Chapter 46: Secret Base. Secret Base! SECRET BASE!

Four sleds dragged through the ground, one for each of us. A tiger jumped out of the woodwork, but Luine swiftly brained it with a tossed knife. I did not even bother to let go of my own burden in preparation for battle.The treeline broke shortly after, and finally we’d arrived at our destination after months of travel. A long way away from my hometown of Latarus sat an unassuming hill like any other.

“Wait, that’s it?” I asked. “Are we really here? Where even is here?”

Luine rolled her eyes. “Yes, Haell. Have a little faith.”

“Oh thank you angel Luine.”

She tossed a pebble at me. “Not like that, dumbass. But it is a hideout of mine, and I went out of my way to prepare it when you told me of your… ambitions.”

“Ah! You didn’t think I’d succeed!?” I took off my helm and revealed the imposing horns therein. “Who’s the one without faith now!?”

“Oh please. Sounded like an elaborate way to commit suicide to me.” She went near the base of the hill, examining a cluster of bushes that looked perfectly normal. She parted them and revealed a hole in the ground. “And there you go. Faith.”

I let go of my burdens and ran forward. So did Moonwash do the same.

We peered into the hole, and then we jumped down into the abyss within, finding ourselves at a large cavern replete with the necessities of life but nothing else. And by necessities, I meant one bucket, and some fabrics that I people slept on.

“Wow. This place is amazing. I love it.” My voice was bland and bare.

“It’s not a manor, if that’s what you were expecting to find in the middle of the wilderness,” Luine jumped down after us, followed by Baston. “Now stop being dumb and unload our things.”

She collapsed on a cot, eyes already closed in bliss.

“Alright. What about you?”

“I’m fine.”

“No. I mean, are you not going to help unpack?”

“Nope! Baston, go watch them!”

“...Alright.”

Moonwash was already ahead of me, hopping up the uneven rocks that kinda functioned like stairs, before jumping back down with hands full of stuff.

I did the same, settling in for a loooong afternoon.

After a day of rest and relaxation, albeit lacking the amenities usually associated with it, I was ready to finally get back on the endless grind for power. Despite the… of it, a secret base like this was exactly what I wanted. A place to train and grow in peace, away from prying eyes who may wish to pluck my potential away before I could even begin to bloom. It’s the obvious solution to having many potential enemies!

Just fucking And kill them

I wasn’t even done fully assessing my new powers yet, so I quickly got back to doing that, breaking at a dead run across the forest. I knew that Baston and Luine were still watching out for me, but I still felt alone in a dangerous place, and it was exhilarating!

Wolves barred my path, but they each fell to a single slash of my sword, the rest unable to follow.

Murdles descended from the treetops, but they suffered the same fate.

Bushpiders, horned hares, deer, and more. They all fell so easily, taking two swings at most if I happened to miss the vitals.

And then those near my level came. From tigers to more evolved versions of my prior prey. They proved more of a challenge, but nothing I could not handle. I initiated all battles, crashing into them and never letting up on the offensive. The power of improved my every strike, breaking my own body for a little extra power, only to be slowly repaired by my regen heart. That was the new way I fought.

I faced off against a boxiall. It jumped straight towards me, and even then I continued to charge. My sword met its fist, and the force of my swing won out. I pressed the offensive, landing a few deep slashes afterwards.

The monster screamed, it leapt away and made distance between us. I was already giving chase before it began running away, steadily gaining ground even with its occasional leaps that could cover so much distance. Eventually I caught up, and destroyed the backside of the creature, breaking its puny spine into a million little pieces.

I roared a challenge into the forest. Birds flew away from the sheer intimidation rolling off of me. My mana flowed, it hugged my sword, and I went even further. Menace mana threaded through the material, it constantly flowed out of me and back again through the connection with my sword. The magic took on a nearly liquid consistency, moving and maintaining its purpose with little direction for myself.

My arm swung as a test, and the greatsword buried itself nearly halfway through a tree. I knew that was only the beginning of my new prowess, for menace magic was nothing so direct.

The traphead that found me next got to learn of that quickly. The animal looked like a cross between the overall body of a panther, but with a head like that of a flytrap plant.

I killed the nearly level 20 opponent slowly, every slash of my sword sapping both its life and its power. It grew more fearful at every turn, and I was sure it wasn’t just the consequence of my domination. Menace magic wormed through its mind, until all it could do was whimper and die. I had to stop myself from enjoying the torture of a dying creature, but the final blow still gave me great satisfaction and joy.

My accursed blood pumped through my body, bringing me to greater heights of power and ecstasy. I wielded the magic birthed therein, sending another burst of intimidation through the forest. More prey ran away but that only made the hunt sweeter. I chased after those who dared to turn their backs on me. I killed all in my way, and I reveled in the blood and agony. An even more terrifying adversary eventually found its way to me, my body already broken by my own strength, and yet I felt stronger than I'd ever been.

I faced the bear, the creature that thought it could end my reign.

I bared my teeth and charged for my superiority!!!

Claw met sword, and the two forces bounced away from each other. There was a cut on the bear’s paw, but it wasn't enough. The animal was on me before I could recover, and I clumsily blocked. My ire was stoked as I was pushed away.

Menace magic exploded around me, bolts of it shooting upon my foe. My demon eyes bore into its soul, the menace aura rolled off myself in waves, and I managed to land a good slash across its snout.

The bear roared, pushing itself out of its stupor, but I was already running it, in between trees and rocks that might prove an obstacle for my larger foe. My hooves were not built for wide turns, but small adjustments like this were no problem. The bear chased me, and I slashed against its hide every time I was in range before quickly running away again, using my heightened ability to charge and breaking my legs slowly with the constant use of menace magic. This maneuver left me very predictable, but I made up for that with every attack that I landed, trading blows with an adversary that easily overpowered me. The magic seeped inside my adversary and disturbed the creature’s mind, the wounds I inflicted damaged the creature from within. The bear was left in a constant state of terror and rage, chasing after me with only beastial instinct and absolutely no intelligence.

Still, the bear was far higher level than I, an evolution above. Even its clumsier attacks reaped its toll, crushing organs and breaking bone. Every movement of my every limb became racked with pain, yet still I surged, unwilling to let go and .

I passed by the creature once, twice, and then more. It lunged for me upon the fourth, finally having figured out how to catch me. I could not stop my charge in time. So instead I settled for a trade, my sword reaping a great harvest across its face even as its jaws sunk through my armor and tossed me away.

A crash.

The world seemed to blur for a second. I braced myself against the tree behind me, leaves still falling from the force of our collision.

My enemy stalked forward, bloody, broken, but not down.

I wasn’t either. I willed myself to stand up and fight. I saw a silhouette hidden amongst the foliage. She thought that I was already down for the count!

I coughed out blood. My legs shook, I could hardly breathe. But still I refused to lose. My menace magic responded to my desires and flared up. I snarled and shouted, I reached out towards the deepest recesses of all that is evil within.

And then I squeezed.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGRGRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHGGGRHRGHHHRGGHGG!!!!!!!!!”

I rocketed forwards in a bone-splintering charge. The bear was stunned, intimidated, scared, cowering, a mess. I slashed, down. It bit deep with a sickening crunch. Waves of menace rolled off of me, I consumed it just as it consumed me. My desire, its desire, we were one. I slashed again and ignored the cracking of my arms. My hearts pounded faster, renewing my reserves and healing the damage to myself. Now I could keep on fighting. Keep on destroying until there was nothing else left of this of this world. Menace bullets formed with those thoughts, they crashed upon my foe with the force of a truck. The magic didn’t have any physical weight, but the bear staggered regardless. Its lips quivered, staring death in the face. But death was here to stay, it had no intention of leaving, I had no intention to ever leave. I dragged myself forward and kept my foe within my demonic gaze. It ran but I chased. Its fur was flayed from the roots, its skin was scourged by my blade. Organs spilled from within, bones cracked and forced the bear to halt, unable to evade. The skull was split apart, the neck cut and beheaded. My menace magic surged, forcing more power out of my mass so that I could continue the carnage. I stomped upon my defeated foe, I feasted upon its remains. I howled into the night and snarled at the next poor sod that attracted my ire. My throat groaned at the force of my growls. I charged at the black woman, but she tripped me up by the foot. Unforgivable, the humiliation. I lunged back after her, and then the world went back to void.

“Did I do something wrong? Why attack again!?”