Unbound

After the lights faded, the grove seemed pitch black in comparison.

Felix blinked afterimages out of his eyes, only to see the Orit's toothy maw inches from his own. He fell backward with an undignified yawp. Blood and mud splashed up his arms and soaked into his pants. The giant beast huffed and panted at him but wasn't moving. Craning his neck, Felix could see a nasty would on the Orit's underbelly, dark blood and ropes of wet, grey intestines spilling out and pooling around a blade lodged firmly in the Sprout's roots.

HIS blade.

The Orit rolled a black eye at him, breath coming in pained gasps. "You...saved prey?" It's chest heaved as it thrashed weakly, blood oozing faster from it's wounds. "They are...meant to be...ours. Weak...worthless...they only exist...to be devoured. Why?"

Felix leaned against the Sprout trunk, sucking in heavy gasps as well. His Health and Stamina were less than 10% again, and his Mana no more than a sliver of blue in his vision. He didn't know what to say to the beast. Felix had no clue why he'd risked himself to save a creature that, even if they both survived, was probably going to be eaten by another predator in a matter of hours. But words came to his mouth anyway.

"Because....someone has to," Felix said, flushing in embarrassment.

The Orit however, had a different reaction. It became still, and it's black eye burned with a dangerous, bloody light. Teeth bared and streaked with it's own dark fluids, it snarled at him.

"What...are you?" It strained forward, unable to push closer, and snorted, a gnarly suction of blood and air. It's eyes widened as it whispered something.

"What?" Felix couldn't hear it, so soft were the giant beast's words. He leaned forward, caution warring with an uncomfortable sort of pity for the Orit. It was a messed up thing, but nothing deserved this. Its words were still almost too quiet to hear.

Felix heard a terrible ripping sound as the monster lunged, and his weak attempt at dodging failed when his left leg buckled under him, too drained to move. The Orit's jaws crashed shut just inches in front of him, the force expelled enough to push Felix down into the bloody mud.

"Lost...one...!"

A last, guttural sigh and Felix saw the bloody light go out from the beast's eyes. The Orit was dead. Finally.

The plan had worked.

Huh, he thought, lying in the mud. This is usually where I pass ou--

A strange yipping cry woke him.

He was covered in mud, blood, and other things that were thick, grey, and...and chunky. Eugh. Carefully, eyeing his nearly depleted Stamina, he rolled onto his belly and squirmed toward his satchel. It had somehow gotten free and sat a few feet away from him. Falteringly, Felix pulled out some yarrow and flitweed, devouring them in a few quick bites.

Moments turned to minutes as he attempted to Meditate and put the herbs' regenerative properties to best use. Try as he might though, he couldn't maintain the necessary mindset for the Skill. But with enough herbs (all his stock) he was on the mend, at least.

Though Health and Stamina were nearing 50%, his Mana was still in the low teens when he heard that strange cry again. Felix glanced toward it, surprised to see the small creature that started all this hadn't yet run away.

Ah, of course. The Orit had crushed the cage of roots it had been hiding in, effectively trapping its meal.

With painstaking slowness, Felix got to his feet and made his way over to the roots. Each step was an effort, his sore muscles starting to cramp from the cold mud, but he pushed through it. Pain Resistance is probably part of that equation, he thought. Good thing I fell from that tree. A grim smile flitted across his face, but melted away just as quickly; for as he neared the trapped creature, he saw something else just beyond the Sprouts. It was a corpse, ravaged by teeth and claws, but pieces of it showed that it once had black and russet fur mingled with dark feathers. And it was approximately the size of a horse.

That could have been me, Felix thought with a lurch.

Golden eyes flashed in the shadows of the crushed roots before him, and he could barely make out a tiny form pulling back into deeper darkness.

"Hey, little guy, er, girl?" Felix cooed as comfortingly as he could. His shoulder was still in pain, despite the fresh healing and the rest of him was damn sore. But he knelt down in front of the roots and waited.

Minutes passed, but the creature did not emerge. Felix fished out a kelaar fruit and bit a piece off. He put it down into the roots, fitting it between the lattice work so it plopped into the dirt near the dark thing. "Here you go, I'm sure you're hungry."

The food sat there, untouched.

Felix sighed. He hadn't expected it to rush over and thank him, but...oh hell, he wasn't sure what he wanted. To comfort it? Felix shook his head. This place was as savage as anything he'd seen in nature documentaries, and it was probably used to this.

What am I doing? He wiped his face with a groan and stood up. Reaching into his satchel, he pulled out the rest of the kelaar fruit and set them down at the edge of the root cage. Using his hands, he gripped a few of the roots positioned as far away from the little creature as possible. With a grunt, he pulled them apart, ripping a wide opening in the roots. It was surprisingly easy, despite how tired he was.

With one last glance at the dark nest of roots, he hobbled away.

Shaking his head, he checked his notifications as he started back toward the Orit's corpse. He had a slew of skill ups, a remarkable amount really. Thrown Weapons Mastery and Acid Stream gained one level, while Stealth, and Influence of the Wisp gained two. Running and Fire Within jumped up three levels, Acrobatics gained four levels, Dual Casting and Dodge gained five whole levels, and Tides of Vellus gained a whopping seven levels.

Felix felt his mind thrum with a barely discernible music, a faint humming almost, as two more Skills crossed the unnamed level 10 threshold. Dodge and Acrobatics instantly felt more natural and easier to perform. If he wasn't so sore, he'd try a backflip. He'd always wanted to do a backflip.

+3 INT

+3 END

+2 DEX

+1 PER

+2 AGL

+1 VIT

+1 WIL

You have leveled up!

You have leveled up!

You have leveled up!

You are now Level 12!

+9 to WIL! +6 to INT! +3 to DEX! +3 to END! +3 to PER!

You Have 15 Unused Stat Points!

Felix shuddered as a powerful heat coursed through his veins, entirely different than his Fire Within, flooding him with energy that screamed to be spent. He went from exhausted to wired in the span of four seconds, and it was a serious whiplash on his mood. He could practically feel endorphins pumping out, soothing his aches and worries.

"Whoa," Felix's eyes were wide. "That's a lot."

It almost made him feel better about ruining his new shirt. Almost.

Felix was glad Influence of the Wisp worked like he figured it would. Digging through the battle notifications, he found where the spell activated and smiled.

Target is Enthralled for 2 seconds.

Just as the Wisps had lured Felix into allowing them to land all over him, the Skill allowed him to influence the target's mind. Two seconds wasn't very long, but it was just enough to convince the Orit to keep running even as his lodged sword pierced its belly.

Felix shuddered as he limped up closer to the beast. Even though it had saved his life, he found Influence of the Wisp to be a frightening Skill. If he gained a Skill like that, then there were others out there that could too, and he would do well to remember that. Was there such a thing as a mental defense Skill?

Moreover, Felix was surprised Tides of Vellus had increased so much. He guessed it was an effect of his manipulation of the spell, and his own Mana, that had given the level boost. Forcing his Mana around his body like that hurt like hell. Even now, the channels he felt his magic run through felt sore and strained. Even the thought of another casting made him wince.

Eugh, I'm not getting over this way. The ground before him was soupy with fluids from the car-sized weasel. He limped around the Sprout trunk, taking the long way around. Ducking beneath several low hanging branches, Felix glanced at his next notification and smiled wide. He had been hoping for something like this. He had gained a few new Titles, five in fact.

You Have Gained New Titles!

Unconquered (Rare), +4 END, +6 VIT, +4 WIL - You are the line in the sand. You have survived against all odds again and again.

Giantslayer II (Uncommon) +2 STR, +2 AGL - Defeat an enemy at least 10 levels higher and one-half stage higher than you.

Spellslinger (Common) +2 INT +2 WIL - Fight a battle of Mana and come out the victor.

Racial Adjustment: Gains doubled.

+4 INT, +4 WIL

Face the Charge (Rare) +4 WIL +1 VIT +2 STR - You have faced down the charge of an enemy much stronger than you, and lived to tell the tale!

Bulwark of the Innocent (Epic) +10% to STR and VIT - Not all strength is plundered, and some lines must never be crossed. You are the shield against predation, a champion of all.

"Holeee shit," Felix gasped. He forgot his attempts at stealth and stood straight up, bumping his head against a branch. He barely noticed. "This...there are so many things to unpack here."

Unconquered seemed like a progression of his Survival series, and what a doozy it was. His highest stat bump yet, and proof yet again of how he can't go more than a day without a near-death experience. Felix shook his head. He'd be delighted to see the end of these Titles, great as they were.

Another Giantslayer Title, which was gratifying. Nice to see the system acknowledging how hard it was to fight the Orit, though the stats weren't anything to write home about. And what was a half stage? More questions, as always.

Speaking of the Orit, the Spellslinger Title indicated it was a magic user and that their fight was technically a "battle of Mana." Which was a roundabout way of saying "wizard fight," as far as Felix was concerned, and that tracked. What else would he call something that could wield all that bloody Mana? His weird Race even earned him double rewards on that one, and for once he wasn't mad about it. About time it started paying dividends.

Face the Charge was a rare Title and quite good, though it wasn't like he needed the boost to Willpower. He'd take what he could get; Felix just wouldn't recommend the experience. Being charged by a monster the size of a car wasn't something anyone should have to go through. He shook himself and moved on. Don't think about it, just...just keep going.

His last Title was, well it was a game changer. Bulwark of the Innocent gave him a percentage boost to his Strength and Vitality. Ten percent wasn't huge, but it would only increase in significance as his stats grew. Felix noted the rarity of the Title. "Epic, huh? Are all Epic Titles percentage awards?" If so, he needed to get as many as he could.

He laughed. Yeah, I'll charge right out there and get some more.

Quest Updated!

The Seven Leg Orit has been destroyed!

1 of 5 Threats Eliminated!

Felix frowned. It was no questions that the Orit posed a threat to him, but did it have to die? Did everything have to be tooth and claw here? Why was it like this?

He paused that thought as he came around the Sprout's trunk and saw again the massive corpse of the Orit. In the short time since it died, rot and decay had set in to an alarming extent. Even as he watched, the corpse was almost...sublimating into the air, a faint greasy smoke all that was left of it. Thankfully, that meant retrieving his sword was surprisingly easy. Covering his mouth with his left hand, he reached down into the bowels of the beast and grabbed the crossguard. Wiggling it back and forth, Felix was able to pull it from the tangle of roots after only a few moments. He pulled it out and held it at arms length.

"Ugh, that's nasty," Felix fought back his gorge as he inspected the blade. It was foul, plain and simple, and Felix immediately rejected the burgeoning idea of learning a Skill from the Orit. The bloody corruption of its Mana permeated its body, and his stomach turned even considering putting that blood in his mouth.

It was a Blood Beast, according to Analyze. Felix muscled down his urge to vomit as his thoughts started to churn. His memories, perfect as they supposedly had become, felt gelatinous. Bogged down almost. Then it snapped into place. The Dread was a Blood Beast. Are they...related? Like a dog and a wolf? Or a cat and a...catfish, maybe.

After taking a long drink of his waterskin, he used the rest of it to rinse off the filthy sword. That done, he sheathed the blade and turned to leave. But something caught his eye.

A flash of red glimmered in the Orit's chest cavity. The light...pulsed, like a heartbeat. Unsheathing his sword again, he used it to cut back the beast's chest, sawing away at gristle and tendons even as more of the monster's remains floated away as smoke. After a minute of effort, an irregularly shaped stone the size of a large marble fell onto the ground with a THUMP. The red light contained within the marble intensified for a moment, before dimming back to a pulsing glow.

Name: Blood Remnant

Type: Consumable

Lore: Remnants form under unique circumstances and are useful to a variety of professions.

Felix reached down and plucked the blood remnant up, feeling a considerable heft to the small stone. The Remnant had hints of that bloody Mana he sensed before, but it didn't have nearly as much of a...stench was the only way to describe it. This felt like warmth and a coppery aftertaste in the air; not pleasant, but not agonizing either. Felix secured it in one of the satchels inner pockets. Maybe it'd be useful later, he rationalized. But really, he found the Remnant extremely...enticing, for reasons he couldn't figure out.

The moment he pocketed the Blood Remnant, a notification appeared.

You Have Received A Quest!

A Light In The Dark

You have found the Remnant of a blood ritual attuned to Hunger. Shed light upon this dark ritual and seek out the remaining Remnants.

Blood Remnant 1/4

Reward: Unknown

Accept?

Yes/No

Felix blinked. "Seriously?" He rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was too tired for this. He mentally accepted the quest, and it joined his queue. He could worry about this later.

With a final look at the still untouched pile of kelaar fruit, Felix started the long trek back home. He focused on Stealth, attempting to remain as invisible as possible during his journey. He was a ways from the waterfall and he couldn't risk getting caught up in another fight. The fight with the Orit and aftermath had taken up most of the daylight hours, and the sun was dropping low in the west, almost obscured by a line of mountains he could see in the hazy distance. He must have been out longer than he figured; hours, even. It was a miracle he wasn't killed while unconscious, though Felix admitted it was likely the giant monster corpse nearby dissuaded others.

Against his expectations, he didn't encounter a single creature on his way back to his camp. He heard plenty of scurrying in the forest, but it sounded small and was gone before he could see anything. Within a short period of time, Felix was back at the waterfall, idly picking a few more kelaar fruit and herbs to replace his diminished stock. He bid a silent hello to the Henaari explorer, reminding himself to properly bury them in the morning.

"Ah damn, I left this up all day," Felix groaned. He had left the brightweave coil tied to the cliff, dangling for anyone to see. What if someone had climbed up? What if...what if they were waiting for him?

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Felix checked his sword in its scabbard, making sure it was clear and no longer sticky with monster blood. He had to be ready for anything.

He climbed up.

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