[VotA] Chapter 6 - Deep Growl (Patreon)

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In solitude, Mark felt the changes in his body again.

He was leaner, his muscles slightly more defined. But more importantly, he wasn’t as cold as he thought he would.

My stats help a lot more than I could think of.

Sitting atop a thick tree branch, he gazed at the black sky above. It stretched endlessly, filled with stars, almost like Earth’s.

Except there was no moon. 

It’s going to be harder to see now.

His gaze drifted to his right, where most of the withered trees with altered runes stood like gravestones, remnants of his careful planning. Then, to his left, where an endless field of dry, similar lifeless trees loomed.

“How do I make you show just my level and stats?” he muttered.

Golden letters shimmered into existence before his eyes.

[Updated Information]

[Name: Mark Raion][Race: Human (Unknown)][Level: 2 → 3][EXP: 22/30][Grade: F][Class: Mage][Title: None]

[STAT POINTS]

[Hit Points: 220/220][Mana Points: 420/420][Martial (F): 5 → 9][Dexterity (F): 6 → 11][Vitality(F): 8 → 12][Soulforce(F): 26 → 32]

"Not bad," he murmured, running a hand over his grimy skin, his lips dry and cracked.

Looking down, he examined himself.

Aside from the tattered yellow robe that was fortunately still somewhat intact despite the abuse, he was only wearing underpants. His body was caked in dried blood, mud, and crushed leaves. He smelled like death, sweat, and decay.

Disgusting.

Yet, as he ran his hands over his healed calfs, pressing his fingers against the flesh, a smile tugged at his lips.

If I had this back then, could I have remade my body?

He didn’t fully understand the System’s rules, only knowing it had them. So, he had no idea if it could restore a body to a soul that had already lost one. 

But it had given him Raion’s body, which was good enough.

A colder breeze hit his bare skin, and he shuddered, instinctively pulling his robe tighter. 

Well, the stats need to grow a bit more, as it seems.

Lying back against the branch, he turned his attention to the scattered items beside him.

Several daggers were lodged into the bark, most broken, but three still usable. Two of them were jagged bone, crude but sharp. The last one was similar but streaked with faint green lines along its blade.

Mark’s eyes gleamed.

“Show me my Soulforce and Mana Points.”

[Soulforce (F): 32][Mana Points: 420/420]

Nodding, he stretched out his hand, gripping the green-streaked dagger.

A weak pulse throbbed from the weapon, as it seemed to send a faint energy to Mark’s body..

“Show Soulforce and Mana Points again,” he said.

[Soulforce (F): 32 → 33][Mana Points: 420/420 → 430/430]

He smacked his lips as the text faded.

So one point of Soulforce equals ten Mana Points... but there's still a hundred unaccounted for.

The System worked in mysterious ways, but at least he was beginning to understand its mechanics.

As he pondered, a deep, guttural growl echoed through the forest, echoing throughout the woods.

The leaves on the ground shifted as if recoiling from the sound, and the air grew heavier, and even the trees groaned.

Mark stiffened. His fingers curled around the dagger, his heartbeat growing faster.

The growl ceased, but the unease it left behind crawled up his spine.

What was that? 

He shoved the other two daggers into the waistband of his underpants.

He had already scavenged for better weapons long before altering the runes on the surrounding trees. But most of what the goblins carried was useless, merely shattered shortswords and broken scepters, more fit for a trash heap than a battlefield.

Mark prepared to jump down from the tree when something clicked in his mind.

Raion’s memories surfaced, not about the Tutorial or Realm Assimilation, but of something much simpler. Something from Earth.

Mark scowled.

This forest has been too silent.

Since he arrived, not once had he seen a bird take flight. No rustling in the underbrush. No insects burrowing into the trees. No critters scurrying between roots.

Only he and the goblins had broken the silence.

Mark clenched his jaw.

It could be nothing. After all, what could survive in this dead forest?

But as the thought settled, a deep sound rumbled through the air. It was lower this time, less of a distant growl and more of something… closer.

Something inside him.

“…”

Mark blinked.

His free hand pressed against his stomach.

Am I… hungry?

It wasn’t an affirmation but a genuine question. Hunger was something he had never truly experienced while being a soul. And now, only Raion’s memories told him what it was supposed to feel like.

But… I thought the System—

The events of the day rushed back, and he scowled.

Those damn goblins, the rune traps… Of course, I’d be hungry. Even those bastards had to hunt. He sneered. Another problem to solve, shit.

Cursing in his thoughts did nothing to ease the hollow sensation in his gut.

Once more, he licked his dried lips.

Hunger wasn’t his only concern. The dryness in his throat made that clear.

This can’t be good.

Mark’s grip on the dagger tightened as his eyes flicked in the direction of the goblins’ corpses.

Maybe…

Eating them wouldn’t be a problem.

But even if my body can handle raw meat, there's no way to reach those corpses without triggering my traps.

A sigh left him. His eyes flicked toward the direction of the distant growl. Then, without hesitation, he took off running across the branch.

Picking speed, he went in the opposite direction of the growl!

His feet pounded against the wood, and at the edge, he jumped.

His body twisted mid-air, his enhanced physique absorbing the impact as he rolled upon landing. 

Without stopping, he sprinted, keeping to the outskirts of the altered trees, moving in a wide arc around the trap zone.

And then, he ran in the direction the goblins had come from.

Maybe you bastards won’t come here at night…

His steps became heavier, no longer masking his presence, his bare feet kicking up mud and dried leaves.

Mark knew the goblins had set traps. They used scouts. Their tattered robes were taken from something larger than them.

They weren’t just mindless beasts. They had structure, caution.

And they weren’t coming after him.

Maybe you hunt during the day because something else owns the night.

His foot crushed into a hidden root, triggering a rune trap. 

Mark knew that was happening but didn’t stop.

Let’s see how you react when something is running straight into your territory at night.

Hunger was an inconvenience. A weakness. But more than that, it wasn’t unique to him.

How did the goblins survive in a lifeless forest?

His grip on the dagger tightened.

The lack of animals, birds, insects, anything really, made this place feel wrong.

And maybe his appearance here was the wrongest, and he was disrupting whatever balance this Black Forest had previously.

But that didn’t matter.

If I have to burn this forest to ash just to clear this Tutorial, so be it.

Some of its inhabitants had already eaten a piece of him, so there was no way he would start peaceful talks.

Time passed. His footsteps echoed through the empty woods. Seconds bled into minutes. His breath came in visible puffs, the night growing colder, gnawing at his skin.

And then, Mark saw it.

Far ahead, the terrain shifted.

A hill?

He slowed, crouching low, using the cover of the trees. His sharp gaze studied the distant rise in the land. It was difficult to make out in the darkness, but he was certain that the endless forest had finally halted.

Slowing his steps, he kept his body low, moving carefully as his eyes scanned the nearby trees. The dim starlight barely helped, but he forced his vision to adjust.

Mark circled one of the trees, squinting up at its bark. It took a moment, but there, etched faintly against the rough surface, he spotted the rune circle.

Smirking, he stepped back and checked another tree. After a few minutes, his suspicion was confirmed.

It had the same runes used for signaling.

Maybe the entire forest is covered in them, or maybe it's just a section.

Amidst his thoughts, he clenched the bone dagger between his teeth, the others still tucked into his underpants’ waistband, and leaped.

His fingers gripped the bark, pulling himself up.

And amidst his motion, his ears twichted.

A sharp whistle tore through the air.

Mark released his grip.

He fell backward just as something shot past where he had been.

Rolling into a crouch, he snapped his head up.

From a hidden hollow within the tree’s trunk, two glowing yellow eyes peered down at him.

A red line flickered above them.

[Forest Goblin Scout (F)]

Mark’s gaze darted around as he picked up creaking noises and noticed shifting shadows.

Pairs of yellow eyes emerged from the canopy, their owners crouched within the trees, hunched and waiting, surrounding him.

Nine of them in total.

Mark took the dagger from his mouth, gripping it in one hand while drawing another from his waistband.

His face was blank while a faint black and purple light flickered in his eyes.

Not as I planned, he thought. But I hope you guys don’t taste like shit.

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