The crushing tension that had gripped them since the Fangmaw's attack eased, driven off by the enticing smell of roasting meat.
Sophie worked with precise care, her brow furrowed as she cleaned and bandaged Bran's injured shoulder.
Using the paste she'd made from the broad-leaf herbs, she created a makeshift bandage, her movements economical and sure.
Bran, pale and wincing with every touch, was at least stable, his breathing no longer the shallow, ragged gasps of before.
He sat propped against the tree's trunk, watching her work with wide, grateful eyes.
Meanwhile, Daniel and Ragnar had been tasked with butchering the Crocodilian.
It was a messy, grisly affair, but the growing hunger in their bellies was a powerful motivator.
They built a fire pit, Ragnar using his strength to haul flat rocks into a circle, and soon thick slabs of the creature's tail meat were sizzling over the flames.
The smell was surprisingly savory, a blend of fish and something vaguely reptilian that made their mouths water.
As they finally ate, a trace of their old academy banter resurfaced, offering a welcome shield against the harsh reality of their situation.
Ragnar tore into a piece of meat eagerly, chewing thoughtfully for a moment before making a face.
"Tastes like angry rubber," he grumbled, his voice muffled by the mouthful.
He pointed his greasy knife at Daniel.
"No offense to your cooking skills, but next time, serve me a more tender part that tastes better than this!"
Sophie, without looking up from securing the bandage on Bran's arm, retorted with her signature dryness.
"Be grateful, Ragnar. It's probably more tender than your head."
Ragnar chuckled, a deep, rumbling sound that seemed to chase away some of the forest's gloom.
"Hey, my head is a finely-tuned weapon. This," he said, gesturing with the half-eaten steak, "is a chewy punishment."
Daniel managed a small smile, the first genuine one in what felt like an eternity.
The simple act of sharing a meal, of trading tired insults, felt like a luxury from a forgotten world.
For a moment, they weren't just survivors, they were a team.
Later that night, the burden of their fragile survival returned.
The two suns had set, and the forest shimmered with glowing plants.
A thousand distant stars sparkled in the dark sky.
They agreed to take turns on watch, and Daniel, as he always did, volunteered for the first shift.
As the others fell into a restless, exhausted sleep, Daniel sat at the edge of their small camp, the dying embers casting a soft, orange glow.
The silence was absolute, broken only by the rhythmic drip of moisture from the giant leaves above and Ragnar's impressively loud snores.
This was his time. This was his workshop.
He pulled the F-Grade Vibro-Knife from his belt. In the faint light, its flaws were obvious.
The edge was nicked and uneven from its futile attempt to pierce the Crocodilian's hide.
It was a pathetic weapon, a relic of a dead man. But to Daniel, it was raw material.
He closed his eyes, his mind sinking past the physical world and into the deep, dark ocean of his soul.
He focused his will, not on a creature, but on the knife held tightly in his hand. A single, silent command resonated through his being.
A new prompt appeared on his interface, one he hadn't seen before.
[Warning: Assimilating a non-sentient object. You may choose to infuse it with a fraction of a stored soul or use a raw assimilation charge.
Infusion offers specific properties, raw charge offers a general upgrade. Select method.]
The choice was a revelation. He could imbue items with the traits of the creatures he'd defeated.
He could make a blade fast like the Crawler or tough like the Crocodilian. The possibilities were staggering.
For now, however, he needed a simple, powerful upgrade. He chose the raw charge.
[Soul Assimilation successful on F-Grade Vibro-Knife.]
[Assimilation Charges Consumed (7/10 Remaining).]
A faint, dark light, visible only to him, enveloped the blade. It seemed to pulse with a life of its own.
The metal shimmered, the steel flowing like liquid mercury for a breathtaking second before solidifying again.
The nicks and imperfections on the edge vanished, smoothed over into a razor-sharp, flawless line.
A faint hum came from the hilt, a quiet pulse of power.
[Item Enhanced: Vibro-Knife upgraded to E-Grade.]
[New Stats: Attack +10. Increased durability and sharpness.]
Daniel's breath hitched. He ran his thumb gingerly along the flat of the blade. It felt different. Heavier. More dangerous.
The potential was intoxicating. He glanced at the E-Grade Deflector Vest he had scavenged.
He could enhance that too, make it a true piece of armor. But a cold, calculating part of his mind held him back.
His charges were a finite, precious resource. He couldn't afford to waste them on minor upgrades when a single soul could grant him so much more.
He had to be patient. He had to wait until he leveled up.
The first rays of the white sun bled through the forest canopy, signaling the start of another day.
As Ragnar and Bran began to stir, Daniel stood up, stretching his stiff limbs. He needed another opportunity, another moment alone.
"I'm going to scout for some more of those herbs Sophie used," he announced, his voice casual.
"And maybe see if I can find us a less chewy breakfast. I'll check the perimeter."
Sophie, already awake and tending to the fire, gave him a long, analytical look. "Be careful," she said, her tone neutral. "Don't wander too far."
"I won't," he replied, before slipping away from the camp and melting into the misty, pre-dawn gloom of the forest.
He moved with a quiet purpose, his senses on high alert.
It wasn't long before he found what he was looking for, though it wasn't herbs or breakfast.
Lying in a small, blood-soaked clearing were the bodies of two aspirants. Their gear was distinctive, heavy leather adorned with crude metal plates and horned helmets.
They were from the Viking faction, a notoriously brutal group from the academy who believed strength was the only law.
They had lived by the sword, and it seemed they had died by something far, far sharper.
Their bodies were covered in deep, precise slash wounds.
The stillness of the forest, the absence of his teammates' watchful eyes, was a gift. This was it. A perfect, risk-free chance to feed the hunger in his soul.
He approached the first corpse, a large man with a thick, braided beard. His name tag read Sam Larry.
Daniel knelt, placed a hand on the man's chest plate, and unleashed his power.
For the first time assimilating a human, a new, sharp warning flashed across his vision.
[Warning: Residual Consciousness Echo detected. Assimilating the soul of an Awakened carries a risk of psychic backlash.
High Adaptability stat required to resist memory fragmentation. Proceed?]
He didn't hesitate.
A sudden shock, unlike the smooth rush of a creature's soul, shot through him.
It was a chaotic burst of sensory information, the roaring cheers of a crowd in the Blood Bath, the taste of cheap ale, a flash of blinding rage.
He also saw a woman he'd never met before, getting intimate in a corner back at the academy.
A brief, disorienting glimpse of a dead man's life hit him. He gritted his teeth and pushed through.
The psychic static cleared, and the pure energy of the soul flowed into him.
[Assimilation successful on Awakened: Sam Larry (F-Grade).]
[Consciousness Echo resisted.]
[Gain: Agility +5]
[New Skill Gained: [Godspeed Rush (F-Grade)] : Temporarily boosts speed and reflexes for a short duration at the cost of minor fatigue.]
[Assimilation Charges Consumed (6/10 Remaining).]
He moved to the second body, a woman named Zariah Malvek.
He steeled himself for the echo and repeated the process.
This time, he felt a wave of cold ambition, the thrill of a successful hunt, and a sharp, stinging sense of betrayal.
He pushed it away, focusing only on the power.
[Assimilation successful on Awakened: Zariah Malvek (E-Grade).]
[Consciousness Echo resisted.]
[Gain: Spirit +5]
[New Skill Gained: [Omnivision (E-Grade)]: Grants a constant, subtle awareness of living auras within a small radius. Range and clarity improve with the Spirit attribute.]
[Assimilation Charges Consumed (5/10 Remaining).]
The moment the skill settled into his soul, the world changed. It was like a new sense had been switched on.
He could suddenly feel the life around him, the steady pulse of the giant trees, the faint, skittering auras of insects in the undergrowth, the distant flicker of a small animal.
It was a steady flow of information, like a tactical map laid over reality.
He now possessed a powerful escape tool and an invaluable early-warning system.
He was stronger, faster, and more aware than ever before. He stood up, the newly enhanced knife in one hand, two stolen souls settling within him.
He was turning into a monster, feeding on the dead, drifting further from the boy his family knew and closer to the weapon he needed to save them.