Blessing of Ruru

"Ruru, I'm ready. Open the gate," I shouted, standing at the center of the hall, holding the mace in my hand.

She opened the seal, and nearly twenty-one deer entered, ramming into each other.

I wasn't afraid of them anymore. As they reached closer, I swung the mace horizontally, hitting the one at the extreme left. It rammed into the one next to it, and that one rammed into another, creating a full-on collision among the eleven deer at the front.

Due to the sudden attack, the deer at the back collided with the ones in front, bunching them all together.

"Cursed beast detected."

"Activating All-devouring breathing technique"

"Small amount of Soulforce absorbed"

"Small amount of Soulforce absorbed"

...

×20 times

...

"Small amount of Soulforce absorbed"

I jumped into the chaos, grabbed the antlers of a deer in the center, and began absorbing the Soulforce of them all at once.

"Absorption of Soulforce completed.

Soulforce absorbed: 125.3k/200k."

It had been over two months since I began this insane project. I first started with curing 100 deer per day and after a few days, I increased it to 150 per day, and today, after counting this batch, I had already cured over 450.

"Vivi open the home screen."

"Initiating Host's request..."

"Host's Name: Raj

Age: 21

Title: The Awakener

Skills:

– All-Devouring Breathing Technique: Level 3

– Voice of Tranquility: Level 1

– Pain Tolerance: Level 6

–Intermediate mace skill: Level max"

The All-Devouring Breathing Technique was upgraded to level 3, but no new features were added; however, absorption had become significantly faster.

There was one more thing that changed: each time I converted the cursed Soulforce into mine, my core expanded, and after a lot of absorption, it had increased to a whopping 200k.

"Vivi open the side quest"

"Initiating Host's request..."

"Side Quest:

 → Free the Cursed Deer from Their Agony

Deer Cured: 7490 / ???

Reward: Guide to Soulforce Manipulation – Level 0"

"Tch, it's not enough. I've already wasted a lot of time curing them," I muttered and made a decision that day. I went out of the cave and reached the cliff. 

I took a few steps back, then sprinted with all my might and jumped off the cliff, soaring hundreds of feet into the air before landing at the center of thousands of cursed deer, breaking apart the ground beneath me.

They all bolted at me like the crazed beasts they were,

But the most crazed on that battlefield was none other than me.

I ran and swung my mace at any beast that approached me. At that time, every beast there was a hunter—including me. It was all about willpower. The one who gave up first would be the one who got hunted.

It was impossible to predict where the attacks would come from in all that chaos. They struck me, and I just struck them harder.

I fell—I got up and punched. I fell again—I got up and kicked. I fell again—I got up and swung my mace, but I didn't stop for a second.

"Cursed beast detected"

"Small amount of Soulforce absorbed"

"Small amount of Soulforce absorbed"

...

×2570 times

...

"Small amount of Soulforce absorbed"

"All-Devouring Breathing Technique leveled up"

"Intermediate Mace Skill upgraded to Advanced Mace Skill"

"You have unlocked a new skill: Unshakable Mind(passive)"

"Unshakable Mind leveled up"

"Unshakable Mind leveled up"

"Unshakable Mind leveled up"

"Unshakable Mind leveled up"

"Unshakable Mind leveled up"

I couldn't remember how much time had passed already. It must have been hours or even days—my voice kept thundering into that cursed forest. The skin on my hands was tattered, with multiple fractures in my facial bones.

My breathing was heavy and my vision was blurry. I couldn't feel my arms due to exhaustion, but I kept swinging my mace.

"Swing... swing... swing..." I muttered as I moved.

.

.

.

"You know....my mother told me that if you get a lot of hiccups, that means someone is missing you. So tell me, Raj, do you get any hiccups? Because... sob... sob... I-I missed you every day."

.

.

.

"Huff... huff... huff," I breathed as I finally regained consciousness. The battle was already over. There wasn't a single deer standing. Ruru was crying while rubbing her face into mine.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Ruru. I made you worry," I spoke softly with the little strength I had, and fell onto her.

I slowly opened my eyes. I was resting on my bed, with Ruru sleeping beside me. All of my injuries were cured. She must have first bathed me in Amrita water, then moved me here.

Ding...

"Congratulations!! You have completed the side quest

Cursed Deer Cured: 11,832 / 11,832

[Claim the reward]"

Ruru opened her eyes and came closer to me.

"Did I wake you up?" I asked, patting her head.

She stood up and pushed me. I could now easily understand what she wanted to convey.

There is no language barrier when one learns how to speak with someone through their heart.

She wanted to take me somewhere, so I climbed onto her back obediently. Without wasting a moment, she dashed out of the house and sprinted toward the forest.

She stopped at the edge of the cliff from where the battle had started. I got off her and looked at the tens of thousands of deer standing below, looking up at us.

Ruru roared-her voice echoing through the entire forest like an emperor giving a speech to their subjects.

All the deer below slowly knelt down, offering their respects.

"Holy moly, I never knew you were their ruler, Ruru. That's why they were afraid of you even when cursed," I gasped in utter disbelief.

Ruru moved her face toward me, touched her forehead to mine, and closed her eyes. A bright blue light surged at the point of contact, and I felt a strange feeling inside me.

Ding...

"Congratulations!!! You have received the blessing of the Guardian God of Deer — Mythical Deer Ruru.

Blessing of Ruru: When the host suffers a fatal, life-threatening blow, this blessing activates automatically, restoring the body from the brink of death using a large amount of Soulforce."