Daily Rewards! Transmigrating into a novel as a side-character!-Chapter 198: Jason’s Plan [3]

The feeding pack noticed my presence immediately, their predatory instincts shifting from consuming the dead students to recognizing a new threat. Six Transcendent-rank beasts—all apex predators with refined combat capabilities—abandoned their meal and formed a coordinated attack formation.

The alpha, a massive direwolf with silver-gray fur and visible scars marking years of survival, growled a command. Its pack responded with disciplined precision that spoke to genuine intelligence and practiced coordination.

These weren’t mindless monsters. They were experienced killers.

The first three charged directly at me while two others circled wide to establish flanking positions. The alpha held back, clearly intending to observe my combat style and exploit whatever weakness its subordinates revealed.

Smart tactics. Wouldn’t help them.

A panther-type beast with shadow manipulation abilities led the frontal assault, its form blurring as darkness wrapped around its body. It lunged for my throat with claws extended, moving fast enough that most transcendent-rank awakeners wouldn’t have time to react.

I caught its forelimb mid-strike with my free hand.

CRUNCH!

Blood Enhancement provided grip strength that crushed bone audibly, the panther’s confident attack transforming into a shriek of pain as its leg crumpled in my grasp. I used its momentum against it, redirecting the beast directly into the path of the second attacker—a wolf variant charging from my right.

CRASH!

Both beasts collided in a tangle of fur, claws, and confused snarling, their coordination broken by my tactical counter.

The third frontal attacker didn’t slow. A massive bear variant with earth manipulation creating stone armor across its hide charged through the confusion, clearly intending to overwhelm me through sheer mass and power.

Rather than dodge, I activated Stone Echo defensively. The familiar stone armor materialized across my body just as the bear’s charge connected.

BOOM!

The impact would have pulverized normal flesh. My defensive trait absorbed most of the kinetic energy while my enhanced physique prevented serious damage from what penetrated. More importantly, the moment of contact gave me direct access to the bear’s body.

Blood Manipulation infiltrated through the contact point, seizing control of circulation within its brain stem. I didn’t need to maintain control long—just enough to disrupt autonomous functions catastrophically.

The bear’s eyes went wide with confusion as its own body betrayed it. Heart rhythm destabilized, breathing became erratic, and control degraded as I gave it multiple simultaneous strokes.

It collapsed mid-charge, convulsing helplessly.

My sword found its throat while it was helpless.

SLASH!

Blood sprayed across the ground as the blade severed major arteries. One down.

The two flanking beasts struck simultaneously from my sides—a raptor-type with wind manipulation from the left and a feline variant crackling with lightning enhancement from the right. Their timing suggested they’d practiced this exact maneuver many times before.

I pivoted, the movement so minimal and efficient that I barely shifted position while completely changing my defensive angle. My blade intercepted the lightning-enhanced claws with precisely calculated deflection.

CLANG!

The clash of my sword against electrically-charged talons created a shower of sparks. I redirected the force harmlessly aside, then reversed the motion into a devastating counter-slash that opened the feline’s ribcage.

RIP!

Simultaneously, my foot lashed out toward the wind raptor with Supernatural Physique-enhanced strength. The kick connected with its center mass hard enough to shatter ribs.

The raptor flew backward, slamming into a tree trunk with impact that splintered the ancient wood. Its body slumped, clearly dead or dying from the catastrophic internal damage.

Two more down in rapid succession.

The panther and wolf that had collided earlier recovered and attacked again, having learned caution from watching three packmates die in seconds. They moved with renewed coordination, the panther’s shadow manipulation creating zones of darkness that obscured vision while the wolf used the concealment to attack with poison-dripping fangs.

Against most opponents, this would be devastatingly effective.

I had Blood Trail detection.

Their blood signatures blazed clearly in my perception despite the magical darkness, revealing positions and movements as clearly as if they were illuminated. When the wolf lunged for what it thought was my blind spot, I was already turning to meet it.

I didn’t bother with physical strikes this time. Instead, I channelled Blood Control through the ambient moisture in the air, using it as medium to project my ability toward both beasts simultaneously.

Their blood answered my command.

Both creatures convulsed mid-attack as I seized control of their circulation, creating aneurysms and clotting that paralyzed them instantly. The shadow manipulation failed as the panther lost concentration. They collapsed twitching, their bodies no longer responding to mental commands.

My blade ended their suffering efficiently.

SLASH! SLASH!

Four down.

Only the alpha direwolf remained. It had observed everything, and I saw the moment when survival instinct overrode pride. It turned to flee, ice manipulation creating frozen barriers to delay pursuit.

I didn’t allow it to escape.

I closed the distance before it managed ten meters. My sword struck its rear legs, hamstringing it like a surgeon at work.

SLASH! SLASH!

The alpha wheeled around for desperate final stand, ice spears launching toward me with lethal intent.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! CRACK!

Stone Echo absorbed the projectiles while I advanced relentlessly. The direwolf tried various tactics—more ice barriers, ground freezing, desperate elemental attacks—all insufficient against my overwhelming capability advantage.

My blade removed its head in one clean motion.

SLASH!

The entire engagement had lasted approximately fifteen seconds from first contact to final kill. Six Transcendent-rank beasts eliminated with efficiency that left the watching students staring in absolute shock.

I stood among the carnage, breathing completely steady despite the intensive combat. My stamina was barely affected, my injuries were non-existent, and my capabilities had proven more than sufficient.

But as the soul power from six Transcendent kills settled into my core, I felt profound disappointment.

The essence gain was pathetically small—barely a trickle when I needed a flood.

After advancing to Transcendent rank, the threshold for meaningful progression had increased dramatically. These low-tier Transcendent beasts provided so little soul power that I’d need to kill dozens, maybe hundreds, to advance even a single minor threshold within the rank.