So that’s how it is? Well then, I have more! I kept pouring out cores from my storage, their count reaching tens of thousands, when my phalanx fully took on the color of white-gold metal and mana began flowing into the next bone. I was surprised at how much mana was needed to condense it into a solid state. Compared to blood, what was the ratio—one to a hundred? Or one to a thousand?


    Eventually, I started feeling fatigued from absorption, so as soon as the formation of the second phalanx was complete, I halted the process and dispelled the surrounding magic. I wiggled my pinky but felt no changes. Strange. I had absorbed an unfathomable amount of mana, yet there were no apparent changes in my strength.


    Would these bones now serve as a reserve for a rainy day? Or what exactly could these changes offer me? There were more questions than answers. After all, if my finger had become a mana reservoir, I had no idea how to extract it.


    Before, it was simple—the more liquid mana in my blood, the stronger I became. But now, I had absorbed far more than ever before, yet my strength remained the same. Or maybe, to reach the level of a Battle Ancestor, I simply needed to absorb millions of cores. Well, in any case, it was time for me to descend further.


    The twelfth level differed only in having more fourth-class monsters, but already trained by the previous level, I quickly wiped out the massive packs. I had finally perfected the combination of my sequential step technique with the new spear techniques I had mastered.


    My aura had also grown significantly stronger, so now I simply pressed entire packs to the ground and carried out instant massacres. Over the course of a week, I slaughtered thousands of packs, each numbering in the hundreds. Feeling that finding new monsters was becoming more difficult, I moved down another level.


    The thirteenth level was mostly occupied by fourth-class monsters, with third-class ones becoming quite rare. But this didn’t change their fate—I cut them down just the same, albeit slightly slower. I had already filled two out of three storage spaces with cores, so after thoroughly clearing a glade, I set up magic circles and runes and once again sat down to absorb mana, rapidly depleting the cores.


    In a few days, I managed to completely replace the bones in my left hand, though once again, it had no effect on my strength. Honestly, I was a bit puzzled, realizing that soon I would reach levels with monsters I stood no chance against while still at the level of a Battle Master.


    I figured that my current limit was fifth-class monsters, and even then, I would have to flee at full speed from a large pack of them. To avoid wasting time, I resumed weaving my chainmail from aura strands and rereading Sui’s notes—though I had nearly memorized them by now.


    For the continent’s mages, the surrounding mana was an “objective external means for perceiving and understanding the world, which, through manipulation, allowed for altering the laws of reality at the mage’s will.” But why was it considered an external tool? For me, things were completely different—I, damn it, couldn’t sense the surrounding mana at all.


    To me, all these writings about magic were like describing colors to a blind person. A blind man understands words, but he cannot see color. Disheartened, I wandered the thirteenth level for a few more days before moving on. I had to reach the level of a higher-tier Battle Ancestor in this dungeon before returning.


    The fourteenth level was significantly harder than the previous one. Here, fifth-class monsters sometimes led enormous packs. So, I had to learn to kill them first before dealing with the rest. If I failed on the first try, I would retreat and wait for the right moment to strike again.


    Given the terrain of the fourteenth level, this wasn’t too difficult—nearly everything was small mountains covered in yellow-crimson forests, where massive packs of marching monsters couldn’t hide, but a lone hunter was almost invisible.


    So I hunted, learned, trained, and hunted again. And so it went on for many weeks. The fourteenth level was probably one of the most thoroughly cleared levels in the dungeon by my hand.


    The cores from fourth-class monsters here were enough to transform the bones in my right hand. I also had about a dozen fifth-class cores, including the core of the shkrah from the misty forest. I laid them out before me, pondering whether I should try absorbing them too.


    I decided to test one and set up magic circles with runes. As an experiment, I picked up a core and lifted it. The mana of a fifth-class core was more concentrated than that of a thousand fourth-class cores, yet absorbing it caused no discomfort.


    So, I grabbed the remaining cores and directed the mana toward my left arm, above the hand. Ah, to transform the larger bones, I would need thousands of these… That meant there was only one option left—the fifteenth level. And it was likely to be extremely dangerous.


    I stood at the exit of the passage, carefully scanning the space ahead of me. Within a kilometer radius, I found about four dozen fourth-class monsters and around two dozen fifth-class ones. Worth a try. I drew my spear and attacked, using my footwork technique along with the Raven’s combat technique.


    It yielded good results, and after collecting the cores, I quickly returned to the passage and hid inside before other monsters could take notice of me. In principle, this was a decent tactic that I used for the next few days—I killed, hid, waited for new ones to arrive, and killed again.


    As for mana, I absorbed it right inside the passage, behind the magical barrier, where it was safe. But with each passing day, fewer and fewer monsters came, so I realized that sooner or later, I would have to decide—go further or return to the surface without reaching the level of Battle Ancestor.


    According to my teacher, at my current level, that would mean certain death, but simply pushing forward would also be fatal. And yet, how I had boasted to him that I would quickly surpass the limits of the Battle Master. Did I? At this stage, I was losing to numerous packs of monsters in everything except speed. Against them, it was my only trump card.


    Maybe I should expand the hunting zone around the passage? But what if I got cut off from it? Where would I run then? The only option would be the passage zone leading to the sixteenth level, which would be safe for a while, but in the long run, doing so would be quite foolish.


    I scanned the space around me for about ten kilometers. I marked two large packs that were definitely beyond my capability and several smaller ones that were worth a try. Well then, forward! I wouldn’t say that raid was an easy stroll, but the victory gave me confidence, and I started hunting more frequently, constantly expanding my area of presence.


    My storage began filling up again with green and blue cores. Over time, I grew so bold that I stopped returning to the passage and instead carved deep caves into the rocks for resting, crushing stone with strikes of my aura.


    Gradually, I studied the behavior of different monster packs in defense and attack, and this knowledge helped me plan ambushes and battle strategies against large monster gatherings—packs I had avoided at all costs just a month ago. In this way, after a few months, the level was cleared, and I had gathered enough cores to create mana-infused bones for both arms up to my elbows.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Upon completing this transformation, I discovered a very interesting effect—I could shatter any rock simply by touching it with my palm and mentally wishing it, without using my aura. “A very useful skill,” I noted to myself, but all attempts to develop it further or adapt it for combat purposes failed.


    Well, perhaps it would come in handy in battle someday.


    I headed for the sixteenth level. There were no fourth-level monsters here at all. I stuck to my strategy of eliminating small groups, and everything was going well until a sixth-level monster appeared.


    This was real trouble for me because I had nothing to counter it with. The monster belonged to the Bigur species—a gigantic beast the size of a house, possessing immense strength. Simply put, it was both stronger and faster than me.


    Its six legs were covered in sharp spikes, four of them adapted for fast running, while the two front ones, thinner and more skeletal, were meant for combat. Its slender torso was covered in tough gray skin, which was nearly impossible to pierce even without its metal-element magic abilities. And when it used magical seals to enhance itself, getting close to it became utterly futile.


    Moreover, its large head, with a powerful maw filled with thousands of razor-sharp teeth, was covered in dozens of eyes, leaving it with no blind spots. To make matters worse, this beast was cunning. I didn’t know if the entire species was like this, but this one certainly was.


    Over the past few weeks, I had grown used to being the only hunter here, the one setting ambushes. But this time, things were different—the ambush had been set for me.


    Why do I think so? Because the creature had concealed its presence entirely, giving off no trace until the moment it attacked.


    It all happened very suddenly. I was dealing with a mid-sized pack of fifth-class monsters when, out of nowhere, a long, skeletal limb with three blade-like claws struck from the side. Only then did I sense the presence of the sixth-class monster.


    At the last moment, I managed to react, positioning the shaft of my spear under its claws, but even so, the force of the blow sent me tumbling, crushing monsters beneath me and snapping trees like twigs. I felt my ribs and legs cracking, shattering into pieces.


    Still airborne, I instantly pulled out a pill—one of those my teacher had given me for training—and swallowed it.


    By the time my flight ended and I started to get back on my feet, the pill had already taken effect. But at that very moment, I saw the gray shadow of the monster again and the limb flying straight for my head.


    This time, I reacted in time, but it made no difference—the blow still sent me flying several hundred meters, leaving a wide clearing and a trail of churned-up earth in my wake.


    Damn, I won’t last long like this—I need to get the hell out of here! I swallowed another pill, and just as I was about to regroup to make a run for it, I took another hit. This time, the monster slammed its tail into my back while my attention was focused on its limbs.


    Damn bastard! I’m really going to die here! I swallowed another pill. For now, it was keeping me alive, but they weren’t infinite, and the effect would weaken. Think, Aney! Think of a way to escape, and fast! Fighting this beast was out of the question—we were clearly in different weight classes.


    What, what could I possibly use against it to slow it down, even a little? I took another hit from its claw, sending me flying hundreds of meters. If not for my aura chainmail, I’d probably already be torn to pieces!


    I growled in frustration.


    I was getting beaten to a pulp, and there was nothing I could do about it. Even reaching the level transition was impossible—it would take me at least an hour at full speed. I tried to block the next hit, but my arms felt like they were stuffed with cotton, so most of the impact landed on my chest, knocking the air out of my lungs.


    Damn it, a few more of these, and I’m done for…


    Daggers! I suddenly remembered the seventh-class daggers in my stash. They wouldn’t even the playing field, but their poison should slow this beast down. I instantly stowed my spear and equipped the daggers, channeling my aura into the hilts and blades. Thick black smoke immediately engulfed me and the monster beside me.


    Losing sight of me and its ability to track me, the beast froze for a moment, switching between its sensory organs. That moment was all I needed to strike at its chest beneath its front leg.


    The moment my dagger touched its skin, the monster reacted instantly, swiping blindly with its other claw.


    My first strike turned out to be incredibly effective—my aura-infused blow shredded a large chunk of its muscles, ribs, and lungs. On top of that, the poison entered its bloodstream, turning it from red to violet, then black.


    The monster let out a guttural roar, then wheezed through its torn lung. I quickly swallowed another pill and leapt to its side. It reacted, striking me with its tail and slamming me into its middle limb, which was covered in spikes.


    I blocked as best I could with my dagger and arm while stabbing my other dagger into its leg near the knee. But the force of the blow still crushed me against its middle limb, and one of its spikes pierced my arm at the bicep, sliding deeper and skewering my ribs.


    Even my aura chainmail couldn’t hold—it tore apart like wet paper under the sheer strength of the impact. I screamed in pain and shoved against its tail, peeling myself off the spike, now soaked in my golden blood. Quickly swallowing another pill, I leapt a good hundred meters away to avoid its next attack.


    Then, suddenly—something I hadn’t expected.


    My blood, which had smeared across the monster’s leg, spread rapidly in a thin film over its body and instantly ignited. The resulting explosion was so powerful that I was blasted back several hundred meters.


    What the hell?! I had seen and understood exactly what happened.


    I tumbled across the ground, swallowing dry leaves and dust. When I finally stopped, I turned back toward where I had been flung from.


    There, at the site of the explosion, half a kilometer away, a massive black mushroom cloud was rising into the sky.


    Holy hell…


    I moved toward the cloud to assess the scale of the destruction. There was nothing left—absolutely nothing. A gigantic crater, half a kilometer in diameter and at least fifty meters deep. And the ground surrounding it for kilometers was blackened and reduced to dust.


    Descending into the crater, I found a few charred bones of the monster and a blue core the size of a human head.


    So, it wasn’t its core that exploded, as I had initially thought. It was really my new blood that did that. And it was triggered… by distance?


    Interesting. Very interesting. But not now.


    I was too exhausted, so after picking up the sixth-class core, I headed toward the transition point.


    The explosion had frightened the surrounding monsters so much that they scattered in every direction, leaving me alone for the first time in a long while.


    It took me almost a full day to recover from the battle and absorb the sixth-class core. Once done, I moved on to experiments—I needed to understand why and how my mana-infused blood had detonated so powerfully.


    Pressing a small drop of blood onto a rock, I slowly backed away.


    Ten meters—nothing. The drop lay still.


    Fifty meters…


    At seventy meters, it began to vibrate and spread into a thin film. But as soon as I stepped back toward it, it gathered back into a single drop and settled.


    I took two steps back. Instantly, there was a powerful explosion. Not as massive as before, of course, but strong enough to kill a fifth-class monster—or even a sixth.


    The effect was decent, but using it as a weapon in this way was nearly impossible. I needed to figure out how to deliver the mana directly to a monster rather than have it detonate randomly.


    I tried again, this time wrapping the drop in my aura and moving it away from me.


    Seventy meters—the drop trembled slightly but continued moving.


    One hundred meters.


    Two hundred meters.


    Three hundred meters.


    At that distance, it was already difficult to maintain my aura’s concentration around it, and soon, it began to vibrate violently and exploded.


    Good. This was already progress.


    Now I needed to train until I could control not just one drop—but hundreds, or better yet, thousands. And I needed to figure out how to extract them without cutting myself every time. Not to mention, each time I did, I had to unravel and then reweave my aura chainmail.


    The second issue I resolved quickly using the aura itself—its fine strands could easily pierce the capillaries under my skin, allowing small droplets to seep out along them.


    The first issue, however, required a more systematic training approach.


    I shattered a rock with an aura strike, reducing it to thousands of tiny fragments. Then, one by one, I wrapped each stone in aura and lifted it into the air.


    Within a few days, I could effortlessly swirl a thousand of them around me—sending them hundreds of meters away and then pulling them back.


    From an outsider’s perspective, it would look like a swarm of black insects orbiting me, obeying my every command.


    Well then.


    It was time to refine this technique in real combat.