Chapter 143: I Win… My First Totem Tattoo

Words : 1239 Updated : Sep 21st, 2025

"You think you can run now?" Lyle narrowed his eyes at the fleeing blur of fur that was the Wise King of the Forest, Hamsuke. "Too late." He launched forward to give chase. WHIP! A sudden lash of that monstrous tail snapped back at him like a whip. Lyle's instincts kicked in. With a sharp exhale, he tossed aside the hilt of his now-useless iron sword and summoned his magic greatsword once more, raising it just in time. The only reason he'd switched to the iron blade earlier was to avoid wasting the durability of his enchanted weapon. But now? Now he needed the real thing. CLANG! The blow landed like a hammer, reverberating through his arms. Lyle skidded back a few steps, absorbing the force. And in that fleeting moment, Hamsuke was gone. "Already vanished?" Lyle frowned. "He must have used some kind of stealth magic." He scanned the woods, but the forest had returned to stillness. No sounds. No rustling. No tail thumping in the distance. Nothing. But then—he crouched. There. Blood. Tiny droplets. Scattered on the grass like red raindrops. "You can cloak your body," Lyle murmured, "but you can't hide the trail." Cursed wounds were persistent. His curse energy didn't just maim—it interfered with regeneration, slowed healing, and, most importantly, left a mark. Especially since his last attack had included a fragment of the Death Curse. "Surviving that level of curse influence... You've got serious resistance to status effects," Lyle muttered, eyes glinting as he examined the trail. "But even you can't outrun inevitability." He activated his Track ability. A faint path lit up across the forest floor—trailing blood, disturbed leaves, broken branches. The route stretched forward like a ghost trail, leading deeper into the woods. And so, he gave chase. --- The forest roared with chaos. Birds scattered. Beasts shrieked. The undergrowth trembled underfoot. Hamsuke, despite his injuries, darted like a phantom between the trees. This was his domain—he knew every root, every lair, every place to lure danger. More than once, Lyle found himself ambushed by territorial predators—spiders the size of wagons, packs of snarling shadow wolves, and serpentine beasts slithering through the canopy. All part of Hamsuke's plan to slow him down. And yet—Lyle pressed forward. Minutes turned to hours. Twilight crept in, swallowing the woods in creeping darkness. By the time night had fully fallen, the forest was a wall of pitch black. For a normal human, sight was useless now. But Lyle wasn't normal. He reached into his pouch and produced a single-lens magical monocle, enchanted with Night Vision. He clipped it over his left eye. The world snapped into clarity. "Still bleeding..." The droplets were larger now. Thick, sluggish. Hamsuke was slowing down. The curse was eating at him from the inside. Even if the beast resisted the death effect directly, the ongoing damage was inevitable. As Lyle had confirmed through past experiments—curses didn't fade just because a target ran. They drained. Slowly. Fatally. Unless cleansed, the curse lingered... until the body gave out. Lyle knew this firsthand. He'd watched it claim other monsters. Even enemies with higher health pools eventually reached their threshold. Still, there was no time to be careless. Rustle. Snap. Shuffle. Sudden movement. Dozens of glowing green eyes appeared in the dark. A pack. He exhaled. "Wolf territory. Wonderful." The beasts emerged, low to the ground and growling. Unlike undead hounds, these had no horns, no bone chains—just sleek muscle and predatory hunger. Lyle raised his sword. "Alright. Let's get this over with." In the span of minutes, the underbrush ran red. Snarls were silenced. The wolves fell one after another, until only silence remained. Even the nocturnal creatures knew better than to intervene now. The rest of the night passed in strained, focused pursuit. Morning. Sunlight broke through the eastern sky, casting gold across the battered treetops. The warmth of day filtered down through a rare break in the canopy, illuminating a wide forest glade. It was quiet. Too quiet. The undergrowth gave way to a clean, almost ceremonial-looking clearing. A gentle slope of earth rose at one end, forming a mossy mound. Beneath it—a den. This was it. Hamsuke's home. The air stank of iron. Of blood. Lyle approached, eyes narrowing. The once-mighty Wise King lay slumped at the mouth of the den. His once-glorious fur was soaked in crimson, one half of his face matted with blood. His massive body was still, save for a slight twitch of his tail every few seconds. Still breathing. Barely. Shff. Shff. Leaves crunched softly behind Lyle as he stepped forward into the clearing. He stopped several paces away. "Looks like... I win," Lyle said softly, voice flat. "Wise King." At this point, it wasn't the eye wound that had brought the beast down. The slow, relentless pull of the curse had done the rest. The creature stirred. "...Cursed... human..." Hamsuke's single remaining eye cracked open, bloodshot and hazy. There was pain there—rage, too. And then... a flicker of something else. Desperation. "...I submit," Hamsuke whispered. Lyle blinked. That was unexpected. "I'm here to kill you," he replied bluntly. The Wise King flinched. Perhaps it was shame. Or fury. Maybe both. He raised his tail in what could have been a final act of defiance—but it thudded harmlessly against the ground. "I... never thought I'd fall to a weak human..." he rasped. "I haven't even... bred yet..." With that pathetic final lament, the once-proud beast finally went still. A system notification followed. [Experience Gained: 9567] [Current EXP: 37933 / 60000] "...That much for a level 30 creature?" Lyle was honestly surprised. That was nearly ten thousand EXP. He looked down at the corpse. Strangely, he didn't feel triumphant. Not exactly. Hamsuke, for all his bluster and arrogance, had been a recognizable figure. Well-liked in some circles. But in the end— Power decided everything. The world didn't care how clever you were. Or how funny. Or how noble. Strength was law. He'd learned that, again and again. Relying on others to spare you, or praying for mercy... was just another way to die. Then something stirred. From Hamsuke's corpse, a ghostly figure rose—translucent, an exact mirror of his physical form, but dim and wavering. His spirit. Lyle didn't flinch. He'd seen this before. Beasts and monsters sometimes left remnants, shadows of themselves—after death. His passive ability, Shamanic Sight, granted him the unique ability to perceive them. It didn't do much on its own. Not unless paired with the right skill. And this time? He was ready. "Become my strength," he whispered. "Wise King of the Forest." He activated Totem Imprint. This entire time, he'd left his totem slot empty—waiting for the right creature. Hamsuke was perfect. A low hum echoed through the clearing. [Totem Skill Activated: Select Imprint Location – Head, Arms, Legs, Back, or Chest.] He barely glanced at the options. "Arms." A surge of emerald light exploded around him, swirling like a miniature storm. Hamsuke's soul shimmered and twisted, drawn into Lyle's arms by an invisible force. The light vanished. Lyle looked down. Etched into his skin, from shoulder to wrist, was a vivid tattoo—shaped like a stylized mouse, fierce and noble, its tail curled like a whip. [Totem Bond Complete] [Choose: Physical Augmentation or Skill Inheritance]

Chapter 143: I Win… My First Totem Tattoo

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