Matthew streaked through the forest feeling unstoppable, on his face was a black mask with blue accents.
Behind him, the hounds howled — wild, guttural barks that echoed through the undergrowth, drowning out the brittle snap of leaves and the clawing branches tearing at his arms. The forest wasn't made for running. Every root, every slope, every still patch of earth held a trap for the unprepared.
Beautiful, alluring flowers dotted the paths. Shallow ponds slept beneath ancient trees — glassy, perfect, and deadly. The truly adept hunters of the dark forest knew to avoid all of these tempting figures, they ruled over this place using their biological advantages or tactics.
Matthew had become one of these great hunters in these last three weeks. Worried that the mental attack had left him partially crippled, he had begun working with Gareth more.
He taught Gareth's group how to live in the dark forest, earned a lot of Spirits for himself using them to buy the clothes he was wearing and draw the last two stat cards for level three.
He drew another Swift and Vigor—a stat card that boosted his stamina. He hadn't asborbed any new spirits to progress to level four.
He vaulted over a particular gap in the ground smiling.
Never thought I would run again. If I spent a day longer arguing with Stella, I would've just killed myself.
A howl cut the air nearby as they got closer. Deep canine pants bothered his ears and the sharp sound of paws hitting dirt got closer.
They're so fast! The gap was covered in moments, if I get grabbed here… don't even want to know how slowly I'll die.
This might have been too audacious of a hunt.
A particularly quick hound ran up beside him, it was a black mangy beast with blood red eyes.
Sharp, Brown Horns curled from its head which it used to try and throw him over. He jumped over the hound and dove between two branches, hearing them snap as the hound followed.
He reached a hill and began to run up it, the hounds thinking they had him cornered, slowed down and began to surround him.
He turned around, eyeing the beasts and summoned a glass dagger to throw at a hound lunging at him.
The black creature dodged it barely as a small gash was left on its side. It snarled ready to attack again. The transparent dagger flashed once before Matthew dismissed it
Suddenly the hound crumbled, whining as a strange and harrowing pain filled its body. It's body convulsed and stiffened as it writhed.
The hounds, shocked by the sudden change, backed away and using this chance he grabbed a rope anchored to a stake at the edge of the hill.
He rappeled down, his weight ltfted a counterweight on the other end of the rope and dropping down the low cliff at a safe speed.
The world blurred black and green mixing as he dropped, the wind rushed in his ears. He gripped the rope harder, the distance between him and the ground shrinking rapidly.
Don't cut, don't cut…..
The hounds watched him barking warily, some began to bite the rope.
That's very concerning.
He had safely reached the ground when it cut, retreating a safe distance as the counter weight fell.
He waited as the dogs turned to spring down the hill, then took off again, the hounds still barking behind him.
——
Gareth, Mable and eight other people waited for him, some clapped as he zipped into the battleground.
"Don't worry, you really looked cool when you used the rope." Holly joked. He handed Old cat to her, and she ran into the forest and brushed back his sprawling black hair.
"Totally not scared." Mable scoffed, summoning her bow. It was short with a slick recurve made with some reddish wood and had a blue metal arrow rest. Then she followed Holly laughing.
He rolled his eyes, summoning the Glass dagger again and taking a wooden shield from Gareth.
The tall boy with short dark hair summoned his plain steel sword and glared at the black shapes approaching them. He nodded at Matthew, "Glad to have you with us again."
Matthew's dull gaze fell on him, "Remember the plan."
"Of course," Gareth replied, "Stay together, no one engages alone. Protect the shields and stand your ground."
The hounds broke through the green undergrowth into the clearing in a fury. They seemed a little shocked by Matthew's reinforcements, but almost twenty full grown hounds against ten people seemed fair to them.
The humans bunched up, four people held thick wooden shields and five others held pikes. They made a loose circle and locked eyes with the black hounds.
Matthew twisted the shield's handles in his hands, his blue eyes seemed to brighten as the threat drew closer and under the bushy mess of his beard his lips curled upward just a little.
Soft steady breaths slowed as the small clearing became quieter, the chattering sounds of the forest and the howls of strange beats became distant.
The small black shapes of the hounds seemed to quiver as they dashed. A loud bang broke the silent standoff, Matthew groaned as a hound slammed its horn into his shield.
A hound's horn was caught in his shield. He raised the shield slightly and kicked the hound hard. Shortly after he dropped it and braced as another hound slammed against the shield, they both pushed hard against him.
He moved slightly to allow someone to stab their pike into one of the beast's side, quickly retracting as another hound tried to bite it and pull its wielder off balance.
They continued the tenuous balance for almost two minutes, they hadn't killed any Black hound, but each injury from a pike allowed Gareth to use Blood curse on the hounds.
The curse was strange and depended on Gareth's focus and intent. At its base form it could make the dogs rabid and make them attack each other. At its best however it was even more insidious.
Glad to be on the right side of that today, these unlucky beasts though…
The hounds began turning on each other, making the battle a bit easier and every once in a while he would open a gap in the shield wall
To allow the person behind him with a pike to stab a hound that was distracted.
One of the hounds managed to bite onto the arms of one of the shieldbearers, in an instant a crack echoed through the clearing as his wooden armguard was broken.
The boy yelped, almost breaking formation.
Then Matthew's transparent dagger found its mark—plunging into the hound's neck, it was a brilliant throw by Matthew but not enough to kill the hound.
Matthew then activated the enchantment .
Name ‐‐ Clear justice
Rank -- Fair
Description: Dalin once told the old master, I would've liked to be a Torch like you. Teril, but the only truth I need is with me.
It will record all attacks directed at you for twelve hours and replicate half the damage type using two mana every ninety seconds. Increases speed and accuracy
Matthew replicated the damage from all the horn attacks he had been enduring. Two deep holes suddenly exploded on the hound neck instantly killing it.
He had recorded some magical attacks like fire and soul damage, but he reserved those for bigger threats.
The dagger's ability was rather versatile, it had taken him a while to understand. It couldn't replicate complex damage from magical skills and damage could only be replicated on things cut by the dagger.
Matthew dismissed and resummoned the dagger, smiling and wondering how this was just a Fair armament. It had come from one of the wish coins they retrieved from the Maw's cave.
He glanced toward Holly's hiding spot in the forest. With Old Cat in hand, she remained hidden—even from him.
The hounds were in a good position to trigger the tap and they would be overwhelmed soon.
A blinding flash rose lit the dim clearing.
A wall of fire surged up, enclosing the shield wall and seven hounds inside. The fire scared away the hounds outside the fire, leaving the small group of ten with only seven hounds to kill.
Matthew immediately summoned his third armament, Lovely doll and closed his eyes. The doll began to glow with a soft blue light as it began to float off his hand.