Chapter 13.5 - (Bonus) Darkwalker Hunting (Patreon)

Elania had left Skinner behind with his [Ralfot] carcass, deciding it would be best to put some distance between her and any distractions before she went to work on making new javelins and working make on her idea for the belt.

When she found an out of the way cave with the [Tree-cap] that she needed, she went to work. The javelins were the easy part of the task, and she was quickly becoming very good at carving the sharp points out. For these, she added a small notch into the wood.

Then she went to work on the leather belt, taking a few scraps of her tattered robe to tie small loops. Elania tested those loops, tugging on them and making sure they didn't slide up or down. Satisfied, she slid one of her new javelins through the loop, and a small notch caught on it successfully.

She smiled. Now she would be able to carry four javelins on her back. Everything she needed was now sorted again. It was time to move on and look for more Darkwalkers.

It took hours of wandering before she thought she spotted one, and even if she had, it disappeared immediately, much to her disappointment. She did gain a few levels in stealth, so there was that for a minor consolation prize.

Eventually, she found a herd of Ralfots, or was it the same herd she had molested earlier? Disappointed in her lack of progress finding another Darkwalker, Elania decided to take a break and observe the herd while it idled and grazed on the glowing fungus in the cavern.

That proved to be a good decision.

Not long after she settled in and began to nod off in her hiding spot, nervousness began to spread through the [Ralfot] herd. Elania wasn't paying much attention by then, but a sudden roar had her surging to alertness.

A Darkwalker duo appeared suddenly, and the herd started to bolt away. Elania hadn't expected two; she had thought that they were solitary hunters.

She hadn't planned on taking on two of the beasts, and she hesitated, considering moving off while they were distracted chasing down the Ralfots.

However, when one of those said Ralfots was caught and tumbled to the ground right in front of her, it was an opportunity she couldn't pass up. The Darkwalker focused on strangling the young [Ralfot], jaws clamped down around its throat, suffocating the poor thing.

That's when Elania let loose her first and second javelin. She was so close that she could smell the blood from the rapidly exsanguinating [Ralfot], but she didn’t turn away and was rewarded as both throws were direct hits to the Darkwalker's side. One bounced off, striking a bone, but the other sunk into a fleshy area in its flank.

The pained roar of the beast temporarily drowned out the frantic cries of the herd animals. It leaped away from the Ralfot immediately and then spun looking for whatever had hurt it. Elania was already throwing her other two javelins.

Both of these missed, despite the messages that she'd leveled up her skill twice. 'Bullshit!'

The movement gave her position away, though, and the wounded hunter charged at her. She was prepared despite how fast her heart was racing.

Leveling her spear at it, she repeated the same tactic she had used to for her first Darkwalker kill. They didn't have tusks, but when charging they seemed to mimic a charging boar.

That was fine with Elania; she was confident in a tactic that had already proved to work. She calmly set the point straight-on with the beast's chest.

Just as before, the beast's weight bent the length of the spear, nearly snapping it as it impaled itself. The fact that she had chosen a thicker shaft than her first spear seemed to help considerably. The Darkwalker spit a defiant growl at Elania one last time before going limp.

[Do you wish to absorb the Darkwalker's Essence? Y/N]

A sudden roar from nearby in response had Elania snap her attention toward it. 'Oh crap! The other one!'

'Absorb! FASTER!'

She struggled to pull the spear from the corpse as it began to disintegrate. The second Darkwalker rushed at her in a mad frenzy. 'Shit, did I kill its mate or something?'

It reached her just as she gained control of the spear, but it was too late to set the point. Instead, she ended up sideswiping it in the neck with the shaft, in a quick deflection that sent it hurling to the side.

Except it had the reflexes of a cat, and instantly spun and pounced on her again before she could do anything but place the shaft of her spear into a set of slobbering jaws. The sound of the roar it let out as it tried to crush the soft wood in its mouth was deafening.

Despite the fury and onslaught, Elania was stronger than the smaller predator. Realizing she needed something for an up-close fight, she released one hand on the shaft and frantically struggled to gain her dagger from a pocket.

Claws raked her side an arm, and the next snarl from the beast elicited a scream from Elania in reply. She fell backward, the sudden tumble sending them rolling down a slick stony bank of moss and blood covered stone.

Elania lost her hold on the spear, and the Darkwalker recovered first, darting in to chomp at her throat. She barely managed to raise her arm in time to intercept the bite. Ignoring the searing pain as her fingers finally found what she was looking for, the steel dagger came flashing out of her robe.

It felt like her bones would be crushed under the massive pressure of its jaw.

The dagger's steel tip seemed to catch a glint of luminescent light as it plunged into the side of the Darkwalker's neck. It sunk through flesh and slid past bone in a sickening easy squish before Elania pulled it free and repeated the stab over and over again as she screamed back at the beast.

It was only when the message came up that she stopped, her chest heaving from the exertion and adrenaline.

[Do you wish to absorb the Darkwalker's Essence? Y/N]

‘Yeah, do it.’

She sat down and leaned against a rock, as [Regeneration] finished its work, and she was made whole. Checking her [Status], she realized the 'Power' cost of the healing was almost as much as she had taken from the Darkwalker duo.

'But I gained skills in the process.'

She closed her eyes and let her mind and body catch up with the events. If she was going to keep doing this, and she didn't know what other choice she had, she would need to increase her skills and be more prepared.

A sudden mew had her eyes snap open. It sounded like a Darkwalker but was too high pitched, and she immediately sighted the source of the sound. It was a young Darkwalker, only a quarter of the size of the ones she had seen.

It let out another cry and continued to search the cavern cautiously.

Elania felt a roil of emotions as she watched the kit notice her and let out a howling cry.

'That was its mom and dad, and I killed them.'

She didn't feel guilty at killing the two Darkwalkers, they had been predators themselves, and the young dead Ralfot was still lying nearby.

She did feel a sense of empathy for the little guy, however.

"I'm sorry. They're gone."

It cried back at her, whining. She didn't think it really understood what she was saying, but she knew that it knew what had happened somehow. It approached her, following the scent trail of its parents, before stopping out of her reach and hissing at her.

"Yeah. I would hiss too."

Elania stood up and stepped forward, and the kit spun and started to scramble and run away. She was much faster and bigger than it, though, and caught it by the scruff of its neck. It was a boy, and he hissed and struggled a bit, but she didn't let go. She deposited him beside the dead [Ralfot].

[Do you wish to absorb the Ralfot's Essence? Y/N]

She refused and planted him at his parent's kill, then moved away. He spun in circles growling and hissing, but then seemed to get the idea as he turned and began to eat.

"That's all I can do for you. I'm not ready to be a cat mom."

She didn't leave immediately, though. Instead, she found a dark corner and used her ability to hide. Eventually, the kit finished its meal, then found its own spot along the cave's edge, curled up, and went to sleep.

That was enough for Elania. He'd survive or not based on his instincts. Now she needed to remake her javelins and spear. The shield had been useless as she had not even been able to switch to it in time, but she hoped she'd get better at handling the weapons soon.

Elania realized that since she could make what she needed from what she had at hand, and didn't need to store any supplies, there wasn't much of a need to create a camp. Once she caught some prey, she could continue to search and stalk another without returning to a base.

It would have been nice to have one for when she slept, but that was a luxury. It wasn't going to make much difference if she found a hidden nook somewhere when she needed to take the two or three-hour naps she required now.