While hoping for more ink stones, they all shared one thing in common the sharp injuries on their hands. Yet like lustful maniacs, they kept searching for more, even after knowing there was nothing left for them.
Turning back toward the thundering noise, all of them gripped their weapons tightly and waited for it to appear. Panic coursed through their faces as V backed himself behind them. In that dire situation, only two people remained calm the other man with a sword and V himself. He was one of those two who remained composed, mostly because he was ready to die at any moment he had cast away the fear of death. From the first day when he realized that the trial of Shinzira was calling him.
Calm and collected, he gazed into the darkness beyond. He could still see the white snow ahead of them not only him, but all of them could see it. He took one measured step backward, then another, and another.
"Why do I feel this creeping dread around the entrance?" V thought, taking slow steps backward. In the next second, the noise died down, leaving a dreadful silence behind.
"On your guard, fools! Don't let your guard down!"
The other man with the sword the one who was always silent, not the one who had snatched the ink stone from V was shouting urgently, trying to convince the others not to lower their defenses.
However, before anyone could heed his command, something massive appeared before the cave entrance with four gleaming yellow eyes. At first, they couldn't discern what it was just those luminous eyes had sent them into a state of terror.
At that moment, only one thought crossed everyone's mind "It must be five meters
tall " V took more steps backward.
The creature was hulking, as tall as the cave entrance. Once it positioned itself right before the opening, its six jagged legs became visible crooked and branching, each ending in hooked talons that gouged deep into the frozen ground. Its massive, hunched body was concealed beneath fiery red-orange hair, blazing and streaked with filth and frost.
And a long, equine head jutted forward from its hunched shoulders, with a maw torn open. Within it, sharp rows of serrated teeth glistened with viscous drool that ran down the creature's chin and dripped into the snow.
From its throat came rasping breath, heavy and wet, like a butcher's sigh.
What truly paralyzed V, though, were its four gleaming eyes glaring out from above its slavering mouth. That was when he noticed a sword thrust deep into its left side azure blood was dripping from the handle of that blade.
An ironic thought crossed his mind: "I don't have to wait for tomorrow, huh? Welcome to the land of Shinzira, my ass!"
As soon as he finished his thoughts, It turned into a madhouse the creature moved slashing its claws at the first men it found at the front. At the front stood those two rough-faced men and one with a spear; behind them stood the two men with swords and even further back stood those two who had been dragging V. Finally, at the very back stood V himself, his back pressed against the cave's end, whispering to him that there was no escape for them
From its first slash, all the men understood there was no way out without a fight and even with a fight, survival seemed impossible. Their fate was sealed with death. When it threw its claws for the first time, the men with spears somehow managed to dodge, but at the next attack, which came unexpectedly, it bit off one man's neck like candy, painting the floor with warm red blood and spreading even more terror.
Now five men remained, finding themselves retreating until one of the swordsmen rushed forward, taking leaps while perfectly avoiding its claws. Seeing him, the thief who had stolen V's ink stone also rushed forward with a loud roar
"UhhhhhhhhhH!"
"Damn! What a courageous thief!" V thought, leaning against the cave's end. A fraction of a second passed, and streams of blood flew through the air. The swordsman was drenched in the hot liquid of his fallen partner that thief who had just rushed forward was severed in half, his torso convulsing violently as if still clinging to life.
The swordsman gave a pitiful look to his bisected partner while dancing amid the claws. After a moment, he grabbed a sword from the floor and threw it to the men who had become sculptures from sheer terror.
"What are you staring at?! Take it!" he screamed while evading the creature's claws.
Now only four men and one injured boy remained. With just four men and one useless boy, killing that creature seemed more impossible than stupidity itself. Even so, the swordsman and that rough-faced spearman kept fighting the beast.
Those two worked together with perfect synchronization each time the swordsman found himself unable to avoid its claws, the spearman would intercept the creature, poking his spear into its hair-covered body, and the next second the swordsman would attack again. This continued for a while, and amid it all, their eyes would occasionally linger on the men who stood motionless.
V watched from the back, observing them with both pity and satisfaction. Pity because it was his first time witnessing death, and satisfaction because he had wanted them dead. He continued to observe the deadly dance between the remaining men and the creature.
"Move, you cowards!" the sword-wielding man shouted between strikes, sweat and blood mixing on his face as he narrowly avoided another swipe of those jagged claws.
But the frozen men couldn't move—fear had turned their muscles to stone, their courage to ash. V wasn't one of them, so why wasn't he moving? The answer was simple even if he joined the battle, he would be utterly useless with his broken body. Of course, he had learned how to fight, but not like everyone else. He had learned to fight on his own by watching TV shows called "The Way of Blade." It was absurd to say he had learned to fight from some television program it wasn't anything like fantasy-style sword techniques. It was just basic-level sword movements cutting, thrusting, and some elementary slashes. That's all he knew. He was a lazy person, anyway. In the end, he knew how to fight, even if he had never faced any opponent. He knew how to fight the way some people learn from a teacher, while others learn just by living in this world either way, a man learns to fight.
Right now, he could see things as clearly as in bright daylight. All of them were going to die!
"I just need to wait for the perfect opportunity a perfect opportunity to run! Yes, I am running!" V said to himself while carefully searching for an opening.
After a while: "What the hell?"
V found himself holding a sword against the creature.
"What—what the hell? How did it turn out this way?"
V stood alone before the creature, gripping a one-handed sword. The swordsman and spearman were heavily injured, and as for those cowards... they had been devoured by that damned thing.
V blinked in confusion, his mind struggling to process how things had unfolded this way. One moment he was pressed against the back wall, contemplating fleeing, and the next moment he was holding this sword in his hands the sword felt foreign in his grip
Suddenly, moving through the pain, he felt something strange happening to his body a tingling sensation spreading through his wounded back, crawling through his limbs like a serpent. At the corner of his vision, he finally caught a glimpse of something dark appearing on his left cheek.
"A mark?" Amid this realization, his voice sounded hollow to himself. Just a second later, he had understood
"It's a mark of the unwritten!"
[Mark of Unwritten] Attribute Description:
- A mark appears at the end of your left cheek when danger is detected or by your own will, boosting your physical abilities slightly. It's a growth-type mark that can act shitty sometimes.
"So this is what it feels like..." V muttered through gritted teeth, his physical abilities slowly but noticeably increasing. His vision was becoming sharper as he felt his reflexes quickening, his muscles less strained despite the pain still throbbing through his back.
But even with the enhancement, he was still just an inexperienced, broken boy facing a creature that had already torn through seasoned fighters an act of pure stupidity the creature glared at V with its four yellow eyes. Azure blood continued to drip from the two swords embedded in its left side one from the swordsman and one that had belonged to the creature even before it arrived.
"Fuck... fuck, fuck, fuck!" V cursed under his breath, taking a shaky step backwar the creature's rasping breath, the way its hooked talons gouged the stone floor, the viscous drool that sizzled as it hit the ground he could feel it all
Behind the creature, he caught a sight of the swordsman and the rough-faced spearman. Both were alive, but barely. The swordsman was clutching his side where three deep gashes had torn through his clothes and flesh, while the spearman was propped against the cave wall, his weapon broken in half, one arm hanging uselessly at his side.
"How did this..." V's thought was cut short as the creature lunged forward with surprising speed. In the confined cave, V threw himself to the side, thanks to his enhanced reflexes saving him from becoming the creature's next meal. The hooked talons scraped against stone, sending sparks flying through the air.
"Those TV shows better not have been complete bullshit!" V thought raising his sword in a clumsy defensive position.
V heard a chilling howl and saw an enormous shadow passing over him. Immediately, he took a step back while maintaining his defensive stance. After a second, the creature opened its maw wide, revealing rows of serrated teeth glistening with fresh blood. It let out a sound that was part roar, part laugh a sound that came as pure malice.
V felt the mark burning against his cheek as the creature charged again. This time, he managed to get his sword up in time, but the impact sent him flying backward. His back hit the cave wall with a sickening thud, and he felt something warm and wet spreading across his already wounded flesh.
"Shit...!" V gasped, struggling to regain his footing. The creature was already moving, its six jagged legs carrying it forward with lightning speed.
V rolled to the side just as hooked talons raked the stone where he'd been. He swung his sword wildly more out of desperation than skill and felt it connect with something soft. The creature let out a shriek of pain and rage.
"I actually hit it?" V stared in shock at the thin line of azure blood now decorating his sword blade.
But his moment of surprise nearly cost him his life. The creature's massive head swung toward him, and V barely managed to duck under the snapping jaws. He could feel the creature's hot breath on his face.
"Think, you bastard! Think!" V screamed at himself, scrambling away from another swipe of those deadly claws.
His eyes darted around the cave, searching for anything any advantage he could exploit. The bonfire was still burning, casting dancing shadows on the walls. The broken spear lay scattered across the floor. And there, still embedded in the creature's side...
"The swords," V whispered. "If I can get to those swords..." But first, he needed to survive long enough to reach them.
The creature seemed to grasp his plan. It positioned itself between V and its wounded side. V feinted left, then dove right, trying to get around the creature's massive bulk. His speed enhanced by the help of that mark helped him, but the creature was faster a hooked talon caught his shoulder, tearing through his clothes and flesh like paper.
"AHHHHH!" V screamed, feeling warm blood flow down his arm. The pain was incredible, but it also cleared his mind. All the fear, all the confusion it crystallized into one simple thought:
" I must survive! "
He swung his sword in a wide arc, not aiming for any specific target, just trying to keep the creature at bay. The blade caught one of its front legs, and the creature stumbled slightly.
V pressed his advantage, swinging again and again. His strikes were clumsy and untrained, but they were unpredictable and that was saving his life. The creature was already exhausted from the earlier fighting, but V wasn't exhausted or skilled he was just desperate and chaotic.
"Come on!" V shouted between his breath "Is this all you've got, you overgrown piece of shit?"
The creature lunged forward with fury burning in its eyes, but this time, instead of freezing or being consumed by fear and doubt, V acted with sudden clarity. Before the creature could properly react, V released one hand from his sword and thrust the blade toward its neck again and again. Each time, he felt as if he were trying to pierce solid rock.
The creature had a long neck that could reach V despite the distance. Knowing this, V didn't release his grip on its neck, though he came close to having his face bitten off by the creature's terrifying maw several times. The good thing was that the monster couldn't move its claws while V clung to it.
The bad thing was that the creature went into a rampage, crashing its body against the walls. But because of V's small frame, it couldn't inflict significant harm.
Releasing one hand again and tightening his grip on his sword, he mustered all the strength he could at that moment and went on his own rampage, continuously thrusting his blade at its rocky neck.
V knew he wasn't strong enough, but now, with the mark, his strength had increased beyond his frail body's normal limits. Each time he thrust, the creature tried to devour him. But gradually, he felt as if he was breaking through the rocky shell. He thrust his blade with all his might, feeling the monster's body pressing against him as it continued to struggle, clicking loudly and trying to shake him off.
"Die... die! You piece of shit!"
Blood was dripping from his hands and mouth. V couldn't feel his hand anymore the skin was torn off but he still continued to thrust his blade again and again... and again!
"Let's see who can cling to life better you... or me!" V whispered close to its face with heavy breaths. He sounded as though something was draining the life out of him, and added, "You look like shit!"
With his words, his sword finally penetrated its neck. The creature let out a loud cry, but V didn't intend to waste any more time or strength. So he pulled his sword back and thrust again... and again... and again...and again... until its cry went silent and its body went limp. With a heavy thud, it fell to the ground.
So did V. While gasping for air, he heard
"Is this it? Did I pass the trial?"
A faintly familiar voice rang in his ears:
[OO... seeker, you have slain a Lahirava echo A wanderer of white snow, Kimire]