Chapter Twenty-Five

Jackson and Melanie made their way north. It wasn’t long, however, before they encountered problems. The sky had begun to darken, and a wind howled through the forest leaves, which naturally heralded problems. After walking for what seemed forever, they ended up back where they had started, in the same clearing. Jackson sighed and arched an eyebrow, looking at Lazarus. The spirit gave them an innocent look,

“Oh no, we ended up back where we started. What a strange and utterly unexpected coincidence.” Lazarus said, deadpan.

Melanie looked at him, and then her gaze settled on Jackson; her eyebrow arched upward.

“He clearly knows what is going on; is he going to tell us?” She pointed at the spirit.

Jackson gave her a wry smile.

“No, he won’t. See that expression on his face?”

Jackson pointed at Lazarus’s expression, one of expectation and amusement glinting in his eyes. Melanie saw it and pursed her lips.

“Yeah, I see it. He looks like he’s just won some kind of bet, and now he gets to watch us fulfill it.” Melanie crossed her arms.

Jackson nodded.

“I’m pretty used to it by now. That’s the expression he gets when he expects you to figure out something on your own. See, he knows that the information we need is in front of us, so he isn’t going to tell us. It’s his way of mentoring, or something. Bottom line, we need to figure this out ourselves.”

Melanie blew a lock of her hair out of her eyes.

“Okay, so any ideas?” She asked.

Jackson looked around. A moon hung in the sky; its light bathing the world. It had gotten windier, too, rustling their clothes. He shook his head.

“I’ve got nothing. I say we keep walking and see if we notice anything.”

Melanie shrugged, and they began walking. This time, they tried to keep an eye out for anything that might lead them out of the loop. Neither Melanie nor Jackson noticed anything out of the ordinary, simply trees, bushes, and grass. In other words, all they saw was a forest. The wind blew, tussling their hair. Jackson glared at Lazarus, who merely grinned in reply. They came back to the clearing eventually, and Jackson clenched his fist, letting out a breath through his nose.

He did not get to indulge in his frustration, as there came a horrifying and bloodcurdling howl. It cut through the forest like a blade, and Melanie and Jackson both whirled around to face the terrifying sound. A black-furred nightmare wolf padded into the clearing. It was massive; its shoulder actually pushed trees back. Its red eyes shone with burning, frightening intensity. As that burning gaze landed on them, the wolf growled, and the sound rumbled forth from it like an earthquake, actually shaking the leaves. Its teeth seemed to glow in the moonlight, and just one was the size of a forearm.

Jackson actually gulped, and Melanie’s eyes widened.

“Move, Jackson!” She shouted as the black wolf tensed and then pounced at them. Jackson did just that, diving out of the way. He came up out of the dive and refocused his gaze on the wolf, which had crashed into the ground where they last were, shaking the earth and the trees.

Quickly, Jackson analyzed the wolf.

Dire Wolf Alpha Level 35

Your analyze skill has increased in level. It is now apprentice level 12.

Honestly, Jackson kind of felt slightly relieved. It was a high-level wolf, that was for sure, but it wasn’t nearly as high as the demon cyclops, and that gave him some hope. He hoped that they could defeat it. He wove as fast as he could, and this time he put some spirit into it, empowering it, and blood lightning formed in his hand, crackling with destructive might. The wolf lifted a massive paw and swiped it at Jackson, but he slammed the lightning into the wolf's paw. The empowered weave exploded against the paw, crimson light tearing through the wolf, who yelped and rocked back, flattening a tree with a thunderous sound that echoed throughout the night.

Melanie’s emerald arrow, empowered with nature and force, slammed into the wolf's maw as it growled and prepared to pounce. The wolf yelped, shaking its great head.

“Oooh, nice hit!” Lazarus clapped. The spirit was leaning against a far tree, watching the battle with an excited look in his eyes. Melanie threw him a glare.

“Is he just going to stand there and comment on the whole fight?”

Jackson sighed,

“Unfortunately.”

The great wolf swept a paw Jackson's way, and he rolled under it and threw lightning in its face. At the same time, Melanie slammed an arrow into its side.

You have struck a Dire Wolf Alpha with a powerful blow!

The wolf was not doing well in this fight, and Jackson thought it knew it. It lifted its great head and howled another bone-chilling howl.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Answering howls filled the night.

“Well, that can’t be good,” Jackson replied sourly. He looked over at Melanie.

“I’m going to lay down some mist. It will hide me. I think it has friends showing up; keep an eye out and take care of them if you can. I’ll keep this bad boy here busy.”

The nightmare wolf growled. Jackson guessed it didn’t like being called a bad boy. Yep, that must have been it. Melanie nodded at him, and he wove a blood mist.

You have woven blood mist (Apprentice Level 3).

Blood Mist has increased in level.

The crimson mist surrounded Jackson. He stretched it out a bit, so it wasn’t entirely obvious where he was. The wolf’s ears twitched. Jackson flung more lightning at it. The wolf wasn’t stupid; however, it adapted. It dropped itself low, and the lightning missed it.

You have missed your target!

Thank you, Judge, for pointing out that obvious tidbit. Jackson's eyes narrowed, and he heard the padding of paws on the ground. Looking over, he saw three large, dark gray wolves. They growled low, and one pounced at Melanie. Melanie promptly shot it with an arrow. An explosion of emerald light filled the dark night, and blood exploded from the wolf as it was slammed into a tree, pinned there by the ranger's arrow. The other two wolves were a little more cautious after that.

The alpha had been pacing, studying the mist Jackson was in. Then it came to some kind of decision.

“Oh, I think it’s going to-yep.” Lazarus called out as the great nightmare wolf pounced into the mist. Jackson had grown to think he was fairly invincible in the mist, but the dire wolf’s sheer size meant it didn’t really need to see him in the mist; it just needed to attack the general area he was in, and the mist made it pretty clear what area that was.

Even extending it hadn’t been enough to combat the wolf’s sheer size. It was simply too large. Its paw connected with Jackson and sent him flying. He had tried to dodge, but his reaction hadn’t been fast enough. He had felt too safe in the mist, and he paid for it when the wolf’s claws scored him, slashing open his left shoulder. Blood spurted out, soaking him and mixing with the dirt on the ground. He was spun about, flying out of the mist and hitting a tree.

You have been struck a critical blow!

Something popped, and more pain lanced through Jackson. His blood mist faded, and his concentration on feeding the weaves mana had burst like a popped bubble. He groaned, shaking his head to try and clear his vision. When he did clear it, he saw Melanie ducking and weaving under the two wolves, which had split up and were now attacking her from opposite sides. Still, the ranger was calm, and her skill was on full display as she wielded a short sword.

Look, this obviously wasn’t the time for it, but in that moment, Jackson had a thought. Melanie was beautiful. Of course, he knew she had been attractive before, but it really showed in her movements. She was a natural, and as one wolf leapt toward her, trying to force her to the other wolf’s waiting jaws, she simply dropped to the ground, bringing her short sword down in a powerful thrust into the ground. With emerald light shining from the blade, it exploded, and the force pushed both of the wolves back as they yelped.

The ranger did not stop there. She quickly pulled out her bow, knocked on an arrow, and sent one into the eye of one of the wolves that had leaped at her. Its yellow eye burst like a squished cherry, blood gushing from the wound as the wolf let out a final, piercing howl and died. Jackson's observation of the ranger was cut short as he felt hot breath on his face. He glanced over and found himself face-to-face with the nightmare wolf. Its red eyes bore into his, hunger coursing through them.

Jackson tried to move, but the pain was immense. He must have broken something critical because his body was not responding. So he could do nothing as the nightmare wolf snapped him up in its jaws.

“Jackson!” Melanie called.

“Fledgling!” Lazarus yelled, no longer excited.

Jackson wasn’t sure what to do; it seemed like this was it. He would die and end up in this floor's safe zone. That wasn’t so bad, was it? No. He would not just give up and become puppy-chow to this thing. He felt something inside him stir; a fire filled him,and though all he could see was the pink of the great wolf's tongue, all he could feel was its saliva coating him and its hot, revolting breath flowing over him.

Jackson thought, even as the wolf bit down, its teeth digging into his body, his blood spurting from him like a sliced-open bag, flowing past him and into the wolf's throat. How could he live? How could he survive this?

Death is imminent.

Time slowed. The wolf's mouth moved, attempting to swallow him. In the end, the answer was simple. Jackson just had to ask himself who he was. He was a vampyre. What did that mean? Well, it meant a lot, but it also meant that he drank blood. Thus far, all of the greatest enemies he had faced, he had defeated by drinking them like a juice pouch, sucking them down as if the liquid were ambrosia. He laughed as the wolf bit down, and then he sunk his fangs into the wolf's pink tongue and began to consume.

The wolf tasted amazing; let that be said first. More than that, though, it filled Jackson with need, and that need was a pleasure so fierce that it was a passionate and overwhelmingly pleasant fire. He felt his body begin to heal; the pain receded, replaced by hunger. Jackson felt it as a passing annoyance when the wolf yelped and hacked, trying to spit him out.

Jackson just kept drinking, mouthfuls of its sweet, orgasmic blood, shudders wracking through him. He was fully healed by now, but he did not care. Hunger was all he could think about. Lazarus’s voice meant nothing. All that mattered was consuming.

The wolf managed to dislodge Jackson, smashing its jaw into a tree as a great howl bubbled up from its throat. Jackson was spat onto the ground, a blob of its saliva coating him. However, the wolf was weak. That action was all it could do. A final act of desperation. It was struggling to stand up. It tried to get away from him. It stumbled and whimpered. Jackson wove destruction infusion.

You have woven Destruction Infusion Weave (Apprentice Level 1).

This weave has increased in level!

Jackson walked toward the wolf, its red eyes filled with absolute horror. He grabbed its great neck, and in its weakened state and thanks to his weave, it was almost trivially easy to turn the wolf's head, slamming it into the ground. It whimpered. Jackson did not care. He didn’t even notice.

He buried his fangs in its throat, heedless of its fur in his mouth. All he cared about was the blood that flowed from it and into him.

Your Consume Blood (Apprentice Level 15) has increased in level! It is now Apprentice Level 16!

Your Minor Regeneration (Apprentice Level 12) has increased in level! It is now level 16!

The notifications passed Jackson by. He was unconcerned about them as he drained the wolf. Finally, the last of its blood filled his mouth. He swallowed and lifted his head, tilting it slightly as he looked at the stars. The wind blew, and dimly, he noticed that it seemed to be blowing in a specific direction. Once the last of the euphoria faded, he looked at the wolf.

Its black fur was now pale, corpse gray in fact. Drained of all life.

“What are you?” Melanie asked. Jackson turned to find her looking at him with an astounded expression, her hazel eyes touched by fear. Lazarus sighed.

“You’ve stepped in it now, fledgling.”