Chapter 5: Scavenger’s Path!
Daniel Vance stood partially concealed behind a thick trunk of crystalline blue wood, his breath catching in his chest, observing the aftermath of the brief, brutal encounter.
Liam Holt and Sara Chen lay still, their short journey in the Astral Verge already concluded.
The Crimson Fang Hound, the architect of their demise, whined pitifully. It's powerful muscles trembling from exertion and pain, its crimson fur matted darker where blood flowed freely from deep gashes.
Daniel assessed the situation rapidly, his mind a whirlwind of calculations and excellent battle instinct.
His own strength had surged since stepping through the Gateway. E-grade Deflector Vest (+50 Defense), E-grade Vibro-Knife (+50 Attack), a D-grade skill [Kinetic Pulse] capable of creating space, and a small but tangible boost to his base Strength from assimilating Jaxon Rex.
He compared this burgeoning power to the state of the Hound.
Level 1, yes, but its agility was listed as 'High' even before accounting for its current impaired state. Its HP was below 40%.
A wounded beast was often more dangerous, driven by desperation, but this one seemed genuinely weakened, its movement becomes stiff, its focus compromised by pain.
He could leave. Circle around, find another opportunity, let the Hound potentially bleed out or be finished off by something else.
It was the safer option, the path of the scavenger he had initially envisioned.
But Jaxon's swift death, and the clear panic that had likely sealed Liam and Sara's fate, hammered home a crucial lesson Instructor Rostova had tried to instill during their training: Hesitation kills.