### One Week Into Training
One week into training, Draven sighed internally.
*My old man breaks my bones every damn day.*
*And Mom won't even let me sleep at night.*
*What the hell did I do to deserve this?*
Fortunately, his parents had some business to attend to that day.
Which meant—
Draven was finally alone.
No training.
No lectures.
No getting punched through a wall.
A peaceful day.
Exactly what he wanted.
As he wandered through the castle, he remembered something he'd overheard from his parents.
Apparently, someone had been turning humans into ghouls.
Draven had read about ghouls before.
They were basically lesser vampires—
or, more accurately, humans infected by low-tier vampire blood.
The result was a creature that resembled a walking corpse.
*Sounds like some zombie shit.*
*Cruel as hell.*
*But not my problem.*
Today was supposed to be his day off.
And he intended to enjoy it.
But then—
an idea crossed his mind.
His expression slowly changed.
*Actually...*
*There is something I've been wanting to test.*
For years, Draven had spent countless hours reading about the world.
Its races.
Its magic.
Its monsters.
Its history.
But books could only tell him so much.
*Reading about magical beasts is one thing.*
*Actually seeing one is another.*
*Books don't really cut it anymore.*
He had read enough.
He wanted to actually see these things for himself.
Especially magical beasts.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
*I wonder what they're really like.*
That thought alone was enough to make him decide.
So, for the first time since arriving in this world—
Draven decided to leave the castle grounds and venture into the ancient forest surrounding it.
He wanted to see magical beasts for himself.
And, more importantly—
he wanted to understand how their power worked.
---
The ancient forest was enormous.
Massive trees stretched toward the sky, their thick branches blocking much of the sunlight.
Draven walked deeper into the woods.
As he moved, he recalled something he'd read.
Most magical beasts possessed a magic crystal.
A core that stored their magical power.
The stronger the beast—
the more powerful the magic stone.
Dragons were an exception.
Their power was contained within their hearts.
They were considered god-like beings and were said to live for millions of years.
Humans possessed magic cycles.
Vampires naturally had magical energy flowing through their bodies.
And other races possessed their own methods of using magic.
Draven had always found it interesting.
But one question had been bothering him for a while.
*If magical beasts have magic stones containing their power...*
*Can another beast consume that power?*
*Would a beast become stronger by consuming another beast's magic stone?*
He had never found anything about it in the books.
No record.
No experiment.
Nothing.
*Maybe it's impossible.*
*Or maybe nobody was stupid enough to try it.*
A faint grin appeared on his face.
*Guess I'll find out.*
He continued walking.
After nearly an hour—
Nothing.
No magical beasts.
No strange creatures.
Nothing worth investigating.
Draven sighed.
> *Seriously?*
> *I came all the way out here and haven't seen shit.*
Then_
he finally sensed something.
A strange sound came from somewhere ahead.
Draven stopped.
His eyes narrowed.
Then—
**Growl.**
Another growl followed.
Then another.
Branches rustled.
Something moved between the trees.
Draven's expression immediately brightened.
*Finally.*
A group of creatures stepped into view.
Hellhounds.
Their bodies were covered in black fur, and steam rose from their mouths and backs as if their bodies were constantly burning with heat.
Their eyes locked onto Draven.
There were twenty of them.
They spread out between the trees.
One of the larger hellhounds lowered its head.
**Grrrrr...**
Draven smiled.
> *My first magical beast.*
The hellhounds suddenly charged.
Draven didn't move.
Not until the first one was almost upon him.
Then—
At the last possible moment—
he stepped sideways.
The hellhound's jaws snapped shut on empty air.
Draven beside it.
His fist slammed into its skull.
**CRACK!**
The creature was sent crashing into a tree.
Before it could recover—
Draven was already moving.
Another hellhound lunged at him from the side.
He ducked beneath its jaws.
His hand seized the creature by the throat.
**BAM!**
He drove it into the ground.
The earth cracked beneath its body.
A third came from behind.
Draven twisted around.
Its claws sliced through the air inches from his face.
He caught its foreleg.
Then pulled.
The hellhound was thrown over his shoulder and smashed into another beast charging toward him.
**BOOM!**
Both creatures tumbled across the ground.
Draven didn't even give them time to recover.
He sprinted forward.
One punch.
Another.
Then another.
**Bang!**
**Crack!**
**Boom!**
The forest erupted into chaos.
Hellhounds lunged from every direction.
Draven moved between them effortlessly.
He ducked beneath snapping jaws.
Leapt over claws.
Slipped between two beasts.
Then struck them both in the ribs with enough force to send them flying.
One hellhound managed to bite down on his arm.
Draven glanced at it.
*Seriously?*
The creature's teeth sank into his flesh.
Blood ran down his arm.
Draven grabbed its lower jaw.
Then its upper jaw.
He forced its mouth open.
**CRACK!**
His fist slammed into its face.
The hellhound dropped.
Draven pulled his arm free.
Blood dripped from the wound.
His flesh began regenerating almost immediately.
He stared at the blood.
*Okay.*
*That actually hurt.*
Another hellhound charged.
Draven stepped forward instead of retreating.
Its jaws opened wide.
He drove his fist straight into its mouth.
**BOOM!**
The creature's head snapped backward.
Its body flew through the air before crashing into the forest floor.
Draven turned.
The remaining hellhounds hesitated.
For the first time—
they seemed to realize they had chosen the wrong target.
Draven grinned.
*Too late.*
He rushed them.
The next few moments were nothing but violence.
One hellhound was thrown into a tree.
Another was crushed beneath Draven's foot.
A third had its neck broken.
Two more were sent flying into each other.
The remaining beasts attacked together.
Draven simply met them head-on.
He moved faster than they could react.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
The number of hellhounds continued to fall.
Until—
silence.
Draven stood in the middle of the forest.
Twenty hellhounds lay scattered around him.
Some were motionless.
Others twitched weakly before finally going still.
Draven looked down at his arm.
Blood was still dripping from the bite wound.
The injury was already gone.
*Low-rank.*
*Definitely not very strong.*
He looked around at the bodies.
*Still...*
*Not bad for a first test.*
His gaze settled on one of the hellhounds.
Draven crouched beside it.
He had read that magical beasts possessed magic stones inside their bodies.
Now he wanted to see one for himself.
After cutting into the creature, he eventually found it.
A small, glowing red crystal.
Draven stared at it.
The magic stone pulsed faintly in his hand.
> *So this is it.*
> *A magic stone.*
He turned it over between his fingers.
He had read countless books about magical beasts.
Yet he had never once read about anyone actually consuming one of these.
*I wonder what would happen.*
Draven looked at the crystal.
Then at the hellhound's corpse.
Then back at the crystal.
*Fuck it.*
He swallowed it.
The moment the crystal reached his stomach—
**BANG!**
Pain exploded through his body.
Draven's eyes widened.
His hand immediately clutched his chest.
*What the—?!*
His veins bulged beneath his skin.
A strange red glow spread through them.
His body trembled violently.
Blood suddenly poured from his mouth.
**Cough!**
**Cough!**
He dropped to one knee.
More blood spilled onto the ground.
*Fuck!*
His entire chest felt like it was being torn apart from the inside.
He couldn't understand what was happening.
The magic stone was breaking apart inside him—
and whatever power it contained was forcing its way through his body.
Draven's fingers dug into the dirt.
His regeneration immediately kicked in.
But the pain didn't disappear.
Not even close.
*Holy shit...*
His body convulsed.
Blood dripped from his nose.
Then from the corners of his mouth.
His veins continued throbbing beneath his skin.
For nearly a minute—
Draven remained on one knee, trembling violently.
Then—
slowly—
the pain began to fade.
His breathing steadied.
The glowing veins returned to normal.
Draven remained still for several seconds.
He finally lifted his head.
Blood covered his lips.
He wiped it away with the back of his hand.
*That...*
*fucking hurt.*
He took several deep breaths.
Something felt different.
His body felt lighter.
Stronger.
There was a strange sensation inside him that hadn't been there before.
But he couldn't focus on it.
There was still blood in his mouth.
> *I'll figure out what changed later.*
His eyes moved toward the other hellhounds.
There were still nineteen magic stones.
Draven stared at them.
A dangerous thought entered his mind.
> *If one worked...*
> *What happens if I eat all of them?*
He knew the first crystal had nearly brought him to his knees.
He also knew that swallowing nineteen more at once could be a terrible idea.
Draven stared at the stones.
Then shrugged.
> *Well...*
> *I'm already here.*
He gathered the remaining magic stones.
One after another—
he swallowed them.
All at once.
For a moment—
nothing happened.
Then—
**BOOM!**
Pain exploded through his entire body.
Draven's eyes widened.
His muscles locked.
His body convulsed violently.
He collapsed onto the ground.
Blood immediately burst from his nose.
Then his mouth.
Then his ears.
His veins bulged across his arms, neck, and face.
The red glow inside his body became far brighter than before.
Draven tried to scream—
but no sound came out.
His lungs refused to cooperate.
His chest felt like it was being crushed.
His entire body twitched uncontrollably.
Blood continued spilling onto the ground beneath him.
> *Fuck...*
He couldn't even breathe.
His fingers dug into the dirt.
His body shook violently as the combined power of the magic stones tore through him.
His regeneration struggled to keep up.
Every injury healed—
only for another wave of pain to tear through him.
Draven's vision blurred.
His body convulsed again.
And again.
Until finally—
he could do nothing but lie there.
Motionless except for the occasional twitch.
Blood covered the ground around him.
---
Thirty minutes later—
Draven finally moved.
His fingers twitched.
Than his arm.
Slowly, painfully—
he pushed himself upright.
His entire body was drenched in blood.
His clothes were soaked.
Blood covered his face.
His hair.
His hands.
The ground beneath him was stained red.
Draven trembled as he struggled to stand.
His legs nearly gave out.
He caught himself against a tree.
He stood there for several seconds.
Breathing heavily.
Then—
*Never.*
A pause.
*Doing that.*
Another breath.
*Again.*
He wiped the blood from his mouth.
His regeneration had already repaired most of the damage.
But the pain remained.
*So much for the easy life.*
He looked down at his hands.
He could still feel something different inside his body.
Something new.
Something powerful.
But he had no idea what it meant yet.
*I'll figure it out later.*
Draven turned toward the castle.
Then suddenly—
he jumped.
His feet landed on a thick branch.
He pushed off.
**Whoosh!**
He landed on another branch.
Then another.
Soon he was sprinting from tree to tree.
His movements were far more natural than they had been before.
Draven glanced down at the forest floor rushing beneath him.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
> *Huh.*
> *Mom's training is actually paying off.*
He pushed off another branch and disappeared deeper into the forest.