Demon Wolf

Time flowed, viscous like molasses. As it stretched, Wolf watched the black canister riddled with holes and its flash of crimson light. Before he managed to dull his faculties, the rotting, sickening stench filled his vision; his nose caught a thunderous explosion, red prickled his skin, and the cool, moist air trumpeted into his eardrums.

Shit!

“This is a rather interesting experience.”

I could’ve shrugged it off, had my senses been at normal acuity.

Wolf’s sensory organs went berserk, his inputs shifted like wispy clouds struck by a sudden storm. Even with his enhanced mind, Wolf failed to parse the rampaging flood. Unable to swiftly decipher the information into a coherent image, he became trapped within his own body.

His eyes tasted the damp humus, soaked in curdled blood. His nose caught a wet squish while his ears told him the red had receded, replaced by brown and black.

I slipped.

“Good thing I didn’t draw Eviltongue. That braindead redhead could’ve killed me.”

Wolf clenched his teeth, the tactile sensory input coming from his ears, before shifting to nose. He focused on resisting the spell’s invasion and keeping the sensations long enough to anchor each of his senses and send them dormant.

The gale wind scrambling his mind began blowing at pools of water rather than clouds. It still caused raging waves, but the time it took to influence Wolf’s nerves increased by a whit. That slight extension was all he needed.

Wolf grabbed the chance, dulling his eyes; then, the rest fell like dominos. In a split second, his sensory faculties went dormant, while his mind continued racing.

He analyzed the thousand times slower stimuli shifts and untangled the befuddling influence, reclaiming his eyes, ears, and touch. He left his tongue and nose alone, choosing not to waste another split second to unravel the irrelevant organs.

Wolf’s eyes were open. A brownish mound covered in caked blood dominated the world before him. Just as he had guessed, he had fallen mid run, slid on the ground, and crashed into a decomposing deer pile.

“Fuck! Only two robes left.”

One second. Wolf estimated the time he had spent dazed, grabbing the carcass before him, its short bristles rubbing against his fingers. He pressed against it and sprang to his feet from the loose, meticulously plowed soil.

I should be more careful when awakening my senses in the future. It’s unlikely I will end up in a situation with awakened senses without paying attention to the enemy, but incompetent allies can screw you over more than any adversary.

Wolf spat and snorted the grime out of his mouth and nose, uncertain which organs cried from the gory intrusion.

He took in the scene before him. To his left, the Swordleg he had charged towards spasmed and rolled on the ground, destroying a dozen precious herbs in its wake.

To his right, the catatonic human squeezed herself into a ball. She lay motionless in the putrid humus, waiting for her disorientation to pass with disturbing proficiency.

Further away, two more Swordlegs also laid havoc to their tiny plantation.

Those Corpseworts are coming out of your share, if you survive.

Instead of Eviltongue, Wolf summoned the boar spear he had purchased in Earth Pavilion’s Treasure Hall. He ran towards his original target, stopping just outside the reach of its flailing limbs. Without bothering to aim at the eye, he stabbed. Wolf’s powerful thrust shattered the thick, silvery chitin and skewered the monster’s giant head.

The Swordleg twitched. Its legs closed, forming a ball mesh. After one last spasm, it grew motionless, laying on its back.

Wolf wasted a second, stabbing the Monster Beast once more, to confirm it was dead before he turned around.

She’s still alive. He noted that the red had not moved a muscle. Then, he dashed towards the second, closer Swordleg Devourer, prioritizing the Corpseworts’ safety.

Befuddling Burst’s effect lasts several seconds. I was confused for one. I spent another three to reach and kill the Swordleg; the befuddlement could wear off any time now.

With that thought, Wolf slowed. He kept an eye out for any change in the Swordlegs’ behavior, and for any further explosive surprises his allies had in store for him.

The red moved, and Wolf awakened his senses, waiting for that traitorous, metallic click. His target still frantically clawed at the world around it, but the other Swordleg got up. Wolf expected the Monster Beast would hiss, but it let out a guttural bellow, which resounded in the misty jungle. Then it dashed towards the red.

The woman screamed, and Wolf heard the ‘tak’ he had been waiting for. He dulled his senses to near catatonic and dropped to the ground.

The timer’s shortest setting is one second. I don’t think she will make it.

Wolf evaded the blast this time. Without getting caught in it, there was no loud explosion. He would not have even known the talisman had triggered, had he not heard the Swordleg Devourer fumble its steps and squish into the ground, sliding forth, carried by inertia.

Wolf rose. Behind his back, the red screamed. He spun and saw her fate.

The Swordleg crashed into her. Even as that thought passed through his mind, the thrashing Monster Beast minced the woman into pieces.

Wolf used his chance and executed the helpless Monster Beasts.

“The coast seems clear,” Wolf declared as he took the nameless red’s holdingring. “Since Junior Apprentice Sister is dead, we need to redistribute the loot. As we have already agreed, each of you gets ten percent.”

Wolf paused, and since there were no complaints, he continued.

“You also get this Swordleg’s nub.” He motioned towards the monster the red had slain.

“I will keep her ring, but I can give her spear to you.” The weapon was inferior to Wolf’s, and he was not that greedy to argue over mediocre equipment.

What interested him were the dozens of black canisters and their contents.

“Damn it. I should’ve bought inks and paper for talisman scribing.”

I won’t make the same mistake the next time.

Wolf’s junior apprentice sisters showed no desire to oppose his proposal. Oddly enough, they did not mourn their leader’s passing either. Wolf read shock and dread on their faces, but no sorrow, nor sympathy.

She must’ve been a bitch, Wolf decided and moved to dig out the nearest Corpsewort.

The scarlet root resembled a hefty sweet potato, as long as Wolf’s forearm. He inspected the plant and smiled. My luck is decent. They just ate the leaves, leaving the roots intact.

“Just keep your eyes open for more Swordlegs. Four still aren’t enough to warrant such a large territory and so many precious herbs other Monster Beasts keep ignoring.”

An hour passed. Wolf had plucked seventy Corpseworts, while his two apprentice sisters had taken forty each, when Wolf caught a frantic rustle in the distance.

“Run.” His order was neither loud nor panicked.

He withdrew into the forest, and the two women followed suit.

Several seconds after they left, a pair of Swordleg Devourers entered the clearing. The beasts unleashed bellows of rage. However, they failed to find their brethren’s murderers’ trail.

Wolf stored the pouch with Remove Trace into his holdingring. He glanced at the girls fleeing behind his back. They snapped branches and twigs, felling bush leaves. He barely holding back a head-shake.

It’s been ages since I had to use Remove Trace.

“These girls are dumb as doornails. They can’t sneak, even if their life depended on it, and it is.”

Should I go back for more Corpsewort, or should I call it a day?

“If we had taken everything, Swordlegs would’ve been more persistent in their pursuit. Remove Trace is good, but there are patches which it failed to clear because these two are running a dozen meters behind me.”

Wolf kept trotting for five kilometers before he stopped. A moment later, his followers halted several meters away.

“We’re out of their territory, and they shouldn’t pursue this far.” He spun, facing the girls. “My guess is they have a dozen, maybe even several dozen others remaining. Monster Beasts are dumber than us, but they aren’t complete idiots. We disturbed their nest, and I expect they will station more guards for the foreseeable future.”

And we’re lacking a suicidal moron to run into the thick of it without scouting the area thoroughly.

“We’ve gathered some roots. If you agree, we can say we each got the resources we earned, and we can dissolve our pact.”

The women looked at Wolf with wet, pleading eyes. They had seen the ease with which he slew three Swordlegs despite getting caught in the befuddling blast. If they could stay with him, their safety was guaranteed, and they were certain to profit from whatever they found along the way.

Wolf read their expressions, understanding their obvious intentions. So, he severed those empty, unrealistic dreams.

“I’m moving deeper in. It’s too dangerous for you. I advise you to hide, cultivate in this rich environment, and try to reach the third stage.”

 

sleepydad88 Happy New Year! I hope 2024. treats you better than 2023.