WOO! WOO!
The howls continued to echo through the trees.
Helma and Ballio exchanged a tense glance.
"Let's stay hidden here for a while," Helma whispered, bow in hand.
Ballio shook his head. "We can't. We consumed the Ganshka vestiges. Roderic was right; absorbing both body and soul does increase our strength." He met her gaze. "We can't hide forever."
Helma furrowed her brows. "So what? The process was arduous, and we still didn't advance to the awakened stage. Are you sure we can take them on without knowing their numbers or strength?"
Ballio waved a finger. "I'm not saying we fight. We assess the situation and gather information. If we can save our members, we act. If not, we learn."
Helma thought for a moment. They had each consumed a vestige, and their power had increased, if only slightly. They could escape if danger became overwhelming.
"Okay," she conceded. "Let's go."
They left their hiding spot and moved stealthily toward the source of the howls.
'But what if it's not humans?' Helma thought, her body tensing. 'What if it's infighting, or they're hunting something else?'
***
Multiple greenish, claw-shaped marks of energy sliced through the air.
Cloe used her feline agility to nimbly dodge, but a gash on her forehead bled into her left eye.
The bodies of several Vrkuga lay around her.
"This bitch! She killed our kin! Butcher her!" one of the four remaining wolf-men snarled.
'Four of them left,' Cloe calculated, her breath ragged. 'My prana is nearly spent.'
Her eyes darted, searching for an escape route.
"What the f—" Ballio began, before Helma's hand clamped over his mouth.
"Keep your voice down!" she hissed.
He nodded, and she released him.
"Vrkuga... and that one's a Vyaghruga," he whispered, his eyes sparkling with delight at the different Manuga species.
Helma shook her head in mild amusement. "Any idea why they're fighting?"
"Not sure," Ballio said, his eyes glued to Cloe.
"So," Helma pressed, "do we save her or not? The ideal choice is to run."
Ballio gave her a sidelong glance. "Run? And miss harvesting those vestiges?"
"Last I heard, your sin was Moha, not Lobha," Helma retorted.
Ballio scoffed lightly. "This 'moha' is for gaining information. Shh! It's starting again."
The four Vrkuga charged, their movements a feral blend of two-legged and four-legged running. With her vision clouded by blood, Cloe relied on her life sense. Her eyes blazed as her nails, arms, and legs elongated with a surge of power.
She stomped the ground and launched herself at them.
The screech of claws against claws filled the air. She held her ground against the four, ducking under a green energy claw and pouncing on the nearest Vrkuga, her elongated nails slicing his throat.
'Three more—'
Her foot slipped. Exhaustion and drained prana betrayed her, and she lost her balance, hitting the ground hard.
The three remaining Vrkuga stood over her battered form. They were wounded, but triumphant.
"Finally, this bitch is down," one spat on her.
Cloe grimaced, delivering a cold glare despite her position.
Another grabbed her by the scruff of her fur, pulling her face close to his. "Many of us fell because of you. You'll pay. If you want to blame someone, blame your fucking asshole of a chief." His hot breath washed over her. He slammed her head into the ground, and Cloe winced in pain.
"Hey, are we just going to kill her?" the one who had spat asked, a lustful gleam in his eyes.
"Do it fast!"
"Yeah, I'm next!"
Cloe's body shook. She understood what was coming. She tried to move, to fight back, but couldn't even lift a finger.
'Brother... Father... Save me!' The plea was silent. She shut her eyes tightly, bracing for the violation and pain.
Instead, she heard pained and confused cries.
Swish! Swish!
Two arrows sliced through the air, narrowly missing the heads of two Vrkuga.
"Who's there? Show yourselves!" the last standing Vrkuga barked, his voice a mix of anger and fear. His ears twitched, and he barely dodged a dark-greenish energy bolt.
He lunged toward the source and found a petite, yellow-eyed girl with a bow standing beside a bush.
"Human!" he snarled.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Three more arrows flew, striking him in the chest. A final arrow from Helma pierced his head.
"Always keep your senses wide open," she muttered, lowering her bow.
'Who... are they?' Cloe's vision blurred. The dying cries of the Vrkuga were the last things she heard before consciousness slipped away.
'Am I safe...?'
***
The pale moon hid behind gray clouds.
"Ah! Finally, some rest!" Dris exclaimed, collapsing onto a patch of soft grass.
"Fucker, you say that like you did all the work," Roderic retorted, using a controlled [Elemental Bolt] to roast a hare.
Dris eyed him. "Mind you, surviving the Ganshka is an achievement. But it's the same story; we couldn't secure more vestiges. Absorbing just one each only gave us a slight boost."
"And whose fault is it that we keep running into those midget fuckers?" Roderic threw a half-cooked piece of meat at Dris.
Dris caught it and sat up, taking a small bite. "Shit. Bland. Listen, Roderic, think of this as preliminary training."
Roderic glared coldly, gesturing to his left shoulder, where the skin was peeled raw, slowly regenerating. "Preliminary training for saving your stupid ass."
"My leg got skinned by their arrows too. These things happen in the wild... I think," Dris said with a shrug.
They ate in silence for a moment.
"Any ideas about the objective of this trial?" Dris asked, finishing his meal.
Roderic pondered. "Not sure. The Elder said 'survive,' and we ended up here. No time limit. Maybe this is just a training ground to increase our power."
"I was thinking the same. We should build a small, hidden base for food and essentials. After that, we can search for the others."
Roderic nodded. "A sound plan for now. We should also hunt Ganshka quietly to harvest more vestiges."
***
"Eek! These gremlins," Damara groaned, pinching her nose. The rotting bodies of four Ganshka lay nearby.
"The stench is a menace," she scoffed.
Imla was staring intently at the corpses.
"Imla, are you alright? Did the vestiges affect you?" Damara asked, concerned.
"No... I was thinking," Imla replied, pointing at the bodies. "We should do it."
Damara's brow furrowed in confusion, then her expression shifted to horror.
"No fucking way! I am not covering myself in their stench!" she flared up.
Imla looked at her calmly. "We have to. I'm not forcing you, but the Manuga have a keen sense of smell. We need to camouflage our scent."
Damara groaned in protest but didn't refuse. Reluctantly, they smeared the Ganshka blood over their clothes and skin, masking their human odor.
Damara wore a twisted expression, looking as if she might vomit. "I seriously need a bath."
"Let's go. We're still in Manuga territory," Imla said, leading the way.
***
In his hidden cave, Ashan stretched his body, running through exercises from his previous world. After finishing, he sat and used a broken branch to sketch a rough map of the island based on his explorations.
'I entered from the east. The ocean has the Krakhan, and the shore has the Pashkula. Deeper in the forest, I found Ganshka tribes.'
He studied the crude lines. "Conclusion: the eastern part is dominated by Ganshka tribes. Further east, other rakshasa species likely reside."
He noted at least ten distinct Ganshka tribes on his map. "Should I take them on one by one, or all at once?"
A light smirk touched his lips. "When will I ever get another chance to use my siddhi so freely? Time to gather more intelligence."
His eyes transformed into grayish-white whirlpools.