"Why are some of these beasts considered D rank while the rest are C? Is it related to their age?" Upon arriving at his destination, Kang pondered as he eyed the chickens a short distance away. The D-ranked ones had far smaller bodies compared to the Eagle he fought before, while the C-ranked ones were slightly bigger but still relatively close in size to the younger chicks.
[Matriarch Chick (D)]
[Description: A mutated chicken with minor intelligence, quite defenseless until they mature.]
[Matriarch Hen (C)]
[Description: A mutated chicken with minor intelligence, quite peaceful until provoked.]
The system-identified names didn't matter much to him; after all, they were just chickens. Whether peaceful or not, it didn't concern Kang as long as they provided Exp and Blood. Being C-ranked made them even more appealing, as he guessed they would give greater rewards than the smaller ones.
Soon enough, Kang began slaughtering the chickens, causing the chicks to flee while the hens stood their ground, fighting against his assault. As the battle ensued, Kang found himself winning easily. Although the hens' feathers sliced through his body like sharp blades, there was no pain or blood loss due to his nature, allowing him to emerge victorious.
[Ding!]
[You've successfully killed a Matriarch Hen (C) and gained 10,000 Exp] (3x)
[Your level increased! You've gained 5 attribute points!] (2x)
[Ding!]
[Pick three options from the following stats to absorb: 1 Strength, 4 Dexterity, 2 Constitution.]
Acknowledging how much harder it was to level up at his current stage, Kang sighed in relief, knowing he had as much time as he needed, given his rapidly increasing lifespan.
"It's been a week, and I can already live for almost 250 years. There's no reason to rush." Looking at the corpses before him, Kang spoke before responding to the system prompt. Since Dexterity was the highest stat among the choices, he selected it immediately, planning to save the rest of his attribute points for later.
[Affirmative, Dexterity increased to 32.]
"Awesome, that's way faster than leveling up. I just wish there was more..." Glancing in the direction where the chicks had fled, Kang refrained from pursuing them, allowing them to grow further.
Though they were defenseless against him due to his nature, their feathers could pose a threat to other predators. Pushing those thoughts aside, Kang activated his Lifesteal and Power Absorption to devour the dead hens.
"I see, no wonder they were considered C rank. Not bad, I'll take it." After absorbing 4,500 Blood from the chickens, Kang discovered they had speed-related abilities, likely the same skill the chicks used to escape earlier.
[Ding!]
[Conditions met. Do you wish to undergo the trial and upgrade your class to Transcended Blood Knight?]
"Hell no!" Facing the familiar prompt, Kang refused immediately and focused on his soon-to-be ability.
"For a C-ranked beast to grant 4 points, the stat must be at least 90. And with the 30% increase, they could easily escape. It's unfortunate that such a skill was used for this purpose." Kang mused as he awaited the system's update. Finally, he dismissed his thoughts as the system's notification echoed in his mind.
[Extraction successful… Accelerate(D) added to Absorbed Abilities.]
"On what basis are these abilities ranked? This doesn't make sense!" Dismissing the message, Kang opened his status window. It baffled him that the absorbed ability was D-ranked, despite offering a 30% boost.
{Blood Warlock System}
[Blood: 6635 | Lifespan: 264]
[Level: 9 | Exp: 15800/25600]
[Dexterity: 32]
[Attribute Points: 10]
[Absorbed Abilities (3/10)]
[Overdrive (C): Consume 1 Blood per second to increase your Strength by 20%.]
[Blinding Acid Bomb (C): Consume 500 Blood to fire a massive and bright ball of highly corrosive acidic blood.]
[Accelerate (D): Consume 4 Blood per second to increase your Dexterity by 30%.]
"Never mind, it makes sense. This is a disaster. I should've checked the description before choosing it." Realizing the blood consumption of the ability, Kang understood why it was ranked lower than Overdrive. Still, it seemed somewhat useful.
"While I can't use this during the trial due to its nature, I believe it will be valuable later once my Dexterity is high enough." Resolving this, Kang allocated 8 points to Dexterity and the remaining 2 to Strength.
"That should do for now. I should be able to match Argon's speed." With his Dexterity doubled, Kang felt confident he could stand his ground against his rival. Nevertheless, he chose to continue hunting and growing stronger, as advised.
Recalling Argon's behavior after Kang's first victory over him, Kang wondered how the next few encounters would play out. If Argon had been aggressive after just one defeat, then more encounters were likely needed to wear him down.
Moving on, Kang decided to resume his hunt. Though the area seemed empty now, the rift was vast and mysterious. He couldn't help but wonder how something so immense could ever be closed, as he had never seen any records of a rift being shut—except for that time Strife had done it in front of him.
"Nyxthars and Beastmen... thinking about them makes me imagine the existence of even more races in this world." Arriving at his new destination, Kang shook his head, saving those thoughts for later.
"Establish a guild, get my revenge, reclaim the abandoned lands... adventure later. But for now, it's your turn." Kang muttered, eyeing a lizard that stared back at him. As he approached, he noticed the fear in its eyes just as the ground began to shake.
"Holy shit, what a massive chicken!" Kang exclaimed, turning around as the lizard fled. He watched a giant bird hurtling toward him at incredible speed. Behind its enormous frame, Kang spotted the chicks he had scared away earlier after killing their parents.
[Patriarch Cock (B)]
[Description: A mutated male chicken with predatory tendencies and an insatiable breeding instinct. Unlike its female counterpart, which raises the young, its purpose is to increase its herd size by mating with new partners.]
"Coming for revenge?" Using his detection ability, Kang understood why the beast was targeting him. The moment he saw the chicks trailing behind it, everything clicked.
"Defense isn't an option… Just how high is your speed stat?" Judging the beast's incredible speed, Kang guessed that if it hit him, he'd likely be sent flying across the plains. Steeling himself, Kang waited for the right moment to dodge the incoming attack.
'That's it.' Just as the beast's attack almost hit him, Kang rolled on the ground, avoiding it before getting up as fast as he could. Despite the beast's failure, Kang watched as it drifted around, intending to charge at him again.
'You really want revenge, don't you?' Coming up with a plan, Kang remember how Argon kept trapping him with the spikes everytime he made a mistake. Now looking at it, he though of doing something similar since the beast was blindly rushing at him.
"Come again you bitch!" Tuanting the roster, Kang began showering it with insults in an attempt to make its anger go beyond it's current level.
'That's it.' Just as the beast's attack was about to hit him, Kang rolled on the ground, narrowly avoiding it, and quickly got back on his feet. Despite missing its mark, the beast circled around, clearly preparing to charge at him again.
'You really want revenge, don't you?' Kang thought, forming a plan. He remembered how Argon had trapped him with spikes every time he made a mistake. Now, thinking back on it, he considered doing something similar since the beast was blindly rushing at him.
"Come at me, you bitch!" Taunting the rooster, Kang began hurling insults at it, hoping to push its anger beyond its current level.