Chapter 15: Blood Frenzy

There was nothing on earth like the smell of blood.

Ashen stood amidst the wreckage, surrounded by the torn limbs of the hyenas he had slain. His eyes watched the corpses, his hands dripping with life's liquid.

He had to collect.

The blood of the hyenas that had survived the Bear King's battle was now his prize. He filled the vials with it—every drop carried intent, savage remnants, and stifled howls. Then he set off across the wilderness, hunting for more.

And each time he faced a beast, he did not retreat.

A wolf with black fangs? Crushed beneath the Bloody Bear Fist.

A venomous-fanged crawler? Torn apart in an explosion of blood aura.

A one-eyed creature with a body of mud? Didn't last more than three strikes.

Every battle was training for the new technique.

The Bloody Bear Fist...

It was like the earth screamed with every strike.

The blood aura formed around his arms, thick, resembling the limbs of a massive bear, burning from within with the heat of pent-up violence.

And when he struck?

The opponent's body shuddered, defenses cracked, and bones broke before the shock reached the brain.

But that wasn't enough.

He had to refine.

...

He found a forgotten cave among the rocks, covered with dry leaves and twisted branches.

He cleared it out and set traps—dozens of them.

Ropes, pits, blades, rolling stones... anything to keep intruders away.

Then he entered.

He had to fuse the blood into his body.

A month... two... four.

Every day, an internal battle.

Sometimes the blood exploded.

They clashed among themselves. Energies collided.

Each drop carried a beast's intent.

And he... had to dominate.

His veins burned. A strange heat made his bones tremble.

His eyes bled at times.

His body resisted... revolted... writhed in agony.

Nightmares haunted him, vivid like reality.

His mother's dead face, his father's severed body, the clan's corpses—and every time he heard whispers:

"Who watches? Who chooses? Who is born?"

But he did not surrender.

And on the final night of the fourth month...

He collapsed.

His body crashed to the ground. He bled until the blood froze over his chest.

But at that moment... he broke through.

The third sub-rank of Blood Trainee.

His body trembled, power exploded within him.

He tested his fist against a boulder the size of a cart... and shattered it like bone under an anvil.

6500 kg of strength.

A power he had never known. His body pulsed, heartbeats thundered like molten iron.

But the joy didn't last.

It began.

The blood energy...

Enveloped him. Swirled around him.

Insane heat surged from within.

His skin turned red. Then began to steam.

He screamed.

Pain beyond words. As if every vein had been torn.

Then...

"Blood Frenzy…"

The words appeared on the wall of his consciousness.

Two stars.

Power burst through his body.

+25% strength.

+25% speed.

+25% reaction.

But he was no longer himself.

The savage will of the bear, dwelling in his blood, reacted with the frenzy.

It took over.

His eyes turned dark red.

His nails grew.

His roar wasn't human.

Then he erupted out of the cave.

...

A massacre.

The beasts came, drawn by the new aura.

Dozens.

But it wasn't a fair fight.

Every blow he struck was a storm.

One arm took down three.

The Bloody Bear Fist? He used it unconsciously now, but it was more savage than ever.

One beast's head flew off before it could scream.

Blood flowed like a river. The cave ground became a pool of flesh and bone.

Bones crushed beneath his feet.

Fangs tore his skin, but his eyes didn't see—they only struck.

Anything that approached... was shredded.

Even the air seemed to bleed around him.

One beast tried to flee... Ashen pounced, tore it apart with his teeth.

Then, suddenly, he fell.

No one alive remained.

Everything was silent.

He... his body torn, swollen, broken.

He opened his eyes.

His consciousness returned.

The first thing he saw...

Was his body.

Burned.

Split.

But pulsing with power.

He remembered the technique.

"Blood Frenzy…"

He looked within.

He saw it.

The two stars.

Glowing like embers.

But...

Wait...

The energy was shifting.

The stars were changing...

Three stars...

Four...

Five.

Then back to two.

Then rising again.

Fluctuating.

As if something inside was trying to break free.

His sealed bloodline...

Wasn't asleep.

He finally understood.

If he completed the fusion... the frenzy might reach its peak.

Five stars.

Complete amplification. Devastating power. Monstrous regeneration.

But he would pay the price.

Every time he got close...

His blood quivered.

As if something... was watching from within.

But Ashen did not smile.

He did not celebrate.

Above him, the sky burned with black clouds.

Inside, a beast... had begun to awaken.

The road ahead remained dark.

But his heart...

Did not know how to turn back.