Tutorial (18)
----
[Wolfslayer is in effect!]
[Trying to intimidate the wolves around you!]
[The creature is too strong!]
[Intimidation failed!]
Tssk!
Tssk!
The fire flickered surrounding me.
Sparks leapt into the air like angry fireflies.
The flames coiled and hissed like serpents, wrapping around my legs, biting at my clothes and flesh.
It kept on engulfing like a snake.
The heat grew wild, clawing at every inch of space.
The smoke curled thickly, stinging my nose, tasting like ash and blood.
And only two beings were standing in this fire.
Me—and the beast that could swallow the moon itself.
I am the one with regeneration continuously healing my burnt skin.
Every second, the flame peeled back my flesh, and every second, it stitched itself back together.
The pain danced with the fire, but my body refused to fall.
Ironblood pulsed through my veins like molten steel, making me stand when I shouldn’t be able to.
And Hati, who didn't even care about fire, shadows danced around him.
His black fur was untouched.
The fire shrank back from him like it feared him.
Shadows wrapped around his legs, swirling with every subtle movement like living armor.
His every step eating away the fire.
Where he walked, the fire died.
Shadows carved a path through the flames like blades, devouring heat and leaving only scorched black behind.
I held the daggers tightly.
The hilts felt like extensions of my limbs now.
The edges glinted with blood and firelight, and my knuckles were pale from the grip.
My left eye began to shine golden.
[Glimmering Eyes shows the way!]
A golden glow burst from my iris, illuminating through the smoke like a lighthouse in a storm.
"Let’s do this!"
I charged forward, crossing the arc.
The moment I passed through it, it felt like entering another realm—one where fear and death were dancing partners.
"Grrr!!"
Hati also charged forward.
The ground trembled beneath his paws.
His black mane flowed like night given form.
The growl ripped through the air like thunder.
His red eyes locked onto me.
Predator and prey. Hunter and hunted.
His fangs sharp and shadows danced at his step.
The black aura expanded, reaching like claws before his real ones even touched me.
Shadows covered around him and—
Thud!
He jumped off the fire, like a darkness out of light.
His massive form burst from the flames like a bullet through smoke.
The shadows curled behind him like wings, and for a brief moment, he looked like a god of death.
I also moved ahead.
My feet scraped against the blackened earth.
I lunged with every ounce of strength, daggers gleaming.
[Glimmering Eyes shows the way!]
My instincts screamed, and my eye flashed—left!
I sidestepped barely.
His claws touched my shoulder and injured them.
Even that brief contact tore through my armor.
Four sharp gashes opened up across my shoulder like burning trails.
I quickly moved my daggers and attack him.
No, I tried to attack him but it didn't reach much.
He twisted his body, the shadows tightening around him like a shield.
My blades cut through air and nothing more.
He swung his claws quickly.
A blur—faster than before.
[Glimmering Eyes shows the way!]
But it was too quick for me to dodge.
Even with my eye guiding me, his speed was monstrous—unnatural.
I raised my arm to block it.
The instinct barely saved my life.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
The claws dig inside and shadows mingled.
They ripped through skin and muscle, the shadow corrupting even the wound.
Black tendrils spread from the cut like venom.
"Ugg!!"
The impact crushed me backward.
My feet scraped lines into the ground as I flew.
The attack sent me away and his claws made a deep wound on my arm.
The wound pulsed with darkness, shadows writhing like worms inside it.
The pain was reduced thanks to increased pain tolerance but still it wasn't easy.
My mind screamed, but my body moved.
Pain echoed like a low hum—always there, dulled but never silenced.
Blood dripped for a moment.
Thick and dark, it sizzled against the flames as it fell.
But the next moment, it began healing by itself.
The torn flesh twisted, mended, sealed.
My skin returned whole—but the ache remained.
Ironblood Regeneration worked, but even it couldn't erase the weight of Hati’s power.
Hati and I once again face each other.
The shadows circled him once more.
His fur rustled in the scorched wind.
His mouth opened slightly, fangs glinting with saliva and hatred.
The fire raged on.
It screamed and howled like a beast of its own, biting at the ground, licking at the air with every spark and crackle.
Flames danced like serpents along the broken earth, snapping at shadows and turning the battlefield into a seething cauldron of chaos.
FWOOSH—CRACKLE—POP!
Smoke choked the sky above, thick and tar-black, blotting out the stars, swallowing the moon.
Each breath was a curse, ash coating the inside of my throat like iron dust.
The once golden arc—our gate, our sanctuary—was now a hellish ring, sealing off this cursed place in an inferno of flame and fury.
'Damn it.'
[Glimmering Eyes shows the way!]
The light flickered across my vision and I lunged forward again, twin daggers in hand.
The blades, once gleaming, were now blackened from the relentless heat and soaked with blood, their edges serrated by battle.
Skrkk—skrkk!
My boots scraped across the scorched dirt, cutting through layers of soot and broken stone.
Sparks flew beneath each step.
I charged.
Momentum roared in my ears like thunder, carrying me toward the monstrous figure that loomed like a nightmare made flesh among the licking flames.
Hati.
Muscles rippled beneath his black fur, which shimmered and rippled like a pool of darkness in the sea of.
Every strand was laced with living shadow—black tendrils that coiled and whispered like a chorus of the damned.
His eyes—crimson, unblinking—gleamed like twin dying suns.
His breath steamed in the air, dark and heavy.
The shadows wrapped around his limbs like living armor, shifting, stretching, tasting the air.
And then—
He moved.
Whoosh—FLASH!
In a blink, he was gone.
Shadow Dash.
A black blur erupted across the fire-scarred field, carving a jagged wound in space itself.
[Glimmering Eyes shows the way!]
My eye flared. Left.
I twisted hard, slamming my foot into the dirt, the ground cracking beneath the force—KRRRKK!—and spun away just in time.
SWOOSH—CRASHHHH!!
Claws like jagged sickles raked the air beside me, slamming into the ground with such force that the earth shattered.
Fire and ash erupted upward in a flaming column, throwing chunks of molten rock in every direction.
KABOOM!
I gritted my teeth, vision vibrating from the shock.
My arms moved on instinct—swish-swish!—as I slashed both daggers in a tight arc.
Clang!—Shhhhk!
One blade scraped harmlessly against his fur—no, not fur.
The shadow hide dulled it, as if my weapon hit mist wrapped in steel.
The second dagger slipped through the veil—Tchk!—and bit into his side.
"Grr!"
A hiss of pain. Barely a flinch.
A shallow cut that closed even as I backed away.
I stepped in again—
But—
WHSSSSHH—SLASH!
“Gahh—!!”
His tail, now fully enveloped in swirling shadows, whipped around like a battering ram, and slammed into my ribs.
THWACKKK!!
The air was ripped from my lungs as I went flying—crashing into the ground like a ragdoll.
CRACK—BOOM!
The earth split from the impact.
My back hit a charred tree trunk—SNAP!—splintering it, while my body crumpled like a discarded doll.
"Ugh!"
Pain exploded through me.
My ribs screamed—shattered.
Blood spilled from my mouth, hot and thick.
Cough! Cough!
But then—my veins ignited.
Ironblood Regeneration.
I felt it: the searing ache as muscle strained to re-knit, as bones popped—shifted—reset.
Like thousands of needles stabbing inward and outward at once.
Crunch-crack-crk!
Breath returned.
[Glimmering Eyes shows the way!]
My eyes snapped open.
I pushed up, legs trembling, arms dragging me upright.
My daggers shook in my hands.
"Grrrrrrr..."
Hati’s growl was low—vibrating, primal, the kind that scraped your bones.
His shadows twitched, and the air around him grew darker, colder, even with fire raging on all sides.
He raised a paw.
Shadow Claw.
His strike wasn’t physical—it was worse.
VRRRRMMMM—SHHHHK-KSHHH!
Five jagged claws of pure darkness exploded from his paw and carved through the air, slicing space itself.
Each claw left behind a line of ruin, devouring fire as they passed.
Slam!
I dove and rolled hard.
The ground skidded beneath me, heat scalding through my armor, shoulder grinding against stone.
FSSSSSHHH—BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The claws struck behind me.
Fire erupted.
Ground split.
The force lifted me off the roll and threw me forward.
Thud!
But I hit the ground running.
And dashed right.
Swish!
I hit dagger in, targeting his exposed flank.
SLASH!
Another graze—just another scratch.
Tchk!
This one caught near his leg.
"Grr.."
He growled, annoyed now.
Shadows twitched like snakes along his spine.
Then—
WHAMMM!
He lunged forward, slammed his shoulder into me.
Ghkk!
My body spun before I could recover—
CRUNCH!
His jaws clamped around my left arm.
Shadow Fang.
Teeth tore deep, past skin, past muscle—through the bone.
Shadows drilled inside, cold and burning at once.
“UGHHHH!!”
My scream was ripped from me.
The arm—shredded, hanging like a tattered rope.
But the blood—my blood—boiled, not out of rage, but out of will.
Ironblood Regeneration.
I watched through the haze as flesh squirmed, twisting, twitching.
Swish!
Nerves reconnecting, sinew rethreading.
Flesh stitching over shattered bone.
My fingers twitched.
The hand returned.
"Ugh!!"
But the pain…
It never left.
And he—Hati—was already gone.
Shadow Dash.
Above—!
I looked up.
My body moved on reflex.
I leapt back—
No, I tried to.
Too slow.
SKRRRHHKKKK!!
His claw crashed down across my chest, tearing armor like parchment.
SHLKKK—SKCHHH—!
Flesh split. Muscle screamed.
Three deep gashes tore across my torso.
"Haa.. ha..."
My breath left me in a wet gasp, blood pouring in rivulets down my front.
My knees buckled.
But I stood.
Eyes blurred. Lungs burning. Limbs aching.
Still breathing.
Still standing.
I held the daggers firm.
Tssk.
The fire closed in.
The once-wide battlefield was now a suffocating arena, walls of flame hemming us in like a prison forged by the gods themselves.
Each flicker of fire hissed with fury, a serpent’s tongue licking at the ground, snapping at the air.
Crackle! Crackle!
Sparks burst like angry fireflies, casting dancing shadows across the scorched earth.
The circle of combat narrowed.
The heat stung, blistering against my skin.
But I didn’t burn.
I healed.
But it hurt.
'So damn much.'
My knees buckled—just for a heartbeat.
Tendons screamed.
Muscle fibers trembled like they were unraveling.
My boots crunched in the ash as I caught myself, breath ragged, shoulders heaving.
'He’d gotten me at least six times now.'
A gouge to the thigh.
A rake across the shoulder.
Deep lacerations on my chest and arm.
His claws had been everywhere—like he was trying to tear the very soul from my body.
But I kept going.
Driven by something far beyond pain. Beyond pride.
I roared—a sound torn from somewhere primal—and charged.
Another exchange.
CLANG!
Steel rang as my dagger met his claw.
CLANG!
Again—sparks flying.
SLASH!
I twisted and carved across his flank, catching the left hind leg.
A small cut opened.
Barely visible.
But it bled.
He snarled, and the shadows rippled outward from his form like a shockwave, slamming into my chest and forcing me back a step.
Then—he leapt.
A wall of silver muscle, shadow, and fury twisted in midair.
CRASH!!
He landed behind me, the impact creating a shockwave of dust and broken ground.
His claws swiped in a wide arc.
SWOOSH—!
I ducked low—shoulder almost to the ground—and rolled beneath it.
Came up swinging.
TCHK!
A line split across his cheek.
A thin streak of red against the swirling black.
His head jerked slightly.
And then—he smiled.
A cruel, beastly curl at the edge of his mouth, like he was enjoying this.
‘Damn it.’
He wasn’t getting tired.
But slowly, I was.
[Your fatigue has reached 60!]
The message blazed behind my vision, pulsing like a warning siren.
I ignored it.
"Haa.. ha.."
My breath was fire, searing its way down my throat.
My lungs felt like bellows filled with embers.
"Haaa... haa.. "
Each inhale burned.
Each exhale rattled.
Arms heavy.
Limbs aching.
Heartbeat thundered in my ears, but my grip never loosened.
'Still manageable!'
My daggers—bloodied, chipped, trembling—remained pointed forward.
Hati prowled through the inferno, his silhouette outlined by dancing flames.
The shadows clung to his body like a living cloak, swallowing the firelight around him.
His eyes gleamed—twin infernos of hatred and hunger.
The fire wasn’t just a border anymore—it had devoured the entire forest.
CRACKLE. ROAR. SNAP.
Trees buckled under the relentless heat, their trunks groaning like dying beasts.
Some collapsed, charred black and hollow.
Others stood defiant, their branches ablaze like torches in the night.
Ash rained from the sky like cursed snow.
The canopy above was gone, replaced by smoke—thick, choking, a swirling dome that sealed this battleground from the world.
I moved through the skeletal remains of trees, boots crunching over embers.
The ash stuck to my skin, caked in sweat and blood.
Every breath was a gamble—take in smoke or suffocate trying not to.
"GRRRRR....."
A guttural growl.
I turned—instinct more than sight—
TOO LATE.
CRUNCH!
Agony. Pure, blinding agony.
Hati’s massive jaw clamped onto my right shoulder.
His teeth punctured deep—metal against bone—his jaw muscles like stone.
“GRAHHHH—!!”
The scream ripped from my throat.
I thrashed.
Blood gushed.
Nerves lit up like electric wire.
The pain was a wave crashing over my senses.
Bone cracked.
Tendons snapped.
He jerked me side to side like prey.
'Damn it! Let go!'
Desperately, I slammed the hilt of my dagger into his skull.
Once.
THUNK!
Twice.
THUNK!
His head reeled.
His grip loosened just enough.
And then—
WHAM!!
He hurled me across the battlefield like a rag doll.
I smashed into a burning tree, the trunk detonating in a burst of sparks and splinters.
Bark flew. Wood cracked.
My body crumpled to the ground, shoulder limp, arm dangling like meat from a hook.
Blood spread beneath me, steam rising as it sizzled on the hot earth.
Ironblood Regeneration activated—late but relentless.
My veins pulsed like molten steel.
The shoulder writhed, skin crawling back in strands.
Bone twisted and locked back into place with grotesque pops.
But the pain remained.
Unyielding.
‘Come on.’
I rolled just as his shadow lunged again.
SHHWWWK!
His fangs snapped shut where my skull had been a heartbeat ago.
Instead, they crunched down onto the base of a thick, burning tree.
CRRRRSHHHHHHH!!
The tree shattered.
Trunk split.
Roots tore from the dirt.
He flung it aside like a toy.
I kicked backward, boots skidding on ash-slick ground.
My vision swam.
My balance wavered.
He chased.
Tireless. Unrelenting.
A nightmare given form.
Whoosh!
I weaved between two trees—
SLASH!
His shadow claws arced wide, cutting both trunks in half.
CRAAACK—KRRRSHH!!
They collapsed behind me, a falling wall of fire.
I spun. Pivoted.
He leapt.
A comet of muscle and death.
I dropped flat to the dirt, the scorched ground blistering against my chest.
He soared overhead—
And I struck.
Both daggers in hand.
I lunged upward—fury, instinct, desperation.
SCHKKK!
One blade sank deep into his gut, piercing past shadow and fur and hide.
He HOWLED.
A monstrous, echoing roar that shook the trees and split the smoke above.
The shadows convulsed—
BOOM!!
And then erupted outward in all directions like a detonation of darkness.
They hurled me backward—but I held tight to my blade, dragging it free as I was thrown.
Splash!
Blood. Real blood.
It splattered across my face.
And for the first time in the battle—
He bled like a beast.
