Chapter 19: The Business Finisher (Patreon)

I made my way through the forest as fast as possible. Which turned out to be a kind of awkward shuffle with my back partially hunched over. I probably looked ridiculous and even though every step made my injured back scream at me to stop and rest, I knew that time wasn’t on my side. I had to hurry. Hugo was dying and the only thing that could save him was the wounded eagle’s blood.

Luckily, tracking the bird wasn’t hard in the forest. The eagle had left a blood trail behind as it flew away with my sword still in its side. As a Blood Reaver, its blood sang to me. I could feel where it had splashed on the earth, the leaves, and the branches. It might as well have put down neon signs for me to follow. My fingers brushed past each drop to gain what trace amounts of healing they offered. It wasn’t enough to fix my back, but it helped keep me moving.

My bigger concern was getting to the wounded eagle without running into any other creatures. The forest often seemed to go from deserted one second to teeming with bloodthirsty beasts the next. If another squirrel swarm came by, then I was done for. Hell, in this state, it would probably only take a handful of them to beat me up and take my lunch money.

Still, I shuffled on past the trees until a rustling sound up ahead made me stop.

There was something nearby. Something with teeth and claws. It was too late to backtrack, and I’d never be able to outrun it. Instead, I huddled down in the darkest shadow of a nearby tree and wrapped my cloak around myself.

The beast ran through the bushes and stopped close to me. It snorted and started sniffling the ground where I’d previously stood. I couldn’t see what it was, but it sounded like another boar. No identification message came up, which was good. It seemed that those messages only appeared when I was being threatened or about to be attacked. The boar circled the area around my footsteps and then drew closer to me. I could feel its hot breath on my cloak as it sniffed around. My hand rested on the hilt of the knife at my hip, ready to pull if the beast attacked. It sniffed my cloak covered body some more before a howl in the distance caught its attention. It then ran off in the opposite direction of whatever had made the noise.

I ignored the pain in my back as I resumed tracking the bird. Though I was now definitely glad that I did that challenge room. Thank god for the Cloak of Umbral Frenzy. It really does deepen the shadows around me and make me harder to perceive. Now, if I could just get the other part about converting anger into power to work, then I was golden. This eagle had almost killed Hugo and it still might, so I was pretty fucking angry with it. Then again, I was angry in earlier fights too and hadn’t felt any changes. But experimenting further with the cloak would have to wait.

I had arrived at the entrance to the eagle’s nest. It was a cave on top of a small hill which was perfect for me, as it was dark and private. I pulled out my knife, left behind what little sunlight remained, and went inside where it was pitch black. My Nights Eye ability kicked in to let me see a few feet ahead. It wasn’t perfect, but at least I won’t be walking into walls or bumping into the eagle by mistake.

A pained squawking noise echoed from deeper within the cave. Not far now.

Its noises helped mask the sound of my steps as I edged around the corner to its final resting place. The eagle sat with its back to me on a nest made of leaves, still suffering from my earlier attack. I noticed the blood right away, leaking out of its side, but also there was a spot of blood past it. I focused my senses on that spot and realized it was my sword. Somehow, the bird had pulled it out and tossed the blade aside. The good news was that the sword was still in one piece. The bad news was that I’d have to get past the bird to reach it.

My cloak might be good at dampening perception, but it wasn’t that good.

I adjusted the grip on my knife and edged towards the bird’s back, aware that at any moment it could swing around and shoot its deadly feathers at me. At this close distance, I would be impossible to miss. A fact that partially gripped my heart with fear as I got closer. The other part was that the bird had looked smaller in the air. Now that I was right behind all six feet of it, the prospect of easily finishing it off with a knife seemed ambitious to say the least.

The eagle continued angrily squawking in frustration as it was unable to do anything about its wound.

Whatever you do, Lucas, do not let it turn around. Wait? I’m talking to myself in the third person now? When did I start doing… no, I have to focus. The eagle’s back is its most vulnerable spot. Well, that’s typically true for most animals except for maybe crocodiles. Their backs look pretty hard and tough although you always see people on TV jump on their backs to wrestle them, so maybe that still counts as a weak point?

Okay, I think I might have a concussion.

That sobering thought took me out of my head and back into the present.

I raised my knife and threw myself onto the giant eagle’s back. Despite its size, it weighed far less than me and fell to the ground easily. My knife plunged into its uninjured side twice before it managed to shove me off with one of its wings. Evidently it was however as strong as it looked.

Now free, the eagle backed away from me and spread its wings out. Oh no. I recognize that pose. It’s getting ready to shoot the feathers again. I couldn’t let that happen. With my knife throwing skill, I launched my only weapon at its left eye. It was a perfect hit, and the bird screeched as the blade connected.

Enraged and half blind, it fired feathers everywhere. I dove to the ground and kept my head down as I crawled over to my fallen sword. Even so, a couple of feathers stabbed me in the legs. When the feathers stopped flying, I sat up just as it spotted me.

The bird did a large hop towards me with the help of its wings and, in that moment, we attacked each other with a single strike. I shoved my sword upwards and pierced its chest while the eagle’s talons clawed their way inside my stomach. I screamed while feeling certain that my death had come.

It’s over. I’ve failed. I must have missed its heart a second time, and now it’s killed me.

I thought about sending a goodbye party chat message to Hugo, but then changed my mind. It was better to keep the hope alive. It might be the last good thing he remembers before falling unconscious for the last time.

Suddenly, the eagle stopped digging into my insides. It flopped down and lifelessly hung on the end of my sword. I was too scared and in too much pain to move until its blood started to trickle down onto me. Within seconds, I regained enough strength to rip the bird’s claws out of my stomach and push the body aside.

I’d done it. I’d killed the creature.

Quickly, I grabbed more of its blood and covered my torso in it. Watching with a delirious smile as the deep gashes in my stomach magically knit themselves back together without even leaving a scar.

*DING!* You have slain [Iron Spike Eagle (common)] Level 12 – Experience Points and Currency Acquired.

I checked and saw that I’d gained an additional 12 coins, bringing my total up to 216. Killing the bird had also netted me another 18 points, which all went into dexterity. With Hugo’s life on the line, I needed speed now more than ever.

*DING!* You have gained [Bladed Heart Strike] – A dexterity focused ability that favors killing targets with a single blow. With this ability, you’ll always know where the heart is, and no, it’s not home. It costs a moderate amount of energy to use, but it also comes with a small speed and strength boost to help put you together with the lonely hearts out there.

It looks like stabbing it in the heart had caused me to unlock a new ability. One that sounded amazing, but finding something to test it on would have to wait. I continued rubbing the creature’s blood on myself to heal up and then stored the body in my inventory. It was a large beast and a higher level than myself or Hugo. My Blood Reaver senses told me that there was more than enough power left in its blood to heal my companion. I just had to get to him in time and hope that I’m not too late.