran again, picking up speed and leaving them in her dust.
There was a hut with a somewhat open door. Meera squinted, and an old man held the door open and waved her inside. She looked behind, and the hounds were nowhere to be found.
Meera jumped into the hut and ran straight into the wall. She grunted as quietly as she could. The old man quietly closed the door behind her. The beasts roared a few times at having lost their prey. Then once they fell silent, she activated Nimble Ears, and she could hear them prowling outside, growling in a low tone. Their feet crunching the dirt. If that were not all, their smell was enough to tell her they were still outside. She shut off Nimble Ears to conserve her stamina.
She opened her mouth to thank the man, but he placed a finger on his lips, and Meera got the message. The balding man’s hair was gray, what little he had left. His left hand was burned black, and a purplish bruise was on the left side of his head. Needless to say, the man had been through a lot.
It was hard to see anything else as no candle or torch burned in the house. She didn’t know how long they sat like this, but it was enough for her to want to doze off, and she must have because the next thing she knew, light was peeking through the barricaded window. A closet had been moved before it.
She activated Nimble Ears again, and the hounds were still there but far off and not in their immediate vicinity. As in, they were still in the village but prowling elsewhere.
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Meera shook the man lightly. He woke with a gasp and looked around as if the hounds had found him. She raised both hands to tell him it was fine. It was just her. He breathed a silent sigh of relief.
She once again opened her mouth to speak, but he motioned for her to keep quiet and told her to follow. He stepped lightly as he moved through the wooden hut. She hoped the wood wouldn’t creak for their sake, so she stepped where he stepped, and through a couple of heart-attack-inducing creaks, they made it to the ladder.
Meera followed the man down the ladder and into an empty cellar. There were a few empty baskets and some barrels. They moved into the corner away from the ladder, and then finally, the man spoke in a shallow whisper, but thanks to Nimble Ears, he might as well have been screaming. “Please talk in a very low tone. We have to assume they can hear everything.”
It was not a bad idea. “I am Meera. Who are you?”
“My name is Oril, the village healer, which was why I somehow survived.”
“What happened here?”
“A massacre. Rakineyes, led by their king, attacked us.”
Meera’s eyes popped open. If she remembered correctly, Rakineyes were demons and were supposed to be confined to the forest beyond Rothedon’s Fist.
“Are you sure? Last I heard, they were confined to Rothedon’s forest past the Fist. How did those demons get here?” Meera asked.
He shook his head. “I know, not how they got here, miss. Only that it was indeed them. No one but them could have wrought such cruelty upon us.”
Meera was about to ask more questions, but she heard some growling from above, which sounded close. She put a finger to her lips so the man got the message.
She didn’t know whether their voices brought the beast here or if it was making another round, but this conversation would have to wait. She had to take care of the threat, something she should have done in the first place.
Before Meera left to kill the remaining two, she looked at her notifications.
*ding!*
[You have killed Hound of Rothedon – Level 25]
*ding!*
[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the general skill Charred Body. You have withstood heat that would melt the muscle off the bones of most creatures, thus earning you a body that is resistant to heat and flames. Would you like to acquire this skill?]
[You have acquired this general skill Charred Body – Level 1]
There was no question about it that she would not accept such a remarkable skill. She had hoped for a fireball, but this was equally good. She smiled inadvertently, making Oril frown. She shook her head and motioned for him to wait here.
She paused. “Did you say you were a healer?”
He nodded, making Meera grin.
“Please cut yourself on one of my chakrams.”
He gave her a look that said she was crazy, but she continued to give him her best smile, which in this situation, probably came off as psychotic.
“Hurry up, please.”
He brought his hand forward warily. He was taking too long. She ripped one of her chakrams off, gripped his hand, making him shake all over, and gave him a very shallow cut on his finger, closed her eyes, and waited for the notification.
*ding!*
[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Vitalize. Vitalize – Type: Active. You can heal yourself, restore limbs, and even cure ailments using Mana. The cost will depend on your injury. Would you like to acquire this skill?]
She frowned slightly at the wording of the skill. It said yourself, which meant she could only heal herself. So, if she ever wanted to heal anyone else, she must rely on potions. Luckily, she had a skill for that.
[You have acquired the skill Vitalize – Level 1]
When she opened her eyes, she saw that Oril had returned to his corner. At first, she frowned, and then she realized why. She had just asked for his blood, then closed her eyes and smiled. To the already scared man, it must have looked like she was getting stronger with his blood, something a demon might do.
She smiled apologetically at him. “I’m sorry. I promise I’m not a demon or a…Rakinyes. Let me take care of the ones above, and I’ll explain everything.”
She climbed up the ladder, keeping her Nimble Ears active. The beast was close. Meera walked slowly to the door, and once again, the wood on the floor only creaked a couple of times. She pulled off her chakram and opened the door. Her eyes snapped open.
The hound was right there, waiting for her.
She launched her chakram at the same time the monster shot a fireball at her. They both connected at the time. Her chakram hit the beast in the face, and the flames washed over her.
She screamed and patted herself, putting out the flames, only to realize she wasn’t burnt. It just felt a little warm at most.
Charred body, of course.
Of the two of them, the hound was more surprised, even with the chakram sticking in its snout. Meera pulled off her remaining two chakrams and threw them at the beast before it did anything else. It fell dead in the street.
The third showed up instantly, roaring as it charged Meera. She recalled her three chakrams and activated Primal Power. Veins stuck out of her forearms and the rest of her body.
The hound tackled her, but she held her ground. She gripped it by its side, yelped from the heat, and tossed it aside. She then launched all three chakrams to kill it as it was still flailing about on its back.
She huffed as she shut off all her abilities. Her hands burned and were charred black. She frowned. I guess the things were hotter than they looked.