— Krax was in the forest; his steps were uneven, jerky, and heavy. He struggled to hold his sword properly, forcing him to drag it along the ground. His eyes looked heavy, as if they might close at any moment, and his hair, which had been slicked back, was now falling over his forehead, matted with blood. He stopped next to a tree, collapsing into a bush —
"I have… to clean my wounds"
— He adjusted his position, sitting with his back against the tree and his head tilted back as he tried to catch his breath. His hand reached behind his belt to pull out a bandage he had —
"It's the last one left"
— He began to bandage each of his wounds, letting out groans at times; the pain from each wound was deep, and that man had inflicted so many that he didn't have enough bandages to cover them all, prioritizing the areas necessary for mobility —
"I hope this is enough to get me to them"
— He got up again, crawling back into the depths of the forest from whence he came. It was dark; he could barely see anything. The trees were so dense they barely let any moonlight through. Even in that situation, Krax seemed inhumanly persistent, one step following another at a pace that gradually stabilized, until the howls of animals caused Krax to fall to the ground once more —
"I can't stay here—those were wolves"
— He got up again, this time picking up the pace. The howls seemed to be getting closer, and he could begin to hear footsteps running toward him. Krax had no strength left, but with what little he had, he raised his sword in the direction the footsteps were coming from. His expression relaxed when he saw that the one who emerged from the bushes was none other than Kaelen —
"For e… But what happened to you? Why are you so badly injured?"
"Haha, I'm glad to see you too."
— Krax was about to fall again; seeing Kaelen made his muscles relax, but Kaelen caught him before he hit the ground —
"What happened?"
"A Lurien"
"A Lurien?"
"They're creatures that live in the depths of the sea; they're named that because of their transparent eyes that seem to reflect the moon. Remember why—it was one of them that left me in this state"
"Why did you fight it?"
"It had kidnapped a girl and also needed information about something. Haha, in the end, I couldn't even help the girl or get the information I was looking for."
— Just then, Oberon also appeared in front of them, dagger in hand. You could see the sweat on his face and his short, rapid breaths —
"I finally found you. I thought you'd left us… What happened to you?"
"He was attacked by a creature that looks like a fish."
"Well, I was the one who attacked first."
"There's no time. I heard wolves howling. We need a better place to… shit."
I was once again in a rather disadvantageous situation; a pack of wolves, including a white one, had appeared in front of me. They were surrounding us, observing, analyzing who they would attack first. My sword still hurt; it made it hard for me to breathe because of my fractured ribs, and my legs were very weak. It was five wolves against three wounded people deep inside a dense forest.
One of them actually leaped at me, opening its jaws wide; its teeth would have touched my nose if it weren't for Kaelen, who pulled me toward him, narrowly dodging the attack.
It was the worst possible situation—I wasn't on my own territory or in my best condition. Even so, I swung my dagger at the largest wolf, the one right in front of me.
"We just have to kill the alpha, and the others will flee"
"Understood, Krax, wait here"
"Alright"
Krax can't fight; his injuries are too severe, which means the only ones available are Kaelen and me.
"The plan is simple: I need time to kill the alpha; you'll take care of the other four. Sorry if this sounds a bit harsh, but if I do that, I'll surely die."
— Kaelen just sighed, letting out a low growl, and quickly moved toward one of the wolves to land a kick—one that drew all the wolves' attention toward him —
"Not you—you're going to play with me"
My words, though they seemed arrogant, were nothing more than a charade; this time I didn't even have a real plan. Kill the alpha wolf? How? I was going over everything I'd learned—how to kill that animal with a simple dagger—but I didn't have much time left; they were already charging toward me. This time I didn't have Kaelen to protect me; he managed to bite my forearm. I screamed in pain before biting my lower lip and trying to stab him, but this wolf was smarter. He sensed the danger and let go of my forearm before I could strike.
It was very difficult for me to move in my condition, and watching it lick its teeth with my blood was a sight that sent a slight chill down my spine, but it also made me realize something: my blood was red. That substance—Malice—wasn't in my body. I looked at Krax, who was on the ground; his blood was red too, but I could also tell—though it was subtle—that his sword had darkened.
I turned back toward my enemy, who had vanished in front of me and reappeared on my left side, trying to bite me. I managed to dodge him in time and make a small cut. I was beginning to understand something I'd been searching for: Malice wasn't just a substance; Krax had coated his sword with it, which meant I could do the same.
— Oberon, he went on guard, dagger forward, but his eyes widened when he saw Krax step beside him, holding a sword that looked too heavy for him —
"What are you doing? Sit back down"
"So you can go back to tearing my ears off with your victory? Don't even think about it"
I smiled; it was the first time hunting had seemed so fun to me. Krax Lovedropht, you're a great guy.
"Focus on what you want for your weapon, Resi…"
— He couldn't even finish his sentence before he was attacked by the wolf. Krax was already on his last legs; dropping to one knee, he managed to block the blow with his sword. The wolf didn't stop there; it began circling him, attacking repeatedly from different angles and directions. Krax was cornered by a single creature. He was about to get back up when he saw Oberon's smile —
"I get it now, haha, that's what Malice was"
I finally understood what Malice truly was: a substance of strange origin that exists within every being, yet is malleable and possesses diverse properties. If that's the case, I can use it too.
I began to concentrate, closing my eyes, with the dagger in my hand and in my mind, imagining its shape. I felt something strange, as if a part of me were leaving my body; I felt the muscles in the arm holding the dagger vibrating incessantly. It was a strange sensation because it only lasted a moment before I began to feel cold in that same arm. Even so, I continued focusing on strengthening the dagger, and when I opened my eyes, it was already dark.
[Having escaped a dangerous situation and comprehended the first stage of refinement, you have entered the list of transcendents; you are in the tenth rang, the Malkhuth rang].