NOVEL NEXT 96 - Can't Run
Pushed by adrenaline and fear, Div, Lugsellos, Ambisena, and Segorix ran for their lives as the targ was closing in on them.
The night was pitch black, with the thick foliage blocking out what little moonlight there was. They couldn't see where they were stepping.
Still, they were camping so close to the river that they managed to reach the water where the crescent moon was shining. It wasn't enough, but it was all they had.
Hoping the targ wouldn't give chase, they decided to cross the river. They had been walking on the western shore, where Camboaci was located.
Ambisena was the first to throw herself into the water, followed by Segorix and Div. Lugsellos was at the back, closing the line. The water reached up to their waist in this section of the river. The water was bitingly cold, freshly melted off the glaciers looming over the eastern ranges where the Lien River found its source.
They barely noticed the temperature as their minds were focused on escaping the targ.
The silent predator was right behind them.
"I see it!" Ambisena screamed as she looked over her shoulder. The moonlight glinted off the white fur of a monster the size of a house, each step sinking deep into the riverbed, sending up waves like a boat launching. Its dark eyes swallowed all the light, leaving two empty holes in its fur.
"Hurry!" Lugsellos shouted, waddling in the water.
Faster than they thought possible, they reached the other shore. But as they walked onto the beach, Segorix tripped on a rock and fell. Div hurried to pull him up, but they had already lost too much time.
"Sorry," Segorix said, his expression somber.
"It's already halfway through the river," Div said. He could feel the monster's position with Rotlife Sense. "Go on, I'll slow it down!"
"No," Ambisena said. "If we're going to fight, we do it together."
"But…" Div protested.
"We all feel the same, Div," Lugsellos agreed. "Ambi, you have a flarestone, right?"
Ambisena nodded and took out a smooth stone plate she had picked up in the village's supply depot. With the flat of her speartip, she struck it.
A bright, steady light emanated out of the stone.
"Good," Segorix said. "Lug, take your position at the back."
Div turned toward the river and watched as the massive beast slowly stepped toward them.
Species: Targ
Skills:
Silent Hunter - Evolved - Lv4
Rip - Basic - Lv10
Tear - Basic - Lv9
Reinforced Hide - Basic - Lv5
Skill leveled up: Inspect Lv5 -> Lv6
It was by far the most powerful creature Div had inspected. Maybe the rift guardians were stronger, but at least they were sentient. They could be reasoned with, even if just a little.
This monster, however, was not going to let them go.
He tried coming up with a plan, but his mind was almost paralyzed. All he could think about was his friends, and how he had to protect them. He was the team's Evolved Rank, it was his responsibility.
As the targ stepped ashore, Div shook himself and took action.
"Let me take the lead," he told Segorix and Ambisena. "Stay behind me in support."
The two melee fighters nodded in agreement. They wouldn't accept being left out of the fight, but they weren't suicidal. Div was the strongest, the only one who would survive a blow from the targ.
It loomed before him like a monumental tower, its bulk blotting out the flarestone's light. Div's neck craned just to meet its hollow stare. Rotlife was teeming on its white hair, ticks, flies, and other insects.
Div wasn't arrogant enough to think he could cast his only rot-attuned spell on an Evolved Rank beast. But while they were sizing each other up, he decided to try.
He had nothing to lose.
Flexing Mana Manipulation, Rot Magic, and Rotlife Sense, Div tried to wrestle control over the targ's internal mana. It was thick, heavy, hard to budge.
If his own mana was like water, the monster's was akin to honey. It wouldn't flow according to his will.
It took but a moment for the beast to notice Div's actions. With a surge of will, it completely shattered Div's control.
"I can't cast my spell," Div said. He had expected this outcome, but he couldn't help but feel disappointed. Maybe he needed more training, or perhaps he was approaching rot magic the wrong way.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
But now wasn't the time to worry about magic theory. Spear and shield in hands, he took the initiative and carefully stepped toward the targ.
If he hadn't mastered his new magic to the level where he could fight with it, he could trust the rest of his skills.
Seeing that Ambi and Seg had taken a step back and that Lug was already aiming with his bow, Div stepped into Blighted Passage. He was looking for an angle that would allow him to strike the giant wolf on a weak point.
The Reinforced Hide skill was a problem. While it wasn't at that high of a level, it was likely enough to block his strikes. The beast was Evolved Rank, after all.
Sure enough, after taking several steps in the fifth direction, Div found a path that would allow him to strike the side of the targ through Blighted Passage. Arming his spear, he put all his strength into the blow and fired.
The speartip ricocheted onto the monster's defenses. He needed to strike a weak point, like the eyes or the mouth. But with the beast's size, they would be hard to reach.
With his rot-attuned skills, Div only needed a single strike to land.
Even disoriented by Div's erratic movements, the targ wasn't fazed. Seeing that the human couldn't hurt him easily, it relaxed and waited for an opportune moment to strike back.
Div saw through the beast's strategy, but there wasn't much he could do to counter it.
After dancing around each other for a good minute, the targ finally struck with his claws, catching Div off guard while he was in the middle of Blighted Passage.
It hurt. It had been a while since Div had been injured this badly. Blood poured from the gash in his side, flaring burning pain with each of his movements.
Why hadn't Trap Detection detected the attack?
His skill was usually so reliable, but it had been weirdly silent since the targ started hunting them.
"Silent Hunter…" Div whispered, realizing that his skill was outmatched by the beast Evolved Rank's stealth skill.
It wasn't good. But Div didn't have time to process his pain. He was ready to channel Echoes of the Rot Heart when it hit him.
En wasn't here anymore. He couldn't use his healing skill mid-fight. The trance it put him through would make him completely vulnerable to the beast.
"No…"
Pushing past the pain, Div returned to the fight. Only an instant had passed, the targ was still repositioning itself after its strike.
An arrow, fired by Lugsellos, bounced off its back, prompting the wolf to turn his head toward the archer.
Div stepped between his friend and the beast.
"I don't think so," he said, gritting his teeth. "You're not touching them without going through me first."
"Div!" Segorix shouted. "Are you…"
"I'm fine," Div said, cutting him off. "I'll survive. Stay behind me!"
But Segorix and Ambisena refused to listen. Determination shining in their eyes, they charged at the targ.
"We're not letting you do that alone, Div," Ambi said, her voice grave.
Seg's sword and Ambi's spear reached the targ at the same time. Predictably, both weapons bounced off, pushing back their owners. All it did was make the targ shift its attention to the two newcomers.
As it turned its head toward Ambisena, Lugsellos managed to lodge an arrow into the beast's left ear. The monster flinched.
Div seized the opportunity and aimed not for the monster's head—it was high above, out of reach—but for the vulnerable joint beneath its rear leg, where the hide might thin.
All his might was focused into the strike. He needed to break through.
Div's spear slipped beneath the beast's rear leg and punched through flesh. Immediately, he turned to Mana Manipulation and leveraged his improved control to channel as much rot-attuned mana into the beast as possible.
The quantity pouring out of his Rot Heart was too much for him to form into a spell, but it didn't matter. The rotlife inside the targ stirred awake, turning against their host. Joined by foreign rotlife infecting the wound, it would weaken the beast.
But the monster wasn't done, with its other hind leg, it pushed Div away. The strength behind the blow was such that the spear was ripped out from the wound and Div landed on his back several paces away from where he used to stand.
Meanwhile, Lugsellos was raining arrows on the beast's massive body. None missed, but few penetrated its thick hide.
Ambisena and Segorix hurriedly stepped back as the targ growled at them.
"Careful," Lugsellos shouted from his position further away. "It's going to charge you!"
Div scrambled to get up. He needed to stop it.
But he was too slow. Out of position, there was no way he could reach them in time. He was still pushing himself up when the targ propelled itself forward, his maw ready to chomp down on Seg and Ambi.
But as it flew through the night barely illuminated by the dimming light of the flarestone, the sky suddenly turned red. Far east, a flash of crimson light filled the horizon.
The targ abruptly stopped in its tracks, its head turned toward the disturbance.
With a sharp whimper, it fled west, crossing back the river and disappearing into the forest.
Before they could process it, the beast was gone.
As the silence stretched, Div felt his limbs shaking—not from pain, but from the release of fear. The beast was gone, but its shadow still clung to his thoughts. He had stood his ground, pierced it, forced rot into its body.
But if that red flash hadn't come…
He looked at his hands, still bloodied, and flexed them.
"I wasn't strong enough," he murmured, too low for the others to hear.
"What was that?" Segorix asked.
"It's coming from the eastern range," Lugsellos said, coming back from the vantage point from where he had been firing. "Our destination."
"I don't like it," Ambisena frowned. "But at least it scared the targ away."
The three boys didn't answer. Did they really want to know what was capable of scaring such a beast from this distance?
But it was their mission. For the safety of Camboaci, they had to complete it.
"We're not going to enter the mountains," Div said. "We've been told to stop right before the foothills. Remember?"
"Still," Lugsellos said. "This is not reassuring."
The red glow still tinged the edges of the world, even as it faded. It wasn't just color, it felt wrong, like the sky had cracked open and bled.
With the adrenaline coming down, the pain from Div's injury flared up. His left side was in tatters, his clothes soaked with blood.
He needed to be better. Out of the two, En had always been the fighter. Now that he was gone, Div needed to fill in the gap.
"Watch my back," he said, his voice shaking. "I need to heal."
Skill leveled up: Blighted Passage Lv7 -> Lv8