It felt great to know all the training had been worth it.
Killing beasts and ending the lives of other lifeforms was hard. It was far from easy, and I doubted it ever would be. I also highly doubted I’d ever feel great about killing others— even if we were talking about the very creatures that had forced us into hiding.
Knowing I had ended the lives of five beings, my earlier excitement diminished.
At least I’m no longer shaking, I thought, goosebumps spreading across my body as I remembered the demoness in the combat simulation room. Just thinking about her—about death looming over me for the last few weeks—was enough to shatter my confidence.
Was that PTSD? My entire body trembled momentarily. Regardless, the last few weeks had been impactful, ensuring I wouldn’t freeze when facing the Herula Beasts. After all, the demoness had been a hundred times scarier than the beetles.
Stifled screams, curses, and worse rang out to my left, and I turned to see how Shorty and Longhair’s group had performed. Half of the Blessed were busy trembling or emptying their stomachs. Disbelief, uncertainty, and terror glimmered in their eyes. Meanwhile, the rest of the group was either unconscious or sitting on the ground, unable to move their legs.
Their reactions were surprising, to say the least. Sure, my stomach hadn’t survived my first fight either, but I hadn’t been this bad… right?
Only a few weapons were coated in Herula Beetle blood. Less than half the group had successfully used their weapons to kill the 1-Star Wilds. The remaining Herula Beetles had been cleaved in half by—well, I wasn’t even sure what killed them, and I glanced at Shorty and Longhair for answers.
And answers I received. Gusts played around Longhair, rippling intimately through her hair.
Elemental manipulation? My heart leaped, only to be pulled back down to earth as I noticed Shorty looking at me.
“You behave like a rookie, but you’re not too bad. I half-expected you to lose a foot or two. Or that you’d run away screaming for help.” She snickered, offering what I could only hope was a smile. It looked far too devious to be one, but that wouldn’t be the weirdest thing about the woman. Everything about her was weird.
“Kim! I told you to stop smiling; it’s disgusting!” Longhair poked Shorty—or Kim—in the side, but they only smiled at each other, seemingly unbothered by the things happening around them.
They spoke in low voices and giggled, ignoring the foul smell and the crying pre-teens. It took them a while to get their act together. But once their little banter ended with one bright and one devious smile, the odd duo turned back to their clients, fixing the mess they’d left behind.
Am I the abnormal one, or are they on some herbs? Shaking my head, I turned to the carapaces and started to work on the carcasses.
It was disgusting, and I had to swallow the bile rising in my throat more than once as I removed the faint threads of flesh and organic mass still connecting to the carapaces. Fortunately, removing them wasn’t very time-consuming. Given the Herula Beetles’ circumstances and rank, separating and collecting the carapaces took only a few minutes.
But for some reason, my eyes kept drifting back to the disgusting mess hiding beneath the carapaces.
It took every bit of willpower and more to keep my stomach in check as I removed their mandibles. Unfortunately, as tension left my body and I stepped back to retreat, I stepped into one of the Herula Beetles’ remains. A moment later, I found myself buckling over and emptying my stomach.
The experience was great, and the booming laughter ringing in my ears from behind certainly didn’t help. Especially not when I caught Shorty pointing at me.
Even Longhair was looking over, grinning at my misery.
Fuck that shit.
***
Shorty and Longhair—Kim and Natalie—didn’t tell me to leave, nor did they talk to me, for that matter. They focused on their clients instead, before preparing for the second wave.
Kim disappeared into the forest and returned with another group of Herula Beetles. That was perfect for me—and apparently, for the pre-teens as well.
Natalie separated the beasts without a word and pushed three Herula Beetles in my direction, which I defeated quickly enough to watch the young Blessed as they struggled to fight the 1-Star Wilds. I hadn’t had time to watch them earlier, but studying the last dozen seconds of their second fight was enough to tell that they had improved.
Most were still struggling and afraid of fighting—even killing. Still, their performance was clearly better than before. It only took two gusts of wind, shimmering in a faint emerald hue, to clear the battlefield. The gusts split a pair of Herula Beetles apart before they could feast on a young girl and an even younger boy.
Seeing that the other Blessed had improved should have been reassuring, but my eyes narrowed and my stomach lurched.
“They’re stronger than I am.” The realization hit me as the words left my lips.
That’s nonsense. How can they be stronger? I silently cursed, but the truth was obvious.
These young Blessed were clearly inexperienced. This was probably their first time outside the Bastion. However, that didn’t mean their Soulkins were weak. Their bodies didn’t look particularly well-trained either, but it was painfully clear how much stronger their physical strength was as I eyed the carapaces. Gaping holes and gashes told me everything I needed to know.
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If they’re newly awakened Blessed, they should have weak soulshares… I mused, my expression souring the more I thought about it.
That means they bonded with a 4-Star or 5-Star Wild. Or, if their soulshare is really bad…with a young Awakened beast.
I sighed and tried to shake the dark thoughts from my mind. Instead, I reminded myself that while Aureus wasn’t a physical Soulkin, the glutton was a mutant with a special trait. A powerful one, from the looks of it.
“Thanks for hosting me,” I called out loudly enough for Kim and Natalie to hear after stuffing the last carapace and pincer into my backpack. I didn’t have much space left, and I faced a long walk back to the outer sector if I wanted to return for another hunt. But before I could start the return to the Bastion, I caught a sweet scent wafting in my face. It was nothing special, and I wouldn’t have paid much attention to it if I hadn’t been so used to the foul stench of beetle remains hanging in the air.
Kim and Natalie said something as I dragged my feet across the uneven ground, but I tuned them out and approached the forest. It was the first time I stepped into the Windbloom Forest, but the 5-Star Wild zone felt oddly familiar. Was it because I had read so much about the Windbloom Forest? I highly doubted it.
Putting aside the strange familiarity, I combed through the information I had gathered about the zone. Being inside a forest for the first time in my life was special, for sure, but I couldn’t appreciate the beauty of nature. Danger waited around every corner, yet I followed the sweet scent.
The smell grew more intense with each passing minute, but it took five minutes of tense skulking to find the culprits. And the moment my eyes locked onto a group of four flowers—azure-blue roses that shimmered with the hue of the stars—the relevant information surfaced in my mind.
“Infused herbs,” I gasped, covering my mouth with my free hand. My other hand tensed, the knuckles showing as I gripped the silvernit sword tightly.
More information about Windbloom Forest’s flora and fauna resurfaced, but I couldn’t categorize the flowers as anything other than infused herbs before I heard rustling to my right. I stiffened, sweat pouring down my temples, until I spotted a mane of black hair and vibrant green eyes. A face slightly darker than mine, caked in dirt and scratches, emerged from the shrubs several meters away and turned toward me as I exhaled in relief.
We locked eyes, and the excited smile on the other Blessed’s face faded. He was on edge, the daggers in his hands glinting as he stepped forward threateningly.
“Do you really want to fight?” I asked, half-confused, half-angry. “Can’t we just take two each and split ways?”
The Blessed slowed and properly regarded me for the first time. He didn’t speak for several seconds, and I tensed further at the dangerous glint in his eyes. But he didn’t attack. Instead, he gave a subtle nod and began to backtrack. He was still on edge and made it clear he wouldn’t turn his back on me, yet he approached the flowers and plucked two of them carefully. A hint of a smile tugged at his lips before he vanished into the shrubs of Windbloom Forest once more.
Aureus radiated confusion in my mind, and I couldn’t disagree.
“I don’t know, buddy. Maybe all Blessed are weird.”
My Soulkin had a lot more to say, especially about how confident he was in our victory. Apparently, Aureus was certain we could’ve frozen the other Blessed—killing him before he could retaliate. Fortunately, it never came to a fight. First of all, I was not confident in winning the fight. Second, did I really have to kill another human? That was overkill. It would weaken mankind unnecessarily, and it would make me a killer. I didn’t like any of that.
I resisted Aureus’ urge to push me against those who stole from me and approached the remaining set of flowers to pluck them, repeating the Blessed’s movements.
Once the flowers were safely harvested and stored in my backpack, it was time to return to the Bastion. It would be a waste to stay outside now that I’d harvested infused plants that would lose all their potency and value over time.
***
“80 Credits for the sets of carapaces and mandibles are already a lot, and if you have the faintest idea of the market, you would know about the high supply and mediocre demand for the body parts of Herula Beetles,” the licensed merchant remarked with a shaking head. “The only reason I offer you 10 Credits per set is the carapace’s pristine condition. They did not lose an ounce of the Herula Beetle’s infused ether. The mandibles, on the other hand, are… lackluster. You need to learn how to properly dissect beasts, or hire someone to do it for you. I don’t care how you do it, but these mandibles are a mess.”
The merchant’s expression was already sour, but it all came to a crash when I retrieved the infused plants. A deep curse escaped the merchant’s lips, and he hurriedly retrieved a small wooden box from behind the counter and put them inside.
“Rookies are going to be my death,” I heard him mutter, taking a few deep breaths and forcing a smile in my direction as he opened the box again. His eyes glowed in a faint hue for a moment, and his smile threatened to fall apart.
“At least, you harvested it properly. If you’d secured it properly, you would have earned a lot more. Unfortunately, you messed that part up and stored it in your damned backpack with the carapaces. It looks like you were graced by the Rulers though. Starstripes can thrive in the worst places. If it had been any other infused flower, it would have lost all its value by this point.”
I ignored the merchant’s jabs. They had little effect on me. I was fully aware of my situation, and I knew that I should have stored the flowers in a preservation box, syringe, or—better even—a storage unit. Unfortunately, each of those options was expensive as hell. Even the syringe was made of a special material that preserved the liquid, body part, or infused plant stored within nearly perfectly.
The merchant regarded me from head to toe and exhaled deeply. The red tinge around his nose and on his cheeks dispersed slowly as he calmed down.
“I know this is not your fault. I’m just frustrated.”
Is that so? So am I, dude. So am I! I would love to have a massive storage unit to store hundreds of beast corpses as well. Better even, have someone follow me to collect and sell the infused plants and beasts while I run around aimlessly.
“To apologize for my outburst, I will give you 200 Credits for the flowers. You could have earned double that if they had been preserved properly, but no licensed merchant will offer you more than I do. In all likelihood, the Starstripes’ potency will decrease even faster once I remove them from the preservation box, and you will earn even less.”
I waved dismissively, ignoring the faint smile appearing on the skinny merchant’s face and held out my phone to scan my ID.
“280 Credits, it is,” I agreed, suppressing a heavy sigh.
280 Credits was a lot. I hadn’t been in much danger either. If anything, my second hunt outside had been rather pleasant. But the Credits were still far from enough. I couldn’t even purchase Aureus’ kibble with that.
Aureus manifested on my shoulder and rubbed my cheek as the merchant completed the transaction. Pictures of heaps of meat, kibble, and various scraps of the meals my parents had prepared for Aureus in the last few weeks appeared in my mind.
“Yes, yes, don’t worry, Aureus. We won’t leave the Bastion before we eat a little bit—or a lot.” I smiled at Aureus, despite my financial ruin.