Yue Lin caught herself before she fell completely, boots grinding against stone as she forced her balance back into place.
"Stall it," she said through clenched teeth. "I need a second."
Riven didn't answer.
He was already moving.
There was no way he'd let this mut harm Yue Lin that easily again.
The stag surged forward, emboldened, antlers gleaming brighter now — gold threading through them like molten veins. It blink-stepped again, the space it and Yue Lin compressing unnaturally.
But Riven arrived before it did.
He send his fist out, Vaern's Basic Martial Arts activated, breath syncing with motion. Palm to antler. He didn't try to overpower it. Just stop its attack and make him its new target.
And it worked.
The antler skidded to a stop, the impact forcing it the side slightly.
Not enough to be an injury but also not weak enough to be ignored.
Tch.
Riven had a feeling, that if he'd reached 10% coverage in his bloodline, he'd have had enough power to actually damage the stag with the addition of his qi.
But he wouldn't get the chance to test that now.
Instead he had to fight a battle in which he could barely even hurt the enemy.
The stag's head snapped toward him fully now.
Good.
Its next charge was meant for Riven.
He pivoted sideways as it blink-stepped again, space folding just enough to make the lunge feel wrong. His shoulder clipped one antler despite the dodge, pain flashing down his arm. He ignored it.
Vaern's rhythm.
Deflect. Slip. Redirect.
He wasn't trying to break bone. He wasn't trying to carve flesh.
He was buying time.
Behind him, he could hear Yue Lin's breathing steadying — slow, controlled.
She must have dodged most of the impact before, not hurt as badly as he initially suspected.
Nice.
We can fight it then.
With their usual method of fighting not having worked they had to do something different.
And Riven already had an idea.
While his needle hadn't caused a big reaction, it also hadn't been completely ignored.
So if he could get multiple needles to detonate on the same spot at the same time...
It could work.
Riven dipped under another sweeping arc and flicked his wrist. A needle buried itself into the same puncture he'd made before, just beneath the stag's shoulder.
But one wasn't enough.
He ducked attack, fingers already slipping to his belt again. Two left.
He needed them in the same place.
The stag pressed hard, forcing him back toward the ridge stone. He twisted aside at the last instant, driving a leg into its ribs — not to hurt it, but to anchor himself long enough to flick the second needle in.
It sank shallow.
The third was harder.
The stag jerked, sensing something wrong. Riven took a grazing hit to the shoulder for it, pain flaring as he forced the needle into nearly the same point.
That was the last.
He rolled under a stomping hoof, breath hitching, and made some distance as the beast reared.
Across from him, Yue Lin straightened fully now. Her grip had stabilized. Grey qi flowed thicker along her dagger's edge.
"Now," she said, clearly having seen his actions.
Riven detonated all three.
The reaction was nothing like before.
The qi collided inside the same pocket of muscle — not a ripple, but a violent internal rupture. The stag convulsed, legs locking, a hoarse roar tearing from its throat as golden patterns flickered wildly.
This time—
It froze.
Yue Lin vanished from his side.
Her blade struck deep into the weakened point, grey qi carving inward, widening the internal damage Riven had created. Blood sprayed across pale stone.
The stag staggered hard.
Not dead.
But wounded properly now.
Riven stepped back in, Vaern's rhythm steady once more.
Now they could grind it down.
The stag thrashed, but the precision was gone
Riven moved in without hesitation.
He struck at the injured side again and again — never overcommitting, never giving it space to recover.
The stag tried its best to retaliate but it kept getting slower and slower. It's movements turning more and more sluggish.
Yue Lin didn't rest either.
She circled the stag, grey qi flickering with each breath. Her movements weren't as fluid as before, but they were sharp. Controlled. Focused.
The stag lunged once more in desperation.
Riven caught the antler with his hands this time, boots grinding against stone as he redirected its momentum just enough to give Yue Lin an opening, before he got overwhelmed by its power, quickly sidestepping.
And Yue Lin didn't fail to seize the opportunity.
Her dagger drove upward through the softened wound, plunging deep into its chest.
Grey qi erupted inward.
The stag's roar broke halfway through.
Its legs buckled.
It collapsed heavily between them, shaking the ridge with the force of its fall.
Silence followed.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then Riven staggered back a step, chest heaving. His arm trembled from the strain of holding the antlers in place. Sweat stung his eyes.
Yue Lin pulled her dagger free.
Blood ran down her right arm in a thin, steady stream — soaking into the red of her dress until it was almost indistinguishable.
His stomach tightened.
"Your arm—"
"I'm fine," she cut in, breath uneven but steadying. "It's not deep."
She paused for a second.
"Let's just get out of here."
He didn't argue.
They didn't have the luxury.
Neither of them was in perfect shape.
He didn't want to risk anyone having been alerted by their fight.
Together, they moved to the carcass. It took both of them to lift it, muscles protesting, but they managed.
No carving. No checking yet.
They dragged it off the ridge and into the trees, moving as fast as their exhausted bodies allowed.
Branches whipped against their legs as they hurried back toward the pond cave, every snapped twig sounding louder than it should.
Only when the familiar rockface came into view did Riven finally slow.
Inside, they lowered the carcass onto the stone floor with a heavy thud.
Then Yue Lin leaned back against a wall, breath still uneven. Riven hovered a second—then crouched in front of her without a word, reaching carefully for her right arm.
Blood had soaked through her sleeve, dark and sticky.
Once he peeled the torn fabric back, the cut beneath wasn't as catastrophic as it had looked.
Long.
Angry.
But not bone-deep.
Relief loosened something tight in his chest.
"You're lucky," he muttered.
Yue Lin watched him as he cleaned the wound with water from the flask, struggling to use his only hand to both douse it in water and also clean it after. A small smile ghosted across her lips.
"Thanks," she said, quieter than usual.
He cleared his throat. "Next time, don't get swatted around."
The faint smile became more obvious. "Next time, hit harder."
Only then did they turn to the stag.
Normally, Yue Lin handled the carving.
This time, Riven stepped in first.
"Rest it," he said, nodding toward her injured arm before she could protest.
He crouched beside the carcass—
And paused.
Right.
He didn't carry a proper knife. Not even needles. They were still embedded in the stag.
Slowly, he looked over his shoulder at Yue Lin.
Her dagger was sheathed in the holster strapped to her thigh again.
"…I'm going to need that," he admitted.
For a second, she just stared at him.
Then she laughed — soft, tired, but genuine.
She shifted carefully and drew the blade with her uninjured hand, before passing it over to Riven.
When he took it, their fingers brushed slightly, but neither of them commented on it.
Riven turned back to the stag, trying to ignore the faint heat creeping up his neck.
"Don't worry," he muttered. "I watched you do this often enough."
The hide was tough, the blade biting in slowly. Muscle resisted under the edge, dense and fibrous, forcing him to lean his weight into each cut. It took effort to pry the ribcage apart.
But when Riven cut into the chest cavity, he felt it almost immediately — that subtle warmth.
He reached in.
Golden.
He exhaled slowly, holding the core in his palm. "Worth it."
Without much fanfare, he got ready to absorb the core.
Golden essence flooded into his veins. In his blood vision, red cells slowly shifted, their color deepening as gold threaded through them.
Nine point four.
Nine point eight.
Nine point nine.
Ten.
It passed ten.
The moment it did, strength surged through him — not violently, but undeniably. His muscles felt denser, heavier with contained force. With his physique alone, he was certain now: he could contest an Early Inner Condensation Realm cultivator.
And if he layered qi over that?
He should be able to properly wound the stronger stags.
But the transformation wasn't done.
Ten point one.
Ten point two.
Ten point three—
No.
It stopped.
Ten point two.
He frowned slightly.
That was only a 0.9% increase. The previous cores had granted a full percent.
Why less this time?
He didn't have an answer.
After a moment, he let the thought go. Progress was progress.
He rose, helped Yue Lin settle more comfortably, and lit a small fire. They ate quietly.
Time passed. Her arm slowly recovered. The meat steadily disappeared.
By the time the last strip was gone, three days remained until the path to the next island was supposed to open.