Chapter 37 — Sacrificial Guardian
Installing the first five of the stakes in place of Levish’s had gone easy enough that Toren was beginning to feel optimistic about their chances of surviving. He was also feeling a sense of accomplishment not unlike when he and his friends had purchased the license to a tavi grove outside Greenvale. Again, it was a tavi grove, but instead of a license, with this final stake, he would be a landowner. The farmhouse and orchard would be his. His land.
Yana would have loved the challenge of this land. If only they had taken this risk together instead of chasing a local opportunity.
Toren’s gaze sought out Laiya crouched in an overgrowth of ferns, carefully peering into the jungle, watching and listening for any sign of the zoots returning. The girl had followed him, arguing that going alone was too risky since they all were depending on him for their safety.
He had initially resisted her coming along when her father was the only other one that could fight once the brothers left to hunt the injured alpha and search for the nest. But between Falma’s pair of horror hounds and Toren’s [Mana Sensing], he should be able to get to them in time. It was thanks to his [Mana Sensing], that he noticed Harthol and Kota set off.
After the brothers finished their patrol of the jungle around the property and retrieved their wounded and dead hounds, it would just be him and the Hatterwicks. The five of them against the Corvast Jungle.
“Something wrong with the last stake?” Laiya called over, her voice tinged with concern.
“Nah, just getting a bit sentimental,” Toren replied. He couldn’t help a small smile. He had come so far in just a few days since resetting his Profession.
Activating [Burning Blood] to increase his strength, he took hold of the last of Levish’s stakes, working it free from the ground and placing it to the side.
The new stake slid easily into the hole.
This was the first step of many to come. For Yana, he would make their dream reality.
Toren stomped his foot down on each side of the stake to firm the dirt around it.
The moment had arrived. The claim stakes were already keyed to his blood. All that remained was to fill it with his mana, and so he did. Continuing even as he felt the stakes link to each other and form the magical array that would protect his ‘claim’ from people and monsters alike.
For reclaiming land lost to monster occupation,
1000 XP Awarded.
Keep up the good work!
At the same time as the Mirror Shard appeared, Toren felt his awareness connect to the barrier array formed by the stakes, granting him a sense of everything within the claimed domain.
Danger! An enemy!
A spike of imminent threat from [Danger Sensing] and the sense from the barrier array of an intruder behind him was all the warning he received before pain stabbed through his back, through his heart, nicking his core in passing.
“One more left, then I can take my time enjoying what you’ve been hogging for yourself here. Not everyday that beauties like them show up out this way,” a man’s voice whispered from over his shoulder.
Toren slumped forward, sliding off the blade that had snuck its way between the hidden protective plates of his armor and collapsed to the ground, unable to control his body. His vision rapidly darkened from the edges as his heart convulsed, spurting out life with each failing spasm.
“Huh? Bantho’s gang got taken out by this weakling? Not enough kill mana to even feel it. Whatever.”
“No! Toren!” Laiya’s voice screamed.
“Whoa, there. Nasty Ability you got. Haha, don’t worry, girl. I got plans for you; just gonna need you to take a nap while I dispatch your father,” the man drawled, somehow having avoided Laiya’s [Sure Cut].
He couldn’t die here!
The fog that was clouding Toren’s mind gave way to clarity. His body was losing feeling and his vision continued to dim, but thought had returned to him as [Sacrificial Guardian] activated for the first time.
He grabbed at his mana and his [Burningblood Berserker] Abilities. [Slow Bleeding] was his only chance of survival, his only chance to save Laiya and the rest of the Hatterwicks! He focused everything on blocking the flow of blood out of his heart. [Burning Blood] couldn’t heal his heart if it was tearing itself apart with the pressure of his blood.
Stopping blood entirely went well beyond what [Slow Bleeding] was intended to do, especially at Rank 1 ‘low’ proficiency, but he would make it work! He would will it to work!
He surged [Burning Blood] to his heart, willing it to knit back together.
It wasn’t enough! The pressure in his heart was too strong.
His vision was almost entirely dark now.
No. He was going about this wrong! His blood was infused with mana. Did he need a heart to move his blood?
Grabbing the mana within his blood he pulled.
The blood moved.
He pulled again. And again the blood moved.
Pulling and pushing, he forced his blood to circulate. He focused the most on his head and lungs and his vision began to return. He kept his blood securely in his heart and the holes in his heart began to close. Feeling began to return to his limbs and his lungs gasped shallow breaths.
Mirror shards popped up, but he didn’t have the focus to read them, mentally flicking them out of the way.
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His body was awash in the excruciating pin-stabs of muscles and skin deprived of sustenance and it was taking all his attention to keep his blood flowing within his major arteries and veins but he needed to move.
Laiya needed him now!
He risked dividing his attention enough to spread his [Mana Sensing] and awareness outward and almost lost control of his blood at what he perceived. The intruder was bending over a prone and unmoving Laiya.
Her mana was still flowing.
“A girl in armor is still just a girl in armor, you know?” The man chuckled as if imparting wisdom. “Be good and maybe I’ll teach you how to win.”
Could the intruder not sense Toren’s own mana also flowing?
Did Toren dare flood his muscles with mana and fury? Would the intruder notice?
Toren tried to move one of his fingers. Prickling fire. Holding still to prevent from writhing only caused more prickling fire. It was all he could do to not gasp.
But.
The pain wasn’t as bad as when he healed his broken collarbone.
He could do this.
Setting his body afire with the storm of emotions fed to [Burning Blood], he leveraged all his experience with [Stealth] and silently pushed himself into a crouch. His vision dimmed briefly before he restored the proper blood flow that had slipped with his concentration focused elsewhere.
Managing all the tasks would be so much easier if he had the [Divided Focus] Skill!
He was getting better at moving the blood and finding the most effective places to push and pull.
When Toren raised his gaze and tensed his muscles to rush the intruder, the man was nowhere in sight. Not to vision or [Mana Sensing]. Without the new sense of his claim brought by the activated claim stakes, he would have no idea where the intruder was.
Toren carefully moved his limbs, guiding the overgrown ferns and grasses noiselessly out of the way and back into place as he followed after the intruder leisurely and invisibly doing the same ahead of him.
This was no common intruder.
Old man Sellim had told him that [Hunters] could eventually learn to hide their presence and mana, but this intruder was no [Hunter]. That was a stealth Ability.
A stealth Ability from a Profession that used stealth and could kill with a single strike, a Profession that could target vitals through armor: An [Assassin].
The [Assassin] must have been waiting for them at the Blue Raptor, sent by the Conclave. Whether it was Kota’s fault or not, Toren suspected that a man this skilled would have spotted his targets regardless.
His bow, slung across his body, was still strung. Should he shoot the [Assassin] with the bow?
Visions of the alpha twisting out of the way of his shot made him leery of wasting the surprise trying to use his bow on a target he couldn’t see. The Conclave [Rogue] at the hostel had also evaded Reaver Yorne’s surprise attack.
Toren removed the bow and quiver and set them down. Like Reaver Yorne, he would need unencumbered speed and surprise to best this foe. [Barbarian Knife Arts] was his best bet. The high-level alpha’s claws had taken the large knife bought in Farharbor, but he still had Yana’s knives waiting to be used, ready in the bandolier strapped over his armor.
“Dad! I know what I heard! One of us needs to go check on them!”
“We shouldn’t split up!” Emina objected, her voice shrill with anxiety. “What will we do if those strange lizards sneak up on us while your father’s gone? I’m worried for Laiya, too. But we should all stay together!”
“I’ll go. I’ll take—Nog, was it? Hide in the house, Emina. The other dog and the pups will keep you safe until I get back. You saw what they did to these ‘zoots’.”
“What if it’s not the lizards?!” Emina begged.
Toren felt for his remaining mana reserves. He would have to finish the fight quickly.
The [Assassin] had paused at the sound of the voices, and that gave Toren the time he need to close the distance, but without being able to see his target, flailing around trying to land a fatal hit would leave too much to chance and the Lurker’s benevolence!
There was nothing but parted grass where Toren knew the [Assassin] was. If it wasn’t [Invisibility], then he should be able to see at least shadows or leaves shifted subtly out of place or ripples or something!
Unless… Unless it was a type of mind control! Seeing but not noticing!
What had old Sellim said about seeing through fey illusions? Willpower and stubbornness.
He would not be redirected! Boots were standing on the grass. There had to be something obstructing the descent of Horevi's light! He would notice!
Toren further concentrated [Burning Blood] on his brain and eyes. His thoughts were his own!
Dressed in black, the [Assassin] was holding a blowpipe, chest expanding with the sound of breathing in.
Another pair of Shards tried to steal his attention but he willed them out of his way.
He could see the intruder.
“Wha-?” the [Assassin] exhaled as Toren’s stab caught naught but air.
Toren was already slashing with another of Yani’s knives in his other hand. [Combat Awareness] making him aware of where to step to keep his target at the optimal distance.
Blade caught blade. “How?!”
Toren didn’t have the concentration to spare to answer with anything other than vicious slashes and stabs, trading cut for cut. Faster. Faster. More mana, more fury, more speed.
The [Assassin]’s eyes widened further and would stay like that forever.
In the final exchange, the man’s blade had again found a gap between the hidden metal plates of Toren’s armor and stabbed deep, but Toren’s blade was the one that had struck true.
With the death of the threat to those Toren was protecting, the state of his body crashed back into effect, robbing him of the disembodied clarity that his [Sacrificial Guardian] trait had provided. He desperately forced a final blazing surge of [Burning Blood]’s healing into his heart as consciousness failed. Willpower alone no longer enough, he fell into the unthinking darkness.
~~~
『Name: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 4 Burningblood Berserker (7600/8000)
Mana: 5/58
Strength: 16
Constitution: 12
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 17
Perception 14
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 3
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Slow Bleeding (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 3
Profession Skills:
Pain Tolerance 4
Severe Wound Recovery 3
Berserker Knife Arts 1
Spear 9
Club 8
Focus Rage 2
Combat Awareness 4
Intimidate 2
Skills:
Theravos Language (Speaking) 15
Theravos Language (Reading/Writing) 10
Religion 10
Meditation 5
Bone Strengthening 3
Hunting 20
Butchering 13
Archery 19
Stealth 17
Arithmetic 4
Foraging 16
Tree Felling 6
Running 12
Mana Sensing 14
Danger Sensing 1
Wound Binding 8』