She scratched at the tree with her good paw, bark tearing loose under the claws, and yowled again, raw and hoarse. She limped as she circled the trunk in a tight loop, weight kept off the swollen paw, tail lashing, head tipping back to stare up at the branches where the cubs clung.
As Harry’s enhanced strength and speed bled away, his hands started to tremble. Not badly, just enough to notice. A faint tingling sting lingered in his muscles, the aftertaste of using vitae.
H: 105 | V: 98 | TM: 11%
Cedric watched the animal for a long moment before speaking. “The hexapuma seems fixated on her cubs. We should be able to slip away.”
Jo didn’t take her eyes off the tree. “There’s nothing we can do?”
Harry frowned. “I’m not sure.”
System, what do you think?
:: System: Accept Quest: Mother and Child Reunion? (Y/N)
:: Primary: Reunite the hexapuma with her cubs.
:: Optional: The Mother Must Survive. Save the life of the hexapuma.
:: Reward: Bonus X.P.
Hey, wait a minute. Did you pull that quest name from my memory?
:: System: Negative.
Can you read my mind?
:: System: Intent matters. To perceive a thought it must be directed at me.
Alright. I guess that’s good. But it’d be nice if we could talk about my past without me having to explain everything.
:: System: No, I would not give you false hope.
… Now you’re just yanking my chain.
:: System: That seems strange to say.
System, what the hell?
:: System: I acknowledge nothing. However, you may or may not sing to yourself when distracted.
What?
Harry cast a doubtful look at the others. “Guys, do I sing to myself?”
The three of them exchanged looks. All nodded.
Cedric cleared his throat. “You sometimes hum when you are thinking.”
Harry groaned. “Well that’s embarrassing. Martha used to tease me about it.”
Stan shrugged. “We’re used to it.”
Jo lifted her chin toward the clearing. “What about this quest?”
Harry looked from one to the other. “Did everyone get it?”
Stan and Cedric both confirmed they had.
Harry stood at the cave mouth and looked out.
The hexapuma had dropped down at the base of the tree, folding awkwardly as she sat. With his enhanced vision, Harry could see additional bite marks. Swelling bulged along one side above the ribs, and again along her left flank.
Harry turned back. “Do you want to try?”
Cedric shook his head slowly. “I am certain you could bring the cubs down, but I do not see a way for us to help the hexapuma. We have no healing. No potions.”
Jo looked toward the mother cat. “If Toby were here, maybe his singing could help it heal.”
Harry’s gaze drifted back across the clearing, eyes lingering on the Venomstalker that had crashed into Jo.
“I have an idea.”
Jo sighed. “Gods preserve us.”
Harry didn’t look at her. “Go ahead and accept the quest.”
System, yes, I accept the quest.
He turned back to the others. “Wait here a minute.”
Harry stepped out of the cave and crossed to the Venomstalker’s body. He put vitae into strength, bent, and hauled it up. It was heavy, the long neck and bulk awkward in his grip. He dragged it back toward the cave entrance.
The others watched him in silence, confusion plain on their faces.
Harry reached into his inventory and laid out the tools he used for surgery: scalpels, the large pot, the burner, clamps, and two small barrels of water.
“Stan, can you get some water boiling?”
“Aye.” Stan bent to the task without another word.
Cedric watched the spread of equipment, brow furrowing. “What are you planning, Sir Harold?”
“A trick from my home world.”
Cedric nodded once. “What do you need us to do?”
Harry rolled the Venomstalker onto its side, stretched the long neck straight, and crouched near the head. “Jo, watch me. I’m going to remove the venom gland. After that, you take out the others. Does that sound alright?”
Jo knelt beside him. “Show me.”
Harry took his sharpest scalpel and a clamp from the medical gear and bent over the head. Jo leaned in, close enough to see every movement.
He studied the snake head. One side was mangled where the big cat had swiped it. The other side was undamaged. Harry gently probed along the jaw with his fingers. He traced backward from the fangs, feeling for swelling, mapping where the gland should sit. He worked slowly, deliberately, making sure Jo could follow each step.
He made a careful incision along the side of the head, behind the jaw hinge and below the eye socket, angling the blade to avoid the larger blood vessels. With his fingers, he separated the tissue layer by layer until the gland came into view, a pale sac buried beneath muscle and scale.
Harry clamped the duct to stop any venom from spilling, then traced it forward to where it joined the base of the fang. He cut through the ligaments and muscle anchoring the maxillary bone to the skull, easing the structure free bit by bit.
When it finally came loose, he lifted it clear in one intact piece, maxillary bone, hollow fang, duct, and venom gland together. He held it up for Jo to inspect. When she nodded, he put it into his inventory.
Harry glanced at her. “You think you have it?”
Jo met his eyes. “I can do it.”
Harry stepped back out of the cave and headed for another Venomstalker body. He kept an eye on the hexapuma as he moved, but she stayed at the base of the tree, shifting restlessly, occasionally scraping at the bark and making low, huffing sounds.
He put another vitae into strength, barely registering the burning ache it brought. He recovered his spears from the two bodies and hauled the next one up to the cave. He helped Jo lay it out and stayed close as she began, watching her hands and the angle of the blade.
“If you think there’s any chance you’ll cut the gland, stop,” Harry said quietly. “You don’t want to make contact with that venom.”
Jo nodded and kept working.
Harry went back out and retrieved the remaining body, dragged it up, and laid it out. He knelt beside Jo again, watching as she finished freeing her first gland. The process went smoothly.
Jo lifted the fang and gland together, the duct still intact. “What now?”
Harry took it from her. “Get them all if you can.”
Jo turned back to the body and set to work.
System, this thing was level four or five. Will my immunity work?
:: System: Affirmative.
Harry drew a slow breath. “Nobody freak out.”
Before anyone could react, he drove the fang straight into his stomach and squeezed the gland.
:: System: Probably.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
What?
Everyone recoiled at once, flinching back, eyes wide.
“Harry!” Jo shouted.
The pain from the stab barely registered. The fang slid in clean. The venom burned as it flowed, a sharp, spreading sensation that felt disturbingly similar to using vitae. Heat bloomed around the puncture. The skin flushed red and swelled almost immediately.
What do you mean probably?
:: Warning: You have been poisoned. (Stalker’s Venom).
:: System: Immune to poison. Stalker’s Venom does not take effect.
Jerk.
:: System: [Immunity to Poison]
H: 105 .. 106 .. | V: 95 | TM: 14%
Harry pulled the fang free and looked up, grinning at Jo. “Emergency healing potions.”
Jo shook her head. “Dammit, Harry.”
“Hold on,” he said. “You haven’t seen the crazy part yet.”
“I can’t wait.”
A wave of nausea rolled through him but passed quickly. The swelling around the puncture eased, the angry redness fading back to normal.
Harry took a length of cord from the healing kit and tied it around the fang. He lowered the fang and gland into the pot of boiling water, leaving the cord draped over the side so he could haul it back out.
Harry went back out of the cave and moved toward the hexapuma, slow and deliberate.
She had stopped clawing at the tree and was focused on her injured paw, licking and gnawing at the bite mark. When he drew closer, she lifted her head to watch him. Her ears angled forward and relaxed. The tip of her tail twitched once. A low, chuffing breath rolled out of her chest.
Harry kept his pace slow. He lowered into a slight crouch, avoided her eyes, and angled his path toward the tree instead of straight at her. His shoulders stayed turned away. His hands hung low at his sides, palms open.
“It’s alright,” he murmured, voice calm and steady. “We’ll get your babies. Don’t worry.”
As he closed the distance, she shifted her weight and edged away a step, dropping into a crouch where she could spring if she needed to. She stayed there, muscles tight, watching him.
At the base of the tree, Harry tipped his head back. The cubs clung high above, pressed tight to the bark. Fifty feet up, maybe more. The first branches started around twelve feet, and above that the limbs thickened, close enough to climb.
He looked down at his hands. Thought about how they twisted and curled when he used Frenzy, fingers turning more claw than flesh. He focused and willed the physical changes to happen without using Frenzy.
There was a faint crunch as bone shifted. His fingers lengthened, nails thickening and sharpening. His fangs slid free. His pulse spiked, a familiar surge of hunger and heat pushing at the edges of his thoughts.
The hexapuma rumbled low in her throat. Her tail flicked again. She wiggled her hindquarters, coiled and ready.
Harry pushed vitae into strength and speed and jumped, catching the bark and scrambling up into the tree.
When he reached the first set of branches, Harry forced himself to relax. The claws receded, fingers shortening, nails dulling back to normal. The tension bled out of his hands. The sensation was faintly familiar, like cracking his knuckles after holding them tight too long. It felt good.
He climbed higher, moving carefully until he reached the branch where the cubs waited. They were about the size of small dogs, maybe twenty pounds each. Both stared at him with wide eyes. They edged away along the branch but didn’t risk going farther out.
Harry eased toward them. He wrapped one arm around the trunk and reached out with the other, grabbing one cub by the scruff and pulling it in against his chest.
It let out a sharp, panicked yelp. Below, the hexapuma answered with a loud yowl.
The cub latched onto him, wrapping both forelegs around his sides and digging its claws into his back. The points slid between links of his chain armor and bit in. It snapped its jaws at his neck, teeth clicking. Harry pulled its head tight against his shoulder and trapped it there. Its mid and hind claws raked his chest and stomach, scraping hard, but the chainmail took most of it.
He started down slowly. The cub fought him at first, twisting and clawing, but about halfway down the tree it went still. It stayed pressed against him, breathing fast, claws hooked but no longer tearing.
Harry dropped the last dozen feet to the ground, landing as far from the mother as he could.
The hexapuma sprang to her feet at once. Harry was already lowering the cub. The moment its paws touched the ground, it bolted straight to her. She hooked it in with her good paw and bent over it, sniffing and licking, nose working frantically over its head and sides.
Harry glanced down at his meters.
H: 105 | V: 98 | TM: 11%
The cub had wiped out all the healing he’d gained from the venom, doing more damage than he’d expected. The venom injection had given him twenty health. That meant a full dose could do a hundred damage. The hexapuma had been bitten at least three times that he could see.
System, how much health does she have?
:: System: Between three hundred and four hundred. The hexapuma is at least level six for Stan’s [Inspect] spell to fail. Possibly as high as level eight.
Harry clenched his hands and willed the change again. Bone shifted with a faint crunch as his fingers lengthened into claws. He turned back to the tree and climbed.
The second trip went faster. The cub still clawed him up but the hexapuma stayed where she was this time, watching him without moving. When he lowered the second cub to the ground, it ran to her and she pulled it in at once, nosing and licking, gathering both of them close.
As she did, her legs buckled. She sagged and collapsed onto her side, breath coming fast and shallow.
:: System: Quest: Mother and Child Reunion completed.
:: Reward: +100 X.P.
She is not looking good.
Harry hurried back up to the cave. Everyone was clustered at the entrance, watching him.
As he stepped inside, hands reached out, quick pats on his shoulder and back.
“That was enough for us to level,” Jo said, grinning.
She shared a line from her information sheet in party chat.
- :: Class: Archer 1 (72/1,000)
“Good,” Harry said. “You all take care of that. I still need to try something.”
Jo had laid out the three remaining fangs with their attached sacs in a neat row. Harry put two into his inventory.
He took the last fang and drove it into his stomach, squeezing the sac.
He waited.
The heat flared, pain blooming sharp and bright, swelling spreading around the puncture. It faded almost as quickly as it came. The pressure eased. The redness receded.
The healing started again.
Harry pulled the first fang from the boiling water by the cord. Using the same cord, he tied off the newly emptied one and dropped it into the pot.
By squeezing and releasing the sac on the boiled fang, he repeatedly drew boiling water into it and squirted it off to the side, over and over, flushing it as clean as he could manage.
Behind him, the others were still talking through their level gains in party chat, but they drifted closer, curiosity pulling them in.
When the sac was as clean as he thought he was going to get it, Harry stripped off the chain armor, padding, and shirt on Outfit 2 in his wardrobe and swapped. He took a steady breath, squeezed the sac to force the air out, and pressed the fang into the vein on his left arm. The same one he’d offered up a hundred times in another life, sitting in folding chairs, giving blood because it was needed.
He eased his grip and let the sac expand, drawing out his blood and filling slowly.
Stan shook his head. “Yer a strange one, Harry.”
Cedric didn’t speak. He just watched, intent, eyes tracking every movement.
Jo frowned. “What are you doing?”
“I’m hoping my immunity doesn’t just ignore the venom,” Harry said. “That it fights it. Turns it into an antitoxin.”
“Antitoxin?”
“A cure.”
Jo’s eyes flicked toward the cave mouth, toward the tree beyond. She nodded slowly. “And you use it on the puma?”
“That’s the idea.”
Stan scratched at his chin. “We won’t end up with a puma vampire?”
Harry paused.
System, could this turn her into a vampire?
:: System: Negative.
“System says it won’t.”
:: System: Probably.
Dammit, System.
“Alright, wait here.”
Harry swapped back to Outfit 1, stepped out of the cave again, and approached the hexapuma.
She lay weakly on her side at the base of the tree, the cubs pressed tight against her ribs. Her good paw rested over them, claws half-curled. When he drew closer, she lifted her head and shifted, rolling more onto her belly. She stayed still after that, eyes fixed on him.
Harry knelt beside her, keeping his weight back, ready to spring away if he had to. Her breathing was fast and shallow. The injured paw was badly swollen, fur stretched tight. More swelling bulged along her side and flank where the bites had landed.
He crouched lower. The fang was in his right hand, his left wrapped around the sac. He took a slow breath, pushed a point of vitae into speed, and counted to three.
On three, he struck.
The fang punched into the center of the swelling in her paw. He squeezed the sac and rolled away in the same motion.
The hexapuma screamed, a sharp, tearing yowl, and lashed out with her good paw. The swipe passed just behind him, claws slicing empty air.
Harry came up on his feet and backed off, heart hammering.
He checked his meters.
H: 113 .. 112 .. | V: 93 | TM: 15%
The extra health from the venom was draining away.
Harry backed away, swapped outfits, used the fang to draw another sac of blood from his arm, and put his armor back on.
He circled and approached her again, staying low, body angled away. He came in from behind this time, slow and careful. She lifted her head to track him, eyes following every step, but she didn’t move.
He crouched beside her and repeated the same motion. The fang plunged into the center of the swelling. He squeezed the sac and sprang clear.
She yowled again, sharp and pained, but she didn’t strike.
Harry retreated a few steps and waited.
As he watched, her breathing slowed. The tension eased out of her frame. She shifted, curling slightly, and began nosing over the cubs, licking them in slow, steady strokes.
System, what do you…
:: Optional: The Mother Must Survive completed.
:: Reward: +100 X.P.
Oh. Nevermind then.
Harry went back into the cave. Hands reached out to him again, quick slaps on his back and shoulders as he passed.
“Well done, Sir Harold,” Cedric said.
Harry glanced around. “Did everyone get the bonus?”
“We did.” Jo was holding Korven’s map, studying it with a furrowed brow. “We need to head west, a few miles, then toward the mountain. There are ruins that mark the pass we have to take.”
Cedric stood beside her, leaning in to look. “There’s a river between us and the mountain. But it appears there’s a bridge at the ruins.”
Stan snorted. “If it’s still there.”
Harry shot him a look. “Don’t hit me with those negative waves. That bridge is going to be there.”
Stan blinked. “What?”
“Think that bridge will be there,” Harry said. “And it will be there.”
Stan stared at him for a moment, then shook his head. “Yer a strange one, Harry.”
Harry grinned. “Let’s get everything packed up and move. You can show me your new levels on the way.”
***
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