CHAPTER 47: THE DEN AND THE BURROW

Eric needed to consume the beast mana in order to gain the points for a tier upgrade, which in turn gave a massive boost to his stats. Only through the consumption could he also awaken by filling the 100 mana consumption point for the Awakening bar.

But this was beast mana, not a human one, and he knew full well the consequences of consuming beast mana: it would always leave a toll. He’d get a sudden boost on all his stats should he consume the beast’s mana, and show inhuman strength and speed that cannot be contained in his current Willpower stat.

He was not willing to make the others see or feel an inhuman strength from him, one greater than all of theirs combined. A sudden, inexplicable surge in his stats after a beast’s death would be a question he couldn’t answer. They would all notice.

Also, beast mana uses up a little of the human mana he’s stored for hunger, and he planned to conserve that mana for as long as possible even though it was on the verge of being used up.

All these calculated risks led him to reject the System’s offer to consume the beast’s mana. He knew they’d drain away and get soaked into the trees or something, but it was fair game. At least, his secret was going to be safe with him for now.

They moved further up the rugged hills, hunting for more of the beasts as per the academy’s assignment. The air grew thinner, the scent of pine and damp earth sharpening.

They reached a fork where the main trail curved left, climbing steadily. A narrower, darker path branched to the right, diving into a thicket of shadow-drenched firs. Eleanor’s warning was a silent chant in their steps. "Stay on the path."

The others shuffled past the junction, taking the left path without a glance, but Eric slowed, his boots scuffling the little stones. Something about the right-hand path bothered him. Maybe it was a path reserved for high ranking Adventurers and only special high tier beasts inhabit it.

His curiosity was overwhelming him.

"Don’t even think about it."

Opal’s voice was at his shoulder, low and taut. She hadn’t missed his hesitation. She nodded toward the ominous path. "That leads to the Scab. It’s not woods anymore. It’s a den. The bandit group, The Stone Swords are there...And other smaller bandit crews. The ones without systems."

Eric turned, a question in his silence.

"They Dew People," she elaborated, her voice losing its edge for a flicker of something else—pity, perhaps, or contempt. "Born without a connection. No status screens, no prompts, no awakening. They can’t become mages, or knights, or anything the kingdom recognizes. So they become this. Thieves. Bandits." She gestured to the path.

"They pour into the city at night or ambush lonely travelers. They hate us, the ’Awakened.’ Their only advantage is planning. Darkness, traps, numbers. They’re weak. Even I could likely beat their chieftain in a straight fight. But they don’t fight straight, so they are hard to deal with, even by the government officials."

A cold, clear understanding crystallized in Eric’s mind.

The group was instantly unsettled by this piece of information. They’ve all heard about them, the bandits, before but their tale must have been a scare tale for them as children. Told by their parents to take them to caution.

But where they saw a fearful tale, Eric saw something. Something like an opportunity.

’People without systems. Unlawful groups. People whose mana I could consume... and no one would question a bandit’s death. No guild would investigate. Heck, even the government seeks their end.’

He wouldn’t have to deal with the guilt of killing a fellow student, or a random citizen just to feed his never ending hunger for mana. These were ghosts already. His secret could be fed, and the world might even thank him for taking out the trash.

He filed the knowledge away, a dark seed taking root. The bandit den would receive a visitor soon, but not today.

They took the left path. The forest grew denser, the trees formed a canopy above them. Eric walked at the rear, his mind wandering on about his new discovery.

But he suddenly realized there was no lively occurrence around anymore.

There was no sound, no shift in the air, no hawk cry. One moment, the shrubs to his right was a lush green curtain. The next, it exploded.

A creature the color of scarred bark and dead leaves uncoiled from the brush with terrifying speed.

It was a Shade Stalker, a lizard-like beast three times bigger than the Witch Bugs, its skin perfectly mirroring the forest floor, bending its skin to mimic its surrounding. All Eric could think about was Godzilla.

Its powerful, muscular tail, thick as a whole man’s body, swung in a blurred arc before any of them could shout or react.

It connected with a sickening thud against Eric’s ribs.

The air blasted from his lungs. The world tilted, then snapped into a dizzying turn of sky and tree trunks. He flew in the air for a moment before crashing into the damp earth, pain screaming through his side. His vision swam, blurry.

"Ambush!" Gary cried. "It’s the Shade Stalker!"

Gary’s cry was followed by the sharp,whistling thwip-thwip-thwip of arrows loosed in rapid succession. They buried themselves in the beast’s scaly body but were immediately shook away, the beast already melting back into the undergrowth with unnatural silence.

Bart roared, his axe cleaving the air where the creature’s head had just vanished, hitting only empty space. It had disappeared into the bushes again, perfectly camouflaging with the greens. "I hate players who camp!"

The Stalker reappeared five yards to the left, its forked tongue tasting the panic. It moved not with a reptile’s scramble, but with a series of eerie, fluid glides, barely disturbing the foliage.

Opal noticed the physical difference in the lizard that disappeared and the new one. It was a completely different one, which meant that there were more than one around. Maybe a lot more than what they could imagine.

"Gather round, everyone," Opal yelled. "Form a circle in the clearing, back to back. The beasts are more than one and we’ve just entered their burrow."

Through the pain and disorientation, a cold, familiar feeling settled over Eric. This has happened before. The thought was clear amidst the panic. Not this beast, not these woods, but this feeling of being the group’s burden, the one on the ground.

Strong hands hooked under his arms, dragging him backwards. Silver hauled Eric away from the center of the chaos, the grunt of effort loud in Eric’s ear. He rested him against the rough bark of a tree at the clearing’s edge.

"Breathe," Silver instructed, his eyes never leaving the confusing shape of the Stalker as Bart and Mantra tried to corner one of them."Just breathe, okay? We’ll handle the lizards and get back to you. Don’t move."

Eric gasped, each inhalation a knife-twist in his side. He clutched his ribs, fingers pressing and searching. They were not broken, maybe cracked.

The pain was a bright, fierce thing, but beneath it, another sensation stirred. A low anger at his own carelessness.

He had been thinking about bandits, about secrets and solutions. He was all about his selfish needs and he couldn’t react fast to the lizard’s attack even though he would have done that easily if he was conscious of his surrounding.

Now, he’s become a burden to the group. They are now one man short against... Eric counted as the Shade Stalkers started crawling out.

Twelve!

And from the look of things, the way they attacked individually, they weren’t basic tier beasts.

’I have to help them if we must leave this place alive.’

Eric, preparing for the worst, gazed at the eight faint red aura hovering above him. They haven’t dissolved into the air yet.

Maybe his secret was going to be out after all.