Chapter 9 – Disappointing

  Jericho barrelled through the mountainside, soon crossing the snow den terrain to step on dry nd. Up ahead, a cluster of animals roamed the cold nds. As I got close, I could make out their features – Sheep, with their spindly legs and a pair of horns curving to either side of the head, sleeping against a slope on grass. Their behaviour seemed ordinary, sleeping together without a restlessness common to all monsters. I tapped Jericho’s fnk, urging him to seek a fresher trail.

  He paused, nostrils fring as he resumed sniffing again. This new scent led to a hare’s burrow. Time trudged on, and every trail we followed either led to or hinted at herbivores – creatures so bound to their simple diets that there was little chance of mutation in them.

  As we trudged through the mountains, looking for traces of any monsters, we came across a carcass. The head of the sheep was left intact, its tongue sck and eyes void. Separated from the head was a mess of a body, two legs attached to an open stomach, and two others y separated.

  Red y spttered, bones exposed, stripped clean of all the meat. I focused on the scene, noticing that the bones themselves were cracked, all the marrow sucked out. Whatever had hunted it had not left anything for scavengers. Jericho’s keen nose caught a trail, leading beyond the grassy slope to the snow tipped peak. With a grunt from Jericho, we were on our way.

  I saw intermittent paw prints decorate the otherwise fwless snow, furthering my trust in Jericho’s ability to track down the predator, finally giving me something to show for all the time spent.

  I finally spotted a group of wolves, and they seemed to have noticed us too. I counted eight grey patches moving, their white fur almost hidden in the snow. They had stopped moving, heckles raised, head low as they all growled at us. Jericho himself moved in a prowl, horns pointed and fangs bared, head low and tails poised - all weapons ready to strike.

  Though they only came up to Jericho’s lowered head, their elongated bodies sported a head half as big as their torso, their whole physique covered in long fur that draped low. Dire Wolves. Or at least the winter variant of them.

  I extended my senses, noting the sterile mana around their forms - they did not have aether, so no magical beasts. I investigated deeper, noting the steady structure of aura that permeated their flesh, filled with power yet presently stagnant.

  “Experienced rank,” I whispered, patting Jericho’s neck. We closed to within a few feet, a distance allowing either side to strike in a heartbeat.

  A low, rumbling growl reverberated from the pack.

  The rgest of them fixed Jericho in its gaze, advancing slowly while the others started spreading out around us, their paws barely disturbing the snow. Jericho edged forward, the alpha backed up, and the others used the opportunity to completely encircle us.

  I did not unsheathe my sword, sitting above Jericho surveying the impending sughter. There was no need for any intervention, Jericho will take care of it all. They were worth little to either of us personally, yet necessary for our objective.

  Growls escated from both camps, Jericho’s gaze locked on the alpha. Some other wolf had to be the first sacrifice. A soft crunch sounded behind me; my body bent forward, leaning to the left, followed by a wail. I did not need to see to know Jericho had kicked the initiator.

  I felt myself lurch back, followed by a sudden gust to my face. Jericho had jumped in the direction of my lean. The wolf had barely advanced a step before a cw rent its left fnk, spilling blood and severing a leg in a dispy of brutal aggression.

  Whoosh~

  The pair of wolves fnking the target caught Jericho’s tails with a sickening squelch, followed by them being lifted off and thrown back.

  Turning right, I caught the smell of fur, looking at the alpha lunging at Jericho’s leg. Before the wolf had even gotten close, Jericho turned, his bloodstained cw smming into the alpha’s cranium. Rather than letting up, he shoved the creature down, crushing snow underneath. With his other cw, he steadied the wolf’s rear as he sunk his fangs into its back.

  I heard the squelch of flesh being pierced, saw the spurt of red dye the snow followed by the crunch of bone. As if he hadn’t established his dominance, Jericho’s neck tensed as he ripped the bit flesh right off the wolf’s body. The prey spasmed, the damaged spine taking away its movement.

  While this was happening, his tails, now free of their burden, shed out at the other three wolves with vicious precision, putting see through holes in their bodies.

  A final thump ter, the only sound present was of the occasional wind blowing through the valleys and the regur squelching.

  I dismounted, looking at the source of the wet sound. “Let me cook it up for you,” I said to Jericho, pulling out a dagger and stripping off the skin of the alpha wolf on one side. Using the same dagger, I cut apart the meat, my fiery aura fring to life, searing the flesh in a crude dispy.

  Jericho’s red stained fangs cmped down as he devoured his prey, and I started dismantling the wolves. I left a portion of the alpha bleed out, separating it from the body in hopes of hastening the process while I fished out the monster crystals from every carcass – a task completed in mere minutes.

  The meat had not bled out, which was unfortunate. I cooked it as it is, eating it to save precious time. Once we both had our fill, I mounted Jericho again as we continued our quest for monster crystals.

  Occasionally, I came across carnivores that had successfully resisted mutation, but that did not save them from death. We continued with this method, but I was gradually becoming aware of the scarcity of monsters in this part of mountain range. Although every monster and predator I encountered was in the experienced rank, their quantity was not enough to fill the storage cube quickly.

  Meanwhile, the mountains grew increasingly inhospitable as we pressed deeper, the temperature plummeting faster than my aura could sustain.

  I had to maintain a thin film of aura to shield us from the cold, lest we find ourselves shivering, first occasionally, then uncontrolbly. The fortunate thing was that the valleys were somewhat warm, with the occasional tree and a lot of grass and shrubs. The unfortunate thing was that almost all predators, be they monster or animal, liked the vantage point of rock cliffs and snowy peaks.

  Are you going to continue like this?

  “What do you mean?” I demanded, voice gruff and patience worn as I kept an eye out for anything that moved. With Jericho cking vision in this form, it fell on me to scour for distant targets.

  Jericho is tired, he’s been in his demon form for at least five hours.

  I looked, and noticed the exhaustion for the first time. His head dropped, nostrils fred, searching for any trail, but it swept the ground listlessly. The thumps of cws had changed to soft pats, my station has lowered, his back bent from the fatigue. The tails were still poised and moving frantically, but they did not do so upright, looking like a stumbling drunk. I felt my stomach knot and my face contort.

  “Let’s take a break, buddy,” I dismounted him, moving to the side of the valley, towards a slope. Jericho shifted back to his bicorn form to save stamina, while I grabbed handfuls of grasses. Since I had spent the night sitting on his back, I’ll make it up to him.

  The red veil of my aura singed the grass a bit, but wasn’t enough to burn it. Jericho was shivering, but he would have to wait a bit. I gathered a pful of grass in front of him, along with many shrubs.

  Aura Art: Fire

  Drawing aura in my open palm, I watched as the red gained streaks of yellow and started dancing like a fme, red embers flying from it. Putting my hand in the grasses, it did not take long for the fire to take hold, the damp nature of greenery not being a challenge to my transformed aura.

  I saw Jericho’s head drop to the ground and his eyes close. I stroked his snout gently. Looking up, the stars still twinkled, the wind still blew, the world was silent, but only I knew that I had pushed a friend too far without needing to.

  What will you have done without me.

  “I will have noticed his fatigue, too,” I muttered softly in a bitter tone. I knew I would not have noticed it soon enough.

  This is why I dislike you taking control, the only thing you know is to fight, to challenge, everything else is almost meaningless to you.

  I thought of the words, and there was truth to them.

  “I know I did wrong, but that was only because I had gotten lost in excitement,” I schooled my face, “and because you never let me out except during possession. I have learned my lesson, this mistake will not repeat itself. You do not have to lecture me.”

  Oh, yeah? What will you do in case a master attacks? With Jericho this tired, a possession will darn near kill him. Reality is, you can’t even fight, you only know how to swing that sword.

  My hands clenched, jaw set and breaths turned ragged, but I knew he was right. I did not say anything, taking all the rebuke. He could say all he wanted now, for he will not get another chance.

  Brago130sf