Abyssal Awakening

However, the selection of books wasn\'t even close to what she had expected. Forget about information on the Dreadhorn, there wasn\'t even a compendium on beasts located nearby.

Instead, she was redirected to an old Warrior who\'d been placed within this outpost.

\'According to the store owner, the old Warrior has been here longer than anyone else. If anyone has information on beasts, it should be him.\' Alice thought to herself as she looked at the spot marked down on the map.

The old Warrior resided in a small house located on a hill within the outpost. It gave him a good view over the entire outpost as well as the surrounding areas. Upon arriving, Alice could feel the cold wind blowing against her body, causing her hair to flutter along with her coat.

Taking a deep breath, she was rather taken aback by the view and sensation of standing in this place. Even though it\'s just a small hill, the people looked tiny by the buildings. The soldiers who still train like Egil, those who play around and those who\'ve retreated for an early night.

Sensing something on the edge of her senses, Alice furrowed her brows and glanced around.

"You have quite the shard instinct for a young one. What brings you to an old Warrior\'s house?" A voice rang out beside Alice as she kept her calm and glanced over.

"There wasn\'t a library here so the bookstore owner told me to come here and find you. Said that you probably had the information I want regarding beasts." Alice replied.

The old Warrior had well kept grey hair swept back and aside to reveal his wrinkled forehead. A large beard with a moustache. His current outfit consisted simply of a rugged set up with a large tattered coat.

For an occupation that gets injured easily and even die, the fact that this man had lived to this age without a single scar was impressive. Not only that, but Alice couldn\'t see any signs of side effects. Meaning he hasn\'t consumed that much Abyss Blood.

"Hou? Not many Warriors these days even ask for information. It\'s a practice that\'s mostly done in the Abyss since the beasts there are far more ferocious. Which beast do you want to know about?" He asked with a smile while scratching his beard.

"Dreadhorn Ravager."

"Hmm…" Closing his eyes, the old Warrior began to recall the beast as he walked over to a set of chairs and sat down. Gesturing for Alice to sit down as well, he reached into his pouch and pulled out some fruit for them to enjoy.

"It\'s a pretty nasty beast you\'ve gone and chosen for this hunt." The old Warrior remarked as the Dreadhorn Ravager had another nickname from those who have hunted it before.

The personification of wrath.

A beast of raw unfiltered wrath than kills everything and anything. It\'s one of if not these most aggressive beasts you have fight if the conditions line up.

"Well it wasn\'t really my choice. Squad Captain said it\'s the next beast we\'re hunting down to improve coordination." Alice shrugged, accepting the fruit as she took a bite.

One bite was all it took for the juice to burst out from the fruit. The sweet flavours and flesh of the fruit melted in Alice\'s mouth as her eyes blinked in surprise.

"Hahaha, take your time, there are plenty of fruit left." The old Warrior laughed, taking out a handkerchief for Alice.

Thanking the old man, she finished the fruit quickly as he handed her another.

Since it was tasty, there was no reason to reject.

"The Ravager is a nasty beast with a myriad of ways to escape. Despite its nickname, Personification of Wrath, it\'s a pretty cowardly beast. Shadowmeld and Berserk Regeneration. These two you need to watch out for." The old Warrior began to explain as Alice listened intently.

"Shadowmeld lets it sink into the shadows and lung out when it wants to strike. It can also use it to run away by dashing in between the shadows in its surroundings. However, you can usually tell where it is by the way the shadow moves.

"The Ravager\'s affinity for shadow while good, can be disrupted pretty easily. Use light. If the \'volume\' of the shadow isn\'t enough, it\'ll be forcefully expelled."

Hearing this, Alice was reminded of the ways that Kaden fights. How he sinks into the shadow as well. With this in mind, she couldn\'t help but wonder if one of his Sigils belongs to the Dreadhorn Ravager.

"The second thing is Berserk Regeneration. Once it comes close to death and realises that it can\'t escape, it\'ll sacrifice its vitality for a burst of energy and regeneration. All of its wounds will heal and it\'ll gain a boost to its physical prowess. Tough it out and the beast will be extremely vulnerable to attacks that even someone with three spirits can kill it.

"If you watch out for these two things, the rest should be easy since the Ravager is primarily a physical attacking beast. It\'ll almost never use casting type abilities. Ah, also keep an eye on its horns. You can think of that as its casting medium. Whenever the horn starts to glow, it\'ll be preparing to use an attack…"

The more Alice listened, the more she was impressed by the sheer depth of knowledge the old man possessed. The wisdom cultivated by years upon years of combat experience.

From the beast\'s habits, hunting priority and even where it likes to strike, the old man knew everything.

Time passed and before Alice knew, the sun had already set and the old man finished talking.

"That\'s everything I know about the beast. It should be rather helpful for your hunt tomorrow." He chuckled.

This was the first time anyone had listened for this long. Seeing her focus, he couldn\'t help but to continue. After all, who wouldn\'t want to teach more after seeing an eager student.

"Thank you for this information." Alice stood up and gave him a bow as he dismissed with a wave of his hand.

"It\'s no matter. Take my words to heart and be careful when you fight it. One moment of weakness and it\'ll turn its attention to you even if you have beast repellent. That\'s the kind of beast you\'re dealing with." The old man smiled while reaching into his pouch.

"I\'ll keep everything you said today in mind when I fight it tomorrow. Hm?" Blinking her eyes, Alice wondered what the old man wanted to give her as he held out a heavy looking sack.

"Take it. It\'s filled with the fruit you had earlier. Come back for more if you run out." He laughed with a soft smile.

Seeing her eating fruit while listening to him talk reminded him of his daughter before she passed away. Perhaps if she was still alive, he\'ll be seeing his grandchildren running around him.

Alas, reality was cruel.

Swallowing her saliva, Alice rummaged through her pouch for some coin but the old man rolled his eyes and threw the sack at her.

"An old man like me have no use for money. Just take it and come back safe tomorrow."

Catching the sack, Alice nodded her head with a smile.

"Okay, I\'ll definitely come back tomorrow. What\'s your name old man?" Alice asked, wanting to know the name of her benefactor. Plus, it\'ll be pretty awkward for her to keep calling him old man.

"Ragnar. And you, young lady?"

"Alice. See you tomorrow!" Alice waved as she ran downhill while grabbing a fruit to eat.

Seeing Alice run away before curfew, Ragnar let out a chuckle while brushing his beard.

He didn\'t think a recruit would be this sensitive. One step was all it took for her to realise he was there hence why he made the first move. It would be rather awkward if she was the one who found him first.

What\'s weirder was the state of her body. While they were talking, Ragnar had done a light examination on her. If he was to do a thorough examination, she would\'ve noticed. Just from what he saw, her body was a complete mess.

A storm of opposing energy constantly colliding and fighting one another. It was a miracle she could walk normally like this.

Taking a deep breath, he looked at the city.

"Such turbulent winds…" He muttered.

There had been rats invading his outpost recently. He let them go since it wasn\'t his job to make a move but they\'re becoming more daring. Based on the rate they were gathering information from within the outpost, they\'ll be making their move soon.

He hoped that the bait he threw out was big enough to catch the big fishes. Shaking his head, he pulled out a fruit and took a bite.

He looked forward to what kind of story Alice would give him once she finishes her hunt tomorrow. Since her target was the Dreadhorn Ravager, it should be a rather interesting tale.

###

Making her way back to her room, Alice noticed that Selen was preparing to head to bed.

"You\'re back pretty late."

"Ran into an interesting old man. Told me some information on what we\'re going to be fighting next and even gave me some fruit." Alice laughed, offering Selen one.

Thinking about it for a moment, she nodded and took a bite before immediately spitting it out.

"BLERG! What the hell is that???" She questioned as Alice tilted her head.

"What do you mean?"

"This is bitter as hell. Is that even fruit??" Selen questioned, giving Alice the fruit back as she didn\'t want to eat anymore.

"Just go to sleep soon. We\'re heading out early tomorrow since it\'s a long trip." Selen shook her head and turned around in her bed.

Looking at the fruit, Alice took a bite and once again, a sweet flavour burst into her mouth.

\'Weird.\' She shrugged. But if Selen doesn\'t want any, it was more for her.

Finishing the two fruits, she went to sleep, ready for the hunt tomorrow.