His bow materialised in his hand. The weight of his beloved weapon gave him a small sense of security.

His other hand checked the quiver on his back, arrows were intact and enough. He has a habit of carrying a lot of extras.

’At least something is right’

A faint rustle came from behind him. He didn’t fully turn just a small glance over his shoulder was enough.

There.

Something moved between the trees, hidden by the overgrown undergrowth.

It was low on the ground, its gaze boring into his back. He could feel the hunger rolling off it.

It looked like a wolf with five eyes but bigger, thinner, and more weather-worn.

His fingers slid pulling the arrow free in one smooth motion, setting it against the string. The draw came naturally, his breath steady but then, he stopped before he could release it.

A flicker of hesitation passed through his psyche.

’... let’s see’

His aether circulated through his core and the power had its immediate effects. The wind increased his senses while the other elements aided with perception and control.

The power flowed to the arrow. Coiling around it as he pulled the string back.

The creature’s outline became clearer. Its uneven gait, the patches of missing fur, and the dull and lifeless left eyes.

He was just about to let the arrow go when pain exploded through his arm.

His breath hitched.

The string trembled slightly as heat surged through his body, his grip faltered for a fraction of a second.

He immediately cut off his power.

He lowered the drawn bow for a second, his gaze on the ground.

’This is bad’

The poison had gotten worse, while his core remained unaffected his body was too damaged to support a sudden surge of power.

The painful sensation ended just as abruptly, leaving only a small dull ache.

’Guess I’ll just use my natural strength ’

His mood bounced back up. It wasn’t the first or the last time he had to use his natural strength instead of his element.

He was also a body enhancer after all but elements just made everything easier.

He quietly turned to fully face the creature but he didn’t gaze at it, eye contact increases aggression.

His fingers relaxed just enough to release the arrow.

THWIP!

The arrows cut clean through the air. A sharp, wet squelching sound followed.

The creature stumbled back as the arrow buried itself deep into its shoulder but it didn’t react instead it lunged forward fast.

It left a blur as it moved towards him.

’This is going to be slow’

He clicked his tongue and nocked another arrow but didn’t shoot. He moved on instinct.

His body twisted aside as the creature closed the distance, its claw tearing through the space he had been occupying before.

He felt the rush of air as the claw sliced where his stomach should have been.

He adjusted his footing, regaining his balance.

He didn’t hesitate.

He drove the arrow into the creature at close range while it was mid-flight.

Like a dagger, the arrow punched through the creature’s throat without any resistance.

It violently trashed immediately.

It skidded across the forest floor when he kicked it, right after burying the arrow deeper but the thing didn’t die.

He moved towards it.

Its jaws snapped inches from his arm as he forced it to remain down. The eyes filled with life gazed up at him, their pupils dilated.

The wolf-like creature was just weird in its own way.

His grip tightened around its neck, while he pulled the dagger Lilith had given him from his pocket.

He brought it down on its eye, black blood spluttering as it penetrated through the eye.

’I’m really slow’

Without the usual combinations of power, Atheline could feel how slow he had become but he could consciously feel his strength.

Inside, his core circulated aether through his body providing him strength. Raw aether was milder than the normal elements hence the effects were almost negligible.

He stabbed down again, and the creature struggled one last time before it stopped.

Silence returned.

He stayed there for a moment before he pulled the arrow free and stepped back.

His arm throbbed slightly but a few stretches got it back to normal.

"This is troublesome."

His gaze dropped to the wolf. He had noticed it before but at the moment it looked even weirder.

The wolf seemed to be half corrupted. It looked as though the process had been forcefully stopped or it was just the beginning.

Then he remembered what the other manipulator at the border town had said.

’The beasts don’t look normal’

He had assumed them to be overgrown or fully corrupted but not half.

’Maybe it’s just a concentrated incident’

He reassured himself but he knew that was unlikely.

His attention shifted inward. Carefully, he let the smallest trace of his power rise, just a tiny bit, but the reaction was immediate.

Sharp pain.

He shut it down fast.

Atheline sighed in frustration. The fact that it had taken longer than usual to kill a B-class wolf was annoying.

A small rumble vibrated through the forest, and a small exhale left him.

’Fine, I’ll treat this as physical training then’ he touched Lilith’s chain’ I’m putting my safety on you’

She had told him that it could protect him and Atheline knew that meant it was powerful.

She wouldn’t give him something flimsy.

He knocked his arrow and stepped forward towards the direction of the rumble.

The forest around him was quiet again, he had expected a sort of constant attack since wolves were known to be social creatures but it seemed corruption had separated.

’Maybe it wandered away’

The deeper he went the worse the terrain became. It started to get more and more uneven as he moved forward. He glanced up, the sky had started to darken at some point.

He didn’t know how long he had been walking but the fact that time was moving too fast scared him.

’Something is seriously wrong here’

Even within the forbidden forest, Lilith had been able to locate but half a day had passed, and nothing.

North, that was the only direction he kept following in the hopes of leaving the forest, or at worst, going deeper into it and probably encountering more corruption.

Up ahead, the familiar rumbles came from the mixture of footsteps and snorting became louder as he drew closer and closer.

His muscles tensed, as he moved closer as quietly as he could.

He didn’t want to startle whatever was there before he could get a good look.

The forest thinned as he moved, closer to the sounds. It eventually opened to a deceivingly beautiful view.

A plain of green tree tops stood right before him, the last ray of the sunset colouring the plants orange.

He stepped forward and came to a stop at the edge of the cliff.

It was a small cliff, but stiff enough that a fall might instantly break or kill him.

His gaze dropped.

Atheline felt goosebumps rise up his skin as he froze in a mixture of shock and fascination.

’This is disgusting’