Kael's movement halted as the red in his eyes slowly vanished. He stared intensely at the crimson wolf whose footsteps weakened with each passing second – something was off.
Perhaps a normal person wouldn't notice anything, but the previous Kael's hunting instincts were never wrong, and Kael had inherited those instincts.
Not long after he stopped, someone else who had been hiding in the shadows attacked the dying beast.
Kael was surprised: he hadn't noticed anyone other than himself in the forest and he had scrutinized every corner of the area before he decided to attack. That meant that either the person who had attacked was better than him at stealth—he doubted that—or the person was an actual hunter, a demon hunter.
Kael didn't move a muscle as he watched the blurry human figure speedily approach the beast lying weakly on the cool ground. He wanted to see how this would play off and if he could benefit from their clash.
However, as the figure got close to the beast, the beast that had been on the verge of death reopened its eyes.
A ferocious red light lay within its pupils as it lunged at the approaching figure. The figure stopped, surprised that the beast could still move.
Kael got a good glimpse of the figure and was surprised to find out that it was a woman clad in a black warrior's robe. She wielded twin daggers and parried the beast's attack in a flustered attempt.
The blow sent her frame flying as her back hit a tree forming a massive dent in it. The beast didn't stop there. Its fur glowed red as it entered a frenzied state and charged towards the injured woman. She wiped the blood flowing from her lips and tried to get out of the beast's range. But it was relentless.
Kael could only watch as the woman was flung around like a rag doll. Blood flowed from her seven orifices and Kael soon began to feel pity for her. He, however, had no thought of even moving an inch from his current spot.
The woman, now covered in blood, was still trying to escape but her body moved with great difficulty.
The beast caught up with her and sent her flying once more. This time, the woman didn't get up; she just lay on the floor unmoving. The beast's frenzied state finally came to an end and Kael watched as the glow of its fur dimmed and its eyes turned gray.
With a loud thud, the beast fell to the ground. Kael remained atop the tree observing the two completely stationary bodies.
After a minute had passed, he slowly came down from the tree. He looked around the now quiet forest for any signs of life. Apart from a few rodents scurrying under the cover of dried leaves he found nothing. His eyes sharpened as he focused on the two bodies, walking slowly towards them.
He retrieved his hunting dagger and approached the beast with silent footsteps. The smell of blood filled the air. And Kael soon entered a five-meter radius of the beast.
He paused and waited to see if it would move – it didn't. Noting that it was safe Kael walked closer, brushing against the creature's fur. Just to be safe he planned to behead it. He brought his knife to the beast's neck and, with all his might, plunged it in.
All of a sudden, the wolf's eyes opened. Kael gazed into its gray abyss-like eyes for a fraction of a second before desperately jumping backwards. He, however, was not fast enough. The beast's claws met his shoulder and broke his skin. Kael was pushed back as his shoulder bled out.
He groaned while trying to get up and run, but he soon noticed that the beast made no attempt to pursue him.
It lay on the soil, soaked in its blood, with a dagger in its neck. Kael maintained eye contact with it as he watched it bleed to death. He only got up when he saw the system notification.
_______
You have successfully slain a predator rank Blood wolf.
You gained seven epic points.
Congratulations, you have gained the ability Blood Kin.
Details [passive]
(This ability lets you drink the blood of your enemies to recover vitality. It also grants preliminary blood manipulation Skill can be leveled up with further comprehension of blood arts or spontaneous enlightenment)
Congratulations, you have unlocked the title Glory Thief.
Details
(When active, this title increases your chances of randomly stumbling upon two or more creatures of a higher tier fighting).
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Kael was surprised to see that not only did he get an ability, but he also got a title from a single fight, although it could hardly be considered as one. Sadly, he couldn't use any of them right now, as that would require either mana or qi.
Once he had gotten a class though, he would be able to fully unlock everything. Blood kin had been a rather popular ability back when he was alive. And it wasn't hard to level up, this just made it better. As for the title, it was a risky one, but Kael was all for taking risks; he wouldn't have gained this much if he weren't.
He then checked his profile hoping to see an increase in stats like when he killed the other wolf.
Sadly there wasn't one. He had no idea why his stats had increased, but he planned to figure it out. Perhaps it has something to do with that euphoric state.
His shoulder was still bleeding, albeit not that much. He tore a piece of his cloth and tied it around the affected area. After the bleeding lessened, his gaze went back to the beast. He cursed himself for not having a dimensional treasure.
The other demons would soon catch wind of the blood scent and start heading over. This effectively killed the possibility of him taking the corpse to town. He doubted he could even move it in the first place.
He walked to the corpse and dislodged his dagger from the neck. Then cut off its valuable parts and placed them into his pouch. This included its eyes, claws, and teeth. He stared at the corpse before tearing his gaze. He sighed reluctantly and then headed out of the forest. However, before he could leave, his attention was caught by a groan.
Looking at the source of the sound he found the woman who had been largely responsible for the beast's demise. She was sprawled on the floor and covered in blood, looking at Kael with a pleading gaze.
No words left her mouth as her eyelids fell once more. Kael looked at her for a second before turning his back to her. He wasn't responsible for her loss, so he didn't plan to make her his responsibility either.
Turning a blind eye he walked away. Or at least he tried to. Kael found he was unable to move no matter how he tried.
A smile formed on his face. It was just as he had predicted.
So, you've been in there for quite a while. Why didn't you come say hi?