Virgil’s eyes widened in shock as his body was stretched to its absolute limit.
The Night Crawler landed and immediately pivoted towards him.
In a heartbeat, it closed the distance, its jaw clamping shut around his left forearm.
A searing pain ripped up his arm, sending panic surging through his core.
The monster clamped down harder, its fangs piercing through flesh and bone.
His entire body jerked violently, trying to break free of the roots. But they held strong.
Desperate, he channeled mana into his core, grabbing whatever affinity appeared first.
In response, darkness erupted from his body in an uncontrolled wave. The moment it appeared, it spread through the thorned roots holding him down.
Tiny cracks appeared across its surface as the wood began to deteriorate.
Decay.
The root shriveled beneath the corruption, its surface becoming brittle as it began to crumble away.
At the exact same time, the darkness washed over the Night Crawler. Its jaw went slack as its decaying body dropped to the ground.
He fell with it as the last of the roots holding him collapsed.
Virgil hit the ground hard.
He pushed himself up onto one knee, gasping for breath as blood dripped from his mangled forearm.
Beside him, the monster let out a raspy whine.
It wasn’t dead yet, but it was barely clinging onto life. Half of its lower jaw had rotted, its throat was blackened by the shadow, it could barely breathe, let alone stand or growl.
He looked at the squirming monster, then to his left arm.
He wanted to leave it there, but he couldn’t.
He outstretched his arm and began circulating mana into it.
It took a moment before the spell actually began to form.
Blue arcs sparked across his knuckles, briefly illuminating the otherwise dark forest.
He stepped over the wolf and grabbed its scuff, pressing his sparking hands against its yellow eyes.
—CRACK
A sharp, concentrated bolt erupted from his palm, channeled directly into its skull.
Its body jerked violently once. Then it went completely limp.
He exhaled, before collapsing onto his knees as the adrenaline began to recede and Minervia’s curse began to take effect.
Unlike last time, where it was only a moment, this time it lingered.
His feet gave out and he collapsed onto the ground.
’So that’s Shadow.’
It was his first time using the affinity, and it was far different than when the younger Virgil had used it.
Shadow was known to be corrosive. He had seen that much before, but he had never expected it to do so much without even manifesting as a spell.
Mages were taught that spells were more effective than simply spreading mana through an affinity’s attributes.
Not only were spells stronger, but they could also be adapted to fit the user’s need, depending on whether they wanted a small, controlled burst or a large, unrestricted blast. Additionally, spells consumed less mana because it could be guided through smaller, more efficient pathways within the body.
Without even using a spell, he managed to almost kill the monster without even intending to.
He turned his gaze towards the ashen-black trees.
Something felt wrong whenever he looked deeper into the forest.
’Is it alive?’
Earlier, when the roots had sprung up from the ground, he’d thought that there was some other monster that was about to reveal itself.
There wasn’t.
Virgil quickly glanced around.
At least not as far as he knew.
From what he knew about Night Crawlers, they weren’t able to control enormous roots with such ease.
And then there was the purple mist that had wrapped around its leg. That seemed odd too. Almost as if something was controlling it.
And...
’It only came out when it believed I had dropped my guard.’
It only showed up when he had walked for a while and finally lowered his guard.
He pressed his hand against his bleeding wound, wincing as his hand came in contact with it.
’There’s probably something controlling this place.’
It could be watching him right now.
He forced his body up with the help of one of the ash-black trees, rubbing his blood all over it.
His left arm throbbed as blood ran down his forearm and dripped from his fingertips.
"I guess I should go deeper."
He paused, his eyes narrowing ahead of him.
Another pair of pupil-less yellow eyes stared back at him from the distance.
Followed by another pair.
And another.
"...You’re kidding me."
A pack of Night Crawlers slowly approached him.
He quickly counted them.
’Six.’
He didn’t have enough mana to use Shadow recklessly, and even if he did, Virgil would prefer not to exert himself casting magic without spells.
The lead wolf lunged first.
He sidestepped, its claws only tearing through the sleeve of his coat.
But before he could counter, another one came from his blind spot.
He ducked, allowing its jaw to snap above his head.
He quickly began making space between them.
But just as he did, roots sprouted from the ground, trying to take him hostage again.
This time, he was prepared.
Virgil immediately used his magic, letting an uncontrolled wave of shadow spread from his body. Stopping the roots in their tracks and catching one of the monsters in his trap.
The decaying wolf collapsed in a rotting heap of flesh, as the thorned roots returned to the ground.
But there was no time to relax.
As the second wolf leaped for his throat, he ducked beneath its snapping jaws. He drove his uninjured right hand upward, catching the beast by its throat mid-air.
Using the monster’s own forward force against it, Virgil slammed its body into the earth, driving his heel onto its chest before twisting his grip.
The wolf’s neck snapped instantly. Its body went limp beneath his foot.
’Two.’
Before he could fully recover his stance, the third wolf lunged from behind. Its jaws bit hard into his right shoulder.
His shoulder burned where the fangs had sunk in, but he turned the beast’s close proximity against it.
Gritting his teeth, he brought his left elbow up, driving it straight to the underside of the beast’s jaw to break its grip. The moment its fangs slipped, he seized it by the snout, wrenching its head violently to the side with a sickening crunch.
Then, he turned in the direction of the wolf running at him.
He channeled mana into his palm, forming blue sparks.
The sparks refused to stay together.
It twisted violently, threatening to disperse.
He shook his head and continued, compressing the chaotic blue sparks into a dense spear of light.
With a flick of the wrist, he loosed it.
THWACK—CRACK!
The spear whistled through the air with blinding speed, piercing the monster straight through its open mouth. The dead monster crashed into the dirt, sliding to a stop at Virgil’s feet.
’Four.’
He glared straight at the remaining Night Crawlers, daring them to come closer.
The two remaining ones stopped in their tracks.
Then they ran away.
"Haah."
As soon as they were gone, he let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding.
Then, he crouched and examined one of the Night Crawlers he had killed.
Instead of crimson blood pooling in its throat, a thick, tar-like black resin oozed across its tongue.
He slid his fingers down its neck, feeling along the spine. Beneath the pelt, dozens of thin wooden tendrils were woven directly into its vertebrae like parasitic wiring.
’Puppets.’
He turned to the trees.
"You can come out now."
On cue, the ridges of the tree’s trunk twisted inward, forming something resembling a mouth.
The trees were smiling now.