Chapter 66: Blood Warrior Rank 1

The sand beneath Oliver's feet gave way to silence as the last of his steps echoed into the desert's throat. And before him lay the high and low ground riddled with mounds, each twitching, shifting, moving.

The Bottomless-Bellied Desert Bloody Scorpions burst from the sand like summoned demons—red carapace gleaming, stingers long as spears, claws thicker than wagon wheels. Each one was the size of a royal carriage and like before, they were fast. Much faster than anything their size had a right to be.

Oliver didn’t wait. He let out a sharp breath and activated his Aether Sense

The world changed in his eyes.

Light and sound sharpened. The air quivered with the breathing of monsters. In his mind’s eye, the battlefield was a three-dimensional map of hostility and motion. Every claw twitch. Every sand shift. Every hidden sting.

"Oh, look at him go. I'm so proud." The skull watched with a particular look in its eyes.

Oliver took his stance, fingers loose, legs grounded, exhaling through his nose.

And then they rushed him.

The first scorpion lunged, its stinger lashing toward his chest. He rolled to the right—barely—feeling the wind of the sting brush his skin. As it landed, he slid beneath the beast’s shadow, his hand cocking backward with precision.

Thud!

The one-inch punch struck the scorpion in its lower thorax.

The carapace cracked. The monster froze—and exploded backward into the sand, its guts spilling out with a wet crunch.

[Alert: 72/100 — Bottomless-Bellied Desert Bloody Scorpion eliminated.]

The exotic skeleton of this creature was more painful than he expected. But continuously practicing with the monk had given him incredible tolerance.

Back then, there were times he would miss attacks and even punch the hard ground.

This much he could still handle.

The best part about this fight was the fact that one hit was all it took to bring down these creatures.

The reason was because of how the one-inch punch worked. The flow of Aether from his fist bypasses the outer defences to greatly disturb the flow of Aether within the creature, causing an explosion that damages internal organs from within.

The only way to defend against such an attack would be to partially defend against the invading aether before it is launched into the body.

This was what Oliver did during his battle with the monk when learning the skill. Unfortunately, these creatures were not so smart.

Oliver didn't stop. He pivoted.

Another scorpion dove. But unfortunately, he miscalculated.

The claw clipped his shoulder, tossing him like a rag. He slammed into the ground hard, his ribs flaring in pain. Sand filled his mouth. Blood should have trickled down his jaw, but it did not.

He spat.

And rose.

The second scorpion loomed over him—but too close.

He slammed his palm into its chest with another one-inch punch. The force caved its chest in. It thrashed and died.

[73/100]

Another came. He ducked. Another. He dodged, barely.

But then—he slipped.

His foot caught a jagged piece of old scorpion corpse beneath the sand and his entire body tumbled.

'Shit' he cursed. He needed to maintain the Aether sense for both attack and a feel of his environment, to avoid these stupid mistakes he kept making.

Even Oliver could tell that in actual battles with more intelligent foes, these mistakes could cost him his life.

But before he could even make the necessary corrections—

A massive scorpion lunged, its claw and stinger attacking together. Oliver's mind worked to dodge the most dangerous one. The one with poison, and the claw pierced his thigh.

White-hot pain ripped through his muscles. He screamed.

Carcass Mail: Activated.

A faint red sheen appeared about his body.

The cost to use this was high. But the Carcass Mail was in full, helping him not just to boost his defence, but also to hold tight the area of his injury.

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Still—he gritted his teeth, stood on shaking legs, and faced the monster.

Another punch. One inch. The shockwave pulsed from his fist into its skull. The beast convulsed, twitched, and dropped dead.

[74/100]

They did not wait.

More came. Six of them at once.

He spun. Dodged. Blocked. One claw caught his back and sent him flying again. He groaned as he hit the canyon wall.

Sand buried him halfway. But the Mail was still in effect and he quickly clawed his way out, blood staining his hair, eyes blurring.

“Stand,” he told himself. “You didn’t come this far to die crawling.”

Another approach. He charged, limping—but fast. At the last second, he twisted, diving beneath the claw and rolling underneath.

The punch landed between its legs—its weakest point.

[75/100]

Then came the babies.

Scuttling things the size of cats, maybe twenty of them, swarming like ants.

Oliver's eyes narrowed. He did not waste energy.

He stomped.

Bones cracked underfoot.

He pivoted and stomped again. The red mist of guts sprayed into the sand.

[5... 6... 7... 8... 9... 10...]

His body was on fire. His arm ached with every punch. The elbow trembled, nerves stinging, the skin along his knuckles cracked and bleeding.

But he kept punching.

He climbed a rock for elevation and leapt off it, dropping down onto another scorpion’s back. It shrieked and twisted.

He almost fell—but managed to catch the ridge of its shell with his elbow.

With a roar, he punched the back of its head. One inch. No more.

The brain exploded beneath the carapace.

[76/100]

He was breathing raggedly now. His hands shook.

Every part of him begged to stop.

But he could hear the voice of the bloody skull cheering him on.

He bit into his tongue to stay conscious, tasting blood. The scent of iron, sand, and scorpion guts filled his lungs.

The scorpions changed tactics—circling now. Smarter. Testing his range.

Oliver closed his eyes for a second.

“Feel the world.”

He was getting used to using Aether even better now. Truly, battles were the ultimate teachers. It was no wonder the Bloodline taught in such a manner.

He forced Aether into his feet, ignoring the burn. This was the first time he was using it like this. He did not even know he could manipulate it as such.

What Oliver did not know was that he was already harvesting the benefits of killing the scorpions through the nightmare sigil.

Another came from behind. He didn’t see it—but his sense felt it.

He ducked.

Spun.

One-inch punch—right into its open mouth.

Its jaw shattered. Its tongue burst.

[.../100]

The sigil counted, but he no longer looked at it.

Then another. This one caught him full-on with a tail swipe.

He was tossed high, slammed into a dead scorpion’s corpse, and bounced off.

He didn’t move.

His whole body was vibrating in pain.

“Stand…”

He punched the ground, dragging himself to his feet.

“Stand…!” he screamed at himself. He had to do this. He had to do it. For his sister. For all those slaves. For all the pain, but best of all, for himself.

Another came.

He leapt, using the corpse as a springboard, flipped mid-air, and drove his heel down onto the head of the oncoming beast.

Then punched its eye.

[..../100]

His bones hurt. He had to switch arms.

The left was worse. Less trained.

He missed the next punch. He got clawed in the side. Deep.

The Carcass Mail had been removed because of the Aether cost.

He collapsed. His heartbeat slowed.

But then—

He laughed.

A small, wheezing laugh.

“I’m still alive,” he muttered.

He pulled himself up.

Punch.

[.../100]

At this point, something else was blooming inside him without him knowing. He began to move on instinct.

He was now in touch with the primal survival instinct.

[Alert: Bloodline Integration 9%]

He danced now, eyes glowing red. Between tails and claws and fury.

Punch.

Punch.

Punch.

[100/100]

[Bonus Kills 29/29]

[ — Trial Complete.]

Oliver collapsed to his knees.

Chest heaving.

[Congratulations on Finishing the Trial. You have eliminated the Bottomless-Bellied Desert Bloody Scorpions that ravage the land. The People of the Sand are happy and proud.]

And then before his eyes, the ground shifted and a village appeared within the Desert. The houses were made of clay. But surprisingly enough, it had an interesting architectural beauty to it.

People came out of the houses clapping and rejoicing. Some even presented palms on the ground for him to walk on.

And then an elderly man walked forward and bowed, "Thank you Demon Of Nightmares for saving our village..."

'Demon?' Oliver thought to himself. But before he could ask, he heard more alerts.

[You have earned the favor of the people of the sand. ]

[You have been titled: Hero Of The Sand]

[Title Description: Sand Is Blood as Blood Is Sand]

[Title Blessing can be used once a day on condition that Aether is below 30%.]

[MISSION TABLE UNLOCKED]

[Alert]

[+ 3 Speed

+4 Speed

+ 6 Strength

+ 4 Aether

+ 10 Aether

+ 15 perception.

+....]

Oliver looked at the Alert and lost track of them.

However, another one came up.

[Alert: All stats 'A+' Requirements reached for rank advancements. Would you like to advance now?]

He could not believe his eyes. Of course, he would want to advance. He willed in his mind and then it happened.

Instantly, an incredible amount of pain shot from within his chest.

He fell to the ground. Pain screaming from his chest. It was like a volcano of a million needles was erupting from within him.

He literally could feel every moment of each pin, bursting through him.

For a while, Oliver thought that he was going to die from the intense pain.

But then it suddenly died out.

[Congratulations, you have advanced in rank]

[Rank: Blood Warrior Rank 1]

[Congratulations, Requirements have been met for locked bloodline abilities.]

[Bloodline Abilities

Nightmare Veil [Active]:

Temporarily shroud in illusionary red mist. (Skill Condition: minimum of 20% Aether availabilty.)

[Host has unlocked Dreamrealm Shop.

Note: Bargain well. The shop owners in the Nightmare are famous for scamming people]

The Bloody skull floated down. It's mood was a joyous one.

"Finally.... you look like one I can set my eyes on. Not bad boy. Not bad. But I would prefer you had..."

Oliver did not pay any attention to what it was saying as his focus was on the alerts before his eyes. He really could not believe it.

On his past life, he had been weak and hopeless. And had to now his head as a slave just to get by. Back then, he did so much unspeakable things but now, he had a semblance of true strength.

Tears suddenly fell from his eyes. These were tears of joy.

"Erm... kid! KID!." The skull screamed. Finally, grabbing Oliver'sattention. "I know this is a passionate moment for you. But you only have so much time remaining."

Just then, Oliver looked up at the timer. Only 10 more minutes were remaining until he was forced out of the Night trail.

He did not see anything wrong with that, until the skull’s next words.

"you are now a rank 1 blood warrior. If your slave masters were to sense this, won't it become troublesome?"

"Shit!" He cursed out as he panicked. How the hell was he going to hide his new growth and power.

The Skull sighed as it pointed to a corner of the Village. On it was titled: Merchant Shop.