NOVEL NEXT 179 – Awakening Ritual
"The. Only. Way. To. Become. An. Awakened. Warrior. Is. To. Consume. The. Heartblood. Of. A. Beast. King."
This revelation dumbfounded Genji, raising more questions than it answered. For example, "Why did Bechel leave this opportunity to Mokan? Wouldn't it be more efficient if he used it himself? None of this would have happened if he had become an Awakened warrior! Why did he jump through so many hoops to make his grandson one?"
The wolf gave him an amused look and said, "Who. Said. He's. Not?"
Genji's eyes dilated again as possibilities raced through his mind. 'He did it on purpose!'
If what the wolf said was true, there was a good chance Bechel was still alive after covering for them against that beast king. He might not have won the battle, but it would be simple to deter it if he used all his strength. All he had to do was display enough strength to be more troublesome than it was worth. That was how Genji dealt with the snake after all.
"Hold on, does Mokan know about this? That his old man is still alive?"
"No. Only. How. To. Complete. The. Procedure."
'So Bechel needs Mokan to believe he's dead. Why though? There must be a good reason. If everything was so simple, he could have brought Mokan here himself and completed the process. Unless...' Genji vocalized his thoughts. "There's something risky with the breakthrough process?"
The wolf nodded and confirmed his guess. "If. The. Container. Doesn't. Have. A. Strong. Willpower. They. Will. Be. Consumed. By. The. Beast. King's. Power. And. Go. Berserk."
"So Bechel faked his death to stimulate Mokan, I assume through revenge. As long as he can tide through the crisis, he will have the power to get revenge. With that mentality, it would take external interference for him to fail."
'And if I'm correct, then the fourth part should be protecting Mokan and guarding against anything unexpected.'
The wolf neither confirmed nor denied his guess, but his squinted eyes told Genji everything he wanted to know.
"Fine, when can we start the hunt?"
"Now. Should. Be. Fine. Mokan. Is. Almost. Done." The wolf king rose from his position and took a deep breath. Then he threw back his head and released a powerful howl at the skies, informing his clan members of his departure. After settling all the clan matters, the wolf king jumped off the rock and led the way.
Genji hopped on Bruce and followed from a distance, with the wolf stopping occasionally to sniff the air and subtly redirect their path. After two hours of this, Genji spotted some trees bearing tusk marks. This was how the boar king marked its territory.
The wolf released another howl, provoking the boar to come to them. Moments later, the ground began shaking, and an annoyed huffing sound closed in on their location. A giant boar with fierce tusks stepped into view, glaring at the unwelcome intruders.
"I. Need. To. Deal. The. Finishing. Blow," the wolf told Genji.
"Sounds good."
Genji burst forward, his saber raised with a new coating of poison. A large flare of shadow flames and cutting intent coated the blade, boosting its sharpness to new levels. Silhouettes burst out from his side, and his muscles also took on a red hue. Genji was using everything right now to deliver a single wound.
The boar raised its head, which had taken on a dark hue, boosting its defenses to confront Genji. However, as it swung with its strength, Genji disappeared, removing the expected impact and causing the boar to briefly lose its balance.
A heavy downward slash opened a shallow cut on its thick hide before Genji disappeared again. The slash transitioned into a stab from behind as a mental impact prevented the boar from reacting. A deeper wound appeared as Genji targeted a certain vulnerability, prompting an enraged roar. The boar's eyes turned red with fury, and an immense impact rippled through the ground.
A quantum barrier shattered to offset the collision as Genji slashed out again. Another nick, another teleport, followed by a kick and a stab between the ribs before Genji violently ripped out the blade. After achieving all this, Genji retreated, dodging another vehement counterattack.
Genji appeared beside the wolf, sheathed [Jaguar], and swapped to his daggers.
"That should be enough of an opener. You can attack now."
The wolf flashed forward with glowing claws and ripped the wounds apart while narrowly gliding past the tusks. A brutal struggle then ensued between the two of them, with Genji occasionally darting in for easy attacks. The wolf was the main combatant in this fight, as Genji would sustain severe injuries from a single blow.
The boar fought like a berserker, chasing after damage without concern for dodging. For every hit endured, it would dish out a far more devastating counterattack, making it difficult to combo. It didn't help that every attack was an area of effect, leaving no openings for disruptions. The fighting style was very brutish but effective, managing to keep pace with the wolf and Genji despite their technical superiorities.
'No wonder the wolf wanted help. The boar directly counters him. Too bad I don't care about these advantages. It should be kicking in any moment now.'
As if responding to Genji's thoughts, the boar suddenly retreated, having sensed something amiss within its body: its wounds weren't closing as expected. The boar glared at Genji, understanding he was the source of this phenomenon. The boar had fought the wolf many times and knew its abilities, but this was not among them. By simple deduction, Genji must be the culprit.
"Are you curious why your regeneration isn't working?" Genji stopped at a distance and entered a stare-off with the boar. The wolf also stopped, sensing Genji was planning something, while the boar stood still, waiting for its body to resist whatever was affecting it.
"AD-4872917-TWT, or as I like to call it, Hemaphilla Type-4, thins your blood to an unnatural level, essentially crippling your healing factor. Your blood stops clotting and it becomes significantly harder to deal with injuries. That's why we've only been attacking your wounds, even when there are better options. Not a bad poison, right? It took me a while to figure this out using a certain venom as the base. I'm quite proud of it."
At this moment, the wounds stopped bleeding and the boar looked at Genji with disdain, as if mocking him for explaining his abilities mid-battle and giving it time to find a workaround. 'So what if my blood is thin? I'll just force it shut with my muscles. I can't bleed if there's no opening to gush out.'
Genji's smile only widened at this response. "That's true, but you know what's the problem with that?"
Before the boar could respond, Genji appeared beside it, delivering multiple rapid strikes and ending the combo with a massive X-cross. "Your body becomes stiff and-"
Genji jumped over a wave of impact, jammed his daggers into the back, and continued his sentence. "Unable to react in time. In a battle like this-"
Genji jerked his daggers aside and separated a large chunk along with them. Blood and skin splattered on Genji's face, giving him a maniacal look when paired with his wide grin. "That could mean the difference between life and death."
Then Genji retreated again, denying the boar any chance to trap him. The wolf rushed forward, pouncing on the boar and tearing fresh wounds with its claws and teeth. Savage bites and painful rends assaulted the beast, further fueling its rage. A loud growl echoed across the area, and an earthy hue blanketed its body.
The wounds burst open again and poured out rivers of blood, but the madness-driven boar ignored all this and dug its hooves into the ground, taking a charging stance. After being forced so much by Genji, it was ready to risk it all in one final attack. Either it would emerge victorious from this or bring its foes down with it.
The wolf realized the severity of the situation and increased his barrage rate, striving to end the boar before it could release its attack, but his claws simply bounced off the aura coating. The boar had expected such bombardment and defended against the only one capable of stopping it.
"RUN!" the wolf shouted at Genji, recognizing the situation was beyond salvageable, while inwardly cursing Genji for his foolishness. 'Why did you have to provoke him so much? Now he's ready to blow both of us up.'
However, Genji maintained his smile and even stepped forward, almost giving the wolf a panic attack. A handkerchief appeared in Genji's hand as he casually wiped his face, as if on a picnic stroll rather than amidst a life-threatening crisis.
"Do you know why I wasted so much time talking? It's because I needed to stall until the poison fully took effect. Let me tell you, its strongest aspect isn't healing denial or hindering the target, but thinning the blood. Do you know why?"
'What are you talking about? Run, you idiot!' The wolf wanted to shout but didn't have the attention to conjure the words.
Out of nowhere, the boar abruptly froze and its energy scattered. Immediately after that, all the wounds erupted in copious amounts of blood, producing a veil of red.
The wolf's eyes widened with shock, but it didn't dare delay its attack. Its claws glowed with a soft sheen resembling the moon before plunging them into the boar's chest. Then it yanked out, revealing a still-beating heart in hand. A wave of relief passed through the wolf's mind when it realized the chest cavity had no blood. The boar had been drained dry, bereft of a single drop.
"Because I have a partner who can control blood. Normally, he can't drain someone like that, but it becomes a different story if someone suddenly releases the pressure holding back the blood. It's like poking a hole in a pressurized hose. Everything just bursts out with a little guidance." Genji's voice sounded again, grabbing the wolf's attention.
As it looked over, it saw all the blood gathering in the distance, where Bruce had hidden before the battle. The wolf even witnessed the specks staining his pure white fur flaking off and joining the stream, along with the ones on Genji's handkerchief.
'Did he plan all of this from the start?' the wolf wondered as it comprehended Genji's words.
"You. Are. One. Scary. Motherfucker," it told Genji as he approached.
"Thank you. Do you need the blood as well? If not, we'll be taking it."
The wolf glanced at the grey organ in its paw and agreed with Genji's request. "Go. Ahead. This. Will. Do."
Genji held a thumbs-up at Bruce, indicating he could have his snack.
[You have slain: Beast King of The Forest, Mighty Boar.]
[Your max energy has increased by 120 points.]
[You have obtained: 500,000 coins.]
[You have obtained: Magnificent Tusks]
[Magnificent Tusks]
Rating: Epic
Type: Accessory
Durability: 50/50
Requirements: 40 constitution, 45 strength
Effects:
- Ultimate Rampage (Active): Consume 2 durability to ignore all pain for 5 minutes. +50% damage during this time. 12-hour cooldown.
- Surging Shockwaves (Active): Consume 5 durability to give your attacks a shockwave bonus. Shockwaves are area attacks and buffed by the earth element. 1-day cooldown.
- A Final Burst (Passive): After this item runs out of durability and breaks, gain pain immunity, +300% damage to all physical attacks, Strengthened Shockwave bonus to attacks, and 20% damage resistance for 5 minutes.
Description: A powerful item that grants you the strength of a boar king. However, its uses are limited due to the damage it suffered when the owner was alive.
Note: It'll provide a decent boost if you can ignore how ridiculous it looks when wearing such big tusks.
Note 2: This is a necklace. Only one necklace can be worn at once.
If not for the second note, Genji would have used this piece. However, he already had the [Quantum Pulse Pendant], a legendary necklace fulfilling that role. Genji preferred its powerful barrier skill over offensive buffs, as it provided a quick defensive skill rather than one overlapping with Berserk.
'Still, I know just the right person to sell this to. He'd love this, especially since it resembles his legacy liberation.'
When they returned to the settlement, the wolf king called for Mokan and handed him the heart. "Get. The. Ingredients. And. Come. Find. Me."
Mokan complied, and they gathered at the wolf king's rock. He sat cross-legged, arranging the ingredients in a circular arc around him, ending with a shallow, wide red bowl containing the boar's heart. The wolf king hovered over the bowl from above, slit its paw, and let a thin stream of blood waterfall onto the heart.
As the blood settled and the organ regained some of its former redness, the wolf gazed up at the sky and said, "The. Moon. Is. Full. Tonight. Luck. Is. On. Our. Side." Then he peered into Mokan's eyes and imposingly declared, "You. May. Begin."
Mokan began processing the ingredients according to another secret formula, ensuring each step was executed to the best of his memory. It had been a long time since Bechel taught him this strange ceremonial ritual, but he hadn't forgotten a single detail.
The elder had been very strict in teaching him and wouldn't relent until he perfected it. At the time, Mokan couldn't understand why his grampa put so much emphasis on this strange ceremony, but he could now see it was preparation for this moment.
'Everything has led up to this moment. I can't fail now. Just wait, gramps. I will get revenge for you.'
As this happened, Genji sensed a strange, but familiar energy gathering in the bowl from the atmosphere. It was the same energy the wolf king had used hours prior and had the same feeling as the moon above.
'I guess that's where they got their name.'
When Mokan finished the ritual, he picked up the heart, tore it apart, and stuffed it in his mouth. Then he washed everything down with the mixture with large gulps. From the side, Genji could see his throat recoil with disgust, but Mokan forced everything down and refused to think too much about the situation.
After finishing, Mokan placed the bowl down and entered a meditative state. At the same time, Genji's mission was updated, becoming a protection task as he previously speculated.
'Really just precautions at this point. It's unlikely that something actually happens.'
To pass the time, Genji made some small talk with the wolf. "What's with the energy I sensed? Shouldn't it be earthy since you're using the boar's heart?"
"The. Ritual. Converted. It. The. Boar. Does. Not. Fit. Him."
"So he's going to be like you? Using, what I presume to be lunar energy?"
"Yes. His. Body. Already. Contains. Traces. Of. Our. Blood. This. Will. Allow. Him. To. Exert. His. Strongest. Form."
"Traces? How does that work?"
"Genetics."
It was a simple answer, but Genji's mind began racing again. "Hold on, like from his ancestors?"
"Yes. Bechel. Inherited. Our. Blood. And. Passed. It. Onto. His. Descendants. Too. Bad. His. Son. Died. Before. Awakening. It. Leaving. The. Promise. Unfulfilled. For. Years."
"If I'm understanding you correctly, awakening changes the subject's genetic code?"
"Where. Do. you. Think. The. Name. Came. From? It's. To. Awaken. A. Bloodline. And. Become. Part. Beast. Only. That. Way. Can. They. Gain. Our. Strength."
"I'm starting to notice a trend here. It seems that no matter which world, people are giving up their humanity in exchange for supernatural powers. They might gain amazing abilities in the short term, but they're subjecting themselves to that power's limit. If they're unlucky, they will have to fumble a lot to make any progress."
"That. Is. The. Price. For. Survival. Not. Everyone. Are. Like. You. Realm. Members. Capable. Of. Unhindered. Growth."
At this moment, Mokan began stimulating the mixture and his aura began gradually climbing.
'It's started,' Genji thought and entered a hypersensory state. Although he doubted any complications would come up, he wasn't willing to risk it.
Hours later, at the crack of dawn, Mokan's aura stabilized, and he awoke from his trance. 'Is this the strength of an awakened warrior? I feel so powerful,' he thought, perceiving a metaphorically endless from within. However, this joy quickly faded when he realized the wolf king's aura dwarfed his own numerous times over, despite being in a restrained state.
"What's going on? Shouldn't I be an awakened warrior? Why is there still such a difference?" Panic began seeping into his voice as the possibility of failure crept into his mind.
"Calm. Down. You. Didn't. Fail. Awakening. Is. Like. A. Key. It. Opens. The. Door. To. Greater. Power. But. It. Can't. Bring. You. Through. It. You. Still. Need. Time. To. Grow."
"I see," Mokan sighed disappointedly, aware that his revenge would take longer than initially expected.
"Cheer. Up. We. Have. Enough. Resources. To. Push. You. There. It. Won't. Take. Long." The wolf jumped off his stone and slashed at it with an energy-infused claw, surprising everyone. Over these few days, the wolf had made its fondness for this boulder evident, so none of them expected the wolf to shatter its favorite resting spot suddenly.
*Crrreeeaakkkk*
The boulder broke apart, revealing a clearish red hue found only within one material: vitality stones! The entire boulder was a vitality stone, and it was humongous!
'What the? Since when?!?' Mokan inwardly screamed.
"I've. Been. Gathering. Energy. Since. I. Became. The. Clan. Leader," the wolf explained smugly. "All. For. This. Moment."
"And how long is this?" Genji asked, eyeing the size of the stone. 'And did he just imply he created this?'
"I've. Been. A. Beast. King. For. 134. Years. And. A. Leader. For. 96." His tone was full of pride as if flaunting a cherished trophy.
Genji blinked several times at the wolf before turning to ask Mokan a question. "Mokan, how old is Bechel?"
Mokan paused to think, but he quickly realized he didn't have the answer, which was unexpected considering how close they were. It wasn't that he forgot, but rather he never knew it in the first place. "Huh? Now that I think about it, Grampa has never mentioned his age before. How is this possible?"
Sigh "I see what's going on," Genji said, facepalming and shaking his head. "Everything makes sense now."
'Why everyone believes there are only five Awakened, why the information I got is inconsistent, and why his tribe can tell me the exact age of the oldest Awakened.'
"What are you talking about?" Mokan asked, confused at the connection between Bechel's age and the vitality boulder.
Genji ignored him and called out to the wolf. "Hey wolf, how long do you plan on keeping this farce?"
"I. Wanted. To. Keep. It. A. Surprise," it replied, half sulkily.
Mokan sensed he wasn't getting the full picture and demanded an answer. "What surprise? What's going on? Can somebody explain what's happening?"
Genji sighed again and curtly said, "Your grandpa, Bechel, is the oldest awakened, and he's still alive."
"W-w-w-what?" This was a thunderbolt out of the blue for Mokan, and he didn't know how to respond. It was like being told his whole life was a lie after working so hard.
"Come on. Let's go find the little guy," Genji said to Bruce, walking from the scene.
"Neiighh," Bruce agreed, having gotten enough entertainment from the family drama.
[You have completed: Grandson's Coming of Age]
[You have obtained: Bechel's Secret Formula]
[Bechel's Secret Formula]
Rating: Legendary
Type: Recorded Information
Description: A secret formula researched by Bechel over his long life. He initially intended to use this for his son's awakening, but tragedy struck before the opportune time. Now he's only left with a grandson to raise, preferably away from the tribal world's conflicts.
Note: Many of the ingredients listed are native to this world, making the formula less applicable, but the concepts are worth learning.
