A second later, a huge ball of blood appeared on Redd's palm, floating ominously as it shrunk in size and then disappeared.
[You have absorbed the blood essence of 7 level 3 wolves.]
[You have gained +12 strength, 6+ agility, +1 Aether.]
"Oh? The Aether thingy increased." Redd murmured as he suddenly felt a rush of energy penetrate his body and merge with his very being.
His tired, bloodied muscles pulsed with energy as he felt a blissful sensation amidst the hellish pain. The power he felt in his veins made him almost thrilled. However, he didn't have the time or the energy to celebrate. Instead, he started dragging himself slowly through the forest back to his home.
Redd was still in a critical state that no healing or blood acceleration could stop. He needed serious medical care.
The more he walked, the more his injuries got worse to the point where the healing effects of both Blood Accelerator and Healing became almost useless. However, Redd knew that if he didn't get proper treatment, he would die.
'How funny would it be if I died a few days before I would finally embark on my journey? Haha, ugh!' He chuckled to himself, resulting in a frown of pain.
His journey back was long, hard, and riddled with falls, ups and downs. For a second, Redd thought that his home had been teleported a few kilometers away with how absurdly hard he found it to move. Each step took an immeasurable amount of will and strength to do.
Eventually, he saw his house on the horizon. His face lit up slightly as he continued walking slowly.
"Uh…" However, unlucky for him, he stumbled on a stone a few dozen meters away from the house. The moment he fell, he tried to stand up again, only this time, he couldn't do it.
"Uh, damn… I'm losing consciousness…" He murmured as he looked up with great difficulty. The only thing that appeared in his vision was the hazy view of the house. For some reason, the house seemed to be particularly bright.
Before long, Redd's eyes closed completely as he was submerged in complete darkness.
***
"Mmm." A low groan escaped Redd's mouth as his eyes started opening up. A strong light assaulted his retinas. "Too bright."
"You finally woke up, brat." An angry voice reached his ears, making him look to the side.
Lodra had walked inside the room holding a tray filled with food. "A few more minutes and I would've kicked your ass out of the house." Putting down the tray, he looked at Redd. "How are you?"
"Hahaha, I saw an angel. She told me that I was about to go to heaven or something. But, I told her 'No, I can't now. I have an annoying old man to piss off.'"
Lodra looked at Redd for a second before he put the tray down. "If you have the energy to joke around then you're fine."
"How long have I been out of comission?"
"2 days."
Redd's body froze as he looked up at Lodra. "Excuse me?"
"You've been sleeping like a log for the past 2 days."
"2 days?!! Oh no! I wasted too much time!!" Redd's eyes widened as he quickly tried to wake up.
He wasted a whole 2 days out of the one week he had left before leaving. Two whole days that could've exponentially increased his strength and familiarized him more with his new powers.
"Stay put, boy. You're still heavily injured. Look at you, I had to wrap you in bandages like a mummy. Don't waste my efforts with movements that could reopen your injuries." Lodra said with a stern tone. "You're out of business for a few more days at least."
"But!! A few more days?! I'm really screwed if I don't go back to training now."
"No buts. You ain't moving out of here unless I allow you to. What the hell did you even fight to get this heavily injured? I've never seen you in such a state before."
"Seven wolves… They ganged up on me." Redd said with a low chuckle. "I killed them all."
"Seven wolves? What was their level?"
"Level?"
"Yeah, you should've seen it when you killed them."
"Oh, I think they were all level 3."
"Level 3?!" Lodra almost choked on his own saliva. "You fought them all at the same time?"
"Yes."
The old man blinked in surprise as he looked at the bandaged Redd.
'Fighting monsters that outnumber and outlevel him alone and still win…' Holding his face, a small, fearful smile appeared on his face. 'Isn't that too much of a coincidence? They're awfully similar in their beginnings.'
"Lodra?"
"Hm? Nothing. Here, eat this and sleep."
"Sigh, whatever, I think I already got a hundred times stronger from the brutal fight with the wolves."
Lodra looked at Redd for a second before he flicked him on the forehead with his index fingers.
"Ouch! That was uncalled for."
"You aren't 100 times stronger, brat. Don't get too full of yourself after one day of training."
"I know."
"Now eat before I take that food and shove it down your throat."
"Hai Hai captain…" Redd said with a lazy tone as he picked up the tray and started eating feverishly. After staying without food for 2 days, his body craved it.
Lodra watched him wolf down the food unreservedly with a silent look.
After finishing his food, Redd rested his back against the bed frame. "Thanks for the food."
"Now rest."
Just hearing those words made Redd annoyed. He knew that with his current condition, he couldn't move let alone train.
'I'm not feeling that much pain though.'
Lodra noticed that downcast look on the boy before he thought for a moment.
"You won't have to waste your time merely sleeping if you want to."
"Huh? How?"
"You still didn't learn how to make use of Aether. Let's start with that."
"What?! That sounds interesting!"
"It is. As long as you have the mind for it." Lodra said as he touched his temple with his finger.
"Tell me."
"So, I already told you that Aether is the energy that truly controls everything around us. It's as important if not even more important than oxygen. This energy also determines how strong a Hunter can be. Your skills aren't your only weapon. If anything, skills are but a ramification of Aether. Let's take you for example, you can only use Aether in one form which is the skills or aspects form. What happens is that your body takes Aether, processes it, and then creates the effect of the aspect. That means that the true effect of Aether is being washed down with that use. Imagine it going through a filter of sorts."
"Oh? Then why don't people just use Aether alone? Isn't it stronger and has a stronger effect?"
"It is. But, it has three glaring flaws. The first one is time: You can't use Aether in its raw form for a long while. Those who can need tens of decades of training and dedicated hard work to pull that off. Even then, they would barely be able to use it for a few days continuously at most." Lifting his hands up, Lodra pointed his index finger up as a sign of counting.
"The second glaring flaw is the drawback on the body with use. Users who try to manipulate Aether too much will end up deeply exhausted, fall unconscious, or even sustain heavy damage depending on the usage. I knew some people who kept using Aether while fighting day in and day out. They were truly strong people… However, they died." The old man's face frowned slightly as if he recalled a bitter memory of the past.
"What's the reason?"
"Sigh... Aether Overuse. Their bodies were poisoned by the Aether and they quickly died after suffering from a horrible pain."
'Scary.' Redd thought as he imagined how they turned out to be.
"The third and most important flaw is versatility. Aether is strong, but it's far from versatile. You can only do so much with it in its pure form. In life-or-death situations, strength isn't the only thing you need. That's where your skills come into play. They are easier to use because of the processed Aether, they also can be used for a longer time with way less training and finally, depending on the skill, you can learn how to cleverly use it in particular situations."