One week into training, Draven sighed inside.
> My old man breaks my bones every day, and Mom won't even let me sleep at night.
But today was different.
They had business to handle, so he was left alone.
Before leaving, they mentioned some dumbass was turning humans into ghouls.
> Ghouls... like lesser vampires. Basically walking corpses.
He hadn't seen one in person — just read about them.
> Apparently, when a human gets infected with low-tier vampire blood... bam. Instant zombie.
He frowned.
> Some twisted bastard out there doing that to people. Cruel as hell.
He got out of bed.
> But not my problem today.
> Today's my free day.
> And I'm gonna try something I've always wanted to.
He got dressed and stepped outside.
The castle sat deep within an ancient forest — the kind where the trees felt older than time.
As he walked beneath the towering canopy, Draven muttered to himself.
> First time I've actually wanted to come out here.
> Usually seems like too much trouble.
He smirked.
> But books don't really cut it anymore. I wanna see things for myself.
He remembered what he'd read.
> Most magical beasts have something called a magic stone. Like a core that holds all their power.
> Dragons, for example use their hearts — they're basically consider Gods and are said to live for millions of years.
> Humans have magic cycles.
> Vampires and others? Magic just flows naturally.
> But that's not why I'm out here.
He stopped, stretching a little.
> I heard some strong beasts eat other beasts' magic stones to get stronger.
> Let's see if it's true.
---
An hour passed.
Then finally — movement.
A pack of hellhounds stalked through the clearing, steam rising off their black fur.
> I've been walking around for a damm hour already.
> Finally.
> Took you bastards long enough.
> Haven't seen a magical beast since I was born.
He grinned.
His red eyes gleamed.
> You're my first test.
> Let's see what I'm really made of.
He moved in.
Fast. Precise.
The hellhounds didn't stand a chance.
Within minutes, twenty of them lay dead.
Draven stood in the silence, cracking his knuckles.
> I expected more.
> Guess they really were low-rank.
He crouched, jammed his hand into one of the corpses, and yanked out a glowing red crystal.
A magic stone.
He turned it over in his hand, then grinned.
> Of all the books I've read.
His grin spreading even wider across his face.
> Never heard of anyone actually eating one, though.
He popped it in his mouth and swallowed.
Instantly — regret.
Pain exploded in his chest.
His veins bulged, glowing faintly. Blood dripped from his mouth as he dropped to one knee.
> Fuck.
> Even with regeneration... that still hurts like hell.
A minute passed.
The pain eased. The glow faded.
He stood, wincing.
> God damnit, that was awful.
Huhm. ..
> But… I think I feel kinda different.
He flexed his fingers.
> I don't know how to put it?
> Hard to say. Kinda hard to focus with blood in my mouth.
He looked around at the rest of the bodies.
> No point overthinking it.
> Might as well go all in.
He moved corpse to corpse, ripping out the rest of the stones.
Then, with zero hesitation, he swallowed them all at once.
Bad idea.
The pain this time was much worse.
Fire ripped through his insides.
His body convulsed.
Veins throbbed violently across his skin. He collapsed, blood pouring from his nose, mouth — everywhere.
> Shit.
> Feels like my whole damn soul's being torn apart.
He couldn't even scream. Could barely breathe.
He just lay there, twitching.
Thirty minutes passed.
When he finally moved again, he was drenched in blood, trembling, barely able to stand.
> Never. Doing that. Again.
He spat, wiping blood off his chin.
> So much for the easy life.
He looked around the clearing one last time.
> Still hurts like hell… but I can move.
> That's good enough.
He turned toward the trees.
> Time to go home.
He leapt onto a branch, then sprinted from tree to tree, heading back toward the castle.
> Guess Mom's training is finally paying off.