Mana coursed through my veins almost on reflex. Lightning began to crackle around me as raw affinity ran rampant. I barely even noticed the change; my focus was trained solely on the beast in front of me. I widened my footing for more stability, preparing to meet the far larger beast head-on. My challenge did not go uncontested for long. The madness in the gorger's eyes flared. Muscles bulged underneath its fur, like a snake coiled to strike. The tension lasted for mere seconds, but it felt like an eternity had passed.
Two opposing forces met, sending out shockwaves from our collision. They always claimed that power begets power. But in this moment, two mountains fought for dominance. The thrill of battle was exhilarating. I stopped myself just shy of losing myself to the thrill, remaining focused on the fight. Lightning bolt struck the gorger's mouth right as I retreated, damaging the beast from the inside. My eyes were so laser-focused on the beast that I did not even see the root by my feet. My toe was caught in my backward momentum, bringing it to an abrupt halt as I kissed the ground.
Disgruntled but still alert, I got back to my feet. Only to see the massive jaws of the gorger mere inches from my face. A shiver ran down my spine as the entire world froze. Blink saved me from the clutches of death by mere moments. Appearing on a tree branch a meter above the gorger, I took a second to calm myself down. The wilden beast became even more enraged at losing its prey. It began releasing shockwaves in a frenzy. One of which struck the tree I was using as support. A loud crack echoed through the forest. The tree began to shake as its base was separated from its roots. Using the downward momentum of the falling tree, I brought my blade down for a decapitating strike. Lightning, aura, and anything I could think of to power my strike went into the blow. My blade met no resistance as it slid through the beast's neck, bringing an end to the Wilden Gorger's life. No blood leaked from the wound as the lightning cauterized flesh and burned blood.
From an outside perspective, the fight may have looked easy. But I had strained almost every part of my body to attain victory. Yet even though I was tired, I could not afford to rest. For my hunt to be complete, I needed the beast's hide. So with deep breaths, I began to skin the gorger. I worked quickly and efficiently. My fight, no doubt, has alerted some of the larger predators to my presence. I wrapped the bloody fur around my shoulders like a cloak. It was wet and stinky but strangely soothing. As I began running for my life. Bursts of aura taking me farther from the center with every step.
I ran for hours, only stopping periodically to allow my aura to regenerate and catch my breath. Leaving the center took far longer than entering it, due to the increased density of beasts near the edge. The large predators had been riled up, forcing the weaker beasts to the edge. I saw many fights break out amongst the agitated beasts. Yet none of it was my problem as I continued running. The rain never let up; the downpour only grew stronger as the mangrove receded. Giving way to the mighty oaks of the forest.
When I exited the mangrove entirely, I was on the brink of exhaustion. My aura was dangerously low. Where mana exhaustion gave a killer headache. Aura was almost just as insidious; my muscles felt like jelly. I could still do everything I needed, but the feeling became even more uncomfortable the more I exerted myself.
Once I was in the forest proper, I finally allowed myself to slow down. Relief and pride washed over me. I had finally done it. I completed the hunt on my own merit; everything up until this point was to prepare me for what is to come. But this was the first time that I felt I could actually do it. And that was worth more than you can imagine. All the training and preparation had led me to this point. It had been up to me whether I sink or swim. And my god did I swim indeed.
"Aaaaaaghhhh!" I heard a scream in the distance. Curiosity consumed me, even with my body in a destitute state, I still decided go and check it out. My body protested from every motion, but I muscled through the discomfort. Whether it was confidence or arrogance pushing me forward, I did not know. The hypocrisy was not lost on me. The whole point of my joining this hunt was to work on my recklessness. And here I was rushing into danger when I was not in a good state.
Yet my curiosity would not abate nor take a backseat in this. The closer I came, the clearer I heard the sounds of battle. From what I heard, there was no way that they were fighting a beast. The clank of steel meeting steel reached my ears. Along with grunts of pain. "Dammit, kid! Just give up already." A rough voice shouted over the noise.
Trees flashed past me as I increased my speed. And when the battle finally came into view, I was shocked at what I was witnessing. A group of four rough-looking men wearing fur pelts was surrounding Bjorn with their weapons pointed at him. Bjorn was covered in cuts and bruises. He was nursing his left side were a deep gash leaked blood. One of the bandits struck out with a falcion. Bjorn tried to block, but he struggled to lift his battle axe, causing the blow to strike him on the arm. Anger flashed through my mind. My vision turned red, and before I even had time to think, my body acted on its own. Prana pumped into my aura rin,g generating more of the dwindling resource at the cost of my health.
Within seconds, I was behind the furthest bandit. My blade already sticking out of his chest. He released a gurgle as blood flowed out of his throat and onto his chest. I was running on fumes, but I did not relent. Another blink and a different bandit lost his head. The blow was sloppy, as my own exhaustion started to get the best of me. Only three bandits remained, but my mana was already depleted. My breath came in ragged gasps as I fought to remain standing. The jelly that was my muscles was accompanied by the headache of mana exhaustion. My vision doubled as the other bandits had already been alerted by my presence. I saw them say something, but my mind was too far gone to hear. Before I knew it, I felt an impact on the back of my head. The last thing I saw was Bjorn being held to the ground as he furiously fought to resist them. Darkness consumed my world as I lost consciousness.