30. A Well Deserved Victory

30. A Well Deserved Victory

Eryndor buckled his knees tight on the wolf's side knowing that he had to deal with it one way or another. That was the only way he could have even a chance at survival.

Eryndor changed his tactics and aimed for its ear, he deduced that there was no way he could cut through it with just a kitchen knife. The blade hit it's mark, it was not fatal but it drew blood and that was enough to distract it for a moment.

He butt it on the head causing it to lose it's footing and fall into the ground. Eryndor was not done yet, he still had to deal the finishing blow. He could hear multiple howls announcing that the pack of wolves would be closing in on his location soon.

His hands stayed to shake uncontrollably the more he tried to control it. "Shit!" He cursed as he panicked.

Even if managed to kill the beast he feared that he would be unable to extract the core before the pack would pounce on him and that would be a loss. His main goal was to find a beast core. "No, don't be foolish. Do you want to die for a dumb core?" He managed to knock some sense into his head.

The beast under him was about to get up again when he started he stretched out his over the things head. He pressed his palm on the empty eye socket that was now leaking hot sticky fluid and released every ounce of magic he could into a powerful flame ball that exploded moments later into the poor beast's eye socket.

Directing the flame into its skull he made sure they all went all the way to its brain cooking it under the sudden heat. It was a very underhanded way to fight but what choice did he have, besides Eryndor believed that results spoke for themselves more than the means.

The reaction he got from the beast was more than he anticipated. Funnels of smoke shot out of its ears and fire exploding out of its second eye, the wolf kicked upon it's fire limbs and gave what have to be the most primal wail. It made Eryndor feel a bit of discomfort but he quickly quenched that feeling, why should he feel any pity for a beast that wanted him for its supper?

The wolf thrashed around with Eryndor clutching tight to it, he feared what would happen if he let go of it for a moment. Seconds passed and the mountain wolf dropped to the ground with a loud thump, losing all life. Eryndor dropped to the snow next to it gasping for air, his muscles were strained and his body fatigued.

Thick black smoke rose from the head of the beast, it was like someone had smoked meat from the inside out. Eryndor had poured out most of his magic into that attack, the magic he had left would not be enough to hold off the pack of wolves.

Speaking of wolves, they should have been close to pouncing on him at that moment but they were not. Concerned he raised his head and used the power of the golden eye to see the wolves far away. "Don't tell me they're afraid of me." He barely muttered. The feeling of being feared was unsettling.

The wails of the fallen wolf and the dramatic display of its death scared the pack off, this was what Eryndor believed. Even with the advantage of numbers they were afraid of him. It was then it occured to him.

"Could they perhaps think I am the cinder king?" He stroke his chin and thought. He could not have wished for a better situation, he used flame magic and only one person did that on the mountains.

["Hey kid, get the damn rock from the beast before your charm wears out."]

Eryndor snapped out of his trance and started to search for his knife that had fallen off at the last moments of the battle. Not giving any time to bask in his victory he started to cut through the chest of the beast. It was through that his ruse could be seen through at any time. Wolves were not foolish animals to begin with and these were beasts, their intelligence would be far higher.

In that moment the legacy appeared before him.

[You have slain a normal beast "White Fur Mountain Wolf

You have recieved a soul essence]

It took all of his willpower to pry his mind from the content of the screen. A normal beast had only one core which was a dormant core. Most normal beasts were said to have their cores somewhere between their chest region and neck, but these couod difder based on the physiology of the beast.

He prayed he would find it soon before the first bite would melt off his fingers. To make retrieving the core of beasts from battle easier there were those called adventurers that worked under guilds as a party. Forming his own adventurers party was somewhere on Eryndor's to-do list but at the moment he had more pressing matters.

After a few minutes of cutting through the flesh of the beast with a portable kitchen knife Eryndor had finally reached the core of the beast. The only thing he had to tha k was the left eye that allowed him to spot the core with ease, that did not mean digging it out would be an easy task.

He reached his hand into the ribcage of the beast and pulled out a dark coloured marble, he held it in between his thumb and index finger. "So this is a dormant beast core, too bad I can't consume it here."

There was a reason why a party was needed by adventurers. Apparently beast cores carried a level of impurity within them meaning they would have to be purified. A purification that could only be done by a healer mage. None of this was a problem to Eryndor since he could just return and have the cinder king work something out.

The clouds were staring to shift allowing the rays of moonlight to touch down on the young prince, he had spent hours, risking his life all for a chance to have a future.

A weak smile formed on his face and it was well deserved. Unfortunately he was not given much time to dwell on this thought as the wolf pack finally saw his physique under the growing moonlight. He was not the hulking cinder king, he was just some twig from nowhere and he was not invited to their glorious mountains.

Eryndor did not need to be told twice, he was already running as fast as he could. He let the core rest in one of his pockets and keeping the knife in his right hand. His feet barely carried him through the snow, even with the help of the left eye he knew his fate was grim.

"Shit, I'm lost." He cursed under his breath.