Desperate Fight

Just as the beast was about to pounce at Adam, he heard a shrill cry and something attacked it from above.

Adam watched taken aback as a pigeon with burning green eyes pecked one of the leader's eyes out. The beast tried to catch the bird and pin it to the ground while howling in pain and rage.

Another cry woke Adam from his stupor. The second bird appeared just after the first one and attacked the dogs lurking behind Adam.

Chaos ensued, and Adam used this opportunity to take shelter in the house to his right. Just as he closed the door behind him, something heavy hit it from the outside.

The door creaked with protest and Adam put his full body weight to keep it closed. He heard enraged barks coming from all around the house.

One of the windows broke suddenly when a large dog jumped through it and slid on the floor, pieces of glass embedded in its muzzle.

Adam didn't even turn to face this new assailant. His adrenaline-filled body reacted on pure instinct and without conscious thought, he took control of the dog's blood.

It burst violently from the beast's ears and snout while the dog fell to the floor without a sound. It was instant death.

[You gained a level.]

The white mist rose from the corpse, the same as before, but there was much more of it this time, and not all of the mist rushed to Adam's body.

Roughly half of it concentrated above the dog and began spinning rapidly. It condensed quickly into a small milky-white crystal that gently landed on the corpse.

Meanwhile, Adam savored the intoxicating and refreshing feeling of leveling up, his mind cleared and in control once again, and his body stronger and lighter.

The moment was interrupted when another creature charged at the closed door. The whole building shook and Adam was flung into the wall. The door burst open, and the leader of the pack slowly entered the house, barely fitting through the door frame.

Blood dripped from its maw, and mangled pieces of a bird stuck between its fangs. One of its eyes was half-closed, a bloody mess visible under its eyelid. It looked at the corpse of its underling and at the human that killed it and growled.

Adam tried to get up and use his skill against the leader. To his dismay, the blood of his enemy didn't surrender to his mental orders. He felt as if it was imbued with a will of its own that didn't want to listen to him.

The backlash sent Adam's mind on fire, making him scream in agony. The beast froze for a moment, fresh blood streaking from its mouth.

It was on Adam with just one jump, ready to bite his throat out. Adam blocked its maw with his bat and the beast clenched its jaws around it. It wrested the bat away from Adam and threw it to the side with one swift motion of its head.

Adam saw his death in the awakened dog's eye. He saw his throat and chest being ripped to pieces and he yelled in denial. His desperate mind clutched to the one thing that could save him.

It reached out to the dead dog's blood and ordered it to act, to save him. The blood obeyed Adam's commands once again.

Just as the pack leader was about to finish Adam off, it swung its head in pain and jumped away from him, ready to face a new enemy. Except, there was no one there. Adam saw a long crimson spike protruding from the beast's side, embedded deep in its flesh instead.

He didn't entirely understand what had happened, but it didn't stop him from gathering more of his willpower to attack the pack leader again. Another bloody spear rose from the corpse lying on the other side of the room and as it formed, Adam took out his knife.

The second spike ran through the dog, making it yelp in pain and fear. Blood sputtered on the floor and the beast staggered, nearly falling over.

It didn't know what was happening and was scared for the first time since it awakened. After the Impact, it was granted size and power that allowed it to dominate other awakened dogs.

Together, the pack slaughtered every living being in the hamlet, becoming stronger with every kill.

It was wounded and weakened now. All that it wanted was to mutilate this hateful human who infringed upon its domain and then hide to heal its wounds.

Not detecting any other foe, it turned to Adam again, determined to finish this fight as soon as possible. It leaped to him and sunk its fangs into Adam's shoulder. Adam screamed as a mind-tearing headache fought for his attention with searing stabs of pain coming from his shoulder.

The beast threw Adam around, mauling his arm. He gritted his teeth and drove the knife through the pack leader's throat. He stabbed the beast repeatedly and kept stabbing it even after it let go of his shoulder and fell to the floor.

[You gained a level.]

It was only when the arcane message popped in front of his eyes that Adam understood that the dog was truly dead.

As the white mist entered him, he felt the gruesome wound on his shoulder mend itself little by little. Mental fatigue and pain that attacked his mind vanished without a trace.

Albeit he was still seriously wounded, he had hope now. The leader, the most dangerous of the dogs, and the one that kept them together was dead. If he could intimidate the other dogs, he would have a chance to survive and escape this place.

As he looked around the room, he noticed the crystal that formed when the first dog died. Another one was forming over the pack leader's body as Adam stood up. He took both crystals and slowly went out of the building.

Adam stared at the awakened beasts. Their number grew while he was fighting inside. It looked like the whole pack was gathered around the house. They stared at him warily, throwing uncertain glances at the house. They waited for their leader to emerge.

Adam walked with confidence, approaching the dogs that blocked his path out of the hamlet. They barked at him and Adam didn't hesitate to use his skill again. Two more corpses hit the ground. The pack fell into disorder.

As the dogs started to fight with each other, Adam ran out of the village. When he left the village, he heard a sad coo from above and saw the surviving pigeon circling him in the air.

Just as he reached the trees growing around the village, the pigeon shrieked with a warning.

Adam turned his head and saw blurred silhouettes following him in the distance. The pack moved out from the hamlet and began the hunt. Here, on the open terrain, Adam had no advantage and he was painfully aware of that fact.

The bird hovered beside Adam's head and cooed to catch his attention. There was a deep sadness and grief hidden in its eyes. When Adam looked at it, the bird flew into the thicket. Having no other choice, he followed it and delved between the trees.

The pair traversed the forest quickly and the dog's barks grew fainter as time went by. Despite this, the bird set a fast pace and didn't stop once. Adam was hard-pressed to follow it but every time he lost sight of it, his guide quickly returned.

Half of the night went by before Adam collapsed on the forest bedding. He wanted to run a little longer to make sure that the dogs couldn't catch up to him, but his legs refused to take another step. He was dead tired from all the fighting and running, and the wound on his shoulder started to bleed again.

Adam looked absentmindedly at the night sky visible through the foliage. He survived again, at least for now. His clouded mind returned to the fight with the dog's leader and one particular thought circled in his brain.

"We are screwed!"

With the bird nagging him constantly, Adam managed to crawl into a shrubbery. The last thing that he saw before he lost his consciousness was the visage of the beast he had slain and its eyes that looked at him with unnatural intelligence and cruelty.

While Adam slept, the pigeon flew around the forest, looking out for any danger. It found the pack back at the village, feasting on the corpses of the livestock and other dogs.

The bird flew into the house where Adam fought the pack leader and landed on its bloodied corpse. It had its feast to attend to.

It pecked the corpse vengefully and with every piece of meat that vanished in its gullet, the bird grew a little larger and fiercer, green fire in its eyes gaining deeper shades.