I didn’t wait a single instant. I started to run with all the strength my legs could provide against my target. The beast raised his front legs, moving faster than its size might have suggested.

I saw its talons approach my head, but I ducked down just in time to have the razor sharp claws pass just over me. I slid on the ground and gained even more velocity in the short space which separated me from his leg, the second from the front on the right hand side.

I raised the mace and swung it horizontally against the beast’s foot. I put in all my muscular strength, all the accumulated momentum. Just before making contact, I raised my own inertia with my aura to its utmost. The blood imbued in the mace resonated with my aura and a black halo rose from the head of the mace.

The impact strongly reverberated in the surroundings, producing a loud noise akin to that of metal hitting metal. The carapace held for only an instant. A web of cracks appeared around the point of collision and the head of the mace dug into the soft flesh of the beast, while my black aura left the mace and seeped into the surrounding tissues.

The spider let out a panicked hiss and scurried away, retiring towards the trees. The area affected by the wound was already decaying, leaving behind a small trail of cerulean powder on its path. I followed its example, withdrawing towards my makeshift allies.

The beast quickly put its talons on a weed and gulped it down, trying to repair the sustained damage. I did not move immediately, but instead remained standing where I was., a grin stamped on my face.

A few seconds passed, then a minute, then five and yet the spider showed no sign of healing. My aura was not feeble like that of the other people it had fought. It was not a feeble light-like energy, it was heavy, viscous and almost liquid-like. It would interfere with its internal processes for a long time.

In the eyes of the spider there was now a hint of fear. I was far smaller than it and my high mobility made it difficult for it to hit me. Moreover, every non-lethal wound I would suffer from would be rapidly recovered. All the calories I had accumulated could be used to accelerate my natural regeneration, and I had many to spend.

Nevertheless, winning the fight would still prove to be quite difficult. Although my attack had caused the beast to withdraw, the wound I had inflicted was actually quite shallow. I would need many hits to fell the spider, while a single well placed hit from the gargantuan beast could spell my doom. Moreover, there was the possibility he could adapt to my speed if I were to be his only target.

Fortunately, there was no need for me to be the only actor in this choreography.

I turned towards Isaac and the other impromptu party members. They were frozen stiff by what had just happened. The enemy which had killed so many of them had been repelled by a single person, albeit only temporarily.

“Weapons in hand,” I ordered concisely.

My words seemed to awaken them from their astonishment, but some of them still remained titubant.

“Do we really have to? You seem to have things under control,” one tried to say.

“Yes, or I'll kill you personally this very moment,” I calmly explained.

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His words made me rage internally. The only reason I had accepted to help the group was because I needed to keep the promise I had made to myself. I knew I was currently being taken advantage of, fighting a fight I had nothing to do with, but it was necessary for my aim.

What was not necessary was fighting in their place while they did nothing. Until they had air in their lungs, I would make sure they would spend every single breath fighting the beast.

“Isaac, manage these wimps. Lily, continue with what you were doing,” I laid the foundations of a rudimentary strategy. Isaac gave me a quick nod and started to organise a plan of attack with the others.

“Let’s coordinate. If I attack where you do, I should be able to cut deeply into its flesh,” Lily added, responsive.

“Let’s do that,” I accepted her suggestion.

I whipped my head round and fixed my eyes into Caleb’s eyes.

“You come with me. I can’t be the only one having fun in the frontlines, can I?” I mockingly asked.

Without waiting for his answer, I reached out my open hand towards Lily. She seemed to swiftly understand my intentions, as I immediately felt the weight of her greatsword being rested on my hand.

I shoved it against Caleb’s chest, causing him to take a step back. I let go of the weapon and he grabbed it before it fell to the ground. The weapon had been damaged by the previous fight and the edge of the blade had become dull, but that wasn’t an actual problem, as it was more of a blunt weapon than a cutting one.

“What should I do with this?” Caleb hissed at me.

“Copy what Lily was doing. From what I’ve seen, you’re good at imitating others,” I replied.

He flinched at my words. While grinding his teeth, he prepared himself for combat. It was clear he hated having to follow my directives, but he had no actual choice as both Isaac and Lily were supporting me.

I deemed this development satisfactory. Although I could have simply broken his face right there and then and left him to be food for the beast, instead of taking part in the combat, that wouldn’t have satisfied me completely.

I wanted to humiliate him thoroughly by succeeding where he had failed. Voices of how his incompetence had guided all these talented archs to their premature death would haunt him for a long time.

Moreover, the fact that he had returned home only because the person who had already humiliated him had taken pity on him would make his image even more miserable. The knowledge that this would be the most probable outcome gave me a smile.

I turned to look towards the spider. A good chunk of chitin and flesh had fallen off from its leg, exposing the inner soft tissue. Although the decay had stopped, a thin layer of aura still rested on the surface of the wound, impeding any kind of regeneration.

As I was about to open my mouth, I felt something sting my right thigh. I looked downwards. The tip of a broken blade was being thrusted in my leg by two bloodied hands grabbing its edges. I followed the arms and saw the one person who had not spoken out against Caleb’s prideful position and who instead had looked at me with unbridled hatred.

“You must die,” she chanted over and over again like a broken disk.

I didn’t bother removing the blade and immediately swung my mace downwards towards her head. The mace passed through it like a hot knife through butter. The final messy result was comparable to what a watermelon would make if left falling from a high floor to the ground.

Since I had been reborn, not only beasts but also archs had started to treat me strangely. Their default perception of me was usually as something which needed to be eliminated. Fortunately, I spent most of my time keeping my distance from others, except for Faye, who didn’t bear any hostility towards me, Jonah, who didn’t like me for other reasons, and Reuben, who, even if he did actually feel enmity towards me, didn’t show any sign of it.

The few other archs I had come across had reigned themselves in, simply showing a high degree of unfriendliness. But as usual, there were those who were unable to control their impulses.

I removed the blade from my thigh and the wound closed almost immediately. Looks of horror had spread around the group.

I turned towards the spider, as if nothing had happened.

“Let’s start this for real”