Jade was truly impressed with his newly initiate powers.
Ever since returning from the Trial, he had barely had the opportunity to understand them. Everything had happened too quickly. The Beast God's inheritance, his Soul Sea, the strange living shadow, the Blood Flames—each discovery seemed more unbelievable than the last.
Yet despite all of that...
His stomach growled.
The sound echoed quietly throughout the small room.
Jade lowered his head before letting out a helpless sigh.
"Hungry already..."
He glanced toward the small kitchen provided by the Government Residential Center. The government supplied meals free of charge to newly awakened Initiates, but after trying them once, Jade had completely lost his appetite. They weren't terrible...
They were simply tasteless.
After surviving the Trial, he had begun appreciating good food far more than before.
"I need money..."
He scratched the back of his head.
"If I keep eating government meals, I might die from boredom before I become stronger."
Then an idea appeared.
The Spiritual Realm.
Ever since returning from the Trial, he hadn't entered it once.
If he was lucky enough to hunt a creature, its meat could serve as food. Some Spiritual Realm creatures were not only edible but also contained rich essence capable of nourishing an Initiate's body.
Besides...
He wanted to test his powers properly.
Jade immediately stood.
"Looks like breakfast is going hunting."
A few minutes later, he arrived at the Projection Residence.
Rows upon rows of sleeping pods filled the enormous hall. Hundreds of Initiates quietly entered and exited the capsules, some preparing for training while others returned exhausted from dangerous expeditions.
Since it was Jade's first official visit, one of the attendants briefly explained the process before directing him toward an empty pod.
Jade lay inside.
The transparent lid slowly descended.
A soft mechanical hum echoed around him.
Blue lights illuminated the interior.
Then...
His consciousness became strangely light.
It felt as though his soul had separated from his body.
The world around him dissolved into countless particles of light.
Jade wasn't falling.
He was drifting.
Weightlessly.
Silently.
Almost as though he were floating through an endless river of stars.
For a brief moment...
He thought he heard something.
A whisper.
Soft.
Ancient.
Too faint to understand.
Then darkness swallowed everything.
When Jade opened his eyes again, he found himself standing inside an enormous forest.
Sunlight filtered through towering trees whose branches stretched endlessly toward the heavens.
The air smelled fresh.
The earth beneath his feet felt alive.
Gentle wind carried the scent of leaves and distant flowers.
Far away...
Deep, thunderous roars echoed throughout the forest.
One after another.
Powerful creatures were fighting somewhere in the distance.
Jade slowly narrowed his eyes.
"This place..."
"...feels alive."
The sensation wasn't easy to explain.
The Spiritual Realm didn't simply resemble a forest.
It breathed.
Every tree.
Every rock.
Every blade of grass seemed to possess an indescribable vitality.
His instincts immediately became alert.
Without hesitation, black crystalline vines erupted from his shadow.
The Obsidian Vine Shadow wrapped itself around his body before reshaping into the form of the monstrous lion he had encountered during the Trial.
Sharp obsidian armor covered his limbs.
His physique became larger.
More powerful.
Although he still retained his human appearance, the aura surrounding him had become incomparably more savage.
Jade wasn't transforming because of the distant monster roars.
He simply trusted his instincts.
If the Spiritual Realm itself made him uneasy...
Then caution was necessary.
Just then...
His vision split.
His right eye continued observing the forest before him.
His left eye...
Showed something entirely different.
His living shadow.
The little creature wandered around curiously, completely ignoring the danger surrounding them.
It poked a flower.
Touched a tree.
Stared at a butterfly.
It behaved like a child exploring the world for the very first time.
Jade's eyebrow twitched.
"...Seriously?"
The shadow happily continued its exploration.
Jade sighed deeply.
"You really are useless."
The shadow immediately froze.
It slowly turned toward Jade.
Then crossed both arms dramatically.
Even without a face, Jade somehow understood exactly what it meant.
It was offended.
Jade almost laughed.
"You're pouting now?"
The shadow turned around.
Refusing to acknowledge him any further.
Jade simply shook his head.
"I'll apologize later."
He slowly closed his eyes.
Shadow Sense.
Darkness expanded from beneath his feet.
Every nearby shadow suddenly became clear inside his mind.
Trees.
Rocks.
Bushes.
Animals.
Everything possessing a shadow entered his perception.
At the same time...
The Beast God's instincts awakened.
A completely different perception merged with his own.
His hearing sharpened.
His smell became incomparably more sensitive.
Tiny vibrations beneath the ground entered his awareness.
Then...
He found it.
A creature.
Nearly sixty meters away.
Even more surprisingly...
Before seeing it...
Jade instinctively understood where its weakest point was.
The information simply appeared within his mind.
Almost as though the Beast God's lineage naturally recognized every living creature.
"So this..."
"...is Beast Sense."
Jade's heart raced.
Without hesitation, he rushed toward the target.
His footsteps barely produced any sound.
Branches bent aside as he passed.
Within moments...
He arrived.
Standing in a clearing was an enormous wolf-like creature.
Its body was covered in dark silver fur.
Each claw looked capable of tearing steel apart.
Its crimson eyes burned with intelligence.
The moment Jade sensed its aura...
His expression immediately became serious.
"This isn't..."
He swallowed.
"...an Initiate."
The pressure pouring from the creature was overwhelming.
It far exceeded anything he had expected.
His instincts immediately identified it.
Silent Fang.
Rank...
Awakened Demon.
Jade's breathing slowed.
An Awakened.
He had only recently become an Initiate.
The difference between their ranks wasn't small.
It was enormous.
Yet strangely...
He didn't run.
Instead...
He slowly summoned his crimson greatsword.
The blade emerged in his hand, glowing faintly beneath the forest sunlight.
Aaron had returned the sword to him before they attended the celebration.
Now...
Its familiar weight felt reassuring.
The moment Silent Fang noticed Jade...
Its eyes immediately filled with murderous intent.
It lowered its body.
Its muscles tightened.
Then—
BOOM!
The wolf exploded forward.
Jade immediately circulated essence into his legs.
His body blurred.
The enormous claws sliced through the exact spot where he had been standing.
He dodged.
Barely.
Only a breath separated him from death.
The wind generated by the attack alone cut several strands of his hair.
"What speed..."
Jade landed several meters away.
Then frowned.
His splitting headache suddenly worsened.
He looked downward.
His living shadow had completely ignored the battle.
It continued wandering around the forest.
Because Jade could see through both his own eyes and the shadow's vision simultaneously, his concentration became divided.
The strange double vision made every movement far more difficult.
"I'll deal with you later..."
Jade muttered.
Without hesitation, he leaped high into the air.
The obsidian vines immediately reshaped.
This time...
They transformed into a pair of enormous black wings.
The wings beat powerfully.
Jade accelerated through the sky before diving directly toward Silent Fang.
The Beast Sense had already revealed its weak point.
Its neck.
Just beneath the left shoulder.
As he descended...
A violent crimson flame erupted around his body.
Unlike the warm healing flame...
This one burned with terrifying destructive intent.
Blood-red fire surrounded him like a falling meteor.
Just then...
Something unexpected happened.
The living shadow suddenly abandoned its exploration.
It shot toward Jade.
Without any command...
It wrapped itself around him.
Although completely intangible...
The shadow merged perfectly with Jade's body.
Instantly...
His speed exploded.
The air around him screamed.
Jade's eyes widened.
"My shadow..."
"...can strengthen me?"
He had no time to think further.
He crashed directly into Silent Fang's weak point.
BOOM!!
The impact shook the forest.
The Awakened Demon was launched backward like a cannonball, crashing through several ancient trees before finally slamming into an enormous boulder.
Dust filled the clearing.
Jade landed heavily.
His breathing became rough.
"I hit it..."
Before relief could appear—
Silent Fang slowly emerged from the dust.
Completely alive.
Its fur had been scorched.
Its body carried only a shallow wound.
Nothing more.
Jade felt his heart sink.
He had struck its weakness with everything he had.
And yet...
That was all?
The wolf growled.
Then vanished.
Too fast.
Jade barely reacted before sharp claws tore across his chest.
Pain exploded throughout his body.
Blood scattered into the air.
More terrifying than the injury itself...
He felt something else.
His essence.
It was disappearing.
Silent Fang hadn't merely wounded him.
It had devoured part of his living essence.
Jade staggered backward.
"...It absorbs essence."
For the first time since entering the Spiritual Realm...
Fear truly appeared inside his heart.
This monster wasn't simply stronger.
Every successful attack made Jade weaker.
Every exchange favored the creature.
Jade immediately leaped skyward once again.
His obsidian wings spread wide as he transformed into a gigantic black bird.
Escape was possible.
At least...
It should have been.
Then another memory surfaced.
The monstrous lion from the Trial.
It had leaped impossibly high despite its enormous size.
If that creature could do it...
Why couldn't this one?
Jade slowly tightened his grip around the crimson greatsword.
His fear gradually transformed into determination.
He looked directly into Silent Fang's burning crimson eyes.
"I might lose."
"I might even die."
A faint smile appeared on his bloodstained face.
"But if I survive..."
"...I'll leave this forest much stronger than I entered it."
With that—
Jade lowered his wings and charged once more.