NOVEL NEXT Chapter 460: Wait for it...
'It's not dead!'
Rain had wondered at the power of her arrow, but now she realized it was not as mighty as she thought.
She had simply stunned it or the beast had lured her in by pretending.
Either way, it was very much alive—and beginning to move.
"Ah!" Rain went to release the creature, but not fast enough.
"Fingers," the Teacher warned belatedly.
The spines of the creature stretched in all directions, slicing the girl's palms, sleeves and barely missing her torso.
Rain scrambled away, tripping in the process and tearing her pants.
She cursed.
Screeching its own protest, the hedgehog rolled onto its belly and stood on five legs. Its eyes opened and locked on Rain with burning hatred.
'It's less cute when it looks at me like that…' Rain gulped.
"What are you doing? Get up!"
"What's the hurry—whoa!" Rain gasped.
The creature lifted its spines from the ground and ran toward her like a bull seeing red. She barely managed to escape the charge by rolling to one side.
She snatched her bow from her shoulder and nocked an arrow in it.
The man placed his head in his palm. "Did you learn nothing?"
Aiming at one open eye this time, Rain released her arrow at the hedgehog.
Like the last, it flew silently through the crisp afternoon air. The shot was true, ready to plunge deep into the creature's skull.
Until…
Just below the beady eyes, a chasm opened. It continued to spread wide, looking like it could swallow the creature to which it was attached. Rows of gnarly, gnashed teeth dripping with crimson shimmered in the sunlight.
A lolling tongue unfurled and snatched the arrow from the sky and pulled it into its mouth. Then the hedgehog closed its mouth and began to chew.
"It ate my arrow!" Rain's indignation was profound.
"The arrow isn't what you should be worrying about." Shaking his head, the shadowy figure took a step back.
Rain went to nock another arrow, her palms screaming with her bleeding cuts.
The hedgehog shifted with a grunt, settling her with an angry glare.
Before she could release her shot, the furball leapt into the air with astonishing speed and flew directly at the teen. Its mangled teeth clamped down on Rain's reinforced jacket.
"It's on my shoulder!" She screamed.
But her Teacher did not lift a finger or even move to help her. "So? Get it off."
Panicking, Rain dropped her bow and slammed her thumb into the eye of the biting beast. The creature squealed and released its jaw. Rain felt its spines run across her cheek as she leaned away. Blood oozed across her pale skin.
She touched her face.
'It bit me!'
Before the huntress had been unfocused and uncoordinated. The whole encounter had been unlike anything she had experienced before.
Now, she was angry.
She abandoned her bow for the moment and reached for the knife at her waist. The world around her slowed down.
This time when the creature leapt at her, Rain was ready.
Avoiding the spiny outer coat, the huntress ducked under her beady-eyed foe and twisted her body to face it.
The blade started its move toward the belly but was kicked away by the beast's foreleg. Rain barely managed to hold onto the blade. She looked down at it to see a nick in the polished steel.
Her expression darkened. Another hit like that would break her blade. Would she have to fight with her bare hands at that point?
Or would her supposed Big Brother finally intervene?
Rain spared her Teacher a glance. He looked more like a shadow than a man just now, picking some grime out of his nails.
'Is he sitting in a chair!?'
It looked like the dark deity would let her live or die on her own while he enjoyed the show. Some Teacher he turned out to be!
Rain squared her shoulders. 'Who needs him!'
She spun around to face her opponent again—this time with grim determination.
The hedgehog ran his hooves along the ground, ready for another run at his petite opponent.
Only this time, it was the teen who went sprinting forward. The beast reared back to open its mouth and welcome its dinner.
At the last moment, Rain tucked her head and came in under the beast's chin, ramming her injured shoulder into the creature's unprotected chest.
The teen screamed, but she took the pain and channeled it into the knife in her other hand. The sudden charge had not only been to throw the abomination off balance but also so that Rain could find the best spot in the hedgehog's belly to attack.
'Got you!'
Muscles tensing, Rain plunged the knife deep into the Nightmare Creature, slipping the blade between two rib-like bones.
The teen felt something burst inside the beast's chest. Her lungs felt they might burst too, but she held on until they both hit the ground.
Rain pushed herself off of the beast at the final moment, rolling away from the creature as it collided with the dirt.
The unpleasant thud knocked the wind out of her body, but Rain willed herself to stand and face the next attack.
Thankfully, there was none.
The creature lay on the ground at an awkward angle supported by its hairy spines. The legs were completely limp and its eyes stared vacantly toward the cloudy sky.
"You have slain a Dormant Beast, Pricklepants," her Teacher said softly.
"Really?" Rain wiped her brow.
"Well, that is the name I gave it while watching you. I have no idea of that thing's actual title." The man's chair dissipated as he stood.
"I mean. I really killed it?"
"Ah, yes. I suppose I should also say: You have grown stronger…or at least you will when you smash the shard inside."
"My own soul shard! I can hardly believe it." Rain felt like crying, though whether it was from exhaustion or excitement, she couldn't say.
"First you have to get it," the man reminded her, tilting his head.
"Oh, my knife!" Rain chirped. When she had disengaged from the…Pricklepants…her hand had been unable to keep hold of the slick handle of her blade.
"That's twice in one battle you have forgotten about it," the teacher chided her. "It's a good thing your head is attached or you might forget it too."
"Haha, very funny," Rain rolled her eyes and positioned herself over the dead beast.
She placed her battered hands on the hilt of the knife and prepared to pull.
"Uh, Rain?"
The girl stuck out her tongue, deep in concentration. "Not now, I almost have it."
The shadow of a man crossed his arms. "Suit yourself, but the way you are standing is…"
The knife came out at that very moment. Like a pulled plug, it released the pressure that had been building from the creature's chest cavity.
Blood sprayed in all directions, covering the girl in a crimson mist.
Rain sputtered and spat, dripping like a soaked puppy from the sanguine rain.
The dark deity studied her condition with a frown.
"You know, with a little more observation and research, you might have learned that this particular creature has a special ability to hold an immense amount of air inside of it which is sometimes released at inopportune times."
Rain shook, trying to get off as much blood as possible before it froze to her skin. "I get it, Teacher. Next time I will do all my research and lure it into a trap like we planned."
"Good. Because next time I might not be there to help you." The ancient man tilted up his nose.
"You didn't help me this time!" The girl whined.
"It is not my fault you chose to ignore my advice. At least you succeeded." He pointed at the now deflated fluffball. "All in all, probably not the worst I have seen. So good job."
"Thank you, Teacher." Rain could feel the compliment behind his words. She hadn't disappointed him, or herself.
She had slain a Nightmare Creature and lived to tell about it! The teen felt a surge of pride in her accomplishment.
"Teacher," Rain looked at the shadowy figure full of expectation, "Now that I've killed my first creature with my own hands, how close am I to Awakening?"
The dark deity smiled as he tapped his chin. After a moment of contemplation, he nodded decisively. "Very close. I'd say another year or ten and you'll really have something!"
"What?!"