Moans of pain escaped his lips, as Alnea tried to push himself off the ground, making sure to not put pressure on his right side. Forging his Spirit was painful, but having more than half of his chest burnt beyond recognition was just as painful. And for a few moments, the pain almost went beyond the level of what he could handle. That he had not lost his consciousness yet was already a testament to how much he had grown. But he did not know how much he could hold on… Sleep… and rest… that was what he needed… that was what he desired… resting on his master’s lap… on his mother’s lap…
Panting heavily, through the sheer power his will to complete his Oath, and to see his mother, Alnea pushed himself off the ground before the Inkah cursed monkey could. The latter may be a part of an overlord species, but it could never compare to him, Alnea Oathkeeper. He was going to become the greatest Wanderer. How could he lose to a mere Infant Stage Oren Beast? How could he die to the damn Inkah cursed spawn?
So, while the Infant Stage Eight Armed Monkey was still screeching, and banging its head on the roots protruding from the ground, Alnea took the chance, the only chance that he would get, to remove the dagger tied to his waist. The dagger, with a five inch, pitch black hilt made from the hooves of Two Horned Berserk Horse, adorned with golden threads, weaving all kinds of pattern on it, had been sheathed in a beautifully ornamented golden white sheath.
Yet even the sheath paled in comparison to the beauty of dazzlingly brilliant, golden blade, carved completely from the tusk of a Golden Lion, with veins of an equally brilliant silver, and a white so pure that it could even match Yuri’s hair in colour, running across the blade, all coming together to form ninety eight Glyph Arrays, carved by his master herself.
A True Oren Weapon that he could use all the way till the Tenth Stage of the True Rank. Even at the Mystic Rank, it would still prove useful at times. Though, to Alnea, it was a blade that he would keep for all his life. After all, it was present from his master. He had named it as ‘Golden Yearning’; a golden blade that yearned for the blood of his enemies. Or at least that was how he had explained the name to everyone else. As for its true meaning…
There was no need to think of that. Just the meaning that he had told his master about would do for the moment. Holding the dagger in his trembling hand, Alnea moved towards the monkey in the distance. Of the ninety eight Glyph Arrays engraved on the dagger, he could use only two of them. Still, if used properly, the dagger was enough for him to deal with any Infant Stage Oren Beast.
It was just that that the monkey had caught him off guard, not giving him the chance to use the dagger. Besides, even if that had not been the case, he still would not have used the dagger in the beginning. These fights with the Oren Beasts that his master arranged for him were for him to hone his use of Martial Styles, not for him to overpower the Beasts through the use of his dagger. He was allowed to use the dagger, but only if he used it as a support, or for giving the final blow.
Just as he was about to do at the moment. Taking his steps as lightly as he could, while biting his lips to not let the moans of pain escape his lips, and alert the monkey, he neared the little Oren Beast, and swung the dagger down at its neck. However, right at the last moment, before the dagger could make contact with the beast, the little monkey sensed the approaching breath of death, and used its tail to move its body away from the line of attack of the dagger.
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No matter how much pain it was in, it was still an Oren Beast. Oren Beasts were originally more resistant to pain than humans were, and the Eight Armed Blood Monkeys were one of the most combative species of Oren Beasts, at least that was the case in the Bright Light Forest. Fighting came with their instincts. Even if it was in pain, it could still move with its instinct. And Alnea knew that as well. He had never expected to be able to kill the monkey anyway. Just scaring it away was enough.
Thankfully, inexperienced as the little monkey was, just being attacked by the dagger was enough to scare it. After all, it had never been away from its mother, and as such, had never experienced the breath of death. Neither had it experienced such a strange attack that could pour fire directly into its head. And its prey… even after being attacked by both of its Innate Abilities head on, its prey had managed to recover before it did, and even attacked him…
Furthermore, while the monkey had used up all of its abilities, it had yet to see its prey used any of its own. And a creature that was strong enough survive facing its abilities head on, definitely had its own special abilities. The fact that it had not used any abilities yet meant that it was either confident to defeat the monkey without using its abilities, or that it was finally about to use them… What the monkey was facing was not a prey, but a predator… A hunter… A patient, and cunning hunter that was going to make it a prey…
Screeching in pain, and fear, the monkey held its head within its arms, as it scurried off into the depths of the forest, calling for its mother. Only when the last of the echoes of the monkey had faded away into the distance, did Alnea let himself relax. A bit too much, and a bit too fast, it seemed, as he almost gave in to the pain. Stumbling a little, he managed to keep himself from falling, but the sudden movement sent another pang of pain from his right chest, causing him to sweat even in such freezing winds. Even breathing was getting difficult for him, let alone making movements of any kind. He just wanted to lie down, and rest. To let everything be in the hands of the Goddess of Fate. In the hands of the curse of his fate…
Alnea forced his drowsy eyes to open, as he took a step towards the west side of the forest. He could not stay in place, or else, the monkey might come back to probe him from a distance after it had recovered. Maybe, some other Oren Beast might also get hold of his scent, and come for him. This was still the Bright Light Forest after all. But most important of all, he still had his Oath to keep. He still had to meet his master… his mother…
Biting his lips to use that pain distract himself from the pain of his chest, which was not working as well as he would have liked it to, Alnea put the dagger back into its sheath by his waist, and picked up his pace, as he got used to his limp walk, trying not to put pressure on his right side, before gradually turning that walk into a jog, and that jog into a run, as he tore through the forests, and the hive of roots blocking his way forward, hoping to reach his master before the pain could tear into him.
With each step that he took with his right foot, a jolt ran through the wound on his chest, making him wince in pain. Especially whenever he had to abruptly shift his leg to avoid getting stuck into the roots jutting out from the ground. However, even that pain was not as bad as the pain he felt whenever he moved his right arm while running, causing the muscles under his burnt skin to squirm, and send more jolts of pain through him. Thankfully, the branches were high enough that he did not have to duck, or use too many movements to avoid them, or he might have suffered even more.
Still, the pain that was coursing through his veins was already enough to make him feel dizzy, and lightheaded. Huffing, panting, and whimpering in pain, Alnea felt as if the last stretch of the distance was never going to end. He kept running, and running, but the cabin refused to come into his view. Was it an hour? Or two? Or maybe a whole day? At this point, Alnea did not even know whether he was running in the right direction or not. Yet he never stopped. Because he could not give up. He would not give up. He was—