Passing through the blood-violet veil of the portal felt like the very fabric of existence was being shredded. One second, the roar of the Sect, Lyuna's panicked cries, and Karot's arrogant laughter were ringing in Ardam's ears. The next, a suffocating, heavy silence claimed his entire being.
When Ardam came to, he found himself submerged in a thick, toxic sea of green where the horizon was nowhere to be found. The Blood Forest was not merely a collection of trees; it was a primal, ruthless living organism. The trees here were so colossal their crowns seemed to pierce the celestial dome itself. Their branches intertwined so densely above that neither the blue of the sky nor the rays of the sun could reach the ground; only a dim, sickly yellowish-green light filtered through to the forest floor.
The trunks of these trees did not resemble ordinary wood; they looked like layers of hardened, petrified muscle. Their bark was a dark, bruised brown, shimmering with a reddish tint as if blood actually flowed through their veins. The ground was carpeted in a thick, soft, and eternally damp moss that exhaled the stench of rotting meat and pungent, poisonous herbs. The air was so dense and saturated with Erta energy that every breath felt like a weight in the lungs, pressing against the ribcage. There was no wind, yet the leaves rustled with a rhythmic, secret sound, mimicking a whisper or the breath of a starving beast. The roots of every tree snaked across the surface, coiling like vipers, seemingly ready to ensnare any living creature that dared to walk past.
Ardam took a measured breath and surveyed his surroundings. No one was in sight. "The portal must have scattered us to random coordinates," he whispered.
He settled beneath a massive tree with roots as tall as a man. He needed rest, but more than that—he needed preparation. Ardam pulled out one of the two manuscripts he had taken from the library. Merdun Lightning was a terrifying power, but the strain and damage it inflicted on his body left him in a precarious state after every battle. He needed a technique that was safer, more efficient, and provided endurance for prolonged warfare.
He flipped through the manuscript, reading intently. "Iron Hands"—a martial art designed to maximize physical durability and striking power. For hours, Ardam seared the texts, Erta flow diagrams, and breathing techniques into his consciousness.
[DING!][You have learned the martial art: "Iron Hands". Integration: 0.1%.]
"System," Ardam said internally. "Upload five years of real-world experience and the necessary muscle memory for this technique. I don't care how much AC it costs."
[DING!]
[Command accepted. Uploading 5 years of intensive experience and muscle memory...]
[Expended: 510 AC. Current Balance: 240 AC.]
In that instant, Ardam's mind felt like it was on the verge of exploding. The memory of thousands of battles, millions of delivered strikes, and years of pounding steel until his hands were calloused beyond recognition imprinted onto his nervous system. His hands grew hot, his finger bones densifying and hardening from the inside out. When Ardam stood up, he felt as if he had practiced this technique not for five years, but for a lifetime.
To test it, he stepped before a tree so wide that three men could not link arms around it. He took a deep breath, focused his mind on a single point, and activated the technique.
The Erta flow within Ardam surged violently down his shoulders and into his arms. His veins bulged, but unlike Merdun Lightning, the energy did not arc outward. Instead, it condensed beneath his skin until his hands, all the way to his fingertips, turned a dark, metallic charcoal gray. A cold, polished steel glint emerged on the surface of his skin.
"Iron Hands: Devastating Strike!"
Ardam slammed his fist into the hardened bark. A sharp [CRACK] echoed out. His fist sank into the stone-hard wood like a knife through warm butter. Most terrifyingly, the shockwave tore through the core of the tree, erupting from the back of the trunk in a shower of splinters and leaving a clean hole.
Ardam withdrew his hand, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips. His hands were now sharper than any sword and sturdier than any shield.
Suddenly, a low, savage growl drifted from the bushes behind him. Ardam's body went on high alert. He turned slowly. Through the pitch-black gaps between the trees, two crimson eyes, burning with hunger and malice, stared him down.
It was a Lemus—a bipedal mutant wolf standing over two meters tall. Its body was covered in sparse black fur, and muscles writhed beneath its skin like snakes with every movement. The Lemus's paws were larger than a human head, armed with ten-centimeter curved claws that easily shredded the hard earth.
The Lemus lunged with the speed of a lightning bolt. It covered the distance in a blur, swinging a clawed paw toward Ardam's face. The air whistled as the talons cut through the atmosphere.
But Ardam didn't flinch. He didn't even feel the need to use "Swift Steps." He simply raised his hand and caught the massive, terrifying paw mid-air as if it were a toy.
[SNAP!]
The Lemus let out a sharp howl, stunned by the immovable obstacle. It tried to pull its paw back with all its might, but Ardam's grip was absolute. Using its supernatural agility, the beast finally managed to twist out of Ardam's grasp and began to circle him rapidly, searching for a weak point to bite or tear.
"You rely only on speed?" Ardam whispered, his gaze tracking every twitch of the creature. "Then see mine."
"Swift Steps!"
Ardam vanished from the Lemus's sight. The moment the creature paused in confusion, Ardam materialized directly in front of it, mere centimeters away. As the Lemus opened its maw to bite, Ardam's iron-clad hand clamped shut over its snout.
The Lemus's teeth groaned and shattered against Ardam's steel-hard palm. The creature's eyes widened in terror. Ardam didn't wait. His second hand was already cocked back.
"Iron Hands!"
Ardam's fist punched through the Lemus's chest. There was no resistance. The fist pulverized the ribs, tore through the torso, and emerged from the back in a spray of gore. The Lemus's hot, thick blood splattered onto the moss.
Ardam yanked his hand back. In his palm, he held the Lemus's still-beating heart, with a shimmering violet Erta stone embedded in it. The lifeless body of the beast hit the ground with a heavy thud.
Ardam flicked the blood from his hand and looked at the glowing stone. "The first point is in the bag. The first prey of this forest," Ardam remarked.
The first night in the Blood Forest imprinted itself onto Ardam's soul. Night here wasn't just the absence of light; it was darkness taking physical form. Beneath the tangled branches, the air thickened, and visibility dropped to just a few meters. Ardam tossed the Lemus's carcass between the roots and tucked the violet Erta stone into an inner pocket. He hadn't yet had time to settle, but the forest wasn't planning on giving him the chance.
Ardam moved deeper into the gloom.
As midnight passed, Ardam sat atop a high branch, trying to catch his breath. Suddenly, the air around him filled with a skittering sound. It wasn't the wind; it was the movement of thousands of tiny, hard legs against the bark. Ardam opened his eyes to a nightmare: hundreds of Shadow Spiders were flowing down the trunk of the massive tree he sat on. Each was the size of a dog, with eight crimson eyes glowing like embers in the dark and green, acidic venom dripping from their fangs.
A dark smile touched Ardam's lips. "So, you won't even let me sleep in peace?"
He dropped from the branch. Mid-air, he activated "Iron Hands." His palms took on their cold, metallic hue. As he hit the ground, he dived into the wave of spiders waiting for him.
When the first spider lunged, Ardam grabbed it by the head and simply squeezed. [CRUNCH!] The spider's hard carapace buckled under his iron fingers like an eggshell, spraying green ichor onto Ardam's face. He didn't stop. He moved as if dancing with "Swift Steps." Every strike was a death sentence. He grabbed one spider by the legs and ripped it in half. With his other hand, he punched through the abdomen of another, pulling its entrails out.
This wasn't a fight; it was a massacre. Ardam was reveling in his renewed strength. He loathed the weakness of his enemies. After an hour of bloody slaughter, the clearing was littered with the corpses of hundreds of spiders. Without resting, Ardam used his Iron Hands to tear open their thoraxes and harvest the small, flickering Erta stones.
[DING!]
[42 Shadow Spiders killed. 42 low-grade Erta stones collected.]
On the morning of the second day, Ardam reached a swampy region where the air reeked of moisture and decay. Trees were sparse here, but the knee-deep, murky black water seemed to hide death at every turn.
As Ardam waded through, his Heart Core detected Erta vibrations within the muck. Five Marsh Ravagers were closing in from beneath the surface—hybrids of crocodiles and rhinos, four meters long, with bodies covered in spiked bone armor.
The first beast erupted from the water, snapping at Ardam's right leg. Ardam used "Swift Steps" to leap into the air and brought an "Iron Hands" strike down on the creature's head so hard that its massive teeth were driven into its own palate. The water turned a dark crimson.
The remaining four surrounded him. Ardam smirked. Purple lightning began to arc from his body. "Merdun Lightning!"
He slammed his palm into the water's surface. The violet electricity used the swamp water as a conductor, paralyzing every creature in an instant. The beasts didn't even have time to shriek. Ardam moved from one to the next. He grabbed the first beast's jaw and twisted it backward until it snapped. He gouged the eyes of the second with his fingers and crushed its brain.
It felt as though Ardam was taking out all the resentment from his years of weakness on these creatures. He took a dark pleasure in the sound of breaking bone and tearing flesh. He ripped open the chest of the last beast while it was still alive, extracting a mid-grade Erta stone attached to its beating heart. The creature convulsed in Ardam's hand before going limp.
[DING!]
[5 Marsh Ravagers killed. 5 mid-grade Erta stones collected.]
As Ardam moved toward the center of the Blood Forest, the environment changed beyond recognition. A half-day's travel brought him to the most savage and terrifying sector of the woods. The trees here weren't just tall; their bark shimmered like black obsidian, and their leaves were crimson and sharp as knives. The air grew heavier with every step; the Erta pressure was so immense that a regular warrior's lungs would have ruptured from the inside out. Ardam could feel his Heart Core spinning violently, hungrily filtering the dense energy.
Suddenly, the clang of steel on steel and a thunderous, earth-shaking roar echoed from the distance. Ardam went still. Using "Swift Steps," he blurred up to the highest branch of a nearby blood-leaved tree.
Below, in a clearing stained with gore and moss, a brutal battle was unfolding. Ardam recognized the rank-bands: these were four successors of the Dance of Death Sect. Their black-and-violet robes were shredded, and their faces were masks of mortal terror. But it wasn't the disciples that surprised Ardam; it was their opponent.
It was a Red Fury—an ancient, legendary beast. Standing five meters tall with a twenty-ton frame, it was as massive as a mountain. Though it resembled a tiger, its entire body was encased in bone armor, and every paw was armed with blades the size of a man. Every movement the beast made carved deep fissures into the earth, and the Erta field around it burned a searing crimson.
The Dance of Death successors were desperately trying to defend themselves, but to the Red Fury, they were nothing more than mice to be toyed with. The beast spun with sudden ferocity, swinging its right paw toward one of the disciples—a girl with golden hair and blue eyes wide with horror.
[CRACK!]
The horrific blow shredded the girl's defensive layer like paper. Blood sprayed from her body, forming a crimson mist. The impact was so great that both of the girl's legs were severed below the knees, sent flying several meters away. Her scream echoed through the depths of the forest.
The Red Fury roared in savage triumph. The shockwave of the sound was so powerful that blood leaked from the ears of the remaining three successors. Their pride and courage shattered instantly. Without a backward glance at their dying comrade, they fled into the forest's darkness to save their own lives.
"Help… please…" the girl gasped, crawling through the blood-soaked dirt with her hands, leaving a gruesome red trail behind her.
Ardam watched the scene from the treetops with cold indifference. There was no pity in his eyes. "Not my business," he whispered, turning away. He had no reason to risk his life for a wounded disciple of a rival sect. He had his own goals, his own vengeance.
But then, a cold, resolute system voice rang in Ardam's mind.
[DING!]
[WARNING! Reincarnation of "Elmiya" detected.]
[SYSTEM QUEST ACTIVATED:]
Task: Save the target (Elmiya's reincarnation) from certain death and enter a state of
"Dual Cultivation" with her. Time Limit: Until the target's life force expires. Reward:
"Merdun Breath"—An elite-tier cultivation technique.
Ardam stopped in his tracks. A cynical yet intrigued smile spread across his face.