Free Web NovelChapter 26: Blood Essence
The second camp was established shortly before sunset beneath a sky filled with drifting gray clouds. The clearing Gareth selected sat between towering pine trees whose snow-covered branches formed a natural barrier against the northern wind, and as soldiers unloaded supplies and erected tents, the fading sunlight painted the surrounding forest in shades of gold and silver. The beauty of it was lost on most of the expedition. Compared to the previous evening, the atmosphere within the camp felt noticeably different — the apprentices were quieter, their earlier excitement stripped away by something no lecture had ever managed.
Reality had tempered them. Their first battle had shown them the gap between training and combat, and that gap had proven wider than most expected.
Ethan sat beside one of the campfires while soldiers prepared the evening meal. The scent of roasted meat gradually spread through the camp as conversations emerged around the flames, and those conversations were different from the ones that had filled the previous night. Several apprentices discussed the battle — more specifically, their mistakes.
Thomas stared into the fire for several moments before finally speaking. "I thought I was ready," he admitted quietly. The flames reflected within his eyes as he replayed the speed of the Frost Wolves, the moment his confidence had nearly shattered. No one laughed. If anything, the silence that followed revealed that most of the others felt exactly the same.
Arthur released a bitter laugh. "So did I." He flexed his bandaged arm. "When that wolf jumped at me, I completely forgot everything I’d practiced."
"That’s normal." Roland sat nearby sharpening his sword, the rhythmic sound of whetstone against steel accompanying his words. "The first battle is always different."
One apprentice looked up. "When does it get easier?"
Roland paused briefly. The question lingered in the air, and several veterans exchanged glances before Owen finally spoke.
"It doesn’t."
The apprentices blinked. Owen shrugged. "You just learn how to handle it."
Silence followed. No dramatic speeches, no heroic declarations — just the simple truth. Combat never truly became easy. Experienced warriors simply learned how to move despite the fear rather than waiting for it to disappear.
Ethan listened quietly. In his previous life, he had learned that lesson countless times. Fear never disappeared. Only fools believed otherwise. True warriors simply refused to let it control their actions.
The camp gradually relaxed as the evening progressed. Stories replaced discussions of mistakes, and laughter occasionally echoed between the fires, making the harsh wilderness surrounding them feel momentarily distant. A short distance away, Gareth occupied a smaller fire near the edge of the camp — several reports resting across his knee, although the battle had ended hours ago, his attention remained firmly on the expedition. Danger often appeared precisely when soldiers believed they were finally safe, and Gareth had survived long enough to never forget that.
As darkness settled fully across the forest, people gradually began retiring to their tents. One by one the campfires burned lower, conversations faded, and the wilderness reclaimed its silence. Before long, only the guards remained fully awake.
And Ethan.
Sleep could wait.
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The camp had long since fallen quiet, most of the expedition sleeping soundly after the day’s march and battle. Only the occasional crackle of a dying campfire and the distant footsteps of guards disturbed the stillness. Beyond the protective circle of tents, the Ancient Wildlands stretched endlessly beneath the night sky.
Ethan sat alone near the edge of the camp, away from the remaining fires, the Eternal Sovereign Blade resting across his knees. The black weapon seemed almost invisible beneath the pale moonlight, its surface absorbing rather than reflecting the surrounding illumination. His fingers slowly traced the blade’s sheath. Subtle changes. Difficult to notice. Yet impossible to ignore once he was paying attention.
The faint pulse he had sensed after the Frost Wolf battle remained fresh within his memory. It had appeared briefly each time, then vanished. Tonight, he intended to investigate it properly.
The moment his hand settled upon the hilt, a familiar golden screen appeared.
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[Blood Essence Aquired]
[Stored Within Eternal Sovereign Blade]
Current Blood Essence: 3
-----
The Frost Wolves had clearly contributed to the accumulation. As he focused on the notification, additional information surfaced.
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Blood Essence
The condensed vitality and life force of defeated enemies.
May be used for weapon growth acceleration, physique enhancement, and attribute refinement.
Note: Depending on the strength and nature of the source, Blood Essence may contain unique traits that can be inherited or absorbed by the host.
-----
A thoughtful expression appeared on Ethan’s face. Simply put, the Eternal Sovereign Blade was absorbing something from the creatures he defeated and storing it — the implications were obvious enough. Before he could continue examining the information, however, the golden text shifted unexpectedly.
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[Conditions Satisfied]
• Host has entered the Knight Realm
• Growth Weapon Acquired
• Inventory Function Unlocked
• Blood Essence Acquired
[War God System Upgrade Available]
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A brief pause followed, then another screen emerged.
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[War God System Upgrading...] ƒгeewёbnovel.com
Estimated Completion Time: 20 Minutes
-----
Ethan stared at the notification for several moments before slowly exhaling. There was nothing to do except wait. Fortunately, patience was something he possessed in considerable supply.
The next twenty minutes passed quietly. Snow continued falling. The camp remained peaceful. Several guards rotated positions along the perimeter while distant winds swept through the surrounding forest, and Ethan simply sat beneath the night sky, observing the wilderness around him until the process concluded.
-----
[War God System Upgrade Complete]
[New Functions Unlocked]
• Path Classification
• Enhanced Status Display
• Daily Mission Evolution
-----
The moment the notification disappeared, a new status panel unfolded before him.
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Ethan Ravencrest
Age: 10
━━━━━━━━━━━━
Warrior Path
Knight Rank: Knight
Warrior Core
Status: Partially Awakened
━━━━━━━━━━━━
Mage Path
Mage Rank: Unawakened
Mage Core
Status: Dormant
━━━━━━━━━━━━
Spirit Path
Spirit Rank: Unawakened
Spirit Core
Status: Dormant
━━━━━━━━━━━━
Talent: Unawakened
Physique: Heavenly Sovereign Physique (SSS)
Cultivation Art: Northern Heaven War Art
━━━━━━━━━━━━
Strength: 40
Agility: 40
Vitality: 45
Endurance: 45
Intelligence: 25
Mana Capacity: 130
War Merit: 341
Blood Essence: 3
Available Attribute Points: 10
━━━━━━━━━━━━
Eternal Sovereign Blade
Current Rank: Rare | Growth Potential: Unknown
Status: Soul-Bound | Blood Essence Stored: 3
-----
Ethan studied the information calmly. Compared to the simpler panel from before, the display had become considerably more detailed — and the Path Classification function was particularly useful. Most people only cultivated a single path throughout their lives, yet the System clearly acknowledged all three major cultivation systems recognized throughout the continent. Warrior, Mage, Spirit. For now, only the Warrior Path held any practical value. The others would remain dormant until much later.
Then his attention shifted toward the available attribute points. A stronger body would allow him to better utilize the combat knowledge he already possessed. The points disappeared one by one.
-----
Strength: 40 → 42 (+2)
Agility: 40 → 42 (+2)
Vitality: 45 → 48 (+3)
Endurance: 45 → 48 (+3)
Available Attribute Points: 10 → 0 (-10)
-----
A pleasant warmth spread throughout his body as the allocation completed, moving through his circulation pathways with an ease that felt different from the sharp surge of a breakthrough — steadier, more settled, the quiet confirmation of his body reinforcing itself. True growth came from countless small improvements accumulated over time, and this was exactly that.
A moment later, another notification appeared.
-----
[Daily Mission Updated]
Daily Training Requirements:
• 5km Run
• 100 Push-Ups
• 100 Sit-Ups
• 100 Squats
• 500 Vertical Slashes
• 500 Horizontal Slashes
• 500 Thrusts
Rewards: frёeωebɳovel.com
• 3 Attribute Points
• 30 War Merit
-----
For several seconds, Ethan simply stared at the mission. Then he laughed quietly — soft enough that no one else heard it.
Consistency created strength. Discipline created growth. And the strongest warriors he had ever known were often those willing to perform the simplest tasks every single day, without exception, without complaint, for years on end. The golden notifications faded from sight.
He looked down at the Eternal Sovereign Blade resting across his lap. The weapon remained silent and mysterious as always, yet now he understood slightly more than before — the blade was growing alongside him, accumulating the nature of every creature that fell beneath it, refining it into something both of them could use. The path ahead had become a little clearer.
Slowly, he rose to his feet and secured the blade at his waist.
Tomorrow would bring another day of marching, training, and hunting. For now, rest was the wiser choice.
-----
The camp stirred awake long before sunrise — fires rekindled, equipment inspected, breakfast prepared with the quiet efficiency of people who had been doing this long enough to need no instruction.
Ethan had already been awake for nearly an hour.
A secluded clearing a short distance from camp served as his training ground. His breath formed white mist in the cold air as he completed the final set of push-ups, snow clinging to his clothes while sweat ran down his neck despite the freezing temperature. The push-ups were followed by sit-ups, the sit-ups by squats, each movement steady, controlled, and consistent.
Once the physical exercises were finished, Ethan drew the Eternal Sovereign Blade. The dark weapon emerged from its sheath with a soft metallic whisper. For several moments he simply stood there as snow drifted around him and the forest remained silent. Then he moved.
The first slash descended cleanly through the air. A second followed. Then a third. The blade cut through the falling snow with remarkable precision as Ethan worked through the full sequence — vertical slashes flowing into horizontal slashes, horizontal slashes flowing into thrusts, every movement connecting naturally to the next. Aura circulated steadily through his body as the principles of House Ravencrest guided each motion.
By the time he returned to camp, the expedition was already preparing to depart. Several apprentices stared as he approached.
Arthur blinked. "You were training? Before sunrise?"
"Yes."
The apprentice looked toward the snow-covered clearing visible in the distance, then back at Ethan with an expression that suggested he was reconsidering something. Eventually he shook his head. "That’s insane."
A faint smile appeared on Ethan’s face. To others, the training appeared excessive. To him, it wasn’t enough. He had once possessed decades of experience, the strength of a Knight King, a reputation feared across the Northern Frontier. None of it had been enough to stop the collapse. None of it had been enough to save the people he cared about. If he wished to change the future, then every day mattered. Every hour mattered. Every drop of effort mattered.
Arthur walked away still muttering about insanity, and Ethan simply turned his gaze toward the snow-covered forest ahead.
The squad resumed its march shortly afterward. Snow crunched beneath boots and hooves as they continued deeper into the Ancient Wildlands, and the forest appeared much the same as before — yet Ethan quickly noticed subtle differences. Animal tracks had become increasingly scarce. The usual sounds of wildlife seemed strangely muted, pressed flat by something he couldn’t identify from this distance.
Then the scouts returned.
The first arrived shortly before noon. The second returned less than an hour later. By mid-afternoon, three separate scouting teams had reported back, and that alone was enough to attract Gareth’s attention. The veteran knight listened quietly while each scout delivered their findings, his expression remaining calm throughout, though Ethan noticed the subtle narrowing of his eyes each time a new detail arrived.
Something was wrong.
The formation eventually halted near a small ridge overlooking part of the forest. Gareth gathered several veteran knights while the apprentices remained behind — Roland among them, Owen as well. The discussion remained brief and quiet, conducted at a distance most people couldn’t hear.
Most people.
Ethan’s senses had sharpened considerably after entering the Knight Realm, and fragments of conversation drifted toward him through the cold air.
"...territory abandoned..."
"...no signs of battle..."
"...pack disappeared..."
"...doesn’t make sense..."
The words were incomplete, yet they painted a recognizable picture.
Several minutes later the meeting concluded. The veterans dispersed while Gareth remained standing atop the ridge, his gaze fixed toward the northern horizon. The cold wind tugged at his cloak as snow continued falling around him.
Eventually, Ethan approached. The veteran knight noticed him immediately. Neither spoke at first — their attention remaining fixed upon the endless forest stretching before them. The wilderness appeared peaceful. Almost deceptively so.
Then Gareth broke the silence. "Tell me, brat." The young boy looked up. "What do you see?"
Ethan studied the landscape. The snow. The trees. The absence that had been pressing against his awareness since the morning’s first hours.
"Less life than before."
A faint expression appeared on Gareth’s face. Not surprise. Approval.
"Good." The veteran knight nodded slowly. "You’re paying attention."
For a brief moment, Gareth studied the boy beside him. Most apprentices noticed swords, tracks, and monsters — very few noticed absence. The lack of animal sounds. The abandoned territories. The subtle changes spreading through the wilderness around them. It was the kind of awareness veteran scouts spent years developing, and the boy had recognized it almost immediately.
His gaze returned northward.
"Tomorrow, we change course."
The statement immediately drew attention. Conversations stopped. Several apprentices exchanged confused looks. Even some soldiers appeared surprised. Gareth offered no further explanation — none was needed. His decision alone told the veterans everything they needed to know.
What had begun as a routine extermination expedition was slowly becoming something else. Something neither Gareth nor Ethan fully understood yet. Far beyond the snow-covered forests ahead, hidden from human eyes, the first threads of that mystery had already begun moving.
