A loud, echoing noise woke Izumi from his deep slumber.
His body was still sore, his limbs heavy, but the sharp sound forced him to open his eyes. As he sat up, his head pounded, the lingering exhaustion from his training still weighing on him.
Then, another noise.
This time, a scream.
It wasn't human. It was the monster.
Izumi quickly pulled himself up, shaking off the dizziness, and crawled to the edge of the corpse pile. He peered over, and what he saw made his heart clench.
Raikou.
The man stood before the chained beast, his blade gleaming under the faint glow of the room. Blood dripped from its edge as he slashed at the monster with precise, calculated movements.
Izumi's hands clenched into fists.
The sight of Raikou—the man who had thrown him into this hell—made his blood boil. He wanted to rush forward, to attack, to make him pay.
But he knew he couldn't.
"Not yet."
So he stayed hidden, watching as Raikou delivered his final strike before stepping away, satisfied.
With one last glance at the wounded beast, he turned and disappeared into the darkness, leaving the monster to suffer alone.
Izumi exhaled slowly, unclenching his fists.
When he turned his attention back to the creature, he froze.
The monster, despite its deep wounds, was still alive. Its breathing was ragged, its massive body trembling. But instead of collapsing, it began to devour the surrounding corpses.
Izumi watched in silent horror as the creature tore into human flesh, consuming the dead to heal itself. With each bite, the wounds on its body slowly closed.
He grimaced and backed away.
Not wanting to see more, he returned to his spot. But as soon as he sat down, his vision blurred.
The exhaustion from his earlier training hit him all at once.
And just like that—he passed out again.
When Izumi awoke, he knew what he had to do.
His body was still weak. His stamina was far too low.
But now, he had something he never had before—Mana Gathering.
He wasn't fully in control of it yet. The mana inside him still circulated instead of compressing, but it was a start. He just needed to adapt.
And the only way to do that—was through constant use.
With determination burning in his eyes, Izumi activated Mana Gathering and clenched his right fist.
Then, he punched.
Over and over, he threw punches, each time focusing on the flow of mana, training his body to adjust to the energy moving inside him.
But just throwing punches wasn't enough.
He needed to build stamina too.
So he pushed himself harder.
Push-ups in one hand. Squats. Sit-ups.
All while maintaining mana circulation.
At first, his movements were sluggish, and his body screamed in protest.
But Izumi refused to stop.
Then, he took it a step further.
Instead of only focusing on his right hand, he spread the mana across his entire body.
It was unstable at first, flickering in and out. But with repetition, his body slowly adapted.
His hunger faded.
His movements sharpened.
His body began changing.
Through all of this, he only ate what he could find—monster remains, not human flesh.
Days blurred together.
But Izumi didn't care.
He was growing stronger.
Yet, something was missing.
"I need to test my strength against a real opponent."
He needed experience—to know how much he had improved.
His first thought was the chained monster.
But after witnessing Raikou's battle, he knew he wasn't ready.
"I need something else."
So, he searched.
Among the corpses, there had to be something useful—a weapon, a tool, anything.
And then—
He found a book.
It was buried beneath layers of rotting flesh, its cover old and worn, yet something about it felt different.
He brushed off the dirt, revealing the title.
Ritual.
Izumi's eyes narrowed.
"What the hell is this…?"