Merrick raised his hand. Other hunters automatically stopped. Years of practice and hunting together ingrained this simple gesture into the muscular memory of their bodies. Warm wind, miraculous into the thick rain forest, caressed their rugged faces.
The silence was broken by the muffled gurgling sound in front of the hunting party. Merrick signaled them to surround the glade, where the sound originated.
Right in front of the hunter, there was a medium-sized creature. Its whole slender body was covered by black scales. 'Romul'An black lizard…' Thought Merrick. Black lines appeared for a second on the face of the aged hunter. 'Hopefully not many will die.' He signed.
Romul'An's black lizards were distant relatives of dragons, or at least many knowledgeable people claimed that to be. Merrick was always very skeptical about it. Still, the fact that this massive black scaled creature was extremely dangerous remained an undeniable truth.
He took out a knife. Simple, without any decorations but very sharp, it has drunk blood of numerous beasts. Suddenly his whole muscular body tensed like a bowstring.
The creature sensed something amiss and turned into his direction. It had a long neck ending with a triangular head with only one big eye in the middle of it. As the vertical pupil's gaze for a second stopped on the hunter's position a drop of cold sweat formed on his forehead.
The lizard was carefully observing the bushes where Merrick was hiding. The creature slowly approached.
5 meters…
4 meters…
3 meters…
2 meters…
"NOW!" – Merrick dashed forward. His killing intent exploded as he stabbed towards the creature's eye. Other hunters also appeared from the woods and ran towards the creature. *Swish* *Swish* Two arrows went straight toward the creature's head.
With unexpected speed, the lizard evaded the arrows. Merrick smirked. 'Got you, bastard!' Surprisingly, his stab went straight for the point where the lizard moved his head.
*HIIIIIISSSSS*
Lizard suddenly opened his mouth and the stab went through his upper jaw. 'Oh, shit...' Merrick paled. The point of the knife stopped a centimeter before the red eye of the creature. The old hunter immediately let go of his weapon right in time.
*HIIISSS* With a strong shake of its head the creature threw the weapon away. If he did not let it go his shoulder would be dislocated. – "Damn!" – Suddenly his face distorted. – "Hell are you doing, Alek?!"
Another hunter jumped towards the lizard slashing it with the short sword.
*Ding*
Unfortunately, it was stopped by its hard scales.
Lizard turned around and bite the unfortunate hunter. 'F*ck. Everybody knows that Romul'An lizard's only vulnerable part is its head!' Merrick was cursing inwardly as he took another knife and attacked the creature another time to attract its attention.
Suddenly his expression changed. 'Huh. A pretty intelligent one…'
Instead of attacking him the creature knocked down another hunter and retired while still biting the one named Alek.
*Crump* Some bones cracked. From Alek's mouth spurted some blood and he stopped twitching.
Merrick frowned. 'Don't you dare die, idiot.'
"Switch. Prepare the ropes as I distract it."
Each hunter took out a rope with a metal hook attached to one extremity.
Merrick ran forward and slashed the lizard's head.
*ROOOOOAR*
Alex's body was tossed away, and one hunter immediately ran towards him. But Merrick could not be distracted as he was facing an overwhelming assault of bites and claw slashes. Given the sheer size and weight of Romul'An lizards, every single attack could leave a normal person on the brink of death in the best-case scenario.
Still, death was not the worst-case scenario.
'These sh*tty lizards have the habit of eating their prey then it is still alive…' Remembered Merrick while carefully avoiding a set of sharp teeth aimed at his head. 'I guess that it is enraged enough to just kill us…I hope…'
Hunters surrounded the creature while it was distracted.
Merrick stabbed from the left, as always aiming towards the bloodshot eye. The Lizard instinctively twisted its head in the opposite direction but was greeted by a very lucky arrow witch directly stuck the creature's probably only vulnerable part.
*AAAARRRRRGHH* A roar of pain pierced the forest.
Lizards forcefully closed the eye, broking the arrow shaft, but the metal tip was still inside.
"NOW! TRAP IT!" – Screamed Merrick and immediately metal hooks flew in the air and ropes started covering the agonizing creature.
As the eye was Romul'An lizard's only weak point it was also very sensitive and debilitating for the creature ones it was somehow hit. Once the arrow struck the target, the lizard's fate was sealed. Lizard's life will end in a few minutes.
'It's done…' – Thought the aged hunter letting out a relieved sigh. Suddenly he turned around and ran towards Alec. Another hunter was already tending his wounds. *Kough* *Kough* - "Hey Boss…" - *Kough* - "…we've done it…"
Alec's voice was interrupted by Merrick's fist which hit the young hunter's face. – "Shut up. Next time I kill you myself since you don't cherish your life enough." – Alec ignored the pain and smiled.
"Boss, come here." – Another hunter called Merrick towards the paralyzed creature. Suddenly an ominous sensation appeared in his mind. - "Look at this." – The hunter pointed towards something glowing on the lizard's closed eye. Merrick squatted near to see better and immediately his complexion paled and pupils constricted to the size of black dots filled with pure, condensed terror.
It was a red symbol silently glowing on the creature's eye. Merrick was only a normal human, but even so, he immediately could guess what this symbol was.
'A rune…'
Some beasts have traces of bloodlines of other powerful creatures and under certain circumstances, these traces may awaken.
A rank 0 creature like Romul'An Lizard could even become a rank I.
Rune's red glow suddenly flickered. "F*ck. Stay back! EVERYONE FALL BACK!" – Screamed Merrick.
*BOOOM*
The beast's eye suddenly opened, and a ray of pure energy obliterated the unlucky hunter in front of it. *ROOOOAR* Its whole already massive body covered with small flickering runes seamed red from their glowing.
Cracking noise could be heard from the lizard's body.
"RUN!" – Ordered Merrick. He gripped the hilt of the dagger.
The lizard was still. An invisible pressure enveloped the surrounding area. The hunter felt as if a huge boulder suddenly were placed on his shoulders. A drop of cold sweat formed on his forehead.
The runes started flickering faster and faster.
A flash of red light blinded Merrick. A strong gust of hot wind hit him the face.
*CRASH* The wind was followed by a huge black shadow which in a split second reached Merrick's body.
'F*ck…'
The world spun around him and a strong pain assaulted his brain. The hunter crushed on the ground a few meters away.
'Such speed…and power…at least a few broken bones…'
Merrick slowly stood up. A cruel gaze of a one-eyed lizard greeted him. The beast was slightly bigger than before, and two small horns could be seen on its head now.
The eye shined with a red glow. Merrick wanted to dodge but couldn't as the blast of red energy was too fast.
*BROOOOM*
"Hmm?! It missed…" – Exclaimed Merrick but immediately after saw a mocking glint into the lizard's eye. 'For real…now it can even toy with me…its so unfair to have a bloodline…'
He raised the dagger in front of him.
"YOU THINK YOU'VE WON?! ASSH*OLE!"
Overcoming pain, he ran towards the beast. 'Since I will die anyway…' He rolled up the sleeve. There was a rune tattooed on his forearm.
Without hesitation, he struck it with the dagger. The rune flashed with blood light. Lizard's gaze flashed with surprise.
"DIE!" – Screamed Merrick and his speed suddenly soared.
Bloody light covered his whole body as he stabbed the lizard's eye.
*BOOOOOM*
[…]
Merrick was gasping for some air. Blood was dripping from his eyes and ears. He could not move a muscle.
'I failed…'
His life was fading quickly as a huge shadow stood above him. The lizard was in pretty bad shape, but still alive. Its lower jaw was nearly gone. In the moment of the impact, it managed to avoid being hit right in the eye by sacrificing the jaw.
There was no more mocking in its gaze. Only cold bloodlust.
'Guess it was a good lection for the bastard to never underestimate an opponent…'
Romul'An's lizard eye glowed with red.
Merrick smiled.
*WZZZZZ*
A gray dot appeared in the air and quickly expanded creating a mirror-like circle. On its surface moved many silver specks.
'Hmm, a descendant of a One-Eyed Treasure Dragon a human crippled by the blood energy overuse.'
A calm voice sounded directly in Merrick's head. 'I will help you, human, but you will have to help me. Rise the child for twelve years. After that, he will be able to survive on its own.'
Merrick was shocked noticing as his body was being quickly restored. 'What…he? Who is he talking about?' He thought instinctively.
The owner of the voice answered as if he could read Merrick's thoughts. 'My son. As I see you want to live. So, it's decided.'
Suddenly the Romul'An lizard was crushed by an invisible force, and the only thing remaining was a drop of blood that entered Merrick's body. 'That's a small payment for your future work. If you don't do what I asked you will die.'
The gray circle closed after a small object gently floated from it.
Merrick remained on the ground for a few minutes trying to understand as everything that happened to him was real or not.
'Well, I'm alive so everything should be real…but what was the voice talking about…'
"WHAAAAAAAAAAH��� – His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a baby's cry.