The group silently took in the body, rigid in shock, until the stench hit. As one, they turned away, some simply grabbing their noses, others puking on the dirt road. The man had been mauled, and the gobbets of flesh and viscera strewn around painted a grisly scene.

The meat of his thighs, butt and gut were eaten down to the bone. His chest cavity had been torn through, the open ribcage glaringly empty of organs. His face was frozen in a rictus of pain and fear. His arm, the only one still attached, was stretched out towards the treeline. A desperate, futile last effort.

Mandla, wiping his mouth of puke, took note of the clear trail of blood leading into the cabin proper.

Kaveh held up a hand, stopping him as he tried to investigate.

“Wait. Look over in the bush.”

Following Kaveh’s pointed finger, Mandla saw the ranger’s rifle, discarded. He held up his hand again.

“Listen. Hold your breath.”

All six of them stilled their chests, straining their ears.

Faintly, ever so faintly, they heard the huff of a laboured breath. It was within the cabin.

The [Light Swordsman], Jacob, was the first to back away.

“Guys what the fuck is-”

“SHHHH!”

The other swordsmen all shushed him as Kaveh and Mandla snuck up to one of the low windows. They’d agreed beforehand that the Ascendants would do any sneaking, as the others had on noisy armour.

I have literally no armour. This is the worst fucking Class.

Mandla became intensely aware of his bare chestedness as he crept towards the window. He was too vulnerable like this.

Crouching beneath the window, he looked back at Andrew. He was giving the pair a thumbs up.

About as useful as thoughts and prayers.

Taking a few deep breaths, the two boys gave each other a nod before slowly peeking into the cabin.

There, slumped on the ground, bleeding onto the wood floor was hyena the size of a pony.

The boys dropped to the floor, whispering furiously.

“Bro, that’s a fucking hyena!”

“I know, I know, I saw! How big was that?”

“At least four and a half feet, maybe five! I thought these things were the size of large dogs??”

“They used to be.”

God, we’re fucked.

Steeling themselves, they risked another peek into the cabin. The hyena hadn’t moved, instead drawing haggard lungfuls of air.

Scanning its body, Mandla saw bullet holes riddled in its side. He pointed them out to Kaveh.

“This thing tanked a full clip and still survived long enough to eat him. Jesus. Kaveh, spotted hyenas live in packs. What if there’s more of them?”

Kaveh set his mouth in a grim line.

“There’s definitely more of them. Think about it. We haven’t seen any other animals in this place. What if everything didn’t wake up at the same time? What if a pack of hyenas spent the morning marking their territory, while a group of dumbasses slept through it all?”

Mandla could only stare at Kaveh, horrified.

We have to get the fuck out of here.

Mandla nearly turned tail right then, but logic overrode his base animal instincts.

It’s right there.

Even if only barely, the hyena was still alive. They likely would not get another opportunity like this until they left the forest.

Kaveh was already returning to the swordsmen when Mandla called out to him.

“Kaveh. We can’t… leave it.”

He turned around, to see Mandla with his hand out to the side.

“[Ixwa].”

Bright golden sparks fountained out of his hand, coalescing into a short spear Mandla gripped with terrible purpose. Knowing Kaveh would do the smart thing, Mandla resolutely strode into the cabin.

His footsteps creaked on the floorboards as he beheld the hyena in its full mutated glory. It was a monster of a beast, easily the size of a small hippo. It looked as though it would come up to his chest, were it in a state to stand. Long, wickedly sharp spines ran from its neck, all the way down its back, in place of a mane. Its teeth shone strangely white against the dark of its snout.

The beast’s bloody, oversized jaw told the other half of the tale that had begun outside. From what Mandla could glean, the hyena had attacked the ranger, and the man had managed to empty his gun on it but it still wouldn’t go down. Then he’d maybe tried to use the rifle as a club and bash it, with the hyena tossing the gun into the bush then tearing into the poor man.

Mandla was regretting having watched so much National Geographic as a child. Hyenas ate their prey alive.

He jumped, startled as the beast shuddered once. Thankfully, its eyes stayed shut.

Right. Have to get on with it.

The creak of floorboards from behind told him Kaveh had entered as well. Strafing around to the hindquarters of the huge hyena, he poked its flank with his sheathed [Khanjar].

“So how do we do this?”

Mandla was just as lost.

“I don’t know, I’ve never fucking killed anything.”

“Me neither. Is this even right? It’s dying anyway, it seems cruel to just stick it with blades when it’s already suffering.”

Andrew, poking his head in through the door, chimed in.

“Think of it as putting it out of its misery.”

Mandla gave him a dry look.

“Would you care to come show us how it’s done, then?”

Andrew backed away with his hands up.

“Oh no no, that’s all you. You’re not wearing any armour. You need the levels more than I do.”

Murmurs of agreement sounded from behind him, the rest of the swordsmen. Mandla rolled his eyes.

It’ll be fine. This is a monster anyway, it straight up ate a guy. This will be fine.

Mandla inhaled deeply, regretting it as the pungent smell of blood and matted fur made him choke.

Fuck, I need to stop stalling.

He gingerly reached out with his spear, poking it in the head. The beast didn’t react, merely continuing its painful breathing.

Gulping softly, he stepped closer to the small hill of fur. The pools of blood, spread widely around its body, reflected Mandla’s terrified face.

Setting the gleaming point of his [Ixwa] on its neck, Mandla’s heart thudded in anticipation.

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Gripping the haft with both hands, he drew his arms back, closed his eyes and thrust home.

The instant he broke skin, many things happened at once.

The half-dead hyena squealed, then came alive, snarling before snapping its jaws towards Mandla.

The spines on its back stiffened, then shot out in a hemisphere behind it, peppering half the room with black quills.

Kaveh, in the firing line, turned away, shielding his face with an outstretched hand and taking a spine through the palm, two in his legs and one in his gut.

The spear in Mandla’s hand almost vibrated with glee, nearly pulling him off his feet as it dug into the beast’s thick neck.

Mandla opened his eyes, then his mouth, to scream as the hyena’s slavering jaws crunched his lower leg.

Kaveh, seeing this, unsheathed his [Khanjar] and leapt forward.

The [Ixwa] burrowed deeper into the meat of the beast’s neck, hunting, when Mandla felt it sever a major artery. Like he’d just won a tug-of war, it slid out easily, practically purring as a gout of hot blood gushed out of the wound, spraying the screaming boy.

Kaveh barrelled into the hyena, ramming his [Khanjar] deep into its side.

With an ear-piercing squeal, the beast let go of Mandla’s leg, locking up in pain, before spasming one last time.

As the light went out in its eyes, screens popped up in Mandla’s.

You have slain a juvenile Quillback Hyena.

Level Up!

ERROR: Bloodline Ascendant.

Warning: You have climbed the first rung of the Bloodline Ascent. Subsequent rungs will be accompanied by Trials.

Congratulations! You are now a 1st rung Ascendant! Configuring status…

Near delirious with agony, Mandla fell to the ground, when a wave of golden light radiated out from his core. Popping and snapping his mangled shin back into shape, the light fully engulfed him, flashing once, then settling deep in his muscles and bones.

The entire altercation had taken less than ten seconds.

The swordsmen outside chose this moment to come rushing in, shields high. Andrew was at the forefront.

“We’ll save you! Back, beas-”

He fell silent, deflated, as he saw the hyena fully dead and Mandla and Kaveh laying on the ground, completely uninjured.

From his vantage on the ground, Mandla could only chuckle.

Kaveh heard this and began giggling himself. Before long, the two boys were howling with laughter.

They got up off the blood-slicked floor, leaning on each other for support before Mandla turned to Andrew’s puzzled face.

“That was sorely needed, thanks. Jesus fuck, that was absolutely horrible.”

He brought up his hand. It was shaking uncontrollably.

That was a half-dead juvenile? Holy shit.

“Mandla.”

Kaveh called his name, a dark expression clouding his face.

“Aweh?”

“That was a half-dead juvenile. We need to get the fuck out of this forest.”

“You read my mind, dude. We need to find a place with rabbits or something, this is insane.”

While they conferred, Jacob was looking the two of them up and down.

“So this is what a level up looks like?”

Widening his eyes in realisation, Mandla looked down at his body.

He was… buff?

Not big by any stretch of the imagination, but his formerly stick-thin frame was now filled out with lean, corded muscle. He looked like a martial artist.

“Huh. Maybe the trauma is worth it.”

Status.

Ascendant Status

Name: Mandla Nkosi

Title: Ascendant

Ascendant Class: Zulu iNduna

Position: 3,389,073

Level: 1st Rung

Bloodline Avatar: N/A

Quintessence: Ascendant

Potency: A drop

Symbiosis: N/A

Faction: N/A

Skills (Bloodline):

N/A

Skills (Weapon):

Ixwa

Assegai

Isihlangu

N/A

Ultimate (Bloodline):

N/A

N/A

He saw a few changes, mainly that he’d lost the “Nascent” qualifier on his title, his potency, whatever that meant, had gone up and he had two more weapon skills.

This is good. This is good. See, piece of cake.

Kaveh hadn’t outwardly changed much, but then he’d already been fit. He still looked extremely troubled.

“Guys, we should dip. We need to tell everyone we’re packing up right now.”

The group agreed with his assessment and they set off at a run, leaving the cabin, the corpse and the carcass behind.

Running more effortlessly than he ever before, Mandla both marvelled at his new body, and feared it.

Is this what I’m going to have to do to get to the peak?

Mandla had never been a violent person. Insulated his whole life, he’d never even been so much as slapped and the thought of having to fight for his life for each Rung nauseated him. Just a few minutes ago, he’d taken the greatest injury of his life and a few seconds later, it had been healed, good as new. Better, even.

It had been an intoxicating feeling, that immediate swing from agony to bliss, but Mandla was a diplomat, a politician, not a fighter. How would he fight his way to the top?

His internal musings were interrupted by Kaveh coming to a dead stop just ahead of him. This time Mandla reacted on time.

“I hear something again.”

Jesus. No.

Their biggest fears were manifesting.

The forest echoed with the sound of laughter. High-pitched animal laughter.

Mandla and Kaveh shared a look and sprinted, leaving the swordsmen behind in a burst of speed. Despite the dawning panic and desperate urgency, his new body’s capabilities continually astounded. All-out sprinting was only a bit more taxing than a jog, and he felt he could keep up the pace for hours if need be.

For the first time, Mandla understood what it meant to be an Ascendant.

We’ll be demigods. Who knows how far this goes?

The yips and giggles of the hyena pack were growing louder, and the closer they came to their starting point, the more the trees reverberated with an almost disorienting effect.

Is this magic? What’s going on?

He was able to shake off the strange phenomenon, but then snapped to attention immediately. He’d just heard screams.

Pushing harder than he’d ever done before, Mandla raced towards their clearing, Kaveh right behind him.

Holy shit.

Seeing a couple of hyenas the size of bulls resolve into view on the road, Mandla activated one of his new weapon skills. The screams only grew louder.

“[Assegai].”

The long slim throwing spear manifested as a waterfall of golden sparks in his palm, before solidifying into its cool wooden haft. Just like with his [Ixwa], he felt a longing within the slender javelin. He had a small inkling of what that could be for.

Noticing them, the two hyenas let out high-pitched giggles, before loping towards them. The childlike laughter was almost hilarious coming from their over-sized bodies, until Mandla saw blood staining their jaws, and small strips of clothing hanging limp, stuck between massive teeth. His heart dropped into his stomach.

Coincidentally, or maybe not, Mandla had thrown javelin for his high school’s athletics team. Either way, even the looming dread of what was happening in the clearing couldn’t stop a flicker of excitement from sparking in his heart. He couldn’t fight but he could fucking throw.

Manoeuvring the long shaft into a Finnish grip, it seemed everything slowed down as Mandla fell into the smooth motions of muscle memory. He mentally counted up his approach, aware that he was running far faster than he ever had before, but simultaneously utterly confident in his technique.

He bent his arm, drawing the spear back above his shoulder, at eye-level. His left arm counterbalanced as he centred the lead hyena in his sights.

Planting his left leg on the ground heel first, he skidded into the power position, the spear nearly touching the road behind him as he gathered explosive energy in his back and chest. Coming almost to a stop, his right leg pushed forward into the throw, his upper body twisting, transferring the energy of his run and his newfound physique into the spear as he brought his arm over and released.

Whirrrr

The moment the wood left his grip, the spear started spinning, rotating like drill as it was launched at blurring speed at the hyena. Mandla felt the rush of flight, the thrill of acceleration as the spear leapt out of his hand.

The hapless beast ran directly into it, to devastating effect.

It struck the animal directly between its neck and shoulder, driving deep into its body. The beast immediately collapsed, tumbling down the road before sliding to a stop. The javelin dematerialised into flakes of gold that dissolved like snow.

A notification popped up in Mandla’s vision but he dismissed it as the still sprinting Kaveh shot past him, heading directly for the one remaining hyena.

“[Sahm].”

A small hunting bow appeared in the customary golden light show, with a tiny green arrow nocked.

“Umm…”

Disregarding the disparity between weapon and target, Kaveh aimed the small bow, and loosed at the now worryingly close hyena. Mandla could even see the drool bouncing from its lips.

The arrow sailed almost daintily through the air as it stuck itself in the hyena’s snout, barely even breaking the skin. But he had underestimated the tiny weapon.

Corruption spread across the beast’s face like it’d been dipped in ink. Its loping sprint faltered, then stopped altogether as it tripped and fell. The large beast started convulsing, its eyes rolling back into its skull and foam filling its mouth as it seized up several times before finally falling still.

Mandla barely had time to react as Kaveh beckoned him to keep running.

Right, the screams.

The two boys ran right past the pair of dead hyenas as they approached the clearing, where they could clearly hear the sounds of battle.

A last frantic sprint brought them within sight of Kaveh’s car and gradually, more and more of the situation revealed itself.

It was a disaster.