Essence Code

Cale didn't spare another thought for them and quickly fled. Despite being young and not wise in the scheme of things, he knew they let him run on purpose.

They would stalk him back to camp. Either slaughter him there or launch a full-on attack on the camp.

It was also a half-lovely reminder that there are still others alive out there. The negative half was that they had no intentions of being allies. He sprinted with remarkable speed, far from what he should've been capable of. 

His enhanced stamina paired along nicely, attaining the speed and stamina of an athlete.

He thought of countless outcomes and decided on a well-rounded one.

He would, in fact, return to camp.

There were only four of them and 21 people at the camp. They were all thrown into the forest simultaneously, so the margin of strength wasn't too different, even if they had been hunting more. 

Cale was not the camp's strongest, swiftest, or most durable. But his recent stat boosts undoubtedly bolstered his standing very high in the camp. If they were to enact a tournament, he would possibly place within the top 10, and if he got a bit lucky, top 8.

Either way, their attacks weren't fatally fast or strong; he was able to minimize damage by pure speed, so they definitely wouldn't lose.

But there was also the nearly guaranteed variable; they, too, possessed a camp of sorts with around the same number of people. A full-scale battle would be devastating. 

Their chances of survival in an all-out war between the camps aren't that high, probably hovering around 40%. Cale thought that if one of the Ascended possessed a combat-oriented ability, their chance would skyrocket, but unfortunately, they didn't.

Soon enough, he neared the camp, the massive tree employed as a wall peeking into his view. He mentally sighed and continued onward.

As expected, half a dozen silhouettes followed suit, sticking to the shadows of the trees and densely vegetated areas to act as a blanket.

He came within range of an ability one of the Ascended possessed, immediately grabbing the attention of two teenage boys serving as a watch guard. Immediately, a ring of shouts reverberated from within the camp, and soon after, the poorly made wooden door opened, revealing four people behind it.

Two were girls, and the other two were males.

The boys wore simple leather attire, with their scabbards hanging from their hips. One was nearly bald, a light blonde fuzz visible on his head.

The other had his flowing black hair tied in a ponytail behind his head, revealing his annoyingly handsome facial features. Their eyes brightened at the sight of Cale but quickly gleamed with worry.

"What happened to your arm!"

One of the girls behind them with curly auburn hair ran out, affectionately embracing Cale in a tight bear hug. Before he could speak, the handsome boy, Lapis, stepped forward. "Your arm..." His voice trailed off, his blue eyes fixated on the gash. "You think that's cool?" He scoffed, pulling up his shirt. 

Beneath it was the claw-mark the Hybrid left on his torso. 

It healed quickly; only an unsightly, slowly scabbing wound was left behind.

Lapis sighed, "Yeah, whatever," He buried his face into his hand, seemingly disappointed. The girl, Cecil, pouted. "How can you be so disappointed right now!" She finally allowed some distance between her and Cale, her eyes slowly traveling to the wound on his shoulder. "We need to bandage up your shoulder big time!" 

Cale shied away, peering off into the woods beside him to avoid eye contact. "It's not that bad, seriously." Despite saying it so nonchalantly, in the grand scheme of things, it was terrible for plenty of reasons. 

Cecil didn't buy it but sighed anyway. "Fine, fine. Come here." She grabbed him by the hand and practically dragged him inside. It wasn't anything extravagant. 

Simply three different tents.

One for women, another for men, then another for a makeshift medical room.

The three, accompanied by the other ascended, who possessed a small-scale healing ability, sat together. O

Despite only knowing each other for a week, their comfort with each other was at a peak. Life-and-death situations bonded people quickly; it was no exaggeration to say they were all best friends.

Lapis peered at Cale, interlocking gazes with him. "So... You get attacked... Think they're following you... And you bring them to our camp?" He was dumbfounded by the sheer stupidity Cale portrayed. 

No one in the right mind would lead a group of people they knew were hunting him down to a larger group where they resided.

"Like... I... Why?" He was genuinely speechless.

Cale sighed and looked away in embarrassment, "I figure a head-on fight would be better, if anything, rather than us getting picked off one by one."

The Ascended, Ardyn, sipped his tee and spoke with a tinge of anger painting his voice. "So you decide to think of yourself and endanger everyone else here?"

After he said this, his eyes traveled to Cale, who was still looking at anything but them. Ardyn shook his head and stood up. His short blonde hair bobbled, and his glasses slipped off his nose, which he promptly caught before sneering, 

"I won't heal you. Recover on your own."

Cale flicked his head backward, his expression in disbelief. "Are you serious?" Ardyn turned around and walked to the entrance of the tent before halting. He peered backward, "I could say the same." That was all he said before he exited, attending to more important duties he had going on.

Cecil rolled her eyes, "Such a pouty head." Cale sighed. He didn't blame him after all. After revising his thoughts, he admitted he mainly thought of himself during the situation. Of course, he could've simply run in the opposite direction, but what would he do? Sacrifice himself? He wanted to live at nearly any cost.

He wanted to escape this hellish forest and massacre the ones who put him in this place. To do that, he needed to fight and absorb more stats. And so, by letting them know where the camp was, a battle was foolproof to break out soon.

Of course, this wasn't his line of thinking when he made the decision; He wasn't a demented, power-hungry freak to jeopardize the lives of 20 people to earn power. But thinking about it, the chance to acquire strength was impossible to pass up. 

If he died during the battle, oh well. He was worthless. The same would be said about the rest. The opportunities to grow stronger aren't limited or controlled; Simply kill beasts. Those with flimsy minds sit back and attend to more internal tasks like food, cooking, etcetera. 

Those who fortified their resolve trekked into the wilderness and either died fighting or emerged victorious and most likely accumulated strength.

Before Cale could reply, someone hollered Cecil's name, instantly grasping her attention. Her head flicked to the origin of the sound before she sighed. She stood up and glanced down at Cale, who noticed her gaze from the corner of his eye. She let out a lukewarm smile before speaking, "Stay safe, please."

Cale's cheeks grew slightly red before rolling his eyes, "Of course." She nodded and strode out of the barrack, leaving just Lapis and Cale.

Unfortunately, as the prominent 'soldiers' per se of the camp, talks between the two became uncomfortably serious.

"How low are we on food?" Cale couldn't help but ask. The hunk of meat he had before it was stolen could've comfortably fed six of them or around nine if spread a bit thin. Lapis redirected his eyes to the ground before shaking his head and biting his lip. "Low."

The silence was thick and heavy. Although not spoken, they had a heavy responsibility: "A small group of soldiers haven't returned in two days. Your food got snatched."

He paused, letting out a hefty sigh before sitting up and placing his elbows on his knees. "We have roughly two days left. I, along with two others, plan on going out to go on a hunt for food." 

He stopped speaking and glanced at Cale, who looked back, quickly comprehending the underlying meaning.

Without any thought, he nodded in agreement. "I'll come." Lapis returned a smile. Cale was hasty to jump to opportunities such as this. Not just to gain stats or battle experience but to help.

In fact, if not for Lapis himself, Cale would've been dead by now. "Thank you. We will leave tomorrow. Food is urgent. And strength is needed." 

The words especially hit Cale. 

Power could come in very frequent bursts. He hadn't put any thought into it before, and it was only now that he acknowledged how blessed he was with the Hybrid's stats. Not that he gained 3 stats, but he acquired around 9 points in total, which was monumental. Most people would only earn 1 or even half a point. He managed to get double, almost triple that from one kill. The astonishment from it was manifesting itself now as he mumbled under his breath, "That's insane..." 

Lapis hummed, and Cale shook his head. "Sorry, talking to myself." He knew the chance of getting such a high amount was possible, but for it to come on his third kill was very lucky. Such a power increase would come scarcely in the future. 

Lapis patted his good shoulder, "I'll get Ardyn to heal you in time to come on the hunt. In the meantime, rest and prepare. We'll leave tomorrow."

Cale let out a terse response, and Lapis made his way out.

Cale was left to his own thoughts.

It was hard to be alone. All that ran through his mind was fighting bloodshed and other haunting visions. Despite being capable of killing beasts and one of the strongest humans to exist with the System he received, he was still an adolescent boy at heart and mind. 

The first few hours they arrived here were spent nonstop battling and demise. The sights he witnessed were frightening and inscribed a very prominent mental scar into his being.