《The New Form》


 New World, New Body ?!

    In a large forest, a small bright-red hummingbird was sitting on his butt on a thick branch, watching the sun set over the trees. The other weird thing about this bird except for sitting on his butt was that it was holding one of it''s wings under it''s beak, seemingly contemplating something.


    ''How the hell did I end up in this situation?!'' Thought Blake as he sat on the branch. Blake was a normal, 20 years old young man and just yesterday he was fine even though he pulled an all-nighter two times in a row in order to finish his work for school. Now that he thought about it though he probably just figured out the cause of his death, and thus his reincarnation.


    ''BUT, what the heck is this? Wasn''t I supposed to reincarnate into some sickly poor boy or some hated young master? Why did I end up turning into a freaking bird? You know, I wanted to lose my innocence one day, but this...'' As the small hummingbird closed its'' eyes, a small tear rolled down its feathered cheek.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    "Chirp, chirp." Trying to talk for the Xth time today, he slowly started to accept that he turned into a bird and that it was probably a permanent change.


    The only good thing about this change was that a short while after he started despairing, he heard a somewhat fuzzy voice in his head telling him that when he is ready, things will get explained to him properly.


    At that time, he wasn''t really thinking straight so he only remembered this now and as such, he immediately called out in his mind angrily, ''Hey, could you start explaining now?''


    [Understood. First, let me start with an apology. You were meant to reincarnate into the body of that unfortunate boy below, but an error occured and you were instead sent into the body of the small Humming Beast that died right next to him]


    ''Huh?'' It was only at this moment that Blake realised that below the branch on the ground a human body was planted face-down in the dirt.


    [Moving on, as the ''Ability'' that was prepared for you will be useless to the current you, we have decided to change it and add a complementary ability to it as an apology]


    After hearing this, the Blake''s eyes started sparkling and he went on to check his new ability.

 Am I a pirate?

    ''Wait, how do I check out my ability?'' After hearing the first good news of the day, Blake was so excited he forgot that he knows nothing at all, whether it is about this world or his ability.


    As if reading his mind, the emotionless voice answered, [Lets start from the beginning. You were sent to the magic continent called Anair, this is a world of magic where every person can use magic to some degree and swords and bows are common weapons. However, not only humans, but also all sorts of beasts, ghosts, elementals and other mystical beings exist in this world]


    [The diverse ''good'' races live together in harmony and the ''evil'' races live scattered all over the continent. There are many human, elf and dwarf empires and most of them see beasts, ghosts and other such races as enemies or just slightly more intelligent animals] The voice explained patiently.


    [Because of an error on our side, you were reincarnated into the body of a Cinder Hummingbird, a low rank beast that is barely any different from a normal bird] At this point, the emotionless voice paused for a bit, as if trying to find the right words to say.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    [This basically means that your lifespan is around 4 years and the chances of you becoming stronger are almost zero]


    ''Oh, wait, what the...? So I am gonna die soon and as a damned bird at that?!'' Not knowing what to think anymore, Blake lied down on his back and closed his small bird eyes, looking ready to give up.


    [There is no need to despair as we now move on to your ability. In order to allow you to progress further and perhaps restore your human body, we decided to give you an ability called [Detect and Loot]. This ability is made of two parts, Detect, which allows you to open a map of your surrounding in your mind and discover any treasure nearby while also letting you tell what sort of treasure it is, for example a spirit fruit, rare metal, cultivation place, weapon or even photos of some elfs in lingerie, basically treasures of all sorts]


    [The second part, Loot, allows you to turn undetectable and invulnerable for 2 minutes when you are near a treasure and another 2 minutes after you steal it. A special place where you can keep these treasures will be unlocked after you loot for the first time]


    After hearing this, Blake opened his eyes abruptly and cried out full of grievances, "CHIRP?"


    Once again, he forgot he couldn''t talk so let me translate it for you. He wanted to say, "AM I SUPPOSED TO BE A PIRATE?"

 I was scammed!

    [You have the freedom to choose your own path but becoming a pirate seems to be a waste of this ability] The voice clearly didn''t understand jokes as it answered his question seriously.


    Just as Blake was about to ask more questions, the voice rang out in his head again but this time, asking him, [You are now given a choice. Do you want to keep going in this world with your new ability or would you like to be destroyed and ''spared'' of this life?]


    This sort of question caught Blake completely unprepared and his mind went blank for a moment. If he wasn''t quite sure he is talking to a god or something similar he would think that he is being threatened.


    ''Hmm, while this life is quite bad now this new ability seems quite a bit like a cheat and the voicesaid that there is a possibility of becoming human again.'' After a short deliberation, Blake clenched his non-existent teeth and said in his mind, ''I choose to stay here!''


    [Alright then, now that we dealt with this, let me tell you the rest about your ability [Detect and Loot]. Please pay attention as this is quite important] It might have been just Blake''s imagination but the voice sounded a bit brighter.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Blake was getting a bad feeling when he heard what the voice said and he shuddered, ''The rest? The important part was only about to come?'' Blinking his eyes and tilting his head in confusion, Blake listened properly to make sure he doesn''t miss anything.


    [First let me talk about the [Loot]. The cooldown of this ability is one month but it varies depending on the rank of the being that owns or protects the treasure and the level of the treasure itself. This means that the stronger the enemy or the higher the level of the treasure the longer the cooldown]


    [Unlike [Loot], [Detect] does not have a cooldown and the range of this ability increases as your rank does however just like every other treasure map it depicts the position and the type of the treasure but the terrain is rather inaccurate]


    [Another thing to note is that in Loot mode, there is a 100% chance to stay undetected by being that are lower rank than you up to 2 small ranks above you. Afterwards the chances lower by 10% every small rank. The same goes for the invulnerability, when an enemy is 3 or more small ranks above you, a full power punch is capable of causing damage]


    [Anyway, that is all I have to say to you. You can figure the rest out. Farewell and good luck to you!] For the last part, the emotionless voice turned into the voice of a wise old man.


    Blake didn''t notice this as he stood there, his beak agape, his mind preoccupied with just a single thought, ''I was scammed!''

 Windrose Seed

    "Chirp" After a few seconds of silence Blake let out a dejected sound.


    He realized that with so many limitations on [Detect and Loot] he would have to work really hard in if he wants to restore his body. And the sooner he starts the sooner he will reach his goal.


    ''But I can''t start when I am stuck at this branch. Why the heck did the bird have to die here?!'' Thought the somewhat angry Blake.


    Spreading his wings, Blake closed his small eyes and tried to imagine himself flying. He could control his wings easily just like people could move their arms and his body instinctively knew how to fly but Blake still wanted to make sure he won''t die.


    After a few minutes he slowly opened his eyes and thought to himself with a serious look on his face, ''How do I go to the toilet?''


    Twenty minutes later, after figuring out all his... functions he finally jumped off the branch. Waving his small wings, Blake looked around, enjoying the scenery with an imaginary smile. Blake was never afraid of heights and he often dreamed of flying when he was a kid, never did he expect though that he would turn into a bird one day.


    After flying for about an hour, he remembered his ability and so he closed his eyes and called out in his mind after he landed on a branch of a tree nearby, ''Detect!''


    Suddenly a yellowish map appeared in his mind. Well, rather than calling it a map, it would be more accurate to call it a drawing instead.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    It had a cardinal point on each side and a small blue triangle in the middle. Blake figured that the triangle was him and the direction he was facing was where the triangle pointed. There was also a long blue line on the right of the map which was apparently a river. Except for that there was nothing on the map.


    After looking at the simple map for a short while Blake opened his eyes and took off again, intending to look for a treasure but a few seconds later he discovered a problem.


    ''Wait, how do I do this? I have no idea how big of an area the map covers.'' Landing back on a branch, he sat down on his butt and rubbed the place under his beak, where his chin would be if he was human, with his right wing.


    Soon an idea struck him, ''Right, I can fly to a point where the river is at the edge of the map and then fly towards it while keeping track of the time.''


    Not wanting to waste any more time, he activated [Detect] and started turning around until his back was facing the river. Afterwards he opened his eyes and flew away at a leisurely pace while checking the map every 30 seconds.


    When he saw that the river was at the edge of the map, he turned around 180 degrees and started flying towards the river while counting the seconds.


    10 minutes later he could finally see the river. After sitting down on a branch nearby to rest for a while, Blake opened the map again to try his luck.


    Unexpectedly, a small green dot was shining on the other side of the river, approximately 3 minutes of flight away from him. The moment he focused on the small green dot, new information appeared in his head.


    [Windrose Seed: level 2 mortal-rank spirit fruit. Mildly increases affinity for wind energy and allows those at Body Refinement stage to advance by a level]


    Blake was extremely excited after reading this. He honestly had no idea what level this Body Refinement was, but according to some of the novels he read, it was the first stage of cultivation.


    ''Windrose Seed, I will definitely get you!''

 A risky plan

    Blake spread his tiny wings and started flying in the direction of the treasure. During his flight he started thinking, ''Treasures are usually protected by something right? I doubt that I will be lucky enough to find an unprotected treasure. I suppose I should hide until I figure out more.''


    He only just got a second chance on life, he definitely didn''t want to lose it. Several minutes later he was flying about 20 meters away from a small cave at the side of an inconspicuous hill. After checking the map, he confirmed that the Windrose Seed was inside but he didn''t know what to do right now. He only had 2 minutes of [Loot] to find and touch the Windrose Seed as the ability would end afterwards and he would have to wait for a whole month.


    Not to mention that if the thing guarding the Windrose Seed was above 2-rank Body Refinement stage, the chances of [Loot] being effective would be lower.


    ''I suppose I don''t have a choice right now, I can only wait for the thing inside to get hungry or something else so that I can sneak in when it isn''t there.'' Blake wasn''t stupid but he wasn''t a genius either so he could only do the safest thing that came to his mind. And so, the long wait began.


    After about 3 hours Blake saw a long black snake with white dots on its body swiftly slither out of the cave however instead of rushing into the cave, Blake patiently waited for the snake to return. Three minutes later, the snake returned with a dead mouse inside of its mouth.


    In the next 3 days, except for eating and ''taking care of his business'', Blake spent all of his time monitoring the cave and at this point, he was sure the snake was the one protecting the Windrose Seed. Now he just needed to wait for the snake to go hunting again.


    ''Seems it is about time...'' At this moment, that black snake finally appeared. Just as the previous few times, it quickly slithered away and the moment he disappeared from sight, Blake dived down from the branch towards the cave. He reached the cave in just a few seconds and quickly entered.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    The cave was quite spacious to the current him but if it was a human, he would have crouch down to enter. There was barely any light inside and the walls looked extremely slippery as if covered with some jellylike substance. The cave looked small from the outside but just as Blake worried, it was actually really long inside and quite complex. After a few seconds Blake had to slow down so that he wouldn''t hit a wall accidentally.


    After a minute, Blake was already getting worried as he knew that he had to leave now but he didn''t get what he wanted yet. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, waiting for another chance, he noticed something shining with the corner of his eye.


    Deciding to risk it he quicky flew over to the shiny thing. It was an azure seed the size of a coconut that had a shining pattern in the shape of a rose on it. Seeing the pattern, Blake was sure that this was the Windrose Seed. He quickly landed on it and tried to lift it but how could a small hummingbird lift such a big thing?


    ''I am not able to bring this out? Was all this waiting just a waste of time?'' He tried a few more times, but he couldn''t lift it no matter how hard he flapped his wings. He could already hear the snake returning back. If he doesn''t activate [Loot] now, he is going to die. Making up his mind, he quickly activated this part of the ability for the first time. He suddenly felt as If he was merging with the world and the seed beneath him suddenly disappeared. He had no time to think about what happened as he quickly flew towards the exit.


    Halfway there, he suddenly saw the snake enter the cave. He hurriedly landed on the side and prayed that the snake wouldn''t notice him. Every second felt like an hour while the snake slowly passed by. Blake finally relaxed when the snake turned around the corner.


    Knowing that the snake will be furious once it finds out that its treasure disappeared, Blake quickly flew away, not stopping until he reached the other side of the river. Once there, he sat down on a branch and thought back to what just happened.


    ''Why did that treasure suddenly disappear when he activated [Loot]? Could it be...''

 Cooking book

    Blake remembered what the voice said before. Something about a space to store the treasures that he took. He tried to focus on this space with his eyes closed and it worked. He felt as if his mind was transported to a different place and he could actually see with his eyes closed.


    He was standing in the middle of a small room the size of about 3x3 meters that had nothing inside except for the Windrose Seed in the corner. After looking around he noticed a weird thing, there was light in the room but no windows nor any other source of light.


    Having checked out the room, Blake flew over and landed on top of the Windrose Seed. When he looked at it a set of information appeared in his mind, [Windrose Seed: Consumable. To bring out the best effect, put it into 1 litre of water and boil it for 15 minutes, add blood of Sand Mouse and carefully stir for 10 minutes before letting it sit for 1 hour, enjoy the meal]


    ''What the...'' Blake thought he was already getting numb to these surprises but this... Is this a recipe? How was he supposed to boil the water? He is a freaking hummingbird!The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    As if his ability understood what he said, another set of information appeared in his mind, [Another method to fully extract the seed''s power is to let it absorb the blood of a Sand Mouse until the seed softens, in this case it will be easy to pierce the outer layer and drink what is inside]


    After thinking for a while Blake decided to go with this method. He didn''t really have a choice anyway if he didn''t want this seed to be useless.


    He opened his eyes and found out that he was still sitting on the branch near the river. He quickly soared up and flew along the river, hoping to meet some thirsty mice. Blake wasn''t really worried about killing the mouse because while he was a weak beast, he was still a beast unlike the Sand Mouse.


    In every aspect he was just like a normal hummingbird except for his beak and claws which were extremely sharp. He could pierce a 2 centimeters thick wooden plank without any problem.


    After an hour of flying around he finally spotted a small yellow mouse calmly drinking from the river. It looked just like any other mouse yet a slight luster was emitting from its body.


    The momentBlake noticed it he realized that this mouse was not as simple as he thought. He decided to make use of the fact that it wasn''t paying attention to attack and so he slowly started creeping forward.

 First fight

    The mouse was still drinking water from the river, not aware of the looming danger slowly moving closer and closer towards it. Blake was soon halfway there when the mouse lifted its head for a while and noticed his reflection in the mirror, its eyes widening.


    ''Shoot! I didn''t think of that.'' Seeing that the mouse noticed him, his gaze became even fiercer and he swooped down aiming his small claws towards the neck of the mouse. It wasn''t the ideal time to attack but he couldn''t wait anymore.


    Originally the mouse only thought that the small bird was just passing by as these birds were usually rather harmonious and calm but the moment it felt the killing intent aiming at it, it realized that this wasn''t the case. It quickly turned around and swung its claw at Blake.


    The moment their claws met Blake was sent flying. The mouse tried to follow up but before it could, Blake quickly flew higher and dived back down. This time he started looking for a weak point as he realized that he had no chance of winning if they fought head-on.


    ''Ouch, my ''leg'' still hurts from before. Dumb mouse I''ll make you pay!'' Neither his actions nor his thoughts were honorable but to him that didn''t really matter. He was fighting for his dream and for his own happiness. He is no knight or whatever. He is just a normal person stuck in an abnormal situation.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    He kept on failing his attacks as the mouse''s defense was very strong but instead of faltering his attacks kept on getting faster and more ruthless. He didn''t know whether it was because of the beast blood inside of him or if he was just venting his frustration from the past couple of days. He just knew that his mind felt lighter and better with each attack.


    Finally after a dozen exchanges Blake realized he would get tired sooner than the mouse so he decided to do something risky. He exposed an opening to lure the mouse to attack him. The mouse thought that the small bird was getting tired and so it fell for the trap without noticing anything.


    It pounced forward aiming for Blake''s right wing yet just at it was about to hit the wing Blake wrapped his wings around himself and plunged straight into the throat of the mouse. He felt his beak entering some sort of soft substance and he quickly pulled out. He could smell blood on his beak and it made him feel a bit nauseous.


    After he quickly flew up to avoid any possible attacks he looked at the scene in front of him with his eyes wide open. The mouse was lying on the ground motionless, its eyes filled with disbelief. It couldn''t believe it was killed by such a small, weak bird. How could it be so cunning?


    Blake flew over to the rocks near the river and picked up a rather large one that could be used as a bowl. He quickly returned and put the rock under the mouse in a way that would make the blood flow into the ''bowl''. He still remembered why he killed the mouse and absolutely didn''t want to look for another one again.


    ''Now it is time to take out the Windrose Seed!''

 Finally!

    Blake closed his eyes and imagined himself entering the space that stores the treasures. Suddenly a bright light flashed in his mind and he was standing in the small windowless room. He flew over to stand on top of the Windrose Seed and imagined himself taking the seed out. With another flash of light he was standing near the dead mouse with the Windrose Seed next to him.


    He grabbed the stone bowl filled to the brim with blood and carefully flew over to be just above the Windrose Seed. He slowly poured the blood on the magical seed, praying that it would work. When the blood touched the seed something unusual happened. It was as if it entered a hole and instead of sliding down it disappeared.


    It was just like those magic tricks he saw on the internet but the difference was that this was not an illusion. For a moment he actually suspected that those magicians in his world were all hiding a Windrose Seed. He soon realized that he got distracted when he saw that no more blood was left in the bowl. He quickly flew back to the dead mouse to collect more blood but by the he collected half of the bowl the blood already stopped flowing out.


    Hoping it would be enough Blake poured the rest of the blood on the Windrose Seed. Just as he was getting anxious the seed suddenly startedshining brightly and a few seconds later it stopped, white steam rising from it.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    ''Oh my god, did I just accidentally fry a magical treasure?!'' Blake couldn''t believe the sight in front of him. He thought that the previous suggestion was just a coincidence yet now it turns out even this method ended up cooking the seed. ''What is wrong with this ability?''


    He felt like he might suffer a mental breakdown if he continued dwelling on this so he quickly focused on finding out whether the method worked. He slowly and carefully tried to pierce the seed with his beak. When he touched the surface he could feel some resistance yet after applying just a bit of pressure he managed to pierce through the shell.


    Blake was extremely ecstatic when he finally managed to get inside the seed. He was finally going to start his road to the top!


    Inside of the Windrose Seed was a slightly hot liquid and when Blake tasted it he found out it tasted like honey and yet it also made him feel refreshed like mint tea. He quickly finished everything that was inside and burped with his tiny belly bulging. He started feeling drowsy but he knew he had to find a safe place to sleep as the forest was extremely dangerous.


    He tried to make a hole inside of the hollow Windrose Seed but the moment he touched it, the entire shell crumbled as it lost its essence. Left with no other choice Blake could only fly up toward the branches and look for a safe place to sleep.


    A few minutes later he finally found a relatively safe little hole in a tree and after entering he covered the exit with some leaves. Just when he was about to make some more security measures he suddenly felt his eyelids were extremely heavy and he fell asleep. Several minutes later, golden mist started dispersing from his body and swirling around him, slowly changing his body...

 A moving treasure

    Three days later Blake opened his eyes from the deep sleep. The moment he woke up he noticed something different about himself. He felt lighter than before and the fatigue that built up in his body over the past few days was gone. Completely relaxed and with a fresh mind, he stood up and skipped over to the exit of this hole. When he got through the cover of leaves and heard the splashing of water in the river he realized how thirsty he was.


    ''How long did I sleep to be this thirsty?'' On the way to the river he noticed that his flight was much faster and smoother than before. He also detected some changes inside of his body but the thirst was getting stronger each second so he didn''t pay it any attention for now.


    Once he landed by the river, Blake leaned forward to drink the water yet when he saw his reflection he was very surprised. His previously red body was now dark orange and his beak and claws were now golden while his eyes were black. He wondered how he didn''t notice it initially and he came to the conclusion that he was too thirsty to notice.


    After drinking enough water for three, hummingbirds naturally, Blake sat down on his butt again, closed his eyes and checked the changes in his body. It was as if some sort of chains that kept him from getting stronger were broken and now his body was slowly absorbing energy from around. He could feel that he broke through twice when he was asleep and as such he was now a 2 stage Body Refinement beast.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    He tried to utilize the energy he absorbed but he soon realized that this energy was being used to nurture his body and as such he was unable to do anything with it. After carefully checking his whole body he stood up and decided that it was time for him to move on. The only reason he stayed at this place was the Windrose Seed and now that he consumed it, it was time to move on.


    He opened the map in his mind and after seeing that no new treasure appeared around he decided to travel along the river as he was hoping he would come across some sort of a city. He was sure that there would be some treasures there as well as information about this world.


    Several days later, Blake was sitting on a tree branch and looking at the sunset with a melancholic look on his face. ''I had no idea this forest was so big. I am getting bored here. I want some action!'' Whined Blake in his mind.


    As if to answer his whining, the moment Blake opened his map to check for a treasure he saw a green dot moving towards him. Quickly standing up as if he was electrocuted, Blake thought in his mind, ''Could it be that a treasure is going to fall into my hands without any effort on my side?!''

 Rock vs Swordsmen

    Three minutes later a human figure appeared in the distance quickly becoming bigger and bigger. As the figure got closer, Blake suddenly noticed something was wrong. The figure was still some distance away from him but he could already clearly see who, or what to be precise, was running towards him.


    It was a humanoid being made of rocks about three meters tall with a bulky build and two shiny red gems for its eyes. About a hundred meters behind this being were two people dressed fully in black, each of them holding a sword as they were quickly catching up to this being.


    ''A golem! I can''t believe I would meet such a magical creature this soon. But what is going on there, are those two trying to kill the poor rock?'' Blake was really surprised when he saw the golem. He already fought a giant yellow rat but that could in no way compare to seeing a golem with his own two eyes.


    As the golem got even closer, Blake noticed that the golem was trying to protect something it was holding in its left hand and that it had sword cuts all over its body.Soon the two swordsmen caught up to the golem and swung their swords at the back of the golem. The golem felt the cold light and surprisingly quickly turned around and sent a fist covered in brown light at the man closer to it.


    When the swords cut into the abdomen, the fist of the golem simultaneously hit one of the men and he exploded like a balloon pierced by a needle. The golem wasn''t much better off as its left leg was cut off cleanly and it fell on the ground. The man that survived was staring at the place where his companion died, stunned. Soon the surprise transformed into anger as he turned to look at the golem on the ground that was trying to stand up with its only leg left.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    "You actually dared to killed my brother. I was going to grant you a swift death after taking the manual but now I am going to make you wish you were dead." The man was spitting everywhere as he roared, his face red and his eyes bloodshot because his fury.


    "GROWL!" The golem was staring straight into the man''s eyes without any fear but Blake could clearly feel the sorrow it was trying to hide. It slowly got up by supporting itself with a tree and after that it carefully put the scroll it was hiding in its left hand on the ground.


    The man was clearly furious but when he saw the scroll, greed flashed in his eyes and he said grimly, "If your small village pledged loyalty to our Moren Clan and obediently handed over that scroll, it wouldn''t have been annihilated. Hopefully you won''t make such a mistake in your next life."


    Having said that, he swung the sword in his hand at the golem''s head. The golem quickly blocked with its left hand and punched the man with its right hand, the brown light once again enclosing the fist. The man suddenly disappeared just when the sword was about to land and he appeared behind the golem. He once again swung his sword and cut off the golem''s head.


    Seeing the head fall down he finally relaxed and let out a sigh yet what he couldn''t see was the smile on the golem''s face as if it wasn''t the least surprised by what happened. Out of nowhere a strong light was released from the body of the golem and it exploded into hundreds of small sharp pieces that flew everywhere. The man clearly wasn''t prepared for that and he was turned into a beehive.


    All that was left of this destructive fight was a corpse, a scroll and several hundred small rocks in the middle of a forest. Nobody knew what happened here. Nobody but a small hummingbird that was looking from afar, his eyes wide open.

 Mine

    Waiting for a few minutes to pass nothing in the area moved so Blake decided that it was safe to go down for the scroll. As his [Loot] was still on cooldown, he decided that it would be best to grab it and run away. Flapping his wings as fast as he could he swooped down for the scroll and once he had it in his claws he quickly flew away without even turning back.


    After crossing to the other side of the river he flew downstream for about five minutes before stopping. He imagined himself putting that scroll into the storage place for treasures and the scroll actually disappeared from his claws as if it never even existed. ''Sigh, if I could teleport there too I wouldn''t have to sleep on the tree every day.'' His wishes unfortunately couldn''t come true as the space was made to store treasures and not living beings.


    It took him another 30 minutes of flight before he finally felt that there was no danger around and so he landed on a tree not too far away from the river. After sitting down on his butt and adjusting himself, he imagined entering the storage space. The bright light flashed before his eyes and he was standing in the middle of the room again, an ancient scroll lying on the ground in front of him.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    He touched the scoll with his beak and a set of information appeared in his head, [The scroll contains a map of an energy crystal mine found by Rock Rocky, a golem who lived over 200 years ago. Energy crystal is a crystallized energy and it has many uses including transforming into pure energy that is very easy to absorb. As noted by Rock, there is enough energy crystals to let a Fog Gathering cultivator break through. The mine is marked no the map, would you like to mark the mine on [Detect] or not?]


    To be honest Blake was a bit disappointed as he was expecting some sort of a powerful magic like the brown light that the golem used to fight against those two swordsmen but when he heard that he could use [Detect] to get to the mine his mood improved somewhat. This meant that he wouldn''t have to walk around everywhere looking for the mine. Blake was really bad with these ancient maps because he used navigation whenever he wanted to get somewhere in his previous life.


    ''Yes, I would.'' Answered Blake in his mind. After looking around the room again he opened his eyes and activated [Detect] right away. He could see that except for the blue triangle in the middle there was a yellow X at the edge of the map on one side. As Blake didn''t want to waste any more time he decided to fly to the mine right away but what he didn''t know was that he would meet with an unexpected situation...

 Gaining experience

    On his way, he started thinking about the things that he saw. About the golem who wanted to protect its family heirloom and about the Moren Clan who annihilated a village for that map. He suddenly realized just how different this world was from his original world. He heard about it from the voice previously but only after he experienced it did he realize the vast difference.


    ''All the more reason to get stronger quickly.'' Thought Blake. He was a beast in this life and their treatment was even worse as they followed their beastly instincts. Blake might be an exception but with so many negative examples what does one small hummingbird beast matter.


    A month passed yet Blake was still nowhere close to his destination but he managed to break through to 3 stage of Body Refinement. His speed and strength increased substantially and his reflexes got faster as well. He could feel that he had approximately two more months before he would reach another stage. Today he was flying at a leisurely tempo as the initial excitement wore off after a few days of nonstop flying.


    ''Sigh, this sort of flying is really boring, I read that experience is important. Maybe I should fight some weaker beasts to gain some experience.'' Blake was so bored he started thinking about some way to ease his boredom. He started looking for some weak beasts to bully, I mean to train himself on and soon he found his first victim.


    It was a small brown squirrel with seven dark blue tails that was actually swimming in the river by spinning its seven tails in circular motion. The moment Blake generated some killing intent towards the squirrel, it turned around to look at him and jumped out of the water while screeching.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Blake let it do so as he wasn''t here to assassinate the squirrel. He wanted to have a proper fight to the death with the squirrel to gain experience. Admittedly it sounded ridiculous but given the speed with which the squirrel jumped out of the water it wouldn''t be a problem for it to outrun a bike going downhill.


    Blake dived down aiming his claws at the throat of the squirrel. If this squirrel was at the level of the Sand Mouse from before it would die with just this one attack but the squirrel seemed to be at the 2 stage of Body Refinement and it was as strong as Blake was just a few days ago. It quickly dodged to the side and used its tails to coil around Blake.


    Seeing the tails nearing him swiftly, Blake flew back as fast as possible and when the tails stretched out to the fullest he dashed forward and tore one of the tails in half. The squirrel squealed in pain and its eyes turned red before it furiously threw itself at Blake without worrying about defense. It bit at Blake''s small body while using the tails that were still intact to blockhis escape routes.


    ''Damn, looks like I will have to kill him.'' As someone who was of higher stage than the squirrel he was naturally certain that if they met head-on he would come out on top. When the squirrel was close enough, he aimed his beak at the squirrel''s heart and moved forward so as to not give the squirrel any chance to react. The squirrel was given no time to react and its heart got pierced by the beak. The red in its eyes slowly faded and was replaced by disbelief.


    At the moment Blake pierced through the squirrel''s heart he suddenly had a vision. He saw a beautiful golden bird with its beak so sharp it could tear apart the sky. A second later that vision disappeared but Blake had the feeling that he gained something.

 Elf

    Blake sensed that the bird that appeared in his vision was somehow connected to him. Not by the soul but more like by blood. He pulled his beak out of the squirrel''s body and closed his eyes to think about the feeling he had when he was looking at the bird. It was as if he too was capable of such imposing sharpness. As if it wasn''t just about a sharp beak but about the intent.


    Thinking about this sharp intent for too long made him feel extremely dizzy so he had to stop for the day because he felt that he could cause some serious injuries to his mind if he continued. In any case, the image was ingrained in his mind and he wasn''t worried it might disappear overnight. Blake sensed that as long as he contemplates that vision every day he can surely develop the same intent the bird had but if he only did that it would probably take him over a thousand years.


    ''If this is my gain from just one fight then I will have to fight more in the future.'' Thought Blake as he soared into the sky again to continue his travels. Over the next couple of days he fought a beast that was weaker than him once a day as he would be too tired to fight again in the same day. His fighting style improved a lot and he mainly focused on using his beak to pierce his enemies like a lance however nothing magical happened again which made him a bit disappointed.


    "Kyah!"


    Today was another ''normal'' day for Blake as he was still traveling to the mine when he heard some sort of commotion from nearby. He could swear to god that it sounded like a little girl was screaming and so he rushed towards the area where he heard it from. Halfway there he saw a young man with peculiar green hair jump out of a bush and run towards Blake with a big bear following behind him.


    The young man had green hair, pointy ears, purplish skin and he was wearing a simple robe like the one cultists of his previous world would wear except his was green. He was running away from the bear while holding his robes up so that he doesn''t trip on them which looked quite funny in Blake''s opinion.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Blake was stunned for a moment when he saw this scene of a furious bear chasing the weird elf. A moment later he couldn''t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. His laughter was basically just chirping yet the elf looked at him and yelled, "What are you laughing at, huh? How about helping me out here?"


    For the second time today, Blake was stunned as he stared at the man and tried saying something, ''You understand what I am saying?'' Yet what came out was just another chirp. The man looked at Blake in surprise while running in circles and said, "Of course I understand you but, how do you speak so well, you look like a Body Refinement beast and those are generally too stupid to think to this extent."


    ''We can talk about that later but right now let''s beat this bear.'' Blake was completely ecstatic to meet someone he could talk to. He was already going a bit crazy from talking to himself all the time and he was absolutely unwilling to see this person die.


    "Alright, I''ll fight him head on so you can sneak attack him." Said the elf and he suddenly transformed into a green bear that was only a bit smaller than the other one. He threw himself at the bear beast and they started fighting. Blake noticed that they were almost equally powerful but the bear beast was slowly gaining the advantage.


    Blake circled behind the beast and closed on it without it noticing. He quickly swept down and scratched the tendons of the back left leg of the bear. The bear was not much stronger than Blake but it had the advantage in size. It groaned in pain and it was about to turn to attack Blake but how could that elf give it theto chance.


    The elf quicky swept his bear paw and slapped the beast on its head with full force. The bear beast fell to the ground, groaning in confusion. It was sure that it was going to win yet a small bird suddenly attacked it from behind, making it lose the fight. It closed its eyes and waited for the final strike.


    Blake was already plunging down towards the bear when he heard the elf speak, "Wait, don''t kill it! I was the one who entered its territory, it was just protecting it, there is no need to kill it."

 Bob the Druid

    ''What? Let it go? It just tried to kill us.'' Blake looked at the elf as if he had some mental illness. This elf was very weird but Blake could feel that it wasn''t his own opinion but rather something he was taught as he spoke of the matter as if it was obvious that they should let it live. Since he was only helping the elf, he didn''t feel that it was right for him to selfishly kill the bear beast.


    "You see, we Druids believe that every life is important and that we have no right to kill beings that don''t threaten us or cause harm to nature. Of course that doesn''t mean that we hold back in fights as all lives including ours are equal." Spoke the elf grandly while looking into the distance.


    ''Oh, sure... Anyway, my name is Blake and you are?'' Blake knew of these druids from games so he had a basic idea about them. They were basically worshipers of nature who used the magic of nature to protect the nature. Weird bunch in Blake''s opinion but their magic was certainly cool.


    "My name is Bobius but call me Bob. I am a Druid from Irontalon City''s branch of Druid Guild, or more like Druid apprentice." Said Bob as he smiled at Blake.


    ''It''s nice to meet you, uh, Bob. Would you mind if I joined you for the time being? I am travelling around looking for trea- I mean for cities to visit.'' Said Blake, almost telling Bob about the treasures. He knew that Bob wouldn''t believe him and that he shouldn''t tell anyone about it anyway. He had too many secrets and he definitely didn''t want to be turned into some sort of research experiment for the experts of this world.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "Sure you can, I want to know more about you." Bob was looking at Blake strangely as he said that.


    Feeling a chill run down his spine, Blake backed off a bit as he slowly said, ''I am sorry but I don''t swing that way, besides, is that even allowed?'' He had the body of a hummingbird but he was a straight man inside.


    "No no no, I didn''t mean it like that. I meant the fact that you are so intelligent while being only a Body Refinement beast. So as to answer your question, it is frowned upon but if you are powerful enough, nobody will dare say anything." Bob was quite flustered when he heard Blake''s question but he answered him nonetheless.


    For the next couple of days that they travelled together, Blake learned quite a few things from Bob. They were currently in the outer part of the Darkwood forest which was a large forest filled with beasts that existed as a natural barrier between the Goldheim Kingdom and the Wohan Kingdom.


    They were on the side of the Goldheim Kingdom and Bob was from Irontalon City which was on the south of the kingdom and it was also the city that was the closest to them. At least that was what Bob said but he got lost shortly after entering the forest and now he had no idea where he was. Blake felt that it was quite ironic that a druid got lost in the forest but he kept quiet as he noticed that Bob was quite sensitive about the druid stuff. Another thing was that Blake had to stop hunting other beasts as he would get a long lecture from the druid every time he tried.


    A few days later they finally arrived at the outskirts of the forest...

 Devilish Beast

    As Blake and Bob walked out of the forest what appeared in front of them were green plains as far as they could see. They could see several beasts scattered across the plains, feeding on the grass. When Blake and Bob walked out of the forest these beasts looked up and after seeing that it wasn''t any dangerous predator they completely ignored the pair and went back to eating.


    ''Hey Bob, didn''t you say that the city was just a few hundred meters away from the forest and that it was surrounded by hills?'' Asked Blake without any surprise in his voice. During their ''adventure'', not ending up entering some dangerous place was already worth celebrating.


    "Well maybe they moved it to a nicer place." Answered Bob with a puzzled expression.


    ''Right... let''s just go this way. I have a feeling it''s the right direction.'' Said Blake as he turned to fly in the direction of the energy mine. Since Bob had no idea where to go he decided to join Blake, hoping that he knew what he was doing. As they moved in the direction of the mine they noticed that the scattered beast were becoming fewer and fewer in number until eventually they couldn''t see a single one anywhere.


    Soon, the sun was setting and Blake suddenly started getting fidgety for no apparent reason and so he landed on the ground and said, ''I think that we should look for a place to spend the night, something is not right here.''This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    "What are you talking about, I don''t feel anything. Let''s keep going." Said Bob as he kept walking forward. He had great confidence in his senses as a druid and since he didn''t feel that anything was wrong he didn''t take Blake''s warning to heart.


    Blake''s instincts were screaming at him to run at this point and so he warned Bob one last time, ''Sorry, I am going to hide until the morning and you should too.''


    With that he turned around and flew at his fastest speed, completely ignoring Bob who just scoffed at how scared he was. Soon he found a hole in the ground that was big enough to hide a fox. He jumped inside and waited for night to fall. The moment it turned dark Blake felt a chill run down his spine. He peeked outside and he saw a luminous azure mist rising from the ground.


    Slowly the mist became so thick that he could only see about a meter around himself. It was the moment he saw something he would be unable to forget for a very long time.


    Some sort of a feline beast slowly walked through the mist, moving in the same direction that Bob left. It was pitch black as if it was absorbing all the light, its eyes were blood red and it had a weird red brand on its forehead that looked like a laughing face with a pair of horns protruding from its head. When Blake looked at the face, he could hear an eerie and devilish laugher in his ears.


    It was at this moment that the beast turned to look in Blake''s direction...

 Mysterious mist

    When the beast started to turn around, Blake quickly hid back inside and prayed that the beast wouldn''t notice him. Blake was sure that if he was noticed by the beast, it wouldn''t even need to move to kill him. The overbearing and sinister presence made him feel like an ant in front of an elephant if elephants were the incarnations of the devil.


    The beast looked around and its gaze momentarily stopped at a small hole nearby but a few seconds later it turned around, seeming to have lost interest. It walked away into the mist once again and disappeared in the distance, only a slight smell of blood lingering in the air.


    Blake was shivering in the hole, unable to move for a long time afterwards. When the beast looked at him he felt as if he was transported to hell, horrible screams full of resentment rang in his ears for what seemed like eternity, until the beast turned around and left. It wasn''t until the next morning that Blake finally recovered enough to walk out of the small hole.


    Everything outside was the same as the day before. It looked as if nothing happened during the night yet Blake knew that it wasn''t a nightmare even though it felt like it was. Absolutely unwilling to stay for even a moment longer he spread his wings and soared to the sky, flying away from that place. He didn''t want to risk another night at that place so he flew back to where they came from.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    When he finally saw the beasts feeding on the grass he slowed down and looked around. He could see the forest not too far away and so he decided to spend the rest of the day there, trying to get himself together.


    He may not have been the most fearless person in his previous life but he surely wasn''t a coward. By the afternoon he was already rather calm and he found out that he broke through to the 4 stage of Body Refinement a month earlier than he expected.As he thought about the power inside of him he had mixed feelings. He was afraid of the devilish beast yet he felt that he broke through thanks to it.


    When he saw the sun setting he flew out of the forest to see what the beasts there would do and he wasn''t disappointed. The beasts all started running into the forest once they saw the night about to fall. Once they entered the forest they lied down in groups and fell asleep comfortably.


    Soon the night fell and the azure mist from before started rising up from the ground. Blake noticed that the mist actually entered the forest and flowed like small streams into the bodies of the beasts. One of the streams, slightly thicker than the others, was rushing towards him.


    Blake hesitated slightly in this situation, ''Man, what if this mist is dangerous? But the beasts seem to be alright. Oh well, what is the worst that can happen?''


    Blake resolutely reached forward and touched the mist with his wing! What happened afterwards was something that Blake never expected. It was... nothing. He felt nothing when he touched the mist, it was as if it wasn''t even there. Just as he was disappointed he felt something move inside of him.


    ''Jesus, when did I get pregnant!?''

 Ghastly Azure

    After the initial shock passed Blake quickly focused on the movement inside of him and fortunately found out that instead of a baby, the thing that moved inside of him was the mysterious mist from before. He didn''t feel anything when it was absorbed because it was too spread out.


    Now that it was inside of him, it started congregating and soon it was concentrated enough to notice. What Blake wanted to figure out now is whether this mist is dangerous or beneficial to him. If it was the former then he at least hoped that it wouldn''t be life threatening.


    Out of habit or perhaps thanks to intuition he closed his eyes and opened the map yet what he saw left him dumbfounded. A huge area in front of the blue triangle that represented him was green and very soon a string of information appeared in his mind as if it was always there.


    [Azure Ghastly Deathmist: Special highly-concentrated death energy that naturally forms at a place where many powerful beings died hundreds of years in the past. Unlike normal energy which automatically diffuses after absorbing, this mist has a tendency to converge on one place to form a so called Ghastly Azure Heart that is basically solidified mist.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    This Ghastly Azure Heart slowly evolves the body so that it can absorb death energy which living beings normally cannot absorb. The quality of the Ghastly Azure Heart is determined by the amount of mist absorbed. The more energy you absorb the better the Ghastly Azure Heart that it forms.


    You will be informed further upon the formation of the Ghastly Azure Heart.]


    ''Woah, this thing has a scary name but it is a treasure nonetheless. I have some questions about the information that I am not allowed to know for now but it is quite nice otherwise.'' Thought Blake as he opened his eyes again.


    He quickly jumped into the mist to absorb as much of it as possible but he still stayed quite close to the forest as he was scared of that beast from before. He figured that the beast was staying at this place because it knew about the effects of this mist. Blake really wanted this mist all for himself but he had no chance of defeating that thing.


    ''Hmm, would it be possible to store this mist inside of the special space? It is not a living being and it is recognized as a treasure so it is technically possible. Let me try, I am such a genius!'' Blake was really happy with this plan he came up with.


    He quickly got to work and imagined sucking all of the mist into the special space. The mist started roiling and instead of gradually getting sucked in, it all disappeared in a moment, leaving Blake dumbstruck. Suddenly, a loud angry roar rang out from the distance and along with it a strong aura of bloodlust spread out which finally woke Blake up.


    ''Oh shi....''

 Angry Cat

    Blake felt a chill run down his spine as he realized that his plan may have been a bit extreme but it was too late to regret. He swiftly turned around and flew into the forest behind him. He also tried to activate [Loot] but since he already took the mist he couldn''t.


    The beasts that were sleeping peacefully in the forest woke up because of the roar and they were running around haphazardly. Blake quickly picked a direction to fly in and rushed off. He knew that whoever such a furious, bloodthirsty beast meets, that person will not have a good end.


    As luck would have it, after a few minutes of running he noticed a huge feline beast with a brand on its head running about furiously while wrecking havoc everywhere it went. Blake was really afraid that it would notice him so he flew very low, hoping it would be effective while holding his breath.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Fortunately for him, the beast had no idea what happened to the mist so after venting its frustration it went away to look for the mist. As it was leaving, it didn''t forget to roar angrily one more time. Blake let out the breath he was holding and slumped on the ground.


    ''Damn, this world is so tiring...'' Thought Blake as he lied there for over an hour. Ever since he came to this world it has been about moving around looking for treasures. He was already getting tired of all that. Well, not the treasures but the danger. He knew that he had to work hard if he wishes to reach the top but he felt that he had the right to take a break.


    Just as he was resting, he felt his lifeblood being sucked into one place along with the Ghastly Azure Mist and a strange small crystal appeared in his body. Blake was confused for a second before he heard a ding in his head and a set of information appeared in his mind.


    After taking a quick glance at the information his face turned sour and he thought to himself, ''So this is how we''re gonna play huh? well bring it on!''

 Future

    [Ghastly Azure Heart''s initial stage has been formed. Affinity for death energy will increase over time by slowly diffusing the Ghastly Azure Mist throughout the whole body and the Ghastly Azure Heart will disappear once all the mist is used up or upon the death of the host]


    [Due to the incompatibility between your body and death energy, your vitality was used to stabilize the Ghastly Azure Heart and as such, your lifespan has been halved. After some calculations your remaining lifespan was determined to be around four years. Each upgrade of the Ghastly Azure Heart will further halve your lifespan.]


    After reading this, Blake naturally felt like cursing but he was under too much pressure to bother with that. Four years seemed enough given his current cultivation speed but he recently noticed that it takes longer and longer to reach the next level after breaking through. It was only natural as the amount of energy he needed to absorb increased exponentially with every breakthrough.


    Blake originally wanted to absorb the rest of the mist he took but now it seemed a bit too risky. He believed that he had a bright future ahead with this ability of his but instead of finding some life lengthening treasure he found a life shortening one...If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    But looking at it from another perspective, this thing halved his lifespan yet it was still considered a treasure which means that the pros greatly surpass the cons. Hopefully Blake will not regret absorbing the mist in the future as he currently does.


    ''Anyway, now is not the time to think about this. I need to figure out a way to increase my cultivation speed.'' Thought Blake as he shook his head.


    After several minutes of pondering he already had a rough sketch of his plan in mind. He would aim for the energy mine and on the way there, he would fight the beasts to further sharpen his beak. When he was previously under pressure because of the rampaging ''kitty'', he gained some insight into the image of the golden bird he saw that time.


    He figured this out when he felt the murderous aura of that feline beast. He felt that the murderous aura was very similar to the sharp aura in some aspects. He wasn''t really sure for now but he felt that it is connected to his soul and will rather than to the energy used for cultivation.


    He wanted to know more about this power, he yearned for it even more than for the energy cultivation for some unknown reason but because he didn''t know how to get it, he decided to fight more and perhaps he will experience that image again.


    ''Hehe. Little beasts, Papa is here. Uh, that sounds worse than I thought...''

 A bird with a purple head

    It didn''t Blake a long time to come across a beast on his way to the energy mine. That beast was a pitch black crow with a purple head that was just in the middle of eating a mouse when Blake noticed it. Blake felt that the crow shouldn''t be too strong so he circled around it a few time before letting out a ''battle chirp'' and diving down.


    Being rudely interrupted in the middle of its meal, the crow was naturally furious and when it saw the little thing that attacked it, it dodged to the side with a scornful look. It really didn''t take Blake seriously due to his small size. What could that little thing possibly do to it? It disdained to even attack him.


    Blake didn''t really mind that the crow looked down on him as it made killing it a lot easier and besides, right now he was trying to improve the quantity of his fights rather than their quality.


    He quickly devised a devious plan to deal with the bird. He intentionally slowed down and tried to cover his sharp beak. He let the crow dodge his attacks a couple of times and when he finally saw it lower its guard, Blake abruptly accelerated. The crow clearly wasn''t expecting this as by the time it reacted, Blake''s sharp beak was already only a dozen centimeters away from its chest.


    However just as Blake''s beak was about to touch it, the crow narrowed its eyes and a metallic sheen covered its feathers. It was almost as if it turned into a metal statue. When Blake reached him and tried to pierce him, he actually hurt his beak. It was the same as if a person rammed his head against an iron plate.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    After using this weird ability, the crow couldn''t move and so it plunged down towards the ground. Blake thought that the crow would transform back before reaching the ground but to his great surprise the crow statue actually hit the ground hard, giving rise to a cloud of dust.


    ''What the-'' Before Blake could even finish his thought, a black streak pierced through the cloud of dust and flew towards him with immense momentum. Blake didn''t even need to look carefully as he was sure that it was the crow. He tried to dodge to the side yet the crow seemed to have transformed somehow as it was now a lot stronger than before.


    He did his best and managed to cover his vitals so the attack only caused him some superficial injuries. The metallic sheen on the crow''s body was a lot duller than before but it hasn''t disappeared yet. The crow flew on instead of turning around immediately and only when it lost its momentum did it slowly turn.


    Blake figured that the ability increased the crow''s raw strength in exchange for the flexibility of its body. Honestly he had no idea how that worked but it did and he didn''t have the time to bother with it. Blake was kind of jealous of that ability as it was really cool in his opinion.


    Anyway back to the fight. After the crow turned around to face him, Blake noticed that the crow was now staring at him with a confident look. At first he didn''t understand why the crow would look at him like that but then it hit him.


    ''Crap, the crow was slowing down when it was flying upwards, probably because its weight increased, but now it is attacking from above.''


    Just as he thought of this and was about to fly higher, the crow plunged down towards him and started spinning like a drill. Blake wondered how it would know where he is...

 Wishful plan

    Blake clearly realized that he won''t be able to get above the crow without it hitting him and so he decided to do something else. He dived down hoping to hide himself behind the trees and possibly dodge somehow. He wasn''t sure it would work but he was sure that if he got hit then he would be at least badly wounded.


    Since the crow was far above him right now Blake was sure he could get to the trees before the crow catches up. A moment later he could hear the crow tearing through the air not too far behind him but he paid it no attention and kept diving down while trying to come up with a proper plan.


    He couldn''t get hit and he also can''t allow the fight to go on like this. Blake wasn''t sure about the crow''s endurance but since he was exerting all his strength to survive he was quickly reaching his limit. According to his estimation, he could only go on like this for 30 more seconds. That might seem really little but in reality, Blake was capable of moving several meters in a second.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    In just a moment Blake was already flying through the trees with the crow close behind him. Catching up to him was a matter of only few seconds. When he was getting desperate he passed through the thick layer of branches and leaves and the ground appeared in his sight. The moment he saw the ground an idea popped into his head.


    Blake made a rather drastic decision. He kept on flying without even slowing down towards a place where the ground seemed to be the toughest. As he was getting closer, he couldn''t help but gulp. Previously as he saw the ground, he remembered something he read online back when he was a normal person. Apparently an enormous number of birds die by hitting a window.


    Now, Blake naturally didn''t think that the crow was stupid enough to kill itself by hitting the ground too hard. He just hoped it is intelligent enough to give up on killing him with this dive if it means it won''t hit the ground and quite possibly die. After all, beasts are rather ferocious and they do get a bit too vindictive when provoked but that does not mean that they are willing to die if they don''t have to.


    Unfortunately for Blake, the crow never saw what happens when a bird hits the ground while diving at top speed and it was rather overconfident in its defense...

 What is wrong with me?

    Seeing that this ''threat'' wasn''t going to save him the pain, Blake hardened his heart and prepared for the hit. He slightly changed his direction and spread his wings to soften the fall. The crow beast was just behind him and its spinning beak was just a few millimeters away from his back when Blake finally hit the ground. Even after the last minute preparation the hit was very strong and sent him tumbling until he hit a tree.


    Fortunately for Blake, the fall served its purpose and caused the crow to miss its attack. The crow was currently extremely miserable. Just when it thought that it would finally kill that annoying fly, the said fly abruptly hit the ground which sent it flying, leaving the crow no chance to chase it. It didn''t even have the time to think before it hit the hard ground too. However unlike Blake who was sent flying, the crow actually drilled a hole into the ground, disappearing inside.


    Several minutes later, Blake regained his consciousness, which he lost when he hit his head somewhere along the tumbling and passed out, and tried to move his body. After slowly standing on his small feet he noticed a sharp pain in his left wing and near his chest. He fell back on his bottom and sighed while thinking, ''It seems that I have a broken wing and a rib. That is quite bad but fortunately it is not as bad as I thought. It still freaking hurts though.''Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    After wallowing in self pity for a moment, Blake remembered that he was being chased by an angry bird and got fidgety. Yet when nothing happened for a while he calmed down and realized that something wasn''t right. If the crow was going toto attack him, it would have done so when he was unconscious and he wouldn''t be there right now.


    Blake took a while to remember what happened as his memories were all scattered. In a moment, he remembered everything and a grin appeared on his face. Or it would if he could actually grin. As for why he was grinning, it was naturally because of his brush with death. He lived while the crow drilled into the ground and probably died.


    Feeling rejuvenated by this fact he started carefully skipping towards the hole in the ground caused by the crow. It was not far away but because he couldn''t fly at the time and he had a broken rib so he could only move forward slowly, it felt like an eternity to Blake. When he finally got there and carefully looked inside, what he saw was something completely expected.


    It was the bottom of the crow which was no longer moving or breathing. When Blake looked at the bottom of this crow, he suddenly felt an indescribable urge. ''What the... What is wrong with me?! This crow is clearly male and since when do I like birds anyway?''


    Fortunately before he seriously started to contemplate trying something to confirm his theory, he realized that the thing he is being drawn to is not the crow''s body but something inside it.

 Enlightenment

    Having no idea what he was actually drawn to, Blake had to find a way to get the body out of the hole to check it. He was absolutely unwilling to stick his ''mouth'' into the crow''s butt. To him, whatever was inside of the crow was not worth the suffering he would have to undergo. Now that it crossed his mind, he didn''t even know what was inside of the crow and so he opened the map in his mind. Just as he thought, a dot appeared on the map but unlike the usual green color, it was red.


    Blake focused on the red dot and asked in his mind as if asking himself, ''What is the difference between a green dot and a red one?'' The system of his [Detect and Loot] was rather unreliable sometimes with not telling him everything but at least


    it never ignored him when he asked something related to the working of the ability. As such he wasn''t surprised when a set of information appeared in his mind immediately.


    [The green dot signifies a treasure that does not require killing anything as it''s usually things like spirit fruits or rare materials while the red dot represents a treasure in the form of a living being''s body part. The most common representatives of this kind of a treasure are inheritance stones and energy-infused bones.]


    ''Oh, that means that [Loot] is useless when it comes to red treasures. It''s good that I found this out before making a fatal mistake sometime in the future...'' Thought Blake as he opened his eyes and looked down on the dead crow. After looking at it in silence for a while, he let out a sigh and got to work.


    Since he couldn''t fly and lifting heavy objects with a broken rib was out of the question, he decided to cover the hole first so that nobody finds it and then he will go look for some medicinal herbs to recover faster. That was one of the pros of being a beast. His instincts were absurdly strong and after he broke through last time, he could somewhat sense which herbs were poisonous and which were beneficial.


    Soon he covered the small hole with some branches and dirt and then he started looking for herbs. It was not hard to find herbs that could be used however the strength of these common medicinal herbs was very weak. Blake managed to gather a lot of them but since their individual strength was very weak, he had the idea to mix them up.


    He knew that it could be dangerous to use something he mixed up without any knowledge but since he could tell whether a plant was poisonous he thought that he could tell whether a medicinal paste was poisonous too. Since these herbs were so common, he could collect more of them anytime he wants.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Blake understood that he can''t simply mix everything together since every herb had a different use. He started out by picking out two herbs with similar attributes and crushed them into paste with a stone. The herbs he picked both had a chilling and bone healing effect when applied on skin and when he mixed them together these attributes strengthened somewhat. The unfortunate thing was that from a comfortable chill it changed into a painful chill and thus the paste caused more harm than good.


    In this way, Blake spent the whole day experimenting and in the end he actually managed to create a paste that increased his recovery speed by a 100%. Blake estimated that if he used the paste daily then he should be alright in two weeks which surprised him greatly. A full recovery in just two weeks was really too fast. He could only attribute it to the fact that he is a cultivating beast instead of a normal human.


    Blake also tried to pull the crow out with his injuries but it didn''t work as the crow was unnaturally heavy for its size. Since he had no way to pull it out before he recovered, Blake decided to focus on something else for the time being. He thought back to the time when the crow activated its ability and the familiar feeling he had. He knew that the familiarity was because of the sharp aura that he was trying to cultivate with the image of the bird branded in his mind.


    Blake hoped that he could gain enlightenment regarding the sharp aura sooner by comparing and contrasting that sharpness with the metallic aura on the crow. He had two weeks of doing nothing except for applying the medicinal paste so he had a lot of time to spend on this aura cultivation.


    ...


    ''Ugh, it is faster than before yet it is still too slow.''


    Blake was currently lying on his back, his mood terrible. A week has already passed and yet Blake made almost no progress with regards to his aura cultivation. Admittedly comparing auras helped speed up his comprehension but at the same time he couldn''t fight due to his injuries which slowed it down.


    He closed his eyes to take a short nap yet he started feeling restless just as he was about to fall asleep which absolutely didn''t make his mood any better. He grudgingly got up and skipped over to hide behind a tree. Soon he saw two boars fighting as they slowly made their way closer towards him.


    At first, Blake didn''t pay them much attention but as they got closer and closer, his eyes widened and his body started trembling slightly as it dawned on him. Those two boars... weren''t fighting.


    It was at this moment that Blake finally gained enlightenment regarding the aura of sharpness and also another image that was ingrained into his mind...

 The final week

    Thirty minutes later, long after the boars passed by, Blake finally recovered from his shock. He didn''t want to think about that ''public display of affection'' so he focused on the enlightenment he just gained and tried to activate the aura of sharpness. When he did, a thin layer of flowing silver light that covered his whole beak appeared.


    It was absolutely incomparable to what the golden bird in his vision used yet when he saw the aura, Blake got really excited. He immediately decided to test it. He skipped over to the nearest boulder and with his aura active, he thrust his beak forward like a spear. His beak touched the rock and it was like a hot knife going through butter. It entered with little to no resistance and as Blake wasn''t expecting it to be so easy, he actually lost balance and hit his head.


    ''Ouch, what the... man am I tired.'' Blake was angry for a short moment yet as the shock from hitting his head passed, his whole bodyf turned heavy and his thoughts muddled. He tried to keep his eyes open but after a short struggle, he felldecided asleep standing, his beak still in the boulder.


    The next morning, Blake woke up with his whole body stiff and he couldn''t move his head. He panicked and pulled his head out immediately. As he realized what happened, he broke out in cold sweat. Fortunately for him, he pulled his beak out a bit previously so he didn''t suffocate and no dangerous beasts found him when he was sleeping.


    ''Well that was embarrassing... To think that I fell asleep just like that, it seems that this aura consumes my mental energy very swiftly. I can activate it during fights only as last resort.'' Blake contemplated seriously.


    ''Well having a trump card is a lot better than having nothing. Before this I had to rely purely on brute strength as I had no techniques or anything like that.'' Upon thinking of this, Blake felt a lot better.


    Afterwards he went to apply his medicinal paste which was necessary if he wanted to recover as soon as possible. He also found out that his control over his body improved slightly which made him even happier. After he applied the medicinal paste, Blake started to get bored.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    As he just recently comprehended the aura of sharpness, he didn''t want to keep going because the few days without fighting wouldn''t really help him. Once he recovers and goes off to fight others he will cover this week of mental cultivation in two days.


    Since Blake had nothing to do, he decided to play around with the medicinal herbs. He didn''t think about it too seriously as he didn''t consider such a skill to be too important for him to learn. He had an ability that allowed him to steal treasures so as long as he comes across some recovery treasures, he won''t have to worry.


    Besides, Blake believed that he will become notorious one day due to him stealing so he might as well steal recovery potions from those weaker than him even though they cannot be considered to be treasures. Even Bob had a few recovery potions but they were only the weakest 1-grade potions created by potion apprentices.


    Anyway, even when compared to those apprentices, what Blake was doing could only be called playing around. He started exploring the effects of these herbs and also their effect when they were mixed with other herbs. Blake really envied those apprentices even though he didn''t take this seriously. He had to figure everything himself while they could just read books that were even more detailed as they were written by those proficient potion masters.


    In his previous life, Blake loved reading books so he would absolutely do that instead of this playing around but unfortunately he didn''t have anything to read. He already had several things on his bucket list for the time after he increases his lifespan and one of them was reading the great books of this world.


    ''Haha, I sure am getting ahead of myself. I''m not even sure that I will live past the age of ten yet I am already planning the far future. I better get back to the herbs.'' Thought Blake bitterly.


    ...


    Soon another week passed and it was the day Blake finally recovered. Currently, he was hovering in the air above the hole with the crow, a troubled glint in his eyes. Just a minute earlier, when he was about to take out the crow''s corpse he remembered what happens when a dead body is left alone for a long time.


    After steeling his heart, Blake slowly flew down and uncovered the hole and when he did, his eyes widened and he couldn''t help it as a thought emerged in his mind, ''what the hell?!''

 Inheritance stone

    When Blake looked into the hole, he saw something very unusual. Instead of a dead crow, the thing inside was actually a lump of black metal with a hint of purple in it. Looking at it, the only connection between the crow and this lump of metal was its color. If Blake didn''t see the dead crow there previously, it would be impossible for him to realize that this lump was actually the remains of the crow.


    ''The heck is wrong with this world? Creatures turn into metal when they die? What about my treasure?'' The questions kept spinning in Blake''s mind as he stared, frozen, at the lump of metal.


    After he recovered from the shock, Blake closed his eyes and opened the map in his mind. Luckily, the red dot was still there so there was no need to worry about it disappearing. He quickly opened his eyes and decided to leave everything else to after he retrieved the lump of metal and the treasure in it.


    Swooping down, Blake picked up the lump of metal which was slightly heavier than expected and carried it out of the hole before putting it on the ground several meters away from the hole. When he landed in front of the lump and started checking it out curiously, he suddenly got the urge to eat the lump whole.


    Just as he opened his mouth to swallow the lump of metal, Blake had the feeling of a cold breeze entering his mind, clearing his thoughts. Together with the breeze, a set of information appeared in his mind.


    [Elementary inheritance stone: A unique stone of crystallized inheritance energy. Even thought it is called a stone its form actually varies based on the original owner''s inheritance. By consuming an inheritance stone, one who has no inheritance will acquire an inheritance with a 90% chance. As for someone who already has an inheritance, by consuming an inheritance stone he or she will gain a clarity of mind that temporarily increases the speed of meditation by 90% and permanently increases the speed of meditation by 9%]Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    When he read this, Blake really couldn''t help but marvel at this magical thing. If he could find a bunch more, wouldn''t he be capable of defeating anyone just with the aura of sharpness? He naturally knew that since it was considered a treasure, then it must be rather hard to get but couldn''t he at least dream big? After a bit of daydreaming, Blake asked in his mind, ''What about the best method of consumption?''


    [There are two major ways to consume the inheritance stone. The first way is one that focuses on short term burst of benefits, it is used for example when attempting a breakthrough. The second way is slightly more complicated but it brings many long term benefits that the first way doesn''t. Which one would you like to know?]


    ''Why even bother asking? I just made a breakthrough so there is no point in the short term burst. Tell me about the second method!'' Answered Blake immediately.


    [The second method is also called the Dual Inheritance Initiation Method. Split the inheritance stone in two and set up a simple formation to gather the stone''s energy. The formation is at the end of the manual. Absorb the energy of those two halves of the inheritance stone and enjoy the benefits. The Dual Inheritance Initiation Method causes a 10% increase of the previously mentioned effects and an additional 1% chance to gain a second inheritance]


    Blake was very pleasantly surprised by such great effects of the absorption method. Not mentioning the 10% increase of the original effects, just the 1% chance to get a second inheritance was an enormous opportunity for him. Just imagining how powerful he would be with a second inheritance made him tremble in excitement.


    ''Looks like it''s time for some serious business.''