18 Hunt End (2/2)

Cores which were integrated into one's body were practically a part of that body, like an extra appendage. Hence, just like the skin, one could feel tactile sensations from a Core.

The fur on the Fox's forehead was soft, and Edmond focused on it while blocking out all other sounds and sensations.

Then, he had to focus on the Core, which resulted in him getting the feeling that it was some sort of closed container that had a swirling, white mist inside it.

This was the Energy naturally absorbed by the Core.

Lastly, he had to direct that Energy into the fur.

That was all he needed to do. He had to keep up this flow of Energy for 10 minutes, after which he would know if the Binding was successful.

However, 3 minutes in, sharp pain raced up his left leg, which made him snap his eyes open and stop the process.

Looking down, he realized with horror that a large chunk of his left leg, which had been dangling down from the branch, had been bitten off.

As that state of concentration was gone, the full brunt of the pain hit him, making him scream out in pain.

Yet, he knew that he wasn't supposed to attract attention, so Edmond quickly forced his hand into his mouth, biting down hard on it and tasting blood but succeeding in the mission of not making any noise.

Looking down, he witnessed a sight he would never forget.

Aaron was surrounded by 6 Bewitching Foxes which were all circling him warily. He was shirtless, exposing his lean, powerful muscles that were definitely capable of very explosive strength.

His shirt was being used a rucksack, inside which there were numerous sharp stones neatly piled together.

One of those stones was in his hand, and as a Fox on the right side lunged at him, he threw it as expertly and naturally as if he was a Flame Tongued Viper which was accurately shooting its Flaming Poison.

In other words, this almost seemed like an ability of his which would have been recorded in the TeraTome, if he were a Tera.

The rock squarely impacted with the soft forehead of the Fox, making it fall to the ground unconscious.

This was when Edmond noticed that there were 10 Foxes lying unconscious around him, which made him take in a sharp breath.

”I can't hold them off for long! They know you're up there! Make it faster!”

As Aaron shouted this, Edmond saw a specific Fox with bloody teeth which was chewing on something look up at him.

The damn thing was chewing on his flesh!

Gritting his teeth, Edmond took care to raise his legs while wincing before placing them on the branch so that they wouldn't hang down like before.

Getting back to the Fox in his hands, he started the process again.

Ignoring the pain, he managed to complete it this time, as there were no further interruptions.

In his mind, the dodecahedron-shaped Core that he had visualized now had a white, slightly glowing ball which pulsed along with the heartbeat of the Fox that he could feel through its skin.

Yes! The Binding was a success!

Resisting the urge to whoop with delight, Edmond shouted, ”I'm done!” before focusing on that glowing ball and the feeling of the fur together.

He felt the weight of the Fox disappear from his arms, and, the next second, a faint image of the sleeping Fox was visible in his mind, inside the glowing ball.

The Tera had been successfully absorbed into the Core.

”Good! Stay up there! No matter what you do, don't come down! We'll come to get you!”

”All right!”

Giving his reply, Edmond took off his vest and wrapped it around his leg to stop the blood from flowing. Ideally, he would use the paste from a specific plant to completely stop the blood flow, but it wasn't available right now.

So, he made do with the vest.

”Hey, you pathetic rats! Come chase me if you think you can catch up!”

Taunting the foxes like so, Aaron bolted away on all fours in a direction, while the foxes surprisingly growled with anger and followed as if they had understood the insult.

Time passed slowly, but even though Edmond tried hard to stay awake, the blood loss was making him feel very weary.

Finally, a few minutes later, he laid his back on the trunk of the tree behind him before closing his eyes and losing consciousness.

Right before the darkness took him, he wondered if he would ever see the light again.