SSS-Rank Bloodline: Wolf Evolution

Chapter 52: The Invisible Cage

Since he was not able to face the crocodiles in his current condition, Arthur avoided going to the lake, and settled for roaming the mushroom-filled area, which was very vast.

He activated his skills at their maximum strength, and followed the few tracks he found searching for suitable prey to satisfy his intense hunger, and at the same time, mentally mapped the area in detail.

He moved far from the nest, and after more than three hours of fruitless searching, he began to feel frustrated, and when he was about to give up and return, his nose picked up an appetizing scent.

He followed it immediately, and after covering an additional mile and a half, he found a small herd of strangely shaped deer, which, fortunately, were not very powerful.

’Finally some food.’ He bared his fangs happily, and following the hunting methods he had grown accustomed to, he suppressed his presence, concealed his scent well, then crept toward them silently.

His savage eyes filled with eagerness, and saliva flowed heavily from his mouth. He was burning with desire to eat them, but, the moment he took a few steps, he noticed they had started examining their surroundings suspiciously.

’Did they discover my presence this quickly? That is impossible! I am still far from them.’ He lowered his ears in confusion, and without needing much time, he realized what was happening.

’Tsk, what a fool I am, I was so eager to hunt that I forgot about the large amount of blood covering my body, they must have smelled it.’

This was a serious mistake for a hunter, yet, he felt no concern, he continued creeping toward the deer, and as expected, they discovered his presence before he got close enough, and fled in panic.

He was on high alert, he released all the strength he had, and surged after them at his maximum possible speed.

Given that he was of a higher Rank, he managed to close the gap between them within a few seconds. He fixed his eyes on a fat F-Rank deer, then pounced on it.

At that very same moment, he suddenly felt the silk threads inside his body move aggressively. He was greatly surprised, yet he did not stop, he grabbed the fat deer, and killed it with complete ease.

He threw it aside carelessly, then chased another F-Rank deer that was nearby. With every step he took, the aggressiveness of the silk threads increased, causing him to suffer intense pain.

His body stiffened, which made him stumble several times. He gritted his fangs, and forced himself to continue until he managed to hunt the deer.

[ ... ]

He stood beside his prey breathing with difficulty, his heart pounded hard like a drum, and his thoughts became a little hazy from exhaustion and pain.

’What kind of harmful tricks is that spider woman playing again? Can she not leave me alone for a while?’ He let out a short sigh filled with disappointment.

All he wanted currently, no, all he wished for, was to eat until full and get sufficient rest, but problems continued falling on him without stopping, ruining every moment of peace he obtained.

This was frustrating and extremely infuriating. Despite that, he did not lose his temper. Quite the contrary, he maintained his calm, and even his hazy mind, quickly regained its clarity.

’Strange, I do not feel her presence, is it possible she is not controlling the silk threads, and that I am the one who did something that caused them to react in this aggressive way?’

He did not leave his place, endured the annoying pain, and after a short while of carefully reviewing and analyzing everything that had happened, a strange and at the same time logical idea occurred to him.

He had nothing to lose, so he decided to test it and confirm its validity.

He took a deep breath, then trotted forward at a steady pace, moving further away from the spider woman’s nest, and as he had expected, the aggressiveness of the silk threads grew gradually.

His entire body seized up, and it became difficult for him to move, and with every step he took he felt intense pain, and a terrifying feeling came over him that he might burst apart. It was as though he was venturing into the intensely pressurized depths of the ocean.

When he could no longer endure, he turned around and returned at the same pace, at that moment, the silk threads began to calm down, and little by little, the pain and suffocating pressure he was feeling eased.

On his way, he grabbed the deer carcass he had left behind, and dragged it. And by the time he reached the carcass of the deer he had hunted first, the silk threads had lost most of their aggressiveness, and the moment he covered a few more meters, everything returned to normal.

He stopped jogging. He looked in the direction where the spider woman’s nest was, and muttered in understanding:

"So that is how it is, this explains why she allowed me to roam freely, it seems she has already set boundaries for the area I can move in, if I exceed them, the silk threads will activate automatically, and restrict my movement as happened just now, and in case I insist on continuing, it is likely they will kill me."

This bitter truth did not surprise him at all, and did not even bother him.

’As I thought, as long as her threads are inside my body, escaping from her is impossible. Well, fortunately, I am not thinking about escaping.’ His lips twisted into a small sarcastic smile.

Without thinking about the matter further, he directed his full attention to his appetizing prey, and ate them with unbelievable greed. Within a few minutes, the deer carcasses disappeared, and all that remained were bones and disgusting entrails.

"This is not enough, I need more." Even though he felt a little better, he was not full, quite the contrary, his stomach continued rumbling, demanding more meat.

Without any hesitation, he began searching for more prey, but he found nothing. The mushroom-filled area was very poor in terms of wildlife, and its heavy air and strange soil had also weakened the effectiveness of his "Tracking" skill and sense of smell.

With the approaching sunset, he realized there was no point in continuing the search, and decided to return to the nest to rest. On his way back, he made some small detours as a form of exploration, and because of that, he found a small river, filled with clear water.

He took a moment to examine his surroundings, and the moment he confirmed it was safe, he jumped into the shallow water with a wide smile.

At that moment, a great feeling of refreshment washed over him, his fur which had stiffened from the large amount of blood stuck to it relaxed, and little by little the redness began to tint the water around him.

He submerged completely, and closed his eyes, and let the cold water cleanse his body. A few faint stings spread through his scars, and he felt the heavy burden he was carrying ease, as though the water were carrying it away.

He let out a long sigh, and bubbles rose abundantly to the surface.

He continued enjoying the calm and refreshing sensation, and after a while he did not know how long it lasted, he opened his eyes and brought his head out.

The flower crown came loose and fell from his head, and under the faint sunset light it drifted away with the current.

Arthur did not say anything, he watched it until it disappeared from his sight, then came out of the river, and shook his body hard. Water droplets and the few remaining blood drops on him flew in every direction.

His grey fur with hints of black and white regained its beautiful sheen.

Darkness had already swallowed the forest, and despite that, he did not leave. He jumped into the water again, but this time, he did not want to bathe, but to fish.