Chapter 18

Is this lady crazy or what? She can't even stand!

She held the knife up, pointing it at me, teeth clenching in a painful smile.

“Come on, pup, what are you waiting for? Feeling bitter about what we did to ya’, huh? Look, look, I’ll make it easy.” She tilted her chin up, exposing her neck but never losing her crazed eye contact. “Come on, it’s right here.”

I growled, hunkering lower and putting up my hackles.

“Hahahaha—come on, puppy, you're not scared, are you? It’s just one little knife.” She swished it through the air a couple times as if to demonstrate.

Her other arm had been ripped off, and her chest and stomach had been torn through. If her armor hadn’t mitigated most of it, she’d probably already be dead.

But looking at that knife, I knew. One quick slash across my body, and it’d all be over for me. I was already weak from everything I’ve been through. Even if that one knife slash didn’t kill me, I’d just be that much easier of prey for something else.

Besides, she would die on her own soon enough anyway. As good as it would feel, I knew I didn’t have to do it.

With a growl, I turned my gaze away, considering how to go about finding a safe shelter for the night.

“Hey! Don’t you dare turn your back on me!” she spat, her voice ragged. She slashed her dagger through the air. “You damn Hell Hound! Let me gut you! I wanna hear you whine just like that pathetic three-headed beast when I stuck him with a spear!”

I whirled around, snarling, “Don’t you dare say something like that about my Dad!”

Her eyes widened. She recoiled slightly. For the briefest moment the smile left her lips, but then it returned. “Wait… heheh… wait, you understood that, didn’t you?” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “Damn it… Yeah, I see it. Just like that one time…”

I turned my head, still cautiously staring her down. “That… one time?”

“Some of you monsters… heheh. I’ve been saying it for years. Every once in a while you come across one who’s just too damn smart. Well, since you understand me…” Her gaze hardened. “Come on. I’m going to die either way, and I was hunting you. At least give me a chance to die with honor.”

I lowered my head, glaring at her. I couldn’t speak, but my posture said, “Why should I care about your honor?”

“So, that’s how it’s going to be, you little shit.” Her lip twitched, flashes of that manic smile jolting through her expression. “Then since it’ll take me some time to die, let me tell you a story. It’s about what’s going to happen to the rest of those flea-bitten mutts!”

If she wanted my attention, she definitely got it. I let my lips curl up, showing her my puppy teeth as I growled.

“Last I saw them, we already had them in cages. Nice small cages we just feed them a bit of food through. Most of them had really bad attitudes, so we went ahead and gave them a little adjustment.”

I barked viciously at her. It only made her smile.

“That’s right. The baton I poked you with? Every time they so much as flash a fang, we’ll be sticking them with one of those. When training wild monsters, the first thing you have to do is get the aggression out of them. A little carrot and stick is the best way, and it’s usually a lot more stick in the beginning.

A weak chuckle shook through her. “Oh, but they’ll eventually obey and serve their new masters. They’ll crave their master’s praise and feel quite content with their new lives. So don’t worry.” The smile became steadier. “But if they don’t, and we find we can’t tame them… well, then we’ll ship them off to the fighting pits. Even Hell Hound Pups will fetch a nice price. Heheh, and look, at least that way they can provide some entertainment until they’re worn down and die. So they won’t be totally worthless.”

“If I find out anyone hurt them!” I barked with hatred.

“Oh, and let’s not forget Mama. She took a whole lot of work to get under control. Hell, we shocked her so many times, I was afraid we might actually end up killing her. But she eventually lost her fight; they always do. Then we got her tied down nice and tight where she can barely move an inch. We’ll keep her like that until we figure out what to do with her. She’s too old to be tamed; we might just have to kill her or send her to the fighting pits if we can’t find a buyer.”

I saw red. Not literally, but I wanted nothing more than to rip at her exposed throat. I knew what she was doing, though. She was trying to get me to do just that. She wanted me to get close. And it was working.

It wasn’t just her words or the horrible image she painted of what was happening to my family. It was the way she said it. The way the manic smile kept twitching onto her lips, the excitement in her eyes, the cruelty.

“And the really big one with three heads… We had to kill him, of course. A monster like that—the only choice is to put it down. I’d never seen a god felled before but was surprised how easy it was.” She flashed her teeth at me. “I was one of the riders who got to stick him with a spear, you know. For a god, he cried out so pathetically, just like any other—”

I charged forward, snarling, “Shut up!”

She lifted her knife. This is exactly what she wanted from me, and I knew that. But her exposed neck wasn’t my goal. If that’s where I chose to tear into her, she’d stab me repeatedly, and we’d both die. But she only had one arm, so going there first would mean…

I feinted going up to lunge at her neck but then dropped low. Her knife swished over my head. She ground her teeth, wobbling off balance and nearly falling as she’d relied on the muscle memory of her missing arm to catch herself, only to find it wasn’t there.

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My paws dug into dirt, leaping up towards her arm as she corrected herself.

I felt the blade slice my flesh, beginning deep at my shoulder and shallowing out down my flank, but then my teeth found their mark, already sinking into her wrist. I twisted and yanked.

“Aaaaaahhh!” she screamed, the knife forced out of her hand; she lifted me but wobbled back and fell.

She hissed with the frustration of not having another hand to attack me with while I sank my teeth in deep, continuing to rip and pull. A feel of blood quite different from the rabbits filled my mouth. Not necessarily in its taste, but in its richness. It wasn’t good, it tasted like it should be good, but its intensity betrayed it. It was like over-sweetened tea that made my stomach churn.

But I stayed latched on; I never stopped grinding my teeth and ripping. She had no way to attack back, and her attempts to shake me off failed as she screamed in pain.

Finally, she did find a strategy as she rolled on top of me. She lifted and slammed her chest down over and over, crushing me, or at least, trying to. The metal of her armor was jagged and torn, and I felt it trying to crush my ribs. But for each slam, she screamed as well, disturbing her own wounds.

She wasn’t strong. She wasn’t that strong, I should say, but still stronger than me. Yet, I had rolled around with Luke enough times to feel comfortable in this situation. I knew how to fight with someone who had more power than me.

She lifted to slam me again, but this time I let go of her arm. I dug my back paws into the dirt, seeing the ferocity in her eyes, and I’m sure she could see it in mine as well. She knew what was coming.

I leapt at her throat.

In that short moment before connecting with the soft tanned flesh that was exposed under her chin, a thought struck me. It was her eyes, her demeanor. There was something different about her. There was something different about this moment before the kill. She was not like the rabbits. She was about to die, and she knew she was about to die, but she wasn’t prey—she didn’t look like prey.

At that moment, I didn’t have the clarity of mind to fully appreciate it, but I would remember this as a truly defining moment where I understood the predator-prey relationship on a deeper level.

My teeth sank in, and her screams turned into a gurgle. I’d badly mangled her remaining hand at the wrist, but still she tried to pull me off with a failing grip. I continued to shake and tear, and soon, with a final dying breath, she fell limp on top of me.

I was small, so she was heavy, and I had to force my way out from under her. Once free, I looked down at her now still face. Eyes still wide open and crazed, but undeniably dead… I thought, You wanted to die with honor? Too bad, you’re nothing now. There’s nothing honorable about your last moments, and I’m the one who’s still alive! If your blood didn’t taste so bad, I’d eat you—then you’d be nothing but dog shit!

The side of my mouth curled up into a last growl, then I turned to walk away.

I made it a few steps before my legs suddenly gave out. I fell to my side. I breathed heavily, praying that nothing else would happen today, that not another monster or human was waiting around for the easy opportunity to finish me off. If there was, I’d be done. I couldn’t even run anymore.

Ever since that bird snatched me from right in front of my sisters, every single moment had been a fight for survival, and finally, I was at my limit.

I lifted my head enough to look at my new knife wound. It was deep, and gushing blood. I let my head fall limp again.

I couldn’t hunt like this. I couldn’t get food. I certainly wouldn’t be able to walk back to my den… There is no way I could survive…

Then, a series of dings sounded in my head, and blue screens popped up in front of me, each one overlapping the next. With it, I felt a new strength flooding into my body.

Basic Fighting level up!

Basic Fighting is now level 4!

+5 strength

+4 dexterity

Foe Eliminated - Lvl 16 Homo Sapien - Blood Peak Tribe

Experience gained!

You have leveled up!

You are now level 4

Stat Gains

+1 Dexterity

+2 Attunement

+4 Sense

You have leveled up!

You are now level 5

Stat Gains

+1 Dexterity

+3 Attunement

+4 Sense

You have leveled up!

You are now level 6

Stat Gains

+1 vigor

+1 Strength

+2 Dexterity

+3 Attunement

+5 Sense

You have leveled up!

You are now level 7

Stat Gains

+1 Vigor

+1 Strength

+3 Dexterity

+4 Attunement

+6 Sense

[Achievement! The Most Dangerous Game]

This was no rabbit or mole! You just killed a human! Congratulations!

+5 Vigor

+5 Strength

[Achievement! Punching Up]

You’ve killed something far higher level than you!

Bonus Development Awarded!

Temporary bonus: +100% to all experience gains until you next sleep.

[Achievement! An Acquired Taste]

You’ve tasted blood that is not quite to your liking. But who knows? Maybe one day that will change.

Bonus Development Awarded!

[Achievement! Against the Odds]

Crushed, wounded, and alone—you still found a way to survive. But this is just the beginning of your journey.

Temporary bonus: +20 to all attributes until you next sleep.

[Evolution Hint Acquired!]

You have looked into the eyes of one who knew death was coming and saw the lines blur between predator and prey.