My mind was almost consumed by the hunger. Only through sheer effort of will was I able to remain stable. But even I could feel my strength rise slightly from the absorption. It was very minute, but it was definitely there. Raising my nodachi, I prepared for another assault. The lycan was even more infuriated now that I drew blood. The red energy emanating from the beast grew darker. This causes its muscles to expand even further. Within a second of this happening, my instincts screamed at me of imminent death. Sword raised and determination in my eyes, I met the assault with unrelenting vigor.

  Steel met claw as shockwaves of power were released from the clash. I managed to stand my ground for a few seconds before the strength of the blow threw me back. A tree stopped my backward ascent while robbing me of the air in my lungs. The pain from my wounds was only heightened by the impact. My vision began to darken as I struggled to remain conscious. The sound of a roar sounded almost distant as I struggled to get to my feet. I felt a wetness on my chest, and blood flowed freely from my wounds. My nodachi was nowhere near me, having been dropped when I was flung backward by the lycan. Even my mana was dangerously low, with only about 25% remaining.

  I was at my wits' end trying to formulate some way to emerge from this victorious. I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth as I forced the darkness invading my vision to recede. Fury bubbled in my chest as I watched the beast draw ever nearer. I had no doubt in my mind that it could have finished me off in my weakened state. Instead, this bastard was toying with me. It wanted to enjoy my suffering. My anger reached a crescendo, but right as I was about to return to the fray. Something changed; the lycan's head shifted from me towards my party. I was already a hundred meters away from them. But I could make out someone charging towards the lycan. The shape of a battle axe was easily visible as it drew an arc towards the lycan. Damnit! Why now, of all times? I swear I am going to kill that idiot.

  With the last vestiges of my mana, I blinked in between Tjorval and the lycan. Right as the beast was about to dismember the arrogant youth. Excruciating pain consumed me as I blocked the beast's blow with my forearms, causing deep gashes to be left behind. A headache was already forming from mana exhaustion. But I pushed past the pain and discomfort as I grabbed Tjorval's axe before kicking him out of the way. An arrow whizzed past my head, directly into one of the lycan's eyes. For once, I appreciated the interruption in my battle against the beast. With battle axe in hand, I began to attack while staying in the beasts blindspot.

  It was hard work, but wound after wound began appearing on its fur. Every time it shifted its body in an attempt to keep me in view. I would move with it, leaving another wound on its body in my wake. Every attack brought more blood than my skill could consume, strengthening me even further. The blood drinker skill did not seem to run on mana; instead, it utilized the red energy, aura, as it was called. After a while, I stopped resisting the hunger that came with the skill, focusing exclusively on the beast. When the beast finally fell, the last vestiges of energy that kept me standing vanished along with my adrenaline as I collapsed on the ground next to the corpse. Pain wracked every inch of my body as I drew in gasps of breath.

  The backlash from prana running rampant in my body hit like a mountain. I fell into a coughing fit as my already weak body weakened even further. By the way my body looked, I would not be able to walk for a few days, let alone fight. I heard the muted voices of my party members, but I could not focus on them. It was a trivalty in the face of the all-consuming pain running rampant in my body.

  —-

  “What the hell were you thinking?!” I roared at Tjorval while holding him by the scruff of his shirt. His smaller size made this a trivial matter. My brother Magnus tried to calm me down, but it was to no avail.

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  This little shit almost cost the lives of not only Drakkus but all of us. “I… I thought I could beat it.” His response only infuriated me further.

  “You saw that battle just like the rest of us. What part of your small brain saw that and thought, huh, I can beat it? Are you mentally challenged?” I practically growled in his face before throwing him to the ground.

  My eyes moved towards the unconscious body of Drakkus with worry in my heart. He was our only hope of getting out of this hellhole, and Tjorval almost ruined it. He looked like a corpse covered in numerous wounds. He was so pale that if not for the fact that he was still breathing, I would have thought him already dead. “Be lucky that even your worthless arse has a purpose. Or I would have gutted you where you stood.” I growled again, my attention shifting back towards Tjorval.

  “That’s enough, Bjorn. You have said all that needs to be said. We need to get out of here. Before the smell of blood attracts the others.” Even though I hated being told what to do, Magnus spoke the truth. We could not linger here.

  —-

  I awoke in a daze. My vision was spinning, while my head pounded. Trying to get up was an exercise in futility. All it ended up doing was stretching the scabs on my stomach. I felt impossibly weak as I lay there on the ground. The memories of the fight flashed through my head made me grimace. For the first time since my rebirth, I began to regret my decisions. I should have heeded the advice of the counsel and taken some stage 1 warriors with me. But I felt far too confident in conquering the shard with my own strength. How foolish I was.

  The irony of the situation was not lost on me. I lashed out at Tjorval’s recklessness, but my own could mean the end of everyone I brought with me. Initially, I thought this was an early-stage 1 shard, but now it is clear. I had entered a mid-stage 1 shard, putting everyone's life at risk. That lycan was like the embodiment of my shame. The sun had already begun to set by the time I awoke. Orange rays of light broke through the canopies. Creating an almost ethereal feel to the ancient forest. For a few moments, I lost myself in the splendor. Yet the weight of responsibility forced me to regain focus.

  The sound of footsteps drew nearer as Mordial came into view. His light brown hair and rough face filled my vision. He crouched down and began to replace my bandages. He was so consumed by his thoughts that it took a while before he realised I was awake. “Shit!” He exclaimed after stubbing his toe on a piece of root while jumping back in surprise. A low laugh escaped my lips, followed by a grimace of pain as it stretched my scars.

  Mordial took a few moments to compose himself before looking at me with a question in his eyes. “Why? Why did you take it on alone? We could have helped you; maybe then you would not be in this state.” I could see he was conflicted, but there was nothing I could do to alleviate his worry.

  I sighed at his question. “I was arrogant, Mordial. I wholeheartedly believed that I could handle it.” A hollow laugh followed my statement of its own accord. While gazing towards the sky. The answer seemed adequate as Mordial nodded before he left me to my own devices.

  An inspection of my body showed, in just what a wretched state I truly was. Some of my ribs were cracked after being flung into the tree. I had many scrapes and bruises. Yet the worst were the deep gashes on my stomach and forearms. The blood had already stopped flowing, and the wound scabbed over. I could feel my superior regeneration already taking effect. My wounds should be mostly healed in a day or two. Until then, I would mostly be bedridden. With nothing else to do, I began to analyze my fight. Going over everything that happened, where I did well, and where I failed. What I could have done better.

  Ultimately, my thoughts returned to my strange skill. An inspection into my internal world showed that the minor boost from absorbing the blood was permanent. Just thinking about the hunger that consumed me at the end made me shiver. Opening the quest panel proved that it had already updated.

  [Quest: Defeat the Denizens of The Wolven Woods

  Lesser Lycans Defeated (1/3)

  Wargs Defeated (5/15)]

  It was strange to know that we were already done with a third of the shard. If my guess was correct than this shard was split in threes. There were 3 packs of 5 wargs split between the three lycans. I assume the reason the lycan began hunting us was that we killed members of its pack. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Mordial was right. I could not face the lycans alone. My last fight was a sobering reminder of my own mortality.