Chapter 123: Memory
And under normal circumstances... A beast at her level wasn’t supposed to be difficult. Most of them. One spell. That was all it took.
One properly aimed spell, and the fight was over before it even began. That was how it should have been. But these beasts... Kei struggled to put the feeling into words.
No. It wasn’t their stats. Not exactly. It was something else. Something far more troublesome.
’Their instincts...’
Her gaze sharpened.
’They fight like veterans’
That was the simplest way to describe it. Every movement. Every dodge. Every feint. Every moment of patience before striking. It wasn’t the behaviour of wild monsters acting on impulse. It was the behaviour of battle-hardened warriors.
Beings that had fought... survived... and adapted countless times. And when that kind of combat instinct was combined with the naturally superior physical stats of monsters. The result was terrifying. Kei was absolutely certain of it. If a human of the same level fought one of these beasts...They would die.
Without question. Even she. If she had to face that frog beast alone. She would still win. She was confident in that.
But. Kei’s eyes unconsciously drifted toward Kelly again. Without him there... Without him keeping it occupied... Without him standing on the front line and forcing it to focus on him. That victory... Would’ve been one hell of a fight.
’What a strange place’
Kei stared quietly into the dancing flames, their orange glow reflecting in her eyes as her thoughts continued to wander.
’I just hope we find an exit soon’
Her fingers tightened slightly around her knees.
’Because if what Kelly said is true... if this really is a dungeon...’
A cold chill slowly crawled down her spine.
’Then what happens when we run into something like that behemoth’
Her throat moved unconsciously.
’A level fifty beast...with that strength and battle instincts’
Just imagining it. Was enough to make every instinct in her body scream. For a brief moment, Kei could almost feel its presence again, and a shiver ran through her body.
Then, she let out a tired sigh.
"Even so..."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"I need to prepare for the worst."
Her eyes remained fixed on the flames.
"If this really is... a multi-floor dungeon..."
Her voice slowly trailed off. Then she sighed again, this one heavier than the last, too mentally exhausted to continue thinking any further.
"Ahh..."
A low sound suddenly broke the silence.
"N-No..."
Kei’s thoughts instantly snapped back. Her head turned sharply toward Kelly. And the moment she saw him. Sweating. Squirming. His brows tightly furrowed as though fighting something in his sleep. Kei let out yet another sigh.
But this time. It was filled with pure exasperation.
"...Not again."
Darkness swallowed Kelly whole. However, for him rest never came easy not since he lost crow not since he killed that not since he awakened gluttony.
Kelly felt it again as if he was again turned into an observer, his body wasn’t his own his decision wasn’t his own, his motives weren’t his own and his instincts were primitive then he felt it, the being started moving its Movement was Fast, Wild and Primal.
When this all started Kelly thought he was dreaming. At least... it felt like one but now he knew these were not dreams these were memories...memories of the being he killed and absorbed.
One moment he had been leaning against the cold stone, his breathing steady, his thoughts fading into sleep, and the next, he was running.
The being was, Something else. Something far larger. Something familiar, Far deadlier.
Its limbs moved with terrifying power, muscles coiling and releasing beneath thick fur as claws dug into damp earth and shattered loose stone with every stride. Wind howled past him, past it cold, sharp, alive. Every leap covered impossible distance, every landing shaking the ground beneath its monstrous weight.
Kelly was just there as an observer he couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. Couldn’t even blink. He could only watch. But, He could feel. Every contraction of muscle. Every expansion of lung. Every heartbeat pounding like war drums inside a beast’s chest.
And then Smell. Far sharper then he was used to. A thousand scents crashed into him at once. Wet moss. Rotting carcasses. Running water. Fresh blood. And at last something the being was looking for fear. The wolf stopped. Its ears twitched. Its nostrils flared. And Kelly felt it. The hunt, has started. Then it moved.
BOOM.
The ground cracked beneath its leap. The world blurred. And before kelly even realized he heard a scream. He felt the Claws tearing into something, Warm flesh tearing apart like wet cloth. Bones snapping. Blood exploding across its muzzle, across its face. Kelly felt it. All of it. Like it was he himself who was doing it. The resistance of flesh beneath claws. The shuddering death throes of prey.
The hot rush of blood running over its tongue. And then He tasted it, Coppery, Hot blood. He felt fangs sink deep. Felt muscle tear. Felt marrow crack. Felt warm organs burst between monstrous jaws. And worst of all Life. It was Delicious.
A growl rumbled deep within the beast’s chest. Within his chest. And the wolf kept moving. Kelly saw rivers he had never crossed, caverns stretching endlessly into darkness, glowing forests of crystal, creatures slithering in river blacker than night, colossal shadows moving far beyond his understanding... things that watched from the dark and things even the wolf refused to approach. Yet even through all of it, the beast never slowed. Sometimes it moved with its pack and sometimes it wander off alone like when he encountered Kelly and Kei.
Like this time it again wander off alone like a lone adventurer exploring the territory, kelly understood the beast was unique from all that he observed only this being ever exhibited this sense of freedom however this time the beast curiosity brought him to closer to something that every instincts in his body said to stay away from And then it happened. The wolf stopped. Its body stiffened. Its ears flattened as if meeting its superior. Its breathing slowed. Something...it realized Was wrong. Slowly, Very slowly. The beast turned its head. And there he saw it
Two golden pupils. Ancient. Savage. Aware. Looking towards with warning of a lowly being entering the territory it marked those pupils They stared directly at kelly. Not through him. At him. As if it had felt him watching. As if it had been waiting for him then those golden pupils moved slowly towards him and kelly finally saw the being.
Kelly’s eyes shot open.
"HAAH!"