I moved like a specter through the battlefield, weaving between the lunging forms of the hounds.
Every time my feet touched the ground, I sent Essence surging into my legs, boosting my speed and power. The moment I struck, I redirected the flow into my arms, turning my fists into battering rams.
A Level 7 hound snapped at my leg—I twisted mid-air, barely avoiding the bite, and drove my fist into its skull. A sickening crack echoed as the beast crumpled.
Another lunged from the side. I ducked, pivoted on my heel, and sent a brutal kick into its ribs, Essence-enhanced muscles making the impact devastating. The hound yelped and skidded across the dirt, limp.
My body burned. My back was scraped from near-misses, my thighs bore deep claw marks, and a particularly vicious Level 8 had managed to sink its fangs into my shoulder before I crushed its head. Blood trickled down my skin, mixing with sweat.
Another Level 8 launched at me. I stepped aside at the last moment, its claws just grazing my ribs. My hand shot out, fingers wrapping around its throat, and with a surge of Essence, I twisted. A crack. Another kill.
I didn't stop. I couldn't.
The moment I sent the seventh Level 8 to the ground in a twitching heap, something flashed across my vision.
Before I could even relish the sensation, two Level 9s joined the fight.
They were faster. Stronger. I dodged one, only to be clipped by the second. Claws raked across my side, forcing me to stumble. A set of teeth snapped inches from my face. I ducked, rolled, but even as I moved, I took more hits.
It was getting difficult to track them.
Clenching my fists, I roared and pushed Essence into my eyes.
Agony flared and my eyes glowed green.
My vision blurred, my skull felt like it was being drilled into, and then, everything sharpened.
The world slowed, or maybe my perception had sped up. The movements of the hounds became clearer, more traceable. I could see the shift of their muscles before they attacked, giving me precious moments to react.
I pushed through the pain. I had to. For another half an hour, I kept moving, kept killing.
The damage piled up, my muscles burned from the relentless use of Essence, my breath came in ragged bursts, and my eyes were starting to fail me. My vision blurred at the edges and I could feel blood trickling from my eyes.
But as I turned to escape, a Level 9 slammed into my back. The impact sent me flying. I crashed into the ground, my shoulder popping out of its socket with a sickening pop.
I gritted my teeth, staggered up, and ran.
The hounds were on me instantly.
I didn't run blindly. I started picking them off one by one, leading them into isolated fights, striking with brutal efficiency. Blood coated my fists, my arms, my legs.
Finally, only one remained, the Level 9 that had thrown me.
The beast snarled and lunged. I barely dodged.
The hound attacked relentlessly. I countered, ducked, weaved. But my body was failing, the pain numbing my limbs.
I needed to end this.
As the beast leaped at me, I pivoted, grabbing its tail with both hands. With a roar, I swung it, Essence flooding my arms. The hound smashed into a tree with a thud.
Bones cracked. The beast whimpered.
I let go, panting. Blood dripped from my wounds. My vision swam.
I stumbled forward, forcing my shoulder back into place with a grimace.
Then, without looking back, I limped away.
My muscles barely responded, each movement sluggish and burning with exhaustion. I leaned against a tree, panting heavily, my breaths ragged. Every inch of me ached, my body screaming in protest.
I heard a rustle up ahead.
Logan burst through the foliage, his eyes widening the moment he saw me.
"Good gods, you're crazy! Didn't you say you'd fight for ten minutes and then run?"
Before I could answer, he slung my arm over his shoulder and hoisted me onto his back, supporting my weight.
"I guess I got carried away."
He scoffed, shaking his head, and sprinted forward, weaving through the trees, his footsteps light, avoiding unnecessary noise.
I forced my mind to focus for a moment and checked my Essence store.
Relief washed over me. I redirected all of it to Constitution, then allocated my unused stat points—three to Psynapse, two to Strength.
And then, I let the exhaustion take over, slipping into unconsciousness.
I stirred, my eyelids heavy with pain. A dull ache pulsed through my body as I slowly took in my surroundings. I was lying on the ground, completely covered by a bush. I slept for a long time.
I let out a quiet chuckle.
"Logan must have done this."
Lifting a hand, I checked my neck, my necklace was still in place. I exhaled in relief.
Pushing aside the branches and leaves covering me, I forced myself to stand. My body felt stiff, wrapped in bandages, but the injuries were already scabbing over, thanks to temporarily boosting my Constitution past 20.
Fatigue still clung to me, my muscles aching from the fight, but I had gotten what I wanted. I had leveled up. My control over Essence had improved significantly, I could fight continuously with its help, absorb and generate more of it, and I was on the verge of leveling up my talent.
And then there was the biggest surprise, infusing my eyes with Essence. My perception had nearly doubled.
I frowned, thinking it over.
"Feels like I should've gotten a skill for that..."
Maybe I just needed to experiment more.
I looked around, it was already nighttime. The world was cloaked in near-total darkness, the moon hidden behind thick clouds. Only the faintest slivers of light filtered through, just enough to make out the shapes around me.
The forest was eerily silent, save for the occasional rustle of leaves and the distant shrieks and howls of Abominations echoing through the night.
I moved around a little, checking a couple of trees, but I couldn't find Logan.
"Hmm… where did he go?"
I spotted my bag lying nearby. Opening it, I took a long sip of water before digging into some food. I was starving, really starving. The food tasted awful, but beggars couldn't be choosers.
As I ate, I heard rustling up ahead. Narrowing my eyes, I tried to make out the shape in the darkness. A moment later, Logan stepped into view.
"Hey, where did you go?" I asked, speaking around a mouthful of food.
"Oh, you're awake. I just went to take care of some business," he said casually.
"Business?" I raised a brow.
He rubbed his stomach in response.
Logan sat down beside me.
"So, how are you feeling?"
"I'm good—tired, but good. That was a hell of a fight." I grinned.
"Good fight? That was a suicide move, brother," he said, shaking his head. "I couldn't watch till the end, but I saw how you fought. One wrong step and you'd be dead."
Logan let out a sigh, clearly unimpressed.
"Anyway, the rankings updated. Well, I mean, your level on the board did. You're showing as Level 9 now."
"Oh?" I perked up. "What about the others?"
"No change. Everyone's still stuck at Level 6."
I nodded, a small sense of pride swelling in my chest.
We sat and talked for a while before deciding to rest for the night.
I climbed a nearby tree and settled on a sturdy branch, my thoughts drifting back to the fight. I felt like I had done well, but there were plenty of areas where I could have performed better.
I realized I hadn't utilized Essence as efficiently as I could have. The muscle strain and pain I was feeling now were the result of channeling Essence in a haphazard manner toward the end, causing my muscles to tear and break under the pressure.
I felt restless, my mind drifting back to the fight again and again. I had left things unfinished, and I didn't like that. I also wanted to know what was in that cage—the reward or gift Arkas had mentioned.
'I hope I don't regret this,' I thought as I jumped down from the tree.