A chase ensued within the caverns. A pack of sprinting wolves followed the distinctive footsteps of potential prey. Snarls echoed closely behind the girl as she raced back into the cave, vaulting over rocks and dodging stalactites with her baggy coat curled into a giant yarn.
She tucked it between an arm, navigating through the maze of rocky pillars with surprising agility. It was nothing compared to the wolves however, who quickly approached as her mind scrambled for ideas.
“THINK ME! THINK!” She cried, keenly observing the wolves through the reflection of her hunting knife.
Their jaws hung open, tongues following like fleshy ribbons as their bloodshot eyes promised her a swift death. For some reason, the wolves’ movements became increasingly accurate in response to her voice.
“VOICE! TALK! WRITE SOMETHING! DO I HAVE SOMETHING I CAN USE!?” Suddenly, she reached a slope and suddenly found herself sliding down the cave, with only sections of it illuminated by the glowworms above.
< PASSIVE SKILLS >
< (O) Bladeworks >
< Increased proficiency using edged weapons. Additional 25% ATT to equipped edged weapon >
< (O) Critical Eye >
< Critical Strikes dealt by you multiplies all ATT damage by 10x >
< (S) Bonds! >
< Make some friends first! >
< (E) Boosted Appraisal >
< Appraise Object levels significantly faster >
“Dumb, stupid, useless sentence!” She cried, her echoing voice temporarily confusing the wolves as they twitched their heads, as if unable to find her until the sifting gravel of her descent reeled them back in for the hunt. “What am I supposed to do with Appraise Object!?”
The Hunt Must Go On
< When ammunition depletes, the hunt will only become bloodier. The knife is most personal of all tools >
ORIGIN: Hatchling Red
AFFINITY : Wrath
TYPE : Weapon
ATT : 35
EFFECT: The Hunt Must Go On scales with Hatchling Red’s Emotional State
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Her blade, The Hunt Must Go On, was inadvertently appraised, revealing unwanted information that cluttered her field of view.
“GO AWAY!”
She tucked, rolled, and threw herself from side to side, plunging her blade into the wall to make precise movements. It cut deeply into the rock, which she quickly realized was a thick, earthy material.
But this did not mean she was unharmed by the ordeal.
Hatchling Red | HP: 310
The wolves hopped from the outcropping rocks to one another, descending as quickly as her. Jagged rocks cut deeply into her flesh, her cheeks were sliced, and legs bruised by her rapid descent.
Rocks fell alongside her, tumbling into the recesses of the world as the wolves suddenly displayed confusion, pausing at weirdly specific timings. The girl was not so stupid to fail to notice this. At the same time, the sweet, irony scent of blood filled her lungs as she suddenly saw a strange, crimson trail in the corner of her eye.
They were like tiny strings. Three of them to be precise.
“GRRRHH –! CLOSE!” She twisted herself just in time before she was impaled by a jutting rock. Her cry caused the closest wolf to lunge mouth wide at the rock and to her surprise, she heard its brief whimpers as droplets of blood dripped into her nape.
Hatchling Red | HP: 290
In the reflection of her blade, she saw the wolf willingly skewer itself. There was enough light to navigate the slope, and wolves should have superior eyesight within the darkness. However, this did not seem to be the case with these wolves.
That was when she realized that they relied on sound rather than sight.
The scent of blood became stronger, as did the crimson strings that connected the tip of her blade with the throats of the wolves like an umbilical cord. She had never seen such a thing before. Even in her prime as a monster no different from the rabid beasts chasing her, she never hallucinated strings.
Hatchling Red | HP: 250
The bottom of the pit was now in plain sight. It was a relatively flat surface, enclosed by nothing but walls and more glowworms. There was little, if any cover available, meaning only one thing.
I have to fight! It’s the only thing I’m good at. My whole life before being reborn to think was nothing but hunting down bad wolves and living stories.
Her eyes glowed red as she focused on the trail, her body moving instinctively around the rock. It wasn’t perfect. Wounds quickly accumulated as she could feel the putrid breath of the wolves above her head.
Hatchling Red | HP: 230
She held her breath moments before reaching the ground. An epiphany suddenly struck her as she recalled the description of one of her Active Skills: Huntress’ Slash.
Follow the bloody trail…
The blade’s grip reversed in her hand as she slammed it into the wall at the last possible moment, throwing her coat at the ground with a heavy thud. She laid her body flush against the slope, the blade dancing in the bioluminescent light as it followed that instinctual trail of manifested bloodlust.
And one of the wolves so happened to glide itself across the tip of the blade. From the neck down, the wolf was gutted as innards spilled at that moment, coating her in crimson fluids. The wolf did not die immediately.
Adolescent Cave Wolf | HP: 0
Hatchling Red | MP: 400
It died instantly. She had followed through the blade, as well as the intention of using the Huntress’ Slash Skill. The carcass of the wolf plopped behind the last one as she remained perfectly still, never allowing herself to breathe.
Beside her was a jutting rock. A spear perfectly capable of killing that wolf. Her observations were also correct. As the wolf whimpered and whined over its fallen companion, she realized that Cave Wolves were indeed blind.
I hate wolves. Where was your compassion for grandma when you are her? When you tried to pretend that you were her? When you maimed me and left me for dead?
Don’t you know what I am? ‘what’ I used to be!?
Her free hand grasped a portion of her dangling coat and flicked it onto the nearby rock. In that instant, the wolf lunged towards it, only to have a portion of its shoulder pierced by the rock. It collapsed onto it, crushing a paw as Hatching Red dropped down with a light thud, her footsteps signaling its encroaching doom.
She was swift. And so was the wolf. It injuries did not put it out of commission just yet.
Adolescent Cave Wolf | HP: 140
However, it was just enough for to put herself on an even playing field with the beast. It pounced at her, and she ducked to slash its belly open similar to the first one. The wolf dragged spilling innards as Hatchling Red’s shoulder profusely bled.
Adolescent Cave Wolf | HP: 140
< The Adolescent Cave Wolf has received 60 Bleed Stacks >
Hatchling Red | HP: 120
< You have received 30 Bleed Stacks >
< You will gradually lose HP >
Both were severely weakened. Both were destined to die here, but Hatchling Red would fall into despair if she died without at least killing that wolf first. And so, whilst invoking Huntress’ Slash once again as she and the wolf clashed –
– both sides of the cave walls were stained with blood.
The silhouettes of both fighters stood back-to-back. Moments later, as both drew their last breaths, the wolf collapsed first, missing a portion of its head.
Adolescent Cave Wolf | HP: 0
She had won. Hatchling Red, a level 1, conscious Corrupted had prevailed against 3 level 15 wolves. In her mind she believed that her power stemmed from her being a Corrupted, and she wore a proud look as she wiped away the blood from her lips.
Hatchling Red | HP: 10
Then, her world turned black as her silhouette finally joined the wolf in a pool of blood.