Chapter 6: Monster Beast
She had woken up all at once, as though she had been falling and struck the ground at full speed, but without the sound of impact.
And the same darkness that filled the cavity welcomed her with open arms, carrying its heavy, damp air. Her body's breathing was erratic and ragged, as though she had just run a marathon several kilometers long. The wolf's body trembled slightly, its muscles tensed by something that belonged to the world of dreams. Only the physical echo of a dream that refused to leave entirely.
"Rain..."
The voice resonated in her mind, calling her name like an echo, refusing to fade. The residual images of the dream still flickering in her mind and consciousness: the sickly yet soft voice, its words carrying both warmth and sadness.
With a desperate urge not to forget, she pressed her eyelids shut with such force, trying to hold on to the remaining fragments of that dream before they dissolved completely into her consciousness. But her efforts were in vain. The memories slipped through her nonexistent hands, without a body to feel them, yet leaving behind the sensation of guilt, nostalgia, helplessness, rage.
"No matter what it costs, I will save you."
She exhaled slowly. Those words were hers. And Eduard was no longer there to remind her of them.
She stayed still for a moment longer, letting the weight of the dream settle somewhere it wouldn't get in the way. Then she opened her eyes.
-AUUUUUUUUH-
The howl struck her before she could prepare herself. It bounced off the stone walls, piercing her ears like a spear.
The wolf's body shuddered completely. The ears flattened against the skull. The sound reverberated through the walls, amplified by the narrow space of the cavity, overwhelming her senses.
[Danger Detection] [Enhanced Senses]
A second howl rang out in the distance. It was far too loud, and at the same time far too close to her position.
The howl was prolonged, very deep and very resonant, as though whatever was howling was not a wolf. Before she could keep analyzing the direction of the howl, it cut off abruptly.
Silence. As though the forest understood it should make no sound in the presence of whatever was out there, prowling.
The wolf's breathing had stopped. Every muscle in its body was screaming on maximum alert.
Then another howl rang out from the same direction, but different.
-(That howl isn't...?)-
A high-pitched howl sounded again. Not a hunting call. Not a territorial one either. It was a summons. And it came from an alpha.
With curiosity, she moved cautiously toward the entrance of the cavity and scanned the surroundings. The stabbing pain from the wound in her ribs was still present. The analgesic chemical she had applied was still working, but the body was at its limit.
[Danger Detection]
The skill activated like an alarm. A shiver ran down the wolf's spine from its head to its tail, something within warning her that something terrible was happening.
With a measure of courage, she poked her snout through the opening between the roots of the tree. The light of dawn was only just beginning to filter through the canopy, and the shadows it cast were long and distorted. As she scented the area, she noticed the air was heavier, thick with a putrid and nauseating smell.
[Sense of Smell] [Enhanced Senses]
With her sense of smell sharper and more defined than before, she separated each layer of scent: damp earth, moss, tree sap, the trail of dried blood she had left the day before.
But there was one particular smell, something more distinct, resembling oxidized metal mixed with decomposing flesh. She couldn't identify what this smell belonged to. And alongside it, there were small traces of blood.
-(Did something happen out here while I was resting? A hunt from other predators? Probably. I need to check.)-
She slipped out of the cavity, her movements still limited but precise. She surveyed the surroundings of the clearing dominated by the giant tree. There were signs of change.
On one of the trees at the edge of the clearing, there were marks.
Deep claw gouges carved into the bark of several trees, all bearing the same mark. They didn't look like a wolf's doing, they were too large, far too wide to have been left by a wolf of her size. But the pattern was the strangest, most curious part: there were four parallel lines that curved downward along the bark, as though whoever had made them had retractable claws.
Beside a bush, a trail of blood began to make itself relevant, dragging northward from the refuge and disappearing into the dense undergrowth of the forest.
Suddenly a howl rang out in the distance, this time more piercing, and it was followed by more howls, then another, and another.
It sounded like a hunt.
-(No. It's more like a chase.)-
In the howling, there was a very subtle difference in tone. It didn't sound like the coordination of a group making a kill. It was full of desperation and fear.
[Keen Hearing]
By sharpening her sense of hearing, she could distinguish the sounds in greater detail: heavy breathing, irregular footsteps, the crack of branches under the weight of a considerably heavy creature. And in all those layers there was one sound that left her cold, raising the fur across her body.
A low, hoarse and abnormal growl could be heard, unlike anything she had ever heard before.
-(Should I go investigate? No. I'm scared. After what happened to me yesterday I don't feel confident. My body is still recovering. Whatever is in that forest would tear me apart. I'm not in any condition to face a predator.)-
And then she remembered something. The dream.
-(But... if I keep hiding, I won't be able to get more symptoms and skills.)-
[Precise Movement] [Jump]
In one swift motion, she landed beside the blood-covered bush.
-(And whatever is out there, if it's a larger predator, it'll probably give me the chance to become stronger.)-
-(Besides... if there's something more mysterious and dangerous in this forest, it's better to know in advance before acting, and stay on guard so it doesn't catch me off guard.)-
[Agility] [Endurance]
She pushed deeper into the forest, following the blood trail and seeking out the source of the badly wounded prey. With every step, the stabbing pain was relentless. The ache in her ribs was still notable, but bearable. With her stubborn determination to find answers, she kept moving.
The blood trail led her to a deeper part of the forest, a zone where the trees seemed to grow older and more twisted. The sunlight was barely visible through the canopy, it was suffocating.
It was then that she saw the blood trail cut off in one direction.
At the edge of a small ravine, partially hidden behind thorny bushes, lay the body of an animal.
But it was no ordinary animal. It was a wolf. The alpha wolf.
Its dark coat was now stained with its own fresh blood. Both of its hind legs were bent at an unnatural angle, as though they were copper wires that had been twisted. The alpha was breathing with great difficulty, and the piercing eyes that had once commanded authority were now clouded with fatigue and pain.
But what caught her attention most was the wound in its side. It was no simple swipe from another predator. It was deeper and more devastating, the alpha's viscera were visible, shredded, and its vital organs were almost exposed. It looked as though something had wanted to tear its body apart and reduce it to pieces. And along the edges of the wound there was a strange dark outline and color, as though the skin was necrotizing, as though some kind of venom was spreading through it.
Suddenly the alpha's eyes lifted slightly and looked at her. Recognizing the wolf it had driven out of its pack the day before.
As it tried to growl to communicate, the only thing that came out was a weak whimper.
-(Look at you. Who's at whose mercy now? It was just yesterday you tried to kill me. Isn't the situation ironic? Now here I am standing in front of you, and all I can think is that you're just worthless garbage that deserves this suffering. Haha...)-
She approached the alpha's position slowly, watching it with a cold, empty gaze.
[Danger Detection] [Danger Detection] [Danger Detection]
Like a repetitive, incessant, and intense alarm, the skill was warning her of something. Whatever had attacked the alpha. It was still nearby, very nearby...
The wolf's body bristled and began to tremble, as though it still held genuine fear toward a larger predator.
-(What is this body reacting to like that? It's practically begging to flee this place. There's something that's still close. But I should take advantage and devour it right now. Which would also mean whatever attacked it noticing my presence...)-
In the middle of her thoughts she was interrupted as another piercing howl rang out, this time much closer.
And from the darkness of the deep forest, a figure made itself known. Due to the scarce light filtering through the atmosphere, its features were barely distinguishable, but the closer it came, the more its appearance could be made out.
At a glance, it might have looked like nothing more than a larger-than-average wolf. But the longer you looked, the more details emerged from the shadows, each one more anomalous than the last.
The wolf-like figure was massive, nearly half the size of a grizzly bear. Its coat was an unnaturally ashy gray, and there were patches all over the large wolf's body where the skin was exposed and cracked, as though it had mange.
The length of its spine and shoulders was far too unnatural. Protrusions jutted from nearly every part of its body, resembling hard spines of pale rock, irregular and sharp, as though its own skeleton had grown in such grotesque ways that it had pierced through the skin from within.
But the part that left her most speechless was the large wolf's head.
There were multiple eyes surrounding its eye sockets: two where they should normally be, and four more distributed asymmetrically across its skull and forehead, blinking frantically and without any synchrony. They glowed a dark yellow.
And its snout was stretched wide open, revealing rows of sharp, crooked, and disordered teeth jutting out at deeply unnatural angles.
From between those fangs dripped a dark, viscous substance that burned the vegetation wherever it touched the ground, leaving behind a strange hissing sound.
And the wolf's claws were long, appeared to be retractable, and bore stains of fresh blood.
[Danger Detection] [Danger Detection] [Danger Detection] [Danger Detection] [Danger Detection] [Danger Detection] [Danger Detection]
The skill was screaming repeatedly in her mind with unbearable intensity.
The beast looked around erratically with its many eyes until it fixed on her, all of them settling on her for a moment. Then it slowly turned its attention toward the barely alive alpha.
It contorted its face into something resembling a smile, deeply unsettling with its mouth full of crooked teeth on full display.
With a slow and deliberate step, it moved toward the alpha. The beast seemed to be in no hurry, as though it still retained part of its primitive mind.
The alpha, still on the ground, desperately tried to rise, using its front legs. Its will to survive pushed it to keep fighting despite the disadvantage. Even wounded and dying, it let out a weak growl, but one full of desperation.
It was a useless act.
The beast simply looked at it and lunged at an impressive speed that contradicted its size.
Its jaws closed around the alpha wolf's neck with a sickening crunch. The dark substance began to seep from its mouth and drip onto the wound. The alpha began to convulse, whimpering in agony.
-(Impressive. It's a dark, slimy substance. It looks like some kind of corrosive venom.)-
Watching from her concealed position among the undergrowth and bushes, every muscle in the wolf's body tensed, screaming at her to flee at any moment. But Rain did not waver.
[Keen Sight]
By focusing her vision, she could observe the disturbing substance in greater detail.
The liquid dripping from the beast's mouth didn't merely burn the skin. It appeared to be consuming the alpha wolf's flesh from the wound. The gash in its neck was expanding, necrotizing at an impossible speed.
The alpha, kicking in pain, began to give in, and a moment later stopped moving altogether.
In one motion the creature lifted its head with the alpha's corpse still in its jaws, and with a swift movement began to close its mouth slowly. The sound of the alpha wolf's ribs crackling could be heard, and with a single clean motion, it shut its mouth, splitting the alpha's body in half. Like a guillotine.
The entrails spilled out alongside the carcass, leaving behind a wet, viscous sound.
The creature began to sniff its surroundings, its multiple eyes moving erratically.
-(Disgusting... just looking at those hideous eyes makes me nauseous.)-
[Danger Detection] [Danger Detection] [Danger Detection]
It kept sounding in her mind, growing more intense by the moment. But Rain remained calm.
-(I can choose between three options: First: Flee while it's distracted. Second: Take advantage of the situation and devour what remains of the alpha. Third: Infect the beast.)-
She glanced at the alpha's corpse. Even from her position, she could reach it and devour a small portion. It would be enough to analyze the genetic code.
-(Alright. At least I have a plan.)-
The beast remained standing in the same spot, staring fixedly at the corpse with one of its many eyes, seemingly deciding what to do with it. Then it lowered its snout and began to devour the lower half of the wolf, not out of hunger, not out of necessity, only out of habit.
-(I wonder, how fast could I move with this wounded body? It's distracted eating the other part of the wolf. Could I get close enough before it detects me?)-
The beast let out a low, deep growl that made the air around it vibrate momentarily. The sound of tearing flesh from the alpha's corpse was repeating itself in a very grotesque manner, though it seemed unable to swallow the flesh it had in its mouth, which kept falling out. Even so it kept ripping off more.
Rain took advantage of the distraction. The beast was busy eating, and its eyes were not paying attention to her.
[Precise Movement] [Agility]
She moved silently through the undergrowth, circling to position herself in the beast's blind spot. Every step was that of a worthy hunter, avoiding dry branches and crunching leaves that surrounded the area. Despite the insistent pain in her ribs, she ignored it.
She had closed in significantly, only four meters from the beast, almost within reach of the other half of the alpha wolf. The beast kept chewing, its multiple eyes not attending to its surroundings, focused entirely on its meal.
Three meters.
Two meters.
She readied her muscles for a swift leap. Bite, swallow, escape.
But it was then that one of the beast's eyes, one positioned on the lateral part of its skull, swiveled sharply toward where she was.
And it saw her.
The rest of the eyes rotated and fixed on her simultaneously.
-GRAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWRR-
The roar was deafening, deep, and impossibly loud, like the sound of nails dragged across a chalkboard. The beast stopped devouring the alpha's corpse and directed its fury at her with ferocity.
-(AAAAAAAAHHH, it saw me. Well, I really messed up. I got too close.)-
[Cowardice] [Jump] [Agility]
Before her mind could act, her body had already leaped in the opposite direction, putting several meters between them. But the beast was far faster than it appeared.
[Cowardice] [Danger Detection]
Rain felt the air shift behind her back. A swipe she had barely dodged by a fraction of a second. She broke into a run.
-(AAAAAH!!! What kind of creature is this?! It's too fast! If I hadn't dodged that it probably would have split me in half! I can't even think straight!)-
[Jump] [Agility]
She leaped over one of the protruding roots to try to gain some distance. But the creature simply shredded it with its claws without slowing down.
[Danger Detection]
-(I have to think of a solution, or this thing will actually kill me! It doesn't seem like I can outrun it in a straight race, especially with this wounded body. It's limiting my mobility. I won't be able to hold out much longer!)-
The beast kept giving chase at a swift pace, but the trees it crashed through and destroyed were slowing it down.
-(The only advantage I have over it is intelligent thought... alright, I have the beginning of a plan.)-
[Ferocity] [Endurance]
Rain braked abruptly, spinning around on her hind legs. The beast, caught off guard by the sudden change, skidded as it tried to stop, losing its balance briefly.
-(There's my advantage. It's a slightly suicidal plan. But if I can infect that thing, if I can just bite it!)-
She launched herself forward, going straight for one of its front legs, ignoring the massive body surrounding her.
Her fangs pierced the flesh just above the leg.
-Grrrrrr...-
The beast didn't react to the pain. It looked at her for a second, then simply shook its leg violently. The force launched her several meters away, slamming her into a tree.
The impact knocked the air from her lungs. The wound in her ribs grew far worse, exploding in sharp agony.
But the plan had been executed. It had been bitten. Now she just had to wait for it to become infected. Survive.
Applying [Replication] [Infectivity] to the host pathogens.
A deafening buzz erupted in her mind, followed by an avalanche of announcements.
Unable to perform [Replication] on host. Life form is not Animalia. Unable to perform [Infectivity] on host. Life form is not Animalia. Unable to read RNA of host. Life form is not Animalia.
-(WHAAAAAT?!)-
The beast growled, looking at its leg with curiosity as blood began to drip from the wound. But there was something unusual about this blood. It wasn't red. It was black, very dense, resembling tar.
-(Hey, what the hell is that creature?! How does the system not consider that thing a living being?! That thing can breathe and move!)-
The beast looked at her again with its multiple eyes.
This time not with curiosity. Only a look of challenge.
-(Damn it. I really can't infect it. I'm so afraid, my body won't stop shaking. Think! Think! I need more skills! Maybe the alpha has some!)-
[Danger Detection]
It repeated with a maddening intensity, sounding in her mind like an emergency alarm.
The beast roared with far greater intensity, nearly leaving Rain stunned. It launched itself again, this time aggressively, faster. There was not a trace of caution left in it. Now there was only pure unleashed violence.
[Cowardice] [Agility]
She rolled to one side, just centimeters from the beast's claws as they destroyed the ground where she had been. Stone splinters flew through the air alongside dirt launched in every direction.
-(WAA! If those claws had touched me, they would have torn me to pieces! My only objective here is to get those skills from the alpha. I have to see if it has anything useful!)-
But the beast moved ahead of her and positioned itself between her and the alpha's corpse, as though it understood what she was trying to do.
-(Son of a— damn you, you mangy mongrel! You're making this even harder for me!)-
The beast charged again to attack. But Rain leaped instead of dodging to the side.
[Jump] [Precise Movement]
She pushed off a nearby protruding root and used it as a platform, clearing the beast's head entirely. Positioned behind it for one second, the alpha's corpse was right in front of her, only a few meters away.
But the beast had anticipated what she was going to do and reacted faster than expected.
One of its hind legs struck her mid-air at an impossible speed with overwhelming force.
The impact sent her flying sideways. She slammed into a dry, thorny tree. Splinters drove themselves into her fur from every angle, and her ribs fractured, the wound exploding in blinding pain.
-(AAAGHHH!)-
She fought desperately to stand, but her legs barely responded. The rush of adrenaline was no longer enough to override the massive damage.
The beast advanced at a slow, very deliberate pace. Once again, with its row of teeth, it tried to imitate a smile with a deeply disturbing contortion of its face. The tar-black blood kept dripping from its wounded leg, but it appeared to feel no pain whatsoever.
-(Damn it! I can't let that thing eat me! If it does, I won't be able to replicate, and that would be the end of me!)-
But then she noticed something that caught her attention. The alpha's corpse.
It was less than nine meters to her left. A portion the beast had left behind in the chase.
-(Gyyyhhhhhh! I can't let myself be beaten here. This is my only chance.)-
The beast roared and was preparing its final attack, tensing its massive muscles.
In that instant, Rain made a snap decision.
[Ferocity] [Endurance] [Vigor] [Speed] [Jump]
Ignoring all the pain. Ignoring her body begging her to give up. She ignored everything within herself, holding on to only one clear objective.
She threw herself to one side at the last second, just in time, before the beast's jaws closed where her head had been. She rolled across the ground, feeling the tree splinters shredding more of her skin, but she did not falter for even a moment.
She ran. Not toward the forest. Not toward her safe refuge. She ran straight toward the alpha's corpse.
The beast roared behind her, giving chase at a terrifying speed. She could feel the hot breath right at her back, the sound of its claws shredding the ground beneath it.
Five meters.
Three meters.
One meter.
-(COME ON! ALMOST THERE!)-
She threw herself onto the alpha's corpse, sinking her fangs into the flesh that was still barely warm. She tore a piece free where the blood flowed readily. And swallowed.
A buzz, followed by an announcement.
Readable genetic code detected.
Analyzing RNA.
But she had no time to listen to the announcement. The beast had reached her.
The beast's jaws closed around her torso, lifting her off the ground with crushing force. The twisted teeth drove themselves through her fur, piercing the flesh with ease. The bones were heard cracking with a dry snap.
A pain that was simply indescribable. Her consciousness nearly went blank.
-(YOU SON OF A— I CAN'T GIVE UP YET!)-
The black substance began seeping from the beast's black mouth, burning her skin and converting cells to necrosis at a startling speed.
New absorbed skills have been acquired: [Intimidation I] [Pack Coordination I] [Territorial Instinct I] [Stealth I]
Fragmented genetic code reconstructed: [Leadership #] > [Leadership II]
-(And that's it? That's all?! WHAT THE ABSOLUTE HELL. ALL THAT EFFORT FOR THIS. THAT WAS ALL IT HAD...)-
The beast began to shake its head violently, shredding the wolf's body further, letting torrents of blood fall. Her vision began to dim. The pain grew hazy.
-(GYAAAAAAH!! NO... I CAN'T LET MYSELF DIE LIKE THIS!!! I MUST... SURVIVE!!!)-
And it was then, just as the wolf's body was beginning to give out, just as darkness was starting to close in around her vision, that she noticed something.
In the undergrowth nearby.
A pair of yellow eyes. Watching.
There was a hidden wolf, one that had been part of the alpha's pack.
It appeared wounded, shaken, terrified, but it was alive. And it was stunned by everything it had witnessed.
-(DAMN IT ALL! I ONLY HAVE ONE WAY OUT!)-
And with the last remnant of control she held in the dying wolf's body, she sent a signal to its snout, releasing a cloud of pathogens.
[Airborne Transmission] [Endurance]
The red sand full of pathogens poured from her open mouth, floating in the air for a brief moment before dispersing, carried along by the wind.
Moving toward the hidden wolf.
The beast finally released the body, letting it drop. The wolf was left destroyed, its body disfigured, only the head still recognizable. It no longer moved. It no longer breathed. It was simply still.
To any observer, they would say the wolf was dead with no hope of recovery.
But not for a tiny virus, invisible to a bystander. Even though its host had died, it was conscious.
Floating in the air.
Drifting.
Carried by the current, searching for a new host.
Searching.
-(Almost there... I just need to reach it... I need to get a little closer...)-
The pathogens traveled to the bush where the hidden wolf was concealed.
Paralyzed with fear. Trembling with terror. Breathing in erratically.
The virus entered on that inhale, and...
[Replication] [Infectivity]
Replication 30%...80%...100%
Applying [Domination] on New Infected Host.
New skills have been acquired: [Cowardice I] > [Cowardice II] [Reflexes]
She had no time to read the skills announcement.
The perspective shifted instantaneously.
She was no longer bleeding out. Her body was no longer destroyed.
She was among the bushes, trembling like jelly. Watching the beast tear apart her former body, now a corpse.
-(Phew... I-It worked... That was far too close.)-
Her new legs could barely hold themselves steady. The wolf's body was wounded, though its injuries were minor, nothing severe. It had surface cuts and one hind leg that limped, probably a pulled muscle from fleeing the beast.
The beast raised its head, sniffing the air, scanning with its multiple eyes blinking asymmetrically.
-(I can't stay here. It will find me eventually.)-
There was no waiting.
[Cowardice] [Speed] [Vigor] [Endurance] [Precise Movement]
And with whatever energy remained in the small wolf's body.
She started running.
Plunging deeper into the dense forest, as fast as she could, as fast as her wounded legs would allow, without stopping to look back.
Behind her, the beast let out one final roar. But it did not give chase.
It was probably satisfied with its hunt. Or perhaps it didn't consider a weak prey worth pursuing.
-(That beast... no, a monster. Whatever it was. It was a creature that was no ordinary animal. I understand clearly now that it cannot be infected. What kind of creature could exist for the system to be unable to identify it as life?)-
She kept running deeper into the forest until the pain and exhaustion in her legs protested enough to force her to stop, and they could go no further.
She collapsed beneath the shadow of a protruding rock, panting heavily.
-(Phew... that was close... without a body to take shelter in, I might have died for good.)-
She closed her eyes. She could hear her heartbeat thundering throughout her entire body, through the roof. She tried to recover her breath slowly, and the drumming of her heart began to ease.
-(But at least I got some skills from the alpha, and from this small wolf, who is my new body. It's weaker, but at least it's alive.)-
She opened her eyes slowly, looking at her surroundings in the deep forest.
-(This strange world is far more dangerous than it appears. If there are beasts like that one wandering this forest... things that no longer seem like living beings, things I cannot infect...)-
-(Then I need to be much stronger. Evolve much faster. Have more skills. Have more symptoms. Be far more lethal. Be far more infectious.)-
And that was how the small calamity resolved to keep moving forward. Without a fixed refuge. Without a body that would last forever. Only a goal engraved in the deepest part of her being, and the determination not to stop until she fulfilled it.
Far from that forest, in a place that belongs to no map and no world, something was watching.
Not with eyes. Not with genuine interest. Only with the patience of one who knows the outcome has already been decided.
"You, dear reader, who have followed these steps all the way here." "You already know the name of my calamity. You already know what she promised and what she is willing to destroy in order to keep it."
"Keep watching. This has only just begun."