Hunted And Heartless

7 extra chappies in P@treon.

***

The Golden Seed in his pocket trembled, and a few seconds later, the Deathroot began to quiver as well.

'Life and Death,' he mused as he placed the Deathroot in his other pocket, and so began the most boring section of his life so far.

It took three months—three whole months—for anything interesting to happen, a product of the Lands Between being upscaled in reality.

They exited the Catacomb to both cheers and grief, for they had lost a few to battle, but the cleansing of a place so sacred to them made them look to him with admiration all the same. A whole day of celebrations ensued, with Godrick managing to track and hunt down a whole family of large boars and deer for a grand feast.

They ate, drank, sang, and danced, but Godrick stood to the side, not desiring to join in. Not only did he have to play the part of a Demigod, but he also truly did not understand the reason for the celebration.

How were they all so happy when they did next to nothing? Why could he not be so easily pleased and emotionally stimulated?

Questions plagued him as he sat to the side—the same ones that would plague him for the rest of his journey. A very, very boring journey.

***

It was scenic, at the very least.

Spirit jellyfish occasionally flew by as they made their way to Stormveil. The dichotomy of the green and orange grass, coupled with the mix of white and brown trees, added to its beauty. On one side was a towering cliff, its tip obscured by the clouds, while on the other was a steep drop into the Great Ocean that stretched out nearly endlessly into the horizon, only marred by the presence of the mighty Divine Tower that demanded the attention of whoever looked to the left.

Its faint outline became clearer and clearer as time passed, while its size was truly appreciated when they seemed nowhere close to its towering form, even after months flew by. Other than occasional visits by wolves, bears, and birds, Godrick had nothing to entertain himself with other than the Golden Order Spellbooks and the Haima spells he'd snatched from the Converted Fringe Tower.

He'd made progress but hit a massive wall in Golden Order Incantations, while he could make no sense of the Haima sorceries. Thus, training and interacting with his soldiers was his only solace, which still did nothing to sate the empty grey blob within him that grew larger with each passing day.

He taught the Demi-Humans speech and etiquette while practising to increase his Focus pool. He trained with his Greatspear alongside Earnan, who continued to stun him with his martial prowess. How far would Earnan reach in a century or two? And why was he never mentioned in the game? Did he die when the original Godrick fled Leyndell?

Either way, his destiny was forever changed, and his assistance, combined with Godrick's steadily increasing intelligence, gave him the push he needed to make a major breakthrough in his martial skills.

His spear flashed like a beam of light, the dark-gold glow embracing his Greatspear with a far more real and true aura. While Earnan's way was methodological, surgical, and precise, Godrick saw the spear as a medium to unleash his inner beast—a primal, raw, and frankly unrelenting martial style.

Humanity's best weapon was the spear. Fundamentally, it was a pointy tip on a stick to poke things from far away, and he had taken it to a level far, far beyond mortal ken.

(Mind: 23 -> 24.4)

[Greatspear Mastery (Passive) Level 4 -> 5: Adequately proficient with spears. Assists with wielding it and provides 30 percent extra damage when attacking with the aforementioned weapon.]

***

Godrick wished to go to sleep and never wake up. While he appreciated Earnan's and Gilika's company, he could only dream of a perfect world. The sheer boredom of traveling with a large group was all-consuming. If he let Elrus run free, he'd have made it to this location in a week—the Funeral Steed never tired, complained, or even communicated.

He was perfect.

"My Lord, we are getting close to the ruins," Earnan informed him from his side. Three months of constant travel had made his armor worn and filled with grime, but his eyes shone with excitement. They were getting closer to Stormveil, and Earnan seemed to look forward to meeting his comrades and colleagues again.

They stood at the beginnings of a dark forest, the terrain crooked and jagged, and the atmosphere dark and morose.

Gilika's nose twitched, and the hairs on the back of her head rose.

"My Lord, we are in the territory of something... strong," she frowned, unable to make it out while her children began to palm their weapons, clearly anxious.

"What is it?" Godrick's head whipped to the side, staring at Gilika with hungry eyes. His hands tightened around his Greatspear as his eyes blazed back to life.

"I don't—"

A low, rumbling growl reverberated through the woods in the distance, answering in Gilika's stead.

"Stay back; this is mine," Godrick announced, urging Elrus forward into the woods, the suggestions of caution from his commanders falling on deaf ears. He knew exactly what it was, and he wanted to fight it.

As he made his way into the heavily wooded area, the faint rays of the Erdtree began to slowly fade, suffusing his surroundings with darkness. The air grew thick with tension as he slowed down to a trot before dismissing Elrus. Fighting on foot always felt better.

His massive frame sank into the soft, deep soil, each step henceforth a challenge against the earth. He knew what awaited him. He could sense it—its massive presence, a simmering fury hidden behind the veil of trees.

The trees around him began to thin, opening into a small clearing. There, at the centre, it stood. Towering over the ground like a living nightmare, its hulking frame covered in coarse, matted fur streaked with blood and debris.

It turned its head slowly, locking its eyes on Godrick. The moment he met those draconic eyes, filled with maddened rage and untamed, unreasonable anger, he knew that he had found exactly what he wanted.

[Observe]

(Character

Lesser Rune Bear

Age: Hundred and three years and three months

HP: 400

FP: 120

Strength: 35

Dexterity: 22

Endurance: 30

Vigor: 40

Mind: 12

Intelligence: 8

Faith: 15

Arcane: 20

Skills:

[Drake Slayer (Passive) Level 1]: Consuming a Drake's heart grants immense strength, yet beware—for without performing Dragon Communion, true power eludes you. Should the Hunger consume your soul, you shall be cursed to crawl on your belly, a wretched serpent for all eternity. Gain +5 to all stats, +20 to Arcane, and watch as your physical attributes rise by 1 each year until they reach the peak of 50.]

[Runed Hide (Passive): Your hide, engraved and enhanced by runes, resists physical attack to an unusual degree. +30% Physical Damage Negation.])

Without warning, the Rune Bear let out a deafening roar, shaking the very ground beneath them. It charged forward, its massive paws tearing through the earth as it barreled toward Godrick with terrifying speed.

He met it with an unhinged smile, excitement drowning any hint of fear that may have surfaced. The first swipe of its claws was like a hurricane of force and fury, smashing into his Greatspear and sending him skidding back across the ground, his boots digging deep furrows into the soil. The impact cracked his bones, and he could barely get off a [Heal] before it was upon him again.

He planted his feet into the earth and shot out a stab akin to a piston. The blade punched through the air, aimed straight for the Rune Bear's skull.

But the beast was quicker than its size suggested. With a speed that defied reason, it jerked its head to the side, and the spear bit into its shoulder instead of its head.

The dark-gold light cancelled out the Physical Damage negation, and the bear roared in pain and fury, blood spurting from the deep gash. It reared up on its hind legs, pure hate in its draconic eyes, towering over him, and brought its massive paws down in an equally massive slam that created an immense splash of mud and silt. But before the dirt could fall back down, it was blasted apart by a golden blur that headed straight for the Rune Bear's gaping maw.

He thrust his Greatspear upward with all his might, and the blade sank deep into the bear's jaw, cutting through flesh and bone with a sickening crunch, its golden lines burning and singing all it touched. Blood sprayed across his torso and face, hot and viscous.

He revelled in his crimson bath, licking some from his face before hearing insane laughter.

It was his.

The bear howled in agony, thrashing wildly with such strength and power that he was forced to let go of the spear, choosing to ram his elbow into its exposed eye only to be slammed into and sent flying across the clearing into an unusually sharp rock that only managed to sink a few inches into his flesh.

(HP: 300/300 -> 198/300)

Another bout of uncontrollable laughter escaped his mouth as he cast [Heal] to close most of his wounds. The [Blessed Dew Talisman] took care of the rest.

The Rune Bear was wounded, but far from defeated. It tore the spear from its jaw with a gruesome snarl, tossing the weapon aside as it limped toward Godrick, one of its eyes swollen shut from the injury. Blood dripped from its mouth, staining the ground with every step, yet its strength remained undeniable.

It lunged once more, not a shred of self-preservation in its insane eye. He could've summoned his spear back to him. Hell, he could've ended this entire battle with [Lansseax's Glaive], but he didn't.

Like every other insane person, he met the bear's swing with one of his own. The impact was like being hit by a boulder. Godrick was thrown across the forest floor, crashing into a tree with a sickening thud. His vision blurred for a moment as pain shot through his ribs, and he tasted blood in his mouth.

(HP: 267/300 -> 145/300)

Yes! Yes! Yes!, he screamed in his head in glee as he picked himself back up, [Heal] returning him to respectable health.

He spat out blood along with a few teeth and a part of his tongue that was slowly beginning to regrow. In a few seconds, the Rune Bear was upon him again. This time, he ducked under a swing and dug his fingers into its eye socket, ripping out an entire eyeball.

The guttural roar of pain and suffering that escaped its mouth was nearly impossible to describe, and it shoulder-checked him, making him stumble before rearing up on its hind legs, towering over him like a living nightmare.

Before he knew it, he was under two tons of fur, muscle, and fat, crushed and suffocated.

(HP: 145/300 -> 78/300)

He wheezed, unable to breathe, as the Rune Bear's weight pressed down on him, but the agony was pure ecstasy. He could feel his ribs cracking, and his lungs collapsing, yet he relished every moment of it.

'This is it', he thought. 'This is what I've been missing!'

His fingers twitched, and he summoned his Greatspear back to his hand. The dark-gold light flared as the weapon reappeared in his grip, and he immediately plunged it into the Rune Bear's underbelly. Blood and entrails spilt over him, but he wasn't done yet.

With each thrust of the spear, he tore through the creature's flesh and organs. It shuddered and wailed, but could do nothing but watch as he turned it inside out.

The bear's heartbeat thundered in his ears as he carved deeper into its chest. His weapon gouged through sinew and bone until he found what he sought—the massive, still-beating heart that was, unfortunately, not fused with gravelstone. He rammed his hand into the cavity, grabbed the heart, and with a demented smile ripped it out with a sickening squelch.

[Lesser Runebear Killed. +10,000 EXP]

***

My psychotic professors dumped me with too many quizzes this week. I require Powerstones to soothe my insane thirst for blood and gore. These two things are not related.