"SS-level? I suppose the mask ranks the classes based on how strong their users were before entering the blood realms. It makes sense that the first is the lowest of them all—probably the weakest as well if I'm guessing correctly."
"No wonder Argon ignored my inquiry about his class being F-class."
"But this is insignificant, it looks like I'll have to work hard to achieve what I want."
Dismissing the system notifications, Kang glanced at his body before raising his right arm and clenching his fist. His form remained somewhat similar to his previous one, but only on the surface, as certain indicators were very clear to him.
Visually, his skin was gone, replaced by raw, thick, swirling blood. Mentally, he noticed a shift—he couldn't feel the same emotions as before. His anger toward his family seemed to have vanished entirely, and his rebirth as a new race triggered no emotions in him. Both events felt casual, with no significant impact on his life.
"I guess I understand what you meant now. But I can't deny that I'm in love with this power, no matter what it cost me." Although Kang's mindset had changed, his resolve to take revenge on those who betrayed him remained intact.
'With some of those bastards being A- and B-level, I'll probably go on a hunt to gain more abilities for my revenge. Perfectly, I'm deep in the wasteland, and I'm glad I can feel the corrupt mana here.' Sensing the corrupt mana in the air around him, Kang knew he was somewhere uninhabitable for humans. Fortunately, it didn't seem to affect him in the slightest.
"It seems something drove all the horrors in this area to flee. Maybe it was Strife." Unaware of the crimson beam from his rebirth, Kang assumed Strife had caused the evacuation, as this area was considered his territory.
"I promise you a life worse than death—just wait until I'm ready to pay you a visit!" Kang shouted, his inhuman voice echoing across the wasteland.
"Liu Feng, you little shit. Either you kill the ones who persuaded you do to such a thing before my eyes or you suffer and die alongside them." His resolve to kill the one who stabbed him in the back was unbreakable, regardless of his brother being 15 years old.
"I'm glad this mask took some of my weakness away." Thankful he couldn't feel anything, Kang spoke.
"It's your teaching, father. So when I kill everyone before your eyes, you'll be proud of me." Although Kang couldn't wait for his revenge, he had to wait and take things slowly. For the time being, he just hoped he was at least on the left wing of the planet.
Since the six inhabitable continents became there, five hundred years ago, the world had been reallocated thanks to powerhouses who awakened their mana abilities at the very beginning.
The left wing consisted of Asia, Australia, and Eastern Europe; the center included Africa and Western Europe; and the right wing held both the American continents.
Despite human unity, conflicts persisted. As humans grew stronger through technological advancements fueled by mana, their leaders became lazier, leaving the task of dealing with rifts and gates to lower-ranked hunters.
"Just spray and pray until they die," they said. Stupid, but it worked against most threats.
Soon, countries stopped caring for others unless directly threatened by high-ranking rifts or interests. While pure mana positively affected humans, it didn't benefit animals as much. The neglected rifts began to emit corrupted mana into the atmosphere, creating a new disaster that even some hunters couldn't survive.
Those who did adapt became either mindless monsters or slightly smarter creatures known as horrors. These were native inhabitants, unlike the monsters that came through the rifts. Though not as formidable as humans, they posed a significant problem for smaller, weaker countries. Despite their intelligence, horrors weren't especially strong, but they attacked in coordinated megapacks.
They were animals that retained part of their natural instincts—they bred, socialized, and held grudges against humans for various reasons. Over time, humans began treating both native horrors and monsters from rifts as equal threats.
Kang had learned all of this through his education—common knowledge for young masters of powerful families. Perhaps now, he truly understood its value. Shaking his head, Kang agreed with Strife's sentiment about humanity's weakness and stupidity before pushing the thought aside. He needed to power up, and hunting horrors was the next step.
'I believe these ruins should have some horrors inhabiting them. It'll give me a chance to test my current strength since I haven't had one yet.' After walking for a while, Kang saw abandoned, ruined buildings in the distance—remnants of what once was a human city.
The sight piqued his interest, especially with the possibility of a neglected rift within the city, though he hoped it was a proper rift, not just a small gate. He needed something to fill the emptiness inside, even if only a little.
"Just in case, Disguise." Using his ability, Kang switched to his human form as he approached the city's outskirts. Soon enough, his familiar black suit and a different, blank white mask covered his face, followed by the system's notification.
[Ding! Disguise Activated!]
[Remove the false mask to revert back!]
'This is different from Strife's disguise, but it's still quite fake—yet flawless. I wonder if it can be broken somehow…' Kang thought as he touched the suit's cloth and then his fake skin. There was no noticeable difference between the two. 'I wonder if this could be enough to fool humans. Maybe it'll allow me to live right under their noses.'
"I think I will need to have a new name given my new human form is far different compared to before. There is no way I would be recognized as a Liu member, perhaps a code name? Never mind for the time being, I will leave it until I need to address it."
Remembering Strife's advice, Kang decided to avoid using his [Crimson Armor] since it would immediately put him in danger. What Strife did could easily reveal his identity if he chose to use it openly. Much less, he wouldn't be accepted among humans.
While he knew he could die, he wasn't sure what would happen if his Blood dropped to zero, and that made him cautious.
"Great, I'm glad I can use [Blood Weapon] without being in my true form. This will be helpful in the long run." Testing his ability, Kang moved through the main street, searching for any lifeforms. 10 Seconds later, Kang decided to revert his arm's transformation since it was quite unnecessary.
After a few minutes of searching, Kang found himself under attack by what appeared to be a mutilated eagle. The towering beast swooped down and bit off his arm, swallowing it whole before soaring back toward one of the dilapidated buildings.
Although Kang heard and saw the attack, he chose to ignore it, allowing the creature to take a significant chunk of his body. As expected, he sighed in relief as he felt blood forming a new arm to replace the lost one, while a system message appeared before his eyes.
[-100 Blood]
[Remaining Blood: 390]
"So, the [Blood] stat can be treated like my health, even though it also fuels certain skills. Not bad, especially since I can steal the blood of my victims." With that thought, Kang turned his full attention to the eagle.
"Ah, what a perfect time to test you." Looking at the colossal eagle eyeing him, Kang decided to mobilize his Detection ability.