Blood scattered over the forest floor as Percival’s teeth sank into the throat of an unsuspecting rodent similar to a capybara. The creature twitched several times while dangling from the direwolf’s jaws. Pride glowed in the beast’s eyes and he trotted over to Liam to show off his prize.

In response, Liam raised a brow and stared at Percival, or Percy, which he settled on after tiring of the full name. “You don’t need to show me every time you kill something…”

The direwolf tilted its head and wandered off to share its prey with one of the females. If the immediate reaction was anything to go by, then Percival’s display didn’t go well for him.

Shrugging, Liam focused his attention back on his status screen. Although his level did not increase at all, he succeeded in slaying enough quarry during the last two days to accumulate half the SP needed to unlock Mana Affinity. Unfortunately, most of the points came from meaningless slaughter. In the back of his mind, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the entire process was terribly inefficient. The more time he spent slaying creatures for intangible points, the more he understood why people hunted the direwolves to near extinction. Based on the enemies felled by his hand in this world, he concluded that the stronger and more dangerous creatures granted excessively more experience and SP. Most likely, the same rule applied to the direwolves. At least he received experience and SP every time Scath killed something. The goal was to unlock Mana Affinity before the Zhulisian army reached Crey and then sabotage them with the species abilities he received explanations about from Noctis before the old bastard fell asleep again. As a result, the system adjusted his skill list.

Rustblood Armor

A skill limited to those with the blood of an Ancient race. Double strength and vitality by forming a powerful armor that resists damage in exchange for the user's mana. However, agility is halved while using this skill. Initial activation requires you to sacrifice HP and MP to form a magic plate armor out of your blood and mana. Initial durability is proportional to the sacrificed HP and MP. Consumes less if you transform your currently equipped armor instead of forming it from only blood and mana. Absorbs 1-2 MP per second. Prevents 50%-90% of all physical damage and 20%-45% of all magic damage. All received damage consumes a proportional amount of MP.

Rustblood Blade

A skill limited to those with the blood of an Ancient race. Forms a shortsword, longsword, or greatsword from your blood and mana. Initial activation requires you to sacrifice HP and MP. Consumes less if you transform your currently equipped weapon instead of forming it from only blood and mana. Base damage is equivalent to the thickness of your blood plus the damage of any weapon used to form the Rustblood Blade. Although the sword is indestructible during the duration of the skill, it drains 1-2 mana per second while equipped.

Rustblood Regeneration

Due to the bloodline of an Ancient race, physical wounds heal over time by consuming 1-2 mana per second as long as you don’t die. Fastest when hunger is sated. A secondary effect will activate upon death which forces you to revive once as an undead. The amount of your soul you keep will depend on the thickness of your blood.

Warning: There is a low possibility of your soul fully dispersing upon second death, never to wander the Land of the Living nor the Land of the Dead.

The skills seemed powerful, especially when compared to his current ones. However, the description of Rustblood Regeneration sent shivers down Liam’s spine. What, exactly, were the Ancientbloods for them to revive as undead? It certainly explained why Noctis and that other soldier guy still lived in the tombs, but the thought made him uncomfortable.

Sighing, he glanced through the gaps of the leafy canopy overhead. Enough daylight remained for them to stay out for another hour or so. He considered heading back, but wandering around the woods with just beasts at his side actually relaxed his nerves. Although he definitely did not mind bringing Nora along, he couldn’t help thinking that her decision to stay behind with Gardenia was a good one.

Suddenly, a deep growl from Scath broke him out of his contemplations. The rest of the pack regrouped near Liam in response. The fur on all of their backs visibly stood on end. All of them glared in the same direction.

Brows furrowed, Liam stepped closer to Scath and quietly asked, “Is there something dangerous over there?”

Scath nodded slowly but continued staring into the forest.

Liam rubbed his chin and stared past the trees. Despite the minimal visibility, he could see a noticeably large rock formation in the distance. Perhaps a dangerous creature nested there. The more he considered the threat, the more his adrenaline flowed. He rubbed his chin and said, “Alright, let’s head back.”

Right as his muscles started relaxing again, a loud crash, followed by the crack and subsequent thud of a falling tree, startled him. Birds flew from their roosts in the trees surrounding the rock formation. The chorus of their frightened chirps filled the skies. The direwolves all snapped their heads around and lowered their posture. All of their ears pointed straight into the air on full alert. Most of them snarled in the direction of the sound. Another crash echoed through the forest. Another tree fell.

A cold shiver shot up Liam’s spine. For some reason, he had a really bad feeling about this. He clicked his tongue. Before he could order them to sprint ahead, a deep guttural voice boomed through the woods. Regrettably, it sounded familiar.

[RAAAAAH! I smell you, human!]

You’ve gotta be shitting me...

The enormous, hulking creature tore through the woods, snapping all the trees in its path like dry spaghetti. The direwolves cautiously backed away with fur standing on end. Several of them growled and barked in an attempt at intimidation. Still, the giant approached more quickly than any of them could sprint. Within moments, the giant would reach them.

“Hey, you mutts! Scatter!” Liam called out, urging the direwolves to spread out. Even while shouting, he struggled to believe the fact that he had encountered the same giant so soon.

For the most part, his voice reached the direwolves. All but two dashed left and right. Percy remained cowering with tail tucked between his legs. Gaheris focused on the approaching enemy and snarled.

Before Liam could call out to them again, a roar echoed over his shoulders. Startled, he whipped his head around. To his surprise, he saw Scath standing within arm’s reach. Despite the current predicament, he wondered how the beast managed to roar like that. Normally, only large felines could do such a thing.

Shaking away the thought, he refocused on the situation. When he looked back toward the approaching giant, he noticed that both Percy and Gaheris were running off between the trees now as well. Perhaps Scath ordered them to run with his roar.

If that’s the case…

“Scath, think we could win a fight with that thing?”

Scath didn’t give much of an answer aside from a hesitant breath from his nose.

“How about escape?”

Again, Scath gave a hesitant snort.

Liam ground his teeth for a moment before bending down, pointing out his Achilles tendon, and saying, “Alright, order the others to bite the ligaments behind its ankle while I draw its attention. I’ll raise my hand to signal you.”

Scath nodded and bounded into the forest. Several barks relaying the order echoed around him. Liam grimaced and prayed that acting as bait wouldn’t end as badly as the last time he attempted it. Taking a deep breath, he prepared for the imminent and unwanted reunion with the giant.

As he watched the giant approach, he glanced at Bloodeater. The one-handed blade would probably deal damage to the giant equivalent to a toothpick pricking a human. In the little amount of time he still had, he checked the other weapons in his inventory. The only two that looked useful enough were the warhammer, Bonecrusher, and the claymore, Kras’navar. Although he had never used either weapon, he figured the claymore could dish out enough damage to offset his lack of experience. With that in mind, he opened his inventory and pulled out Kras’navar. It felt lighter than he remembered. Obviously, it weighed more than Bloodeater, but he could easily hold it up in one hand despite the blade measuring as long as he was tall. The dark metal of the blade gleamed in the light of the setting sun with a threatening glint.

Suddenly, a blue streak flashed near the hilt and spread down the fuller. Along with it, a jolt surged up his arms. It spread into his skull and stopped at his eyes. A cool sensation swirled inside his head. The world slowed around him. Even the debris flying around the encroaching giant fell through the air half as fast as normal. He tried to look around, only to realize his own body was moving just as slow as the surroundings.

A new function in the legendary greatsword, Kras’navar, has been discovered. Other functions must be discovered through continuous use or through Master rank Weapon Appraisal.

I don’t need this distraction right now, Liam thought while dismissing the notification.

A second later, the giant smashed through the trees swinging its enormous club in an arc straight toward him. At least, that’s what it seemed like at first. Since everything was moving in slow motion, he immediately realized it would miss by several meters. He didn’t even need to bother dodging. The club slammed into the dirt a few meters away from him. The impact knocked over a handful of trees and left a noticeable crater. Dirt clumps and tree scraps exploded in every direction.

Still seeing everything in slow-motion, Liam avoided most of it. Even so, several chunks scraped against the arm he used to guard his face. The pain from each projectile crawled up his arm like an insect creeping along his nerves. It felt eerie.

Let’s see if we can survive. Can’t let the Direwolves die, either, thanks to that contract. This is going to be annoying, Liam thought.