Mantis blood trail

One hour later

Drayan woke up with a massive headache. Two things crossed his mind: first, the person who saved him, and second, getting food.

Drayan didn't know why he had been helped, nor who had helped him. But when he woke up with an insane headache, he looked around and saw no one nearby.

Drayan was weakened, but sleeping was enough for his modified-level body to start healing itself. It's like being sick and recovering energy through rest, but Drayan's energy recovers in a supernatural way. Even without eating, his body still digests existing nutrients.

So, Drayan had enough energy to move, but all the strength he had in the fight against the Mantis was gone.

"Is that person not here anymore?"

Drayan looked around again but saw no one.

Makes sense. There's no reason to wait for me to wake up. Whatever, I'll eat my Mantis and recover. Then I'll find Darkening and Canino.

Drayan stood up and used his sense of smell to locate the scent of the Mantis's blood. He had to walk 30 meters to reach the previous spot. The scent of blood led him to the right place.

Drayan widened his eyes when he saw that there was nothing there except a trail of yellow blood.

"Wait! What?! They took my Mantis that I fought so hard to kill! Damn it!"

The Mantis was no longer there.

Drayan took a deep breath and calmed down.

"I hope I haven't lost anything else... Ah! No!"

Drayan reached into his pocket and pulled out a crystal.

"Phew... It's still here."

Drayan felt relieved that his crystal was safe and hadn't been lost in the fall.

Drayan didn't know what the crystal did, but it was of interest to mutant creatures.

"Mutant creatures are interested in this crystal, right? Now that I think about it, could it be..." — Drayan's eyes lit up.

"The giant snake and now the Mantis, maybe they were after the crystal? That would explain the pursuit and attacks from these creatures. After all, I'm not tasty enough for them to want to eat me."

Drayan looked at the blue, glowing crystal.

"I think this little thing is really valuable. It might be better than I thought. But... it also puts me in danger."

Drayan thought about hiding the crystal instead of carrying it with him. But he shook his head in denial.

"No! I can't leave it behind, or another creature will take it. The best I can do is keep it with me or hide it in a hard-to-reach place. For now, I'll try to study the crystal."

Drayan reflected for a moment.

"Maybe I can find someone who knows about it. Anyway, I can use this crystal to attract mutant-level creatures, which can be good sometimes. It's not always easy to find creatures of that level."

Drayan placed his hand on his chin, thinking deeply.

"If my theory is correct, this crystal could be a farm for mutant creatures. But if many creatures start chasing me, that's bad. I need to get stronger... Can my current level handle this?"

Drayan knew he wasn't strong enough to hunt mutant-level creatures with just his modified-level body, but he was determined to hunt high-level modified creatures in this forest, and soon, mutant creatures.

"If I had Darkening's aura mode, I would have easily defeated that Mantis. But without Darkening by my side, I end up being a punching bag, yet I managed to defeat a mutant creature alone."

At that moment, Drayan was filled with confidence. He felt more courageous and believed mutant-level creatures weren't that strong. It was arrogant of Drayan to think this, as he had barely survived.

I already killed two. So I can defeat them. — Drayan clenched the crystal in his hand and then put it back in his pocket.

"Now the question is... Who took my Mantis? Was it a creature or the person who saved me?"

Drayan couldn't know who it was, but there was a trail of yellow blood left behind. Someone had recently taken the Mantis's body, as the yellow blood was still fresh.

Drayan's body was too sore to move, but even so, he decided to follow the yellow blood trail to see if he could recover any part of the Mantis left behind.

"All that's left for me is to lick the blood..."

Drayan needed to heal his wounds, so he began to use his tongue to drink some of the Mantis's yellow blood.

A few minutes passed since he started licking. The blood was starting to dry, and he hadn't fully recovered from his injuries yet, but at least he felt his energy returning.

"I've recovered very little energy, but it's enough. That's good enough! Time to go!" — He followed the blood trail.

Drayan had to walk for three whole minutes before reaching the culprit. The culprit was twenty-five meters away from him.

The one who had stolen his mutant-level creature was a brown bear, five meters tall. The creature was tearing into the insect's stomach with its claws and using its teeth to eat the stomach's insides.

I'll rip that bastard's head off!

Drayan was so angry seeing the bear eating his food, but he couldn't do anything now.

He was injured and couldn't fight in these conditions. The bear had its back turned, and Drayan could try a surprise attack, but bears have very keen instincts and would probably sense the attack coming.

I have to drive it away from my food, then grab the Mantis's body and leave quickly.

It was a good plan, but it had two problems. First, Drayan didn't know how he could drive the bear away from the Mantis's body. Second, if the plan worked, Drayan would have to run from the bear with his injured body.

If the bear were a modified creature or even of a higher level, Drayan couldn't escape from it. For his plan to work, he would have to drive the creature as far away from the Mantis's body as possible, then create a good distance between himself and the bear and find a way to evade the large bear. But since the bear's sense of smell is very strong, it would be a difficult mission. The bear could smell him from long distances, especially if the creature were modified or mutant, able to smell traces for many kilometers, whether the scent was strong or weak.

The bear had already noticed Drayan's presence, but since Drayan was silent and hadn't entered the bear's territory, the creature realized Drayan posed no threat, so the bear ignored the human.

Drayan clenched his left fist.

I won't give up a mutant-level creature's body!

He was willing to risk himself once again. It was madness, but Drayan seemed to have lost any fear of death, or simply, he was inflated with courage. At worst, Drayan was out of his mind and not thinking clearly. What he wanted to do was a direct walk to death.

He had just come out of a life-and-death situation and already wanted to return to it.

"Drayan! Where are you?!"

Damn, Tone!

Tone's voice calling for Drayan made the bear go on alert, looking around and sniffing with its round, slightly flattened nose.

Then the bear looked to the right and ran toward the voice.

Damn it! What's Tone doing calling my name in the forest?! I should never have told him my name!

Drayan sank into regrets. But there was no time to be sad or angry about it; the opportunity had knocked on his door.

Drayan could now take the Mantis's body.

The bear probably went after Tone. But I don't care if the bear devours him.

Drayan then walked over to the Mantis's body, but the next moment, his heart froze, and his body stiffened.

Drayan remembered that Tone wasn't alone. Darkening and Canino were also there.

At that moment, Drayan had two choices: keep the Mantis's body or risk his life to stop the bear from hurting his pets.

The choice was obvious for Drayan.