Why were Ferocious Beasts called ferocious?
It wasn’t simply because they were violent predators.
Every Ferocious Beast possessed something known as a ferocious aura.
It was an instinctive pressure created through constant killing and survival.
For an ordinary person, facing a Ferocious Beast could feel like standing in front of a professional killer who had taken countless lives.
Sometimes, a single glance was enough.
Fear would seize the body.
Breathing would become difficult.
Muscles would stiffen.
The mind would go blank.
Ferocious Beasts naturally carried that kind of pressure.
Because of this, many Awakeners could barely display thirty percent of their actual combat strength when facing a Ferocious Beast for the first time.
Some reacted even worse.
Their bodies completely froze.
They forgot how to move.
How to attack.
How to activate their abilities.
Even how to use the weapons in their hands.
That was why wealthy families often prepared their children in advance.
Before the Combat Examination, they would hire professional Ability Users to escort them into controlled wilderness zones.
There, under the protection of experienced fighters, the students could encounter real Ferocious Beasts and gradually adapt to their murderous presence.
Kael had never had such an opportunity.
He couldn’t afford it.
Because of that, he had wondered how he would react when he finally faced a real Ferocious Beast.
Would his hands tremble?
Would his mind freeze?
Would years of spear training disappear the moment death stood in front of him?
The Shadow Cat had given him his answer.
Nothing happened.
Kael had felt no fear.
No hesitation.
No panic.
Even when the beast had launched itself directly at his head, his thoughts had remained perfectly clear.
He had calculated its trajectory.
Measured the distance.
Waited for the correct moment.
And killed it with a single thrust.
Kael looked down at the corpse.
“I’ve heard most Awakeners need several real battles before they get used to this kind of pressure.”
He tightened his grip around the Obsidian Spear.
“Maybe I’m simply less sensitive to it.”
Whatever the reason, it was good news.
Very good news.
Kael pulled his right arm back sharply.
Shhk!
The Obsidian Spear slid free from the Shadow Cat’s throat.
The corpse dropped heavily onto the ground.
Thud!
Dust rose around it.
Kael glanced at the beast.
“You made a terrible choice.”
Jumping directly toward him had been suicide.
Shadow Cats were infamous among inexperienced Awakeners.
Their bodies weren’t as powerful as an Ironhide Boar’s, nor were they as physically intimidating as some larger Ferocious Beasts.
But their speed was terrifying.
A Shadow Cat could reach approximately seventeen meters per second during a short-distance charge.
Against slower beasts, an Awakener could attempt to escape if the battle turned against them.
Against a Shadow Cat?
Running was often pointless.
Once it began pursuing its prey, an inexperienced Awakener would have great difficulty escaping.
That was why Shadow Cats had earned a notorious nickname among young Ability Users:
Newbie Killers.
Under normal circumstances, Kael wouldn’t have expected to kill one so easily using nothing but physical strength.
Especially considering his lack of real combat experience.
But the Shadow Cat had made one fatal mistake.
It had jumped.
Against someone carrying a sword, that tactic could be extremely dangerous.
The beast’s claws might reach the opponent at nearly the same moment their weapon struck it.
But Kael wasn’t carrying a sword.
He was carrying a 2.1-meter spear.
Reach mattered.
Before the Shadow Cat could even bring Kael within range of its claws…
It had already entered the range of his spear.
One thrust was enough.
Kael looked at the blood covering the spearhead.
Then he remembered something far more important.
“The Ability Points.”
He immediately opened the Deep Blue System.
The number displayed at the bottom had changed.
Ability Points: 3
Kael’s eyes brightened.
He had almost forgotten about the system’s most important function.
Killing Ferocious Beasts granted Ability Points.
Which meant every beast inside Grayridge Town represented something more than examination points.
They represented growth.
Kael felt excitement rising inside him.
If he killed enough Ferocious Beasts during the examination…
He could become stronger while the examination was still taking place.
“Three points isn’t much.”
He looked toward the deeper ruins.
“Rankless beasts clearly don’t provide enough.”
He needed stronger prey.
Ferocious Beasts followed a ranking system similar to Ability Users.
Tier One through Tier Nine.
Creatures below Tier One were classified as unranked Ferocious Beasts.
Their overall threat level roughly corresponded to human Awakeners.
Kael had originally intended to remain in the Outer Region for a while.
He lacked practical experience, so fighting weaker creatures first seemed like the safest way to adapt.
But after encountering the Shadow Cat, that concern disappeared.
The beast’s ferocious aura hadn’t affected him.
There was no reason to remain here longer than necessary.
Kael lifted the Obsidian Spear.
Then he began running.
His destination…
The Middle Region.
Kael’s movement speed couldn’t compare with Ethan Blake’s.
Ethan possessed Wind Spirit Gale.
By reducing air resistance and using wind to assist his movement, the Gale Sword could travel through the ruins at astonishing speed.
Kael had no such advantage.
But he wasn’t simply running.
He was hunting.
Every Ferocious Beast unfortunate enough to cross his path became another target.
An Ironhide Boar charged from a ruined alley.
Kael sidestepped its attack.
His spear flashed.
Pfft!
The spearhead pierced through its vulnerable neck.
The system responded immediately.
[Ironhide Boar killed.]
[Unranked Ferocious Beast.]
[Ability Points +5.]
Kael continued moving.
Another Shadow Cat appeared.
It attempted to circle around him.
Kael waited patiently.
The instant it attacked—
Thrust!
Blood sprayed across the broken pavement.
[Shadow Cat killed.]
[Ability Points +3.]
He kept going.
A massive Horned Rhino emerged from behind a collapsed building.
Its enormous body charged forward like a speeding vehicle.
Kael didn’t activate Purple Sky Thunder.
Instead, he tightened his grip around his spear.
Then the battle began.
[Horned Rhino killed.]
[Ability Points +6.]
One beast after another fell.
Kael continued deeper into Grayridge Town.
But through all of these battles…
He never used his ability.
Not once.
There were two reasons.
The first was training.
Kael desperately needed real combat experience.
If he activated Purple Sky Thunder against unranked Ferocious Beasts, the battles would become meaningless.
His S-rank ability was simply too powerful.
Most of these creatures would die almost instantly.
He wouldn’t learn anything.
By relying solely on his physique and spear, however, every encounter became valuable.
He had to judge distance.
Read movements.
Predict attacks.
Identify openings.
Control his weapon.
And kill efficiently.
Every battle sharpened his instincts.
The second reason was even more practical.
Energy consumption.
The higher the rank of an ability, the greater the amount of energy required to sustain it.
Kael’s original E-rank Weak Electricity could have been maintained at full output for more than three hours.
Purple Sky Thunder was completely different.
Its destructive power was vastly greater.
So was its consumption.
At his current level, Kael estimated that maintaining Purple Sky Thunder at full power for even one continuous hour would be extremely difficult.
The Combat Examination lasted twelve hours.
Wasting his strongest ability against weak creatures would be foolish.
The true threats were deeper inside Grayridge Town.
Once he entered the Core Region, he would encounter Mid-Tier One and perhaps even High-Tier One Ferocious Beasts.
Those were the opponents worth using Purple Sky Thunder against.
Until then…
His spear was enough.
As Kael continued fighting, something gradually changed.
His movements became smoother.
At first, he had needed to consciously think about each attack.
Where should he thrust?
When should he retreat?
How should he position his feet?
What angle should the spear take?
But after battle after battle…
The thinking disappeared.
His body simply moved.
A beast attacked.
Kael responded.
A claw came from the left.
He shifted right.
A creature exposed its throat.
His spear was already moving.
It felt natural.
Almost effortless.
His awareness of distance became increasingly precise.
His control over the spear improved with every kill.
Even his ability to read the movements of Ferocious Beasts seemed to sharpen.
The sensation was completely different from practicing alone in a training room.
There, he had been attacking targets.
Here…
Every mistake could kill him.
That pressure forced his accumulated training to transform into genuine combat skill.
After another battle, Kael suddenly stopped.
A thought appeared in his mind.
“Wait…”
He looked at the spear in his hands.
“Did my Spearmanship advance?”
A massive corpse lay beside him on the broken road.
It was nearly the size of a small car.
Thick limbs.
Dark-brown hide.
A powerful body.
And a massive horn extending from its head.
A Horned Rhino.
One of the creatures many candidates feared encountering.
Dozens of wounds covered its body.
Most were roughly the size of a bowl.
But none had killed it.
The fatal attack was obvious.
Kael’s Obsidian Spear had entered directly through its eye.
The spearhead had penetrated deep into its skull and destroyed the brain.
The enormous beast had died almost instantly.
Kael planted one foot against its head.
Then he pulled.
Shhk!
The spear came free.
Blood and tissue clung to the black spearhead.
An ordinary person might have vomited at the sight.
Kael merely shook the spear once, sending the blood onto the ground.
His expression remained calm.
Then he opened the Deep Blue System.
A translucent panel appeared before him.
Name: Kael Veyron
Level: Awakener
Ability: Purple Sky Thunder – S-Rank
Physique: 141 Blood Qi (+)
Spirit: 160 Hertz (+)
Skills:
Spearmanship – Intermediate (+)
Lightning Gale Break – Beginner (+)
Ability Points: 213
Kael’s eyes immediately locked onto the Skills section.
Then they brightened.
“Intermediate.”
His suspicion had been correct.
His Spearmanship had advanced naturally.
Kael couldn’t help smiling.
“So actual combat really is the best training.”
The previous Kael had practiced the spear for nearly six years.
Yet despite all those years of repetition, his Spearmanship had remained at Beginner.
Now, after only a few dozen genuine battles…
He had broken through.
Of course, those six years hadn’t been meaningless.
Without that foundation, improvement wouldn’t have happened so quickly.
Years of accumulated practice had simply lacked the final catalyst.
Real combat had provided it.
Kael looked at the spear in his hand.
Intermediate Spearmanship already felt completely different.
He could control the weapon far more naturally.
His attacks flowed smoothly.
His movements felt unrestricted.
So…
What would happen if he advanced it again?
Kael’s eyes slowly moved toward the plus sign beside Spearmanship.
More than three hours had passed since the Combat Examination began.
Kael hadn’t deliberately searched for Ferocious Beasts.
Even so, he had encountered and killed more than forty.
Shadow Cats.
Ironhide Boars.
Bladeclaw Tigers.
Horned Rhinos.
And several other species.
Every kill had provided Ability Points.
Kael had been so focused on fighting that he hadn’t bothered calculating the total.
Now…
He had 213 Ability Points.
Enough to strengthen one of his skills.
And this was only the beginning.
Once he reached the deeper regions, the strength of the Ferocious Beasts would increase dramatically.
Stronger beasts meant more Ability Points.
Once he started using Purple Sky Thunder…
His hunting speed would increase as well.
Kael stared at the number.
213.
He hesitated briefly.
Saving the points was certainly an option.
He could spend them on Physique.
Or Spirit.
Or perhaps Lightning Gale Break.
But the temptation was difficult to resist.
Intermediate Spearmanship had already improved his combat ability considerably.
If he advanced it again…
How much stronger would he become?
Kael made his decision.
“There’s no point hoarding resources if I can use them to become stronger right now.”
His attention focused on the plus sign beside Spearmanship.
Then…
Upgrade.
The Deep Blue System responded instantly.
A tremendous amount of information flooded into Kael’s mind.
His eyes widened.
Countless spear techniques appeared in his consciousness.
Thrusting.
Sweeping.
Deflecting.
Redirecting.
Controlling distance.
Changing angles.
Generating force.
Footwork.
Timing.
Counterattacks.
Every movement seemed incredibly familiar.
But these weren’t simply memories being shown to him.
They felt real.
It was as if Kael himself had spent years practicing them.
Ten years.
Twenty years.
Perhaps even longer.
Countless repetitions seemed to have been carved directly into his muscles and instincts.
Kael stood completely still.
His hand tightened around the Obsidian Spear.
Something had changed.
The weapon no longer felt like something he was holding.
It felt like an extension of his body.
Kael slowly raised it.
Then his eyes sharpened.
Thrust!
The black spear vanished.
Whoosh!
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Four times.
In the span of a single second…
Kael thrust the Obsidian Spear four times.
Four black afterimages appeared almost simultaneously in the air.
Then disappeared.
Kael lowered the spear.
His eyes burned with excitement.
Fast.
Precise.
Deadly.
The attacks had been so quick that they resembled streaks of black lightning.
His Spearmanship had entered an entirely different realm.
And the deeper regions of Grayridge Town were still waiting for him.