Mud.
Cold. Sucking. Black mud.
It was the only thing Kaelen could feel. It coated his stolen boots. It weighed down his robes. It froze his skin.
*Pathetic,* he thought, wiping a glob of wet earth from his cheek.
*Demon Lord Asura. Crawling in the dirt like a worm.*
But worms survived. Heroes didn't.
He paused near the roots of a twisted oak. His lungs burned. Even with the **Stage 2** upgrade, this body was garbage. No stamina. Soft skin.
*Snap.*
The sound was sharp. It cut through the drone of the rain.
Kaelen froze.
He didn't look. He just felt it. That prickle on the back of his neck. The **Soul of the Demon Lord** vibrating like a tuning fork.
Something was watching him.
From the ferns twenty meters away, two yellow lamps flickered on.
Eyes.
> **[Target Analysis]**
> **Species:** Iron-Bristle Boar.
> **Rank:** Low-Tier Spirit Beast.
> **Est. Strength:** Stage 3.
> **Warning:** High Defense.
"Stage 3," Kaelen breathed. "Big bag of XP."
The boar didn't posture. It didn't squeal.
It launched.
A chaotic ball of muscle and spikes the size of a sedan tore up the earth.
The smell hit Kaelen first. Rancid musk. Wet fur. Old blood.
He didn't run. He couldn't outrun four legs.
He waited.
He waited until he could see the steam rising off the beast's snout.
Then, he dropped flat.
The boar thundered over him. A hoof missed his skull by an inch. Mud sprayed into his eyes.
Kaelen blindly thrust his dagger upward. Aiming for the soft underbelly.
*CLANG.*
Sparks showered his face.
The blade skidded off the iron bristles like it had hit a tank. The force nearly wrenched his wrist out of its socket.
"Cheap piece of shit steel!" Kaelen snarled.
He rolled away as the boar slammed into the oak tree. The impact shook the ground. Dead leaves fell like rain.
The beast shook its head. Dazed. It turned. It pawed the ground.
Kaelen scrambled up.
He couldn't cut it. The hide was too thick.
*Need a soft spot. Eyes. Ears. Mouth.*
The boar charged again.
This time, Kaelen ran.
He sprinted toward a cluster of jagged rocks. His lungs screamed. He planted a foot on a mossy stone and vaulted upward.
*Tear.*
A muscle in his calf ripped. **[Pain Nullification]** kept him silent.
He scrambled onto a high rock shelf.
The boar smashed into the stone below. It reared up on hind legs, snapping its jaws. Trying to reach him.
"Hungry?" Kaelen panted. He looked down.
"Open wide."
He jumped.
He didn't aim for the neck. He drove his weight, his gravity, and his desperation into a single point.
The left eye.
*SQUELCH.*
The dagger sank to the hilt.
The boar screamed. A high, terrible sound.
It thrashed. Kaelen was thrown off. He hit the mud hard.
*Pop.*
His left shoulder dislocated.
He lay there. Staring at the grey canopy. Gasping.
*Crack.*
He slammed the shoulder back into place. He didn't blink.
The boar staggered sideways. Blood poured from the ruined socket. It took three steps. Legs trembling.
Then, it collapsed.
Kaelen didn't celebrate. He crawled over to the twitching carcass.
"Thanks for the meal."
Hand on the snout. **Heaven-Devouring Scripture.**
It wasn't gentle.
The energy ripped out of the beast. Hot. Violent. Wild.
It flooded Kaelen's veins like liquid fire. Burning away the weakness.
> **[Vitality Absorbed]**
> **[Strength +4]**
> **[Constitution +5]**
> **Breakthrough: Body Refining Stage 3.**
A wave of golden heat washed over him. His skin itched furiously as it hardened.
Kaelen clenched his fist. The air popped.
"Better," he rasped. "But not enough. Thorne is Stage 6."
He gutted the boar quickly. He pocketed the core.
The next four hours were a blur of violence.
He hunted.
Wind Rabbits for speed. A Stone Wolf for combat data.
With every kill, the hunger in his gut grew quieter. The power in his limbs grew louder.
Around 3:00 AM.
The rain stopped.
Kaelen stood in a small clearing. He wiped wolf blood from his sleeve.
Silence.
The crickets had stopped chirping. The wind died. The forest felt... empty.
Kaelen's grip on his dagger tightened.
*Something's wrong.*
"Young Master Kaelen?"
The voice was shaky. Old.
A figure stepped out of the tree line.
An old man in gray servant robes. A bamboo basket of herbs on his back.
**Old Mo.** The herb gatherer.
"Is that you?" Mo squinted. He stepped closer. "Heavens... you look terrible. Covered in blood. I thought you were a ghost."
Kaelen didn't holster his weapon.
"Old Mo. What are you doing this deep?"
"Herbs, herbs," Mo chuckled. His voice wheezed. "The Rain Spirit Mushroom only grows at night. But you... your aura. You're cultivating? I thought your meridians were trash."
"I got lucky," Kaelen lied. His muscles coiled tight.
"Lucky..."
Mo's smile widened. It stretched a little too wide for his face.
"Yes. Luck is a funny thing. I found a Spirit Ginseng nearby. Here. Let me give it to you. It will help with your injuries."
He reached into his robe.
Kaelen's instincts screamed.
It wasn't the System. It was the veteran soul inside him.
He recognized the stench.
*Bloodlust.*
He didn't wait to see what Mo was pulling out.
Kaelen threw the dagger.
*Thwip!*
The blade flew straight at the old man's face.
But the "frail" herb gatherer vanished.
He blurred. Reappearing ten feet to the left.
The bamboo basket hit the ground. Contents spilled.
Not mushrooms.
**Skulls.** Small ones.
Old Mo stood straight. The hunchback was gone.
His eyes, previously milky, were now glowing a toxic green.
"Sharp," Mo sneered. His voice dropped an octave. "I've been hiding in the Vane family for five years. Waiting for a juicy Young Master to wander off."
Green mist curled around Mo's fingers.
"But you... you smell different, Kaelen."
Mo licked his lips.
"You smell like a monster."
> **[Alert]**
> **Enemy Analysis:** "Corpse Collector" Mo.
> **Rank:** Qi Condensation Stage 1.
> **Gap:** Massive.
> **Advice:** Run.
Qi Condensation.
He could project energy. He could kill Kaelen from across the clearing.
"Forget Thorne," Mo laughed. "If I eat you, I might finally break through."
Kaelen took a step back.
His hand brushed his pocket. He felt the squishy texture of the **Venomous Pit Viper sac** he'd harvested earlier.
"System says I have a 0.01% chance of winning," Kaelen said. His voice was strangely calm.
Mo raised a hand. The green Qi condensed into a claw.
"The System? Is that who you pray to?"
Kaelen crushed the poison sac in his pocket. He coated his hand in lethal neurotoxin.
"No," Kaelen grinned.
For the first time, he looked truly like the Demon Lord he used to be.
"It's the thing that counts your seconds."
"Come and eat, old dog."