Chapter 8 - Blood Spirit!?

In my left hand, a crimson tattoo shimmered, barely the size of my palm, its red patterns swirling like living flames.

[This is the sign of your contract, host.] Sophi's cold, mechanical voice echoed in my mind.

"I see. So, how do I use this Blood Spirit?" I asked.

[You feed the spirit your spirit power, and it will attack for you. The more spirit power you feed, the stronger the attack.]

"Will my one point in spirit power even do anything?" I grumbled sarcastically.

[…Try it.]

"Okay." I closed my eyes and let the spirit power flow through me. A scalding sensation coursed through my body before gathering in the red, flaming tattoo on my hand.

I instinctively pointed my palm at a mosquito buzzing far away.

Swish!

A blinding red light shot from my hand.

In an instant, the insect's blood drained away, pooling in front of my palm before merging with it.

A rush of energy surged through me, my body reinvigorated as strength coursed along my veins.

[You have absorbed the lowest quality of blood. Your strength has increased by 0.5 and your physique by 1 for one hour.]

"I see." I touched my chin, curiosity sparking. 'So, if I absorbed blood through the spirit, I could gain temporary power?' And I assumed the higher the quality of the blood, the stronger the effect would be.

This could be invaluable to me!

But…

"Can my stats increase permanently?"

[I don't know, host. Permission to analyze the spirit?]

"Yes." I replied without a shred of hesitation.

[Scanning… 1%… 2%…]

Just as Sophi worked, a loud giggle rang in my ears.

"What are you? It's tickling me… stop… I said stop…" Jormuma laughed.

I rubbed my ear with a casual shrug. "Just endure it, okay, Jormuma?"

It only took ten seconds to stop, but it was probably the first time my Blood Spirit had ever laughed out loud.

[Name: Jormuma

Species: High-Spirit

Level: 69

Ability: Blood]

"That's it?" I asked, feeling a little disappointed. "I said analyze the ability. This is pretty useless to me."

[Yes, host.]

[Ability: Blood

Blood Absorption : Allows you to absorb blood from your opponent. The rarer the blood, the more temporary power you gain, with a small chance of obtaining a special ability from it. Can be resisted if the opponent's physique is strong enough compared to your spirit power.

Blood Slash : Any blood is your weapon. Store blood to form a slash capable of devastating your opponent.

: Unknown

: Unknown

: Unknown

: Unknown]

"Hmm?"

I studied the abilities for a moment. The first-stage skill alone was already broken, not just the temporary boosts, but the chance to gain a special ability from it.

At first glance, it might seem weak, especially since an opponent could resist it. But an exploit for it had already formed in my mind.

My crimson pupils gleamed as I scanned the swarm of insects around me, a smirk tugging at my lips.

In that instant, every insect felt true fear, their instincts screaming danger.

"Come on, insects, become my dinner." I laughed, madly, like one of those 2D villains everyone loves. Isn't that right?

***

The twin moons shone, gracing the place with their silvery light in the sky, signifying the arrival of the night.

The forest was silent as ever, no noise, barely visible distance from the moon's glow, perfect for some night predators to hunt in the wild.

Here, in a patch of land, there were no living beings within a distance of around a mile, and the perpetrator of all this was a bulky man with a strong, muscular body sitting cross-legged on the ground.

Hair blazing like fire, strands flowing down to his shoulders with the radiance of the sun itself, and piercing golden eyes.

But at this time, there was a bitter expression on his face.

"I was only able to get two abilities and around ten permanent statuses. No matter how much I absorb, now I can't do anything, even after spending almost an entire day. Still, it's better than nothing, I guess."

With a sigh, I propelled myself up and looked at my status.

…

Health: 200

Strength: 11 (+1)

Defense: 10

Stamina: 11 (+1)

Dexterity: 10

Physique: 12

Speed: 14

Magic: 0

Spirit Power: 1

Attribute Points: 1

…

"However, the real kicker is the two special skills I gained."

…

Skills: , ,

…

These three skills were the ones I haven't merged yet. As for the merged skills:

…

Merged Skills: , ,

…

It was the night of the fourth day, and tomorrow would be the fifth day. Although I was a little regretful that I couldn't immediately merge the skill, it was alright, it's fine to chill for some time.

: this skill was one of the special skills that allowed him to change the color of his skin to merge with the environment better, kinda like a gecko, using stamina or mana.

The insect I killed was also very similar to a gecko; however, there was a certain amount of difference between them that you could visibly spot.

Then came the . As the name suggests, he could see in the dark, spot gamma radiation, and such. This came from killing a strange frog with comically large eyes. This skill actually didn't cost me anything.

Overall, both of them were not bad skills for survival.

"Now, which skill should I merge?" I thought for a moment. One of the skills I had gotten was from my title.

But I felt like was an overpowered skill and I shouldn't merge it preemptively, so I merged the two new skills I got: and .

It took some time to process, but I finally got my merged skill .

My body changed again, and I quickly adjusted to it.

…

Changing skin willfully doesn't consume stamina. You can see in the darkness and twice as far.

…

I shrugged and returned to my abandoned cave to rest for the night.

[Congratulations! You have slept multiple times. You have gained the skill: ]