All of the questions that filled his mind could only be answered by Tirian. The only way he could possibly get into the capital city and find the shrine was if he was a human. These questions right now could only hang in thin air as he attempted to gain as much experience as fast as possible.
As he rested, moping in the afterthoughts of having dealt with corruption for the first time, he realized that he didn't need to sleep to regain his energy. He could rest and focus on the magic in his surroundings. Everything around him was mana. The world of Erani was a magical world so it was inevitable that mana remained in every crook and cranny regardless of how much was actually present.
Mana was formless and he knew he could only see it due to his Dragon Detection. It took the shape of pale mist in his eyes, and if he focused on himself, he could even see the mana surrounding his body. If he focused on the mana in the area, he could slowly gather it together for him to utilize.
All of the mana he gathered pulled energy back into his limbs and the magic he had used against the corruption was restored. It took 20 minutes but it was quite relieving as he felt the mana slowly circulating around his body much better than before. He wished he could have learned this sooner.
Another con to being alone. He had to learn things by himself. Emre knew that dragons were able to use all base elements of magic but even as he met the requirement to get new skills, the only skills that were granted to him were radiant skills. If he had a better understanding of how magic worked in the first place, he might be able to figure things out.
For now, all he had managed to learn after a bit of self-reflection is that he could gather mana to himself to restore his energy. Each time he used a spell it would take mana from him so if he used too many spells at once, the mana he had stored up would be ripped from him with each usage.
Even so, what allowed him to use radiant magic over the other types? Was it a lack of understanding for the other four elements? Was he able to use radiant magic simply because his body understood how it worked already? Again, more things that he could not answer by himself. He could ask the Voice… but he was unsure how much information it could give him.
Besides, now wasn't the time to be learning about magic. It was time for him to finally get a meal. Having vomited before, his stomach was feeling terribly empty and ached to be filled. Thankfully, due to recovering his mana, the venture would be less worrying.
His main concern was not being able to find anything, or worse, running across another corruption. He did not know how it got here or if there were more in the area so he could only be extra cautious.
Mustering up his courage he set off to travel downriver once more. The area was quiet and he could only hear the cricketing insects, the flowing water, and the sound of his own flapping. The world felt still during the night. The silence was solemn and peaceful but he couldn't help but feel a bubbling of frustration in his chest.
Unable to relax, he almost didn't see the small form on the water's edge. It noticed him right away and quickly darted into the trees. He cursed inwardly as he lowered down to the riverbed and landed where it had been drinking.
He focused on the tracks and took a big whiff. It was a familiar scent so maybe he'd be able to follow it like a hound dog. With a swish of his tail, he started to track the creature into the forest. He could see the light marks indented in the dirt as it slowly led onto the grass.
The grass made it harder to see the footprints so he relied on the strong lingering scent of it. It had probably fled into hiding but if he could find the burrow or crag it hid in, he could probably wait and ambush it when it deemed it safe enough to leave.
He tread carefully through the grass and undergrowth, keeping his wings folded and close to his body. The last thing he wanted to do was get them caught on a bush. It would just end up making unnecessary noise from brushing along the leaves. His Stealth skill helped but only so much.
Finally, the scent trail seemed to have an end point. In front of him, it led into a small hole at the trunk of a tree that seemed to burrow deeper. This was definitely convenient that it was because he was already getting better at ambushing from above.
He broke away from the trail and skirted the area, climbing up onto a different tree that was nearby. The creature would be able to hear him if he climbed the tree it was under, so it would be best to get on the tree through jumping onto one of the higher branches and carefully make his way down to the burrow from there.
With this plan in mind he hopped onto the next branch and scrambled up further until he was perched on one of the higher ones. The tree the burrow was above was just beside him. He just had to put his dexterity to use as he leapt from this tree to the next.
He landed as gently as possible, but he wasn't as worried about it due to how high he was in the tree. The hard part was going down to get to the branch that was above the burrow without making too much noise.
Using his tail to his benefit, Emre slowly lowered himself on the branch underneath and continued to use this technique as he made his way down. It actually worked quite well for minimizing sound but his tail quickly started to ache.
Soon enough he had made it to the branch above the burrow. It would be a waiting game now.
It surprisingly only took a few minutes before Emre noticed a small light nose poke out from the hole. Slowly but surely its head appeared. It was a rabbit of some sort. Perhaps a Mara Rabbit? Emre waited with anticipation as it crept its way out of its home.
Finally, it was fully uncovered by the burrow and Emre could tell by the long tail trailing behind it and the two sets of ears that it was a Mara Rabbit. Although 200 experience wasn't a lot compared to how much he got for healing minor injuries or killing that corruption, it was still plenty for a quick meal.
Emre prepared his legs before launching from above, his claws met with the rabbits fur and it let out a loud squeak of alarm before Emre sunk his teeth into its neck.
[ Mara Rabbit slain, gained 200 experience ]
[ Stealth has leveled up ]
[ Ambush has leveled up ]
A successful meal and two skill level ups. He was already halfway to level 16 with this much experience gained.
His stomach roared at the scent of a fresh kill and he dug in right away. Not only had he barely eaten recently but he also had thrown up so a meal like this was hard to hold off on. His taste buds were extremely happy about the warm meat and in only a few minutes he was finished.
Emre let out a sigh of relief as he sat down with a full belly. He was sure he was just going to get hungry again in a few hours but for now all was well. His golden eyes were closed as he listened to the soft sound of crickets. After a moment of peace he started to stand up.
Snap.
The sound of a twig breaking caused his head to whip around. And there it was. A beast, massive, with a body like a panther. It towered over him, the black smoke that was drifting off its body was as dense as oil. Its four red eyes were locked on him and in but a moment the space between them was closed.
The black teeth sank into his left wing and its claws scored down his side. Emre couldn't even yell out in pain before his body was thrown to the side like he was a toy that a dog was playing with. He landed with a hard thud and the breath left his lungs.
He scrambled to his feet barely before he was knocked back over again. He tumbled to the side, unable to catch his breath as the claws slammed back onto his body.
The weight of the corruption leaned on him. It's clawed paw began to sizzle as a white flame licked up from coming into contact with his skin. Emre felt the burning of the touch. He was helpless.
The teeth aimed for his head but he was barely able to twist his head in time to release a jet of radiant flame. It screeched and reeled back as the flame spread around its head. Emre expected it to go like how it had before as he shakily pulled himself up.
It didn't.
The flame was swallowed up by the dense oil like ichor of it's skin and the smoke roiling off its frame. Emre's eyes widened in shock as he tried to retreat further back. The large gash wounds on his side were covered in the same black like smoke of the creature's body. His skin was emitting a bright white color and was slowly combatting the smoke from spreading further.
Glancing up to his wing he was barely able to see the same happening before the massive creature charged him once more. He turned to flee and began to race toward the river while gasping in pain. Black blood was oozing from his wounds and leaving a trail as the corruption made chase.
With his wing torn there was no way he was going to be able to fly so he could only run as he tried to think of a solution to this problem. This corruption was far stronger than the last one. His radiant flame had completely killed the other one. This one was only injured from it.
Panting and wheezing, he tried to take a sharp turn before he felt claws snag onto his hind leg. He yelped as his legs were pulled back and he lost his footing. He dug his front claws into the dirt and yanked his hind leg forward.
He could feel the claws ripping through his skin as the corruption lost its hold. Emre felt like his heart was going to burst from his chest and his lungs screamed in stress as his breath came out in sharp bursts.
Urging himself forward, he clumsily regained his footing and began to run while severely favoring his right hind leg. He didn't even look back as he broke through the undergrowth and just about made it to the water before an impact hit his side.
A gasp of pain left his mouth as his body was battered off to the side once more and the creature slammed its paw back onto his side to hold him down.
No!
The teeth were aiming for his head once more. He closed his eyes in panic and waited for the pain to meet him. Then suddenly the pressure and searing pain of its touch lifted. He heard the sound of an impact and the thud of something landing a few feet from him.
His golden eyes flashed open and looked to see the creature had been thrown off. Emre tried to get up but his legs were shaking too much and his body felt like it was burning all over. He could only lay down and weakly breathe with no other option.
WHOOSH
He flinched as a visible gust of wind flew over him and into the body of the corruption again. It screeched in reaction as it was thrown onto its side again without a chance to fully regain its footing.
'What the hell?' Emre wondered as he tried to twist his neck to see behind him.
The burst of wind came again. It sounded like a whip as it landed on the creature this time. Emre was barely able to make out a tall form coming up from behind him before he weakly let his head fall to the ground. Maybe it was just relief he felt as his eyes drooped. Something had come to help him? He couldn't tell if this would be good or bad.
He tried to struggle to keep his consciousness but the blackness was already taking his vision as he huffed in pain. The angry roar of the creature met his ears one last time before he drifted into darkness.