A man leaning against a tree near the outer perimeter of the camp, chewing on a twig, turned his head lazily. Their gazes met for a heartbeat. Just one.
Then the man's eyes widened.
"Oi!"
the man barked,drawing the attention to him.
"We've got company!
Few minutes before
A thick boot slammed into the side of a rusted pot, sending it clattering across the campfire rocks.
"That's not stew," the man growled, nose wrinkling. "That's pig piss with leaves. Who the hell made this slop?"
The one-eyed cook flinched. "W-We used the last of the boar fat, boss. Didn't think—"
"Didn't think?"
The voice that cut through the camp belonged to a mountain of a man with skin like worn leather and a scar that split his lower lip into a permanent sneer. His chest was bare, save for a crisscross of belts and the bloodstained pauldron on his right shoulder. A wicked, rune-etched cleaver rested on his back, humming faintly with dark mana.
Brennar the Chainwolf, feared along the western routes of the Central Plains, and self-proclaimed Warlord of the Duskhollow Roads.
He jabbed a finger at the cowering cook. "You get one job. Feed. My. Men. If I catch another meal tasting like peasant bathwater, you're going in the pot next."
The others around the camp chuckled darkly, some banging their blades on stones for effect.
Walking back inside his tent followed by his most close subordinate.
"Don't mind Ol' Brennar," called a wiry man lounging on a crate, lazily sharpening a pair of hooked daggers. "He's just pissed 'cause there weren't enough women left in that village for his usual appetite."
That earned a round of raucous laughter. Even Brennar grinned, licking his cracked lips.
"Hah! Bastard's not wrong. That was a waste. Whole place barely had twenty able bodies worth selling. The rest? Worm food now."
Another man leaned over from where he sat stacking shackles, voice nasal and eager. "Still worth it though, yeah? We gutted the guards. Broke the wall. That old geezer tried to protect a toddler with a shovel." He snorted. "Clang! Right in the head. You see that, boss?"
"Oh, I saw," Brennar chuckled, reaching for the roast boar and tearing a piece free with his teeth. "Old fool's head bounced like a kicked pumpkin. Reminded me of my first raid."
The dagger-wielding rogue, Darnel, raised a brow. "That the time you nailed a priest to a temple door?"
"No, that was the second raid," Brennar said between chews. "First one, I slipped on cow dung mid-fight and almost got skewered by a milkmaid. Mean swing on her, too."
More laughter. The air in the camp was light, twisted, dripping with confidence and the stench of spoiled wine and smoke.
"Still…" Darnel's voice dropped a bit. "You think we'll make it past Drygrove with this haul? The roads have been quiet. Too quiet. And there's been rumors, boss."
Brennar grunted. "There's always rumors."
"Yeah, but this one's about us. Supposedly some big-shot heirs has put a bounty on our heads."
"Tch," Brennar spat into the fire. "Let 'em come. Heirs bleed same as the rest. Guts don't care about bloodlines."
"But—what if we get caught?"
"What's there to fear, kill the top and chain the rest," Brennar snarled, eyes gleaming. "And sell them to the Black Markets for a price that'll make the people at the top blush. Hell, I'd love to break a noble. They scream all refined."
A younger bandit leaned in. "Boss, what if—?"
But the words never finished.
A sudden shout rang out from the perimeter.
"Oi!"
Heads turned.
The man who had been leaning against the outer tree stumbled forward, blood gushing from his throat before he crumpled like a sack of wheat.
Silence.
Then—
Chaos.
Brennar stood in an instant, cleaver already in hand, veins bulging as mana surged up his arm.
"We're under attack!" he bellowed.
Tents flared with movement. Bandits swarmed toward weapons. Flames burst from a caster's hand. Shouts flew in every direction.
"KILL!!!"
Back to the present
Just as the man opened his mouth to shout again, Alex reappeared in front of him in a shimmer of warped space. The bandit didn't even have time to raise his weapon before Alex drove the edge of his dagger cleanly into his throat. A wet, strangled gurgle escaped his lips, eyes bulging in disbelief as he slumped silently to the ground.
One down.
But was ultimately too late, the warning been sounded.
The camp snapped to life like a hornet's nest kicked in the gut. Yells erupted. Steel rang out as weapons were drawn. Two figures dashed out of their tents, one already channeling mana—heat shimmered around his hands, flames licking his forearms, clearly a fire talent.
"Damn it." Alex ducked back into the trees, using the growing shadows to mask his position.
He wasn't ready for a full frontal assault. At least not injured.
But it's seems he can't avoid that.
Three more came at him—two with bloodied axes, one with a spear crackling with lightning. Their movements were rough, clearly undisciplined and barbaric. They weren't like trained warriors—just barbaric bruth with power.
His thoughts raced: easy to deal with just don't get boxed in.
He blinked just as the spear struck, reappearing behind them. One slash—his dagger cut deep into the axe-wielder's back. The second turned fast—too fast. Alex took a shallow cut to the shoulder and twisted with a grunt, dropping low to sweep the man's legs.
"Too slow!" he spat, flipping the dagger in his hand and plunging it into the downed man's throat.
The last one roared madly swinging his spear.
Alex didn't blink this time. He met him head-on.
A feint left, dodge, knees bent, and then
Crunch!
The dagger drove under the man's chin. His weight collapsed into Alex, sending them both stumbling back into the dirt.
Alex rolled free, coughing hard, blood smearing his lip. His side flared white-hot with pain, and stars flickered at the edge of his vision.
"great," he breathed. "am seeing stars."
HAHAHAHA!!!!
the loud laugh sounded wildly as the surrounding suddenly fall into an eerie silence leaving only the laughter.
Alex froze.
A chill spread down his spine.
The laughter echoed again, deeper now, crackling with something feral.
Even the bandits stopped mid-sprint. Even the fire-wielder paused, his flame flickering uncertainly.
His muscles refused to move.
Every instinct screamed.
A suffocating killing intent poured over the camp like a thick fog. He have never felt anything this thick before, it didn't just threaten his life—it erased the very concept of survival.
Alex's breath caught in his throat.
Cold sweat prickled his neck.
Goosebumps rose like lightning had kissed his skin.
And then,Footsteps heavy but deliberately slow.
Each step thudded like the toll of a war drum.
Alex turned stiffly.
And there he was.
The leader of this bandit group Brennar.
But the bewildering thing is that it wasn't a man that stood before him, instead it was a feral man beast covered in fur over 3 feet tall.
His massive form stood tall, muscles swollen beneath blackened fur, bones twisting with unnatural strength. Spiked chains slithered from his arms, cranking softly, each link engraved with bloody runes. His face had stretched into a monstrous lupine snarl, a hybrid between beast and man—eyes glowing red, teeth too long for a human mouth.
Brennar sniffed once, deeply.
"Found you."
His voice was no longer a voice—it was a beastly growl.
Alex's mouth was dry. His grip on the dagger tightened, knuckles bone-white.
His mind raced "what the fuck is this,a werewolf?,is that supposed to be a man. What's with the thick killing intent he must have killed a lot to achieve that. And this aura, I know there's a peak core compression stage expert amongst them".
"I've gravely overestimated my abilities. Shit I can't win fight especially not like this. Not when I'm this injured".
But if I run, I die slower. That's it.
Fuck it!!
He blinked.
A/N: (damn brennar is ruthless!when to peak mode just like that)
Vanished—and reappeared several paces away, forcing distance between them.
Brennar didn't even flinch.
The chains responded.
SHINK—SHINK—SHINK!
Three of them lashed out—faster than Alex expected. He twisted, ducked, barely evading the first two—but the third wrapped around his ankle mid-air and slammed him into the ground with a bone-rattling crash.
He gasped.
The air forcefully left his lungs. Blood sprayed from his mouth.
"Hahaha are you feeling it, how does it feel having your blood sucked away from you by my chains!?"
Fuck!!
Brennar moved fast.
The monster closed the distance in a blink of his own—except his wasn't spatial—it was pure monstrous power and brutal strength. A heavy claw slammed toward Alex's head—
Alex blinked again, just before impact.
He reappeared to the side, coughing violently, chest spasming.
One more second and he'd be dead.
Think.think, THINK!!!
"space talent…" Brennar's voice rumbled, chains dragging behind him like metal serpents. "hahaha, a wonderful gift just brought itself to my door. Kid your gonna fetch a good price."
He raised his arms—and the chains split, branching out like tentacles in every direction.
Dozens now.
Snaking through the air.
Encircling him.
"Run," Brennar growled, baring fangs. "Make this fun kid."
But Alex not one to listen to his enemies
Alex blinked again—upward this time, into the trees.
Branches cracked beneath him as he landed. His vision blurred,head spin, but he grit his teeth, channeling mana to his left hand.
Condensing and focusing spatial mana into spear shape.
A spear of distorted energy flickered into shape—small, sharp, clearly very unstable.
He hurled it down.
Brennar raised his arm.
BOOM!
The shard struck—an implosion of compressed space detonating around the beast's left shoulder. Bark and soil exploded. Smoke billowed.
Alex didn't wait. He blinked again—straight toward the smoke, dagger ready.
Taking his chances
But Brennar was waiting for it.
From the shadows of the smoke, one chain whipped upward
Unable to dodge in time It wrapped around Alex's wrist, the spicked chain digging deep sending shivers down his spine, it dragged him mid-air and slamming him through a tree trunk.
Alex hit the ground in a tumble of leaves and agony, limbs trembling, chest rising and falling with ragged gasps.
Brennar stepped through the smoke, dragging his cleaver across the ground, the blade humming in response.
"I'll say this…" he rumbled, voice darker now. "You've got spine. That's rare. Normally, they beg. Or piss themselves."
He raised the cleaver.
"Let's see how much pressure it takes to snap that spine."
Alex blinked again.
But it was slower now. His mana reserves were dropping. Each blink stung.
He stumbled back unsteady, his breath laboured, side heaving with each breath. His vision swam.
This won't last. A few more blinks and I'm done.
He dodged another whip of chains—barely.
The spiked links grazed his shoulder this time, ripping cloth and skin. Blood sprayed in an arc as Alex flung himself behind a thick tree trunk, sucking air through gritted teeth.
I can't win like this.
Brennar stomped closer, chains slithering and scraping along the ground like living serpents.
Alex's mind raced, thinking of every possible route of survival but with each decision led to death except for one.
"Damnit who ever said the hero always wins damnit" Alex cursed every righteous person in his former world.
"Fine then if am gonna go am going with a bang.I'll die on my own terms." He decided eyes hardened.
He sucked in a breath and backed further away—five, maybe six meters. He had only one shot left. And it would cost him.
He risk it and shut his eyes.
He began to breathe.
Slow and deep
Pulling what little mana he had left into from his core, and drawing what he can from the atmosphere.
Spatial mana shivered violently inside him, unstable and resisting. But he forced it down.
Condensed it.
Risking his life.
His body trembled, skin paling, veins darkening slightly from the raw strain.
Brennar paused, mistaking the trembling for fear.
"shaking already ain't we'?" the monster growled, narrowing his bloodshot eyes.
Alex didn't flinch.
His breathing became shallower—less laboured.
"Oi! You pissin' yourself in fear, kid?" Brennar jeered. "Finally figured out what's hunting you?"
The bandit leader strode forward confidently, cleaver raised and dragging a groove in the dirt.
"Come on then, scream for me. One good scream before I rip your spine out—"
Alex's eyes snapped open.
His irises glowed fiercely through the contant—silver with hints of deep violet.
The air twisted.
And he raised a single trembling fist.
Then—he punched downward.
"SPATIAL COLLAPSE!!"
The air snapped.
A violent boom of silence erupted outward.
The world bent.
Within a five-meter radius, space buckled.
The trees twisted inward like they were being pulled into a void.
Leaves burst into ash.
The ground cracked, rising and falling like a wave frozen in time.
Brennar skidded mid-stride, his monstrous frame suddenly dragged sideways by a gravitational pull that shouldn't exist.
"Wh—WHAT?!" he roared, eyes wide as the sky above and earth below warped into a spiral of impossible geometry.
It felt like heaven and earth were flipping upside down, compressing and folding in on themselves.
But still as a veteran his instincts kick in as he tried to leave the range.
Chains lashed out wildly—but they warped, bent mid-air, and collapsed into glowing dust, consumed by the crushing pressure of artificially distorted space.
Brennar screamed, more in rage than fear, but even he couldn't move straight.
Alex stood in the center, barely conscious, blood streaming from his every pores. The cost was immense. His soul trembled, and his core shrieked under the strain.
But his fist remained pressed to the ground. The collapse deepened.
Then—reality snapped back.
Like a stretched rubber band finally let go.
BOOM!!!
The impact wasn't explosive—it was silent and suffocating.
Like the world itself exhaled.
When the dust cleared…
Brennar was on one knee.
Bleeding from the mouth, furrless as is shaved, and chains scattered in shattered fragments.
His glowing eyes were dimmed.
His breathing—labored.
But he wasn't dead.
Not yet.
"You… little… bastard…" he growled, trembling, trying to rise again.
Alex collapsed to one knee, legs trembling violently. His heart pounded like a war drum in his ears.
But his voice was still calm.
"…Not so fun… now, huh?"
"Fuck"
Alex collapsed forward unconscious.