After the fight with the troll, the world narrowed down. To the size of the dirty ceiling in Zeno's cabin. I lay on a straw mattress, trying not to breathe deeply. Every breath echoed with a sharp, stabbing flash of pain in my side.
Zeno had patched me up with his magic. I only remembered a strange greenish haze and the nauseating crunch of bones being forced back into place. But the magic merely "stitched" the edges. From there, the body had to cope on its own.
And it was doing a lousy job.
"Stay down," Zeno's voice came from the hearth. "If you stand up, your ribs will fall apart again."
I tried to answer, but only a dry wheeze escaped my throat. A gray veil hung before my eyes.
"Biological degradation: 38%. Localized inflammation. Energy deficit."
Zeno walked over and sat on a stool, studying me with undisguised curiosity.
"Yesterday... when you were fighting that mountain of meat. Your magic was strange. You called it the 'Will to Live'?"
I closed my eyes. Cursing yesterday's weakness.
"It's... just a survival mechanism," I squeezed out. "The body reacts faster than the mind. It optimizes processes."
"Optimizes?" The old man snorted. "You almost burned up from the inside. Don't even think about using it again until your bones heal. Understood?"
"Yes," I said, exhaling.
Three days passed before I could sit up without losing consciousness. The wolf bone plates lay in the corner. My "project" was biding its time.
On the fourth day, a new problem arrived.
I heard them before Zeno did. Acoustic sensitivity. Heightened by the background hum of the "Will to Live." The rhythmic clank of metal against metal. The heavy steps of hobnailed boots. Two miles. Maybe less.
"We have guests," I whispered, trying to slide off the mattress.
"Stay put," Zeno barked, grabbing his staff. "Hunters. Looking for adventure and 'anomalies.' After what you pulled with the troll, the forest is radiating. They won't just pass by."
I stood up anyway, leaning against the wall. The pain in my side was dull but manageable. Option one: stay inside. Zeno wouldn't be able to hide my signature if they had tracking artifacts.
Option two: go outside.
"Option two, obviously," I said, walking out, barely dragging my feet. The cold air brought me to my senses a bit.
I activated "Will to Live." On the lowest setting. Just enough to accelerate my consciousness.
Interference. Acoustic anti-phase. Every step was a micro-pulse of mana. It canceled out the sound of touching dry leaves. I slowly went around the cabin and dove into the thick blackberry bushes.
They appeared ten minutes later.
Two of them. Armor gleaming dully, Order emblems on their chests. In their hands were tracking rods, twitching nervously and pointing toward the cabin.
"There was a powerful surge here," one hunter's voice was dry, devoid of emotion. "Old man, seen anything unusual?"
"Nothing but my gout, gentlemen. And as for surges... a troll dropped dead around here a couple of days ago. It's rotting now. Maybe that's your 'radiation'?"
I lay in the bushes. Barely breathing. One of the hunters turned in my direction, his gaze sweeping over the ferns. My heart beat faster. "Will to Live" reacted instantly, trying to accelerate my body for a dash.
No. Stop.
If I bolt now, the surge of energy will give me away. Besides, my ribs won't hold up. I forced myself to slow down. Redirected the remnants of my energy. Suppressed my heartbeat. Lowered my body temperature.
The hunter came within five paces. Seeing every scratch on his bracers and watching the indicator on the rod tremble was exhausting.
"Clear," he tossed to his partner. "The signal has dissipated. Most likely residual radiation from the beast."
They left as quickly as they had appeared.
When the clatter of hooves finally faded, I buried my face in the moss. My body was trembling. A thin trickle of blood ran from my nose again.
A minute later, Zeno came over and flipped me onto my back.
"What are you doing out here? Didn't I tell you to sit tight?" There was so much indignation in his voice that I couldn't help but remember my mother. "Sigh... what am I going to do with you? Fine, I'll let it slide this time. Still, hiding right under their noses... Using mana as a silencer. Good idea."
"Crawl inside. You still have to skin that troll as soon as your ribs heal. We need that bone armor."
"The 'Will to Live' is not a gift. It's more of a curse."
Funny... in my past life, I was also killed by the very thing I couldn't live without, I thought to myself.
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