ALL NOVEL Chapter 51: On a Knife’s Edge
There was a moment of stillness as the two sides sized each other up. Their battle so far had landed mostly on Dominic’s side, with five hyenas dead and eight left, but they only needed to kill one of him to win a decisive victory. And if they managed to pin him like they had earlier, it might easily be game-over for him.
The five beasts he’d killed had been mostly the smaller and weaker ones – those which didn’t have the health pools to cope with him ripping out their throats or opening a major artery. The ones facing him now might be a different story.
Of the eight hyenas now eyeing him – like they too were making the same sort of calculations as he was – there were three different sizes. Only about two of the smaller hyenas were left, five of them being the same size as the one he’d killed, which had turned out to be level 5.
The big hyena which had pinned him for the others to attack was probably level 6 or even level 7. Being half-step evolved would account for the greater intelligence it had exhibited for sure. Hyenas are supposed to be pretty intelligent anyway, Dominic considered, earning a contemptuous scoff from Leo.
‘Kill-stealing scavengers,’ he insisted. ‘Though cunning ones,’ he admitted a moment later.
‘What do you think we should do?’ Dominic asked, the stalemate still continuing. He’d got another level-up in the bag; he might even have accrued enough progress towards Crushing Bite to earn it on that next level up. Were the Prey Points offered by the band of hyenas before him worth risking his life again? He didn’t have any more mana points left so there would be no last-minute save from that. Besides, there was no guarantee that the same trick would work twice.
‘Watch the hyenas for now,’ Leo advised. ‘If we back away now, they will attack. If we stand firm, they may choose to flee.’
The situation teetered on a knife’s edge. Almost all the hyenas shifted back and forth, pacing to one side and then the other, their eyes always flicking between the lion and their surroundings. The only hyena to stay steady was the biggest, its black gaze fixed on Dominic’s. Even while its packmates whooped and giggled, it stayed silent.
It felt like they were in some battle of wills, seeing who would blink first. Dominic allowed his lips to lift off his teeth, a snarl rumbling in his chest. Like the last time he had had a standoff with a group of hyenas, he had to seem completely confident in his ability to win, even if he wasn’t.
In the end, it was the hyena who turned away first. It grunted and growled at its packmates and then backed up slowly, its eyes watching Dominic warily. He was just as attentive to the movements of all eight hyenas, watching them until they turned and started running away hastily.
It was only when they were but dots in the distance against the pale savannah grass that he relaxed. Quickly searching around, he found the five Cores which had dropped from the corpses he’d consumed. Since none of them were above level 5, he doubted they’d have any choice in abilities, but he checked anyway. After all, he’d already made one major error that night; no need to compound it by assuming something without proof.
In this case, it turned out that his assumption was correct – all five Cores had contained the same ability: Crushing Bite. Curious as to whether there was any benefit to absorbing the Cores rather than just licking them up, he tested both on two of the smaller Cores. A quick glance at his status screen revealed that the percentage progress towards Crushing Bite had increased by the same amount each time.
Why that was the case when it was more efficient to absorb a body than eat it normally, he wasn’t sure. Maybe it’s because if I eat a body I leave things like bones, whereas everything gets disintegrated when I Consume it. Though actually could he still gain maximum efficiency if he ate the meat and then Consumed the rest? He’d kind of been assuming that the two choices were either one or the other, but the fact that he was able to absorb the zebra’s half-eaten carcass indicated that that wasn’t the case.
Pushing the thought away, he found excitement lighting in his chest as he saw just how close to gaining Crushing Bite he was. Dismissing his status screen, he quickly licked the other Cores up.
‘Right, let’s get out of here,’ Dominic said to Leo: he wasn’t going to make the same mistake of hanging around a gore-soaked area. Not unless he was setting a trap for them, of course. Which wasn’t the worst idea, but he might as well do it from protection in that case.
Withdrawing a bit, Dominic hid away in a bush. Pulling up both the top of his status screen and his ability list, he checked out his gains from the battle.
Status of Dominic Martin Cole / Leo
Species: Lion (body) / human (mind), Two-Souled
Level: Evolved Beast Level 11 Tier 2 (Path of Evolution)
Progress to Evolution: 409/215 PP level up
Satiation level: 100%
Hydration level: 100%
Health Points: 401/500
Stamina Points: 129/170
Mana Points: 0/15
Quests: A Noble Endeavour; Regain what is Lost
Acquired Abilities:
Quick Strike (T0) level 2 (82% to level 3) – 3 SP for +25% speed; 6 SP for +40% speed
Second Wind (T1) level 1 (8% to level 2) – activatable when under 50% health or stamina. Gain 50% of your maximum health and/or stamina for the duration of the timer. Timer: 05:00. At the end of the timer, lose 50% of your max health and stamina.
Powerful Kick (44% to level 1)
Crushing Bite (100% to level 1) level up to acquire this ability
Rage (24% to level 1)
Charge (3% to level 1)
Sharp Nip (50% to level 1)
Stunning Roar (19% to level 1)
Excellent, Dominic thought to himself. And Leo, he supposed now. Perhaps that whole situation was a blessing in disguise. After all, he’d both got a level not even an hour after he’d acquired the last one, and he’d gained enough progress to acquire another ability!
‘Our mane still needs work,’ Leo told him. ‘Are you going to enhance it a little more?’
‘I was thinking that we could do with more mana points, either from having a bigger mana pool - Mana Heart - or a better mana regeneration - Soul.’
‘But how will that help us conquer a pride of females?’ Leo questioned heatedly.
‘It will hopefully help us to live long enough to actually find them,’ Dominic argued back.
‘We seem to be doing well enough with that without mana,’ was the lion’s response.
‘If we hadn’t so recently regained our mana by levelling up, we’d have been torn apart by the hyenas just now,’ Dominic pointed out. ‘And it’s only surprise that made the one biting our shoulder let go, anyway. It’s not like fifteen points of damage did much to its health pool. We need more mana for more damage.’
‘Or we can increase the level of the spell-’
‘Which we can only do by using it, and if we don’t have the mana, we can’t use it,’ Dominic interrupted. Leo continued as if he hadn’t said anything.
‘Or we need to find a way to get rid of the penalties to our soul and mana heart.’
‘Got any ideas for that?’ Dominic asked somewhat sarcastically, pretty sure he didn’t.
‘Not yet,’ Leo responded calmly. ‘But though prey does not always come to the waterhole when one wishes it to, it will come eventually.’ Dominic was silent for a moment.
‘Is that a lion’s way of telling me to be patient?’ he asked finally.
‘In essence, yes. Brother, I truly do not think that focusing on our Soul or Mana Heart is a good idea right now. What if it only gives you a couple of Mana Points in addition to what we already have? Or increases our rate of regeneration from 2% to 3%? There are several options available which are more likely to have a greater impact on our ability to overcome our foes.’
‘Well, what would you suggest?’ asked Dominic a little grumpily: he had to admit that Leo had a point. Was there a lot of difference between fifteen and twenty points of mana, for example? Yes, in a sense – it was a 25% increase, after all. What were twenty points of damage, though? His claws alone tended to do about that, and his teeth did a lot more. If each mana point was worth more in damage, then it would be a different story, but that would require him levelling up the spell – a future concern, not a present one.
‘If you are counter enhancing our mane again on this round – which I still feel is the best idea since it will improve our chances of gaining a pride to offer us support – and wish instead to improve our combat capabilities, I see several options.’
‘Do tell,’ Dominic invited, interested despite himself: this was the first time he’d encountered Leo talking about strategy beyond just his mane.
‘Following our fight with the kill-stealers, we now have a new ability, one that enhances the crushing power of our jaws. Perhaps we could enhance this even further with choosing to improve an aspect of our teeth, or even our bite power through Mouth.
‘Alternatively, we could choose to improve the power of our Strike: if we had had sufficient power, we would have been able to pull away from the teeth of our assailants; there would have been no necessity to use the spell to surprise the lead hyena.
‘Finally, we could choose instead to improve our defensive capabilities; cause our skin or fur to deflect their teeth instead of worrying about what to do once they have become embedded.’
Dominic had been growing more and more impressed with what he was hearing. Leo’s reasoning was well-thought out, particularly so for a creature which hadn’t even been capable of considering more than its next meal only a few days ago.
‘Have you been studying or something?’ Dominic half-joked. He felt the hint of a shrug from his co-passenger.
‘When I am unable to control my body, there is little for me to do but think and touch your memories. I have learned much.’
‘You’ve been…looking through my memories?’ the former-human asked, not sure exactly how he felt about that. Like his privacy had been invaded for sure – much like when a flatmate he’d shared a house with had gone in his room while he’d been away to borrow a charging cable. It wasn’t like the guy had caused a mess or done any damage or anything, but knowing someone had been in his room without his permission had made him feel very uncomfortable.
‘Of course,’ Leo answered, like there was nothing wrong with it. And maybe he was right – they were stuck together like this. Maybe Dominic should do the same – explore Leo’s memories so he was better able to face the challenges of the savannah. He still felt a bit weird about the idea. There were more important things to consider, though.
Leo had a point. Several points, actually. Any of the suggestions he’d made would be helpful, though Dominic had a concern.
‘If we enhance the defensive nature of our skin again, we’ll have to also increase its flexibility: you remember what it did to us last time, right?’
‘Then don’t enhance the skin. Or do both.’ Dominic had the distinct impression of another shrug. Apparently Leo had said his piece.
‘Alright then,’ Dominic replied, considering the options again. ‘And you feel that improving our mane is top of the list of priorities still? Despite the improvements we’ve made so far?’
‘We haven’t yet actually seen the improvements, Leo pointed out. But based on the fact that it’s increased our attractiveness in our status screen to members of our species, I would say yes.’
‘How about this, then,’ Dominic asked. ‘One more enhancement to our mane, and then try out enhancing the power of our Strike. If we get to choose two enhancements, that is. If not, perhaps just Strike. I see your point about improving our negotiating power with other lions, but not at the expense of our combat abilities.’
‘You do not wish to enhance our bite power?’ Leo questioned.
‘No, let’s see what Crushing Bite gives us first. Don’t want to get too OP, after all,’ Dominic finished with a sense of amusement.
‘OP?’
‘Nevermind,’ Dominic sighed. ‘Or find it in my memories, or whatever,’ he added, trying to make himself comfortable with the idea through exposure. ‘Do you agree with my suggestion?’
‘Yes. Darken the mane again?’
‘Sure.’ Unanimous assent attained, Dominic quickly activated the level up.
