The First Trial

Ye Chen sheathed his long blade, another idea forming in his mind. He smeared the flowing blood over a bullet's tip, loaded it into the revolver's cylinder, aimed at a wooden bench nearby, and fired.

Bang!

After the shot, a hole appeared in the bench. Yet it was smaller than one made by an ordinary bullet, as though the power had actually been weakened.

"Huh? What's going on?"

Seeing this, Ye Chen was immediately baffled. It would have been one thing if blood had no effect on bullets, but why had the damage decreased instead?

However, Lyle, who had been watching from the side, saw through the issue. In an even tone, he explained, "Ordinary bullets cannot withstand the enhancement from your blood. Their shape warps during acceleration, so the shooting effect becomes worse instead. But you can try filling the cylinder directly with blood. Perhaps it will produce a different reaction."

The boy did not hesitate to follow his teacher's words. After exposing the revolver's cylinder to the air, he used the blade's edge to squeeze more drops of blood from his skin and attempted to let them flow into one of the chambers.

As the scarlet blood seeped in, a strange glow indeed began flickering inside the silver chamber, clearly indicating some intense reaction.

Under Ye Chen's astonished gaze, the scarlet liquid rapidly condensed, then rapidly expanded, then rapidly changed shape. In the end, just as Ye Chen had anticipated, it solidified into a blood-colored bullet.

The boy poured out the extraordinary bullet and carefully examined its structure. He discovered that this creation of blood included a bullet head, casing, primer, and every other component of a bullet. It was practically no different from a real bullet.

"Huh? My blood actually turned itself into the shape of a bullet. And judging by this complete structure, could it be more than just a model? Could it even be fired like a normal bullet?"

With an incredulous expression, Ye Chen loaded the bullet back into the cylinder. His finger involuntarily pressed the hammer as he raised the silver revolver. In the next second, he pulled the trigger at another wooden bench beside him, firing with the mindset of conducting an experiment.

Bang!

The trigger was pulled. Bloodlight flashed. The gun rang out. The wooden planks exploded.

This time, rather than merely gaining a small hole like before, the bench seemed to have been struck head-on by a miniature cannonball. It exploded into countless fragments right in front of Ye Chen!

Bloodstains were scattered all around the fallen debris, making it seem as though the blood itself had blasted the bench to pieces.

"It can actually fire!"

Ye Chen looked down at the smoking revolver in his hand, silently exclaiming in shock.

My blood actually became both the outer metal and the gunpowder inside!

Moreover, just like the changes in the blood-coated blade, the power unleashed by this "Blood Bullet" was clearly several times greater—and several times more terrifying—than the ordinary gunpowder bullets Ye Chen had fired in the past.

"Not only can blood enhance the slashing power of cold weapons, it can also create highly destructive bullets?"

Lyle murmured softly as he examined the dried blood on the wreckage of the bench.

Surprise, curiosity, excitement, and delight quickly mingled in Ye Chen's chest. Already accustomed to pain, he immediately squeezed more blood from the cut on his arm and made a second "Blood Bullet."

This time, however, Ye Chen did not rush to fire it. He simply kept it in his palm and observed it while checking the time with his pocket watch. He wanted to conduct an experiment and see how long a bullet made from his own blood could maintain its form in the outside world.

After all, after making only two "Blood Bullets," Ye Chen was already feeling dizzy. This was blood flowing through his body, after all. If he made them recklessly, he would likely fall into an extremely dangerous state of shock from excessive blood loss.

But if these blood-made items could be preserved for a long time, then Ye Chen could naturally stockpile them slowly.

The boy carefully put away the "Blood Bullet." After a moment of silence, he asked his teacher uneasily, "Um... Teacher, did I draw the worst possible lot?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"Because... if I have to use blood as the medium for casting, wouldn't I easily become anemic? Just making these few rounds has already made me feel a little lightheaded. That would obviously be very dangerous in actual combat, wouldn't it?"

However, after hearing his apprentice's concern, Lyle answered without changing expression.

"That is true. What you described can indeed happen. But calling it the worst possible lot would be entirely wrong."

"Take the Blood Ability Users I knew in the past as an example. Although they did encounter problems with blood loss early in their careers, their blood-producing ability would also continue to grow explosively as their Nightmare Realm increased."

"As long as they could persevere all the way through, bleeding to death would become the least likely way for them to die in the later stages of their careers. In fact, the more injuries their bodies sustained, the stronger the power they possessed would become."

"So, Ye Chen, you need not worry about this at all. Perhaps you will inevitably encounter quite a few problems with blood and vitality during the early stages of your Hunter career. But as long as you successfully endure them and usher in a comprehensive qualitative transformation of your ability, you will undoubtedly become one of the hardest people to kill."

"One day in the future, your enemies may discover that no matter how many wounds they leave on your body, they will be utterly unable to bring you down. Discussed from that extreme perspective, your ability is essentially an excellent lot instead."

After hearing Lyle's earnest explanation, Ye Chen's mood brightened considerably.

"I see... Understood, Teacher. I'll work hard to endure the early stage."

Having gained confidence in the nature of his ability, the boy finally raised the greatest question in his heart—the strange sound and color in the Nightmare that had nearly deafened him and shattered both mind and body.

"Then, Teacher, what was that sound I heard in the dream? Why did it make me feel so unbearably miserable? Does everyone who experiences a Nightmare encounter that sound?"

"Probably the voice of the Labyrinth itself."

Lyle answered, paused for a moment, then gave an ambiguous reply.

"The Nightmare is the Labyrinth's means of calling every person, and that sound is the first step of that summons. Now that you have endured the First Nightmare Realm, it means you have successfully answered the Labyrinth's call, and the Labyrinth will reward you with Spirit Art."

"In the terminology passed down among us Hunters since ancient times, those who can remain sane after experiencing the First Nightmare Realm are called 'Those Who Hear Its Song.'"

"Those who lose themselves in the Nightmare not only lose forever their qualification to sense the next Nightmare Realm, but also suffer mental collapse in reality, becoming madmen devoid of reason. Such people are called 'The Fallen.'"

Lyle explained slowly.

Those Who Hear Its Song... Could that sound really have been a song? It was truly hard to imagine.

After hearing this, Ye Chen could not help sighing inwardly. Then countless questions sprouted from his mind like bamboo shoots after rain.

The Labyrinth's summons and reward? What does that mean? Could this Labyrinth be more than merely a vast and intricate terrain—could it be some life-form with consciousness? Why did it call me, and why did it grant me the power of Spirit Art? What was the meaning of all this?

However, after Lyle said, "There is no need for you to delve into these matters now," Ye Chen could only put those doubts aside and ask no further.

"From now on, you no longer need to go into the mountains to hunt beasts. I will give you three days to familiarize yourself with Spirit Art. Three days from now, we will begin the trials. There are three trials in total. Once you complete them all, you may leave this place forever."

With a calm expression, Lyle made the announcement. With a casual gesture, he used invisible force to turn the wood chips and fragments scattered across the floor into dust that dissipated into the air. Ye Chen pulled his thoughts back from his imaginings. On the surface, he remained calm and merely nodded, but inwardly, he was filled with anticipation and unease.

For more than ten years, the boy's daily life had been consumed by studying, training, and hunting. He had long grown numb to the word "trial." Yet when he thought of how he could leave this land beneath his feet after completing this final test, a complicated mixture of emotions welled up in his heart.

Although Ye Chen had long looked forward to leaving this small world called the Eternal Winter Hidden Domain, whose land area did not exceed ten thousand square kilometers, he had no idea whether the world outside would be more beautiful or more ugly.

After all, Lyle had never given him a definite answer to that question. Whether it was good or bad, Ye Chen would ultimately have to judge it with his own eyes.

Since he no longer had to climb the mountain and hunt as usual to hone his skills over the next three days, Ye Chen focused wholeheartedly on studying the new power he had obtained.

First came his most basic physical body. After being tempered by the Nightmare, Ye Chen's body had not only become impervious to blades and bullets, but his stamina, endurance, reactions, speed, and all other physical abilities had also increased explosively. With Lyle's training assistance, he could not only dodge bullets, but could even barely catch them with his bare hands.

Next was the Blood Spirit Art he had just acquired. After a series of experiments, a blade stained with Ye Chen's blood could maintain its enhancement for a full hour, while ammunition condensed from Ye Chen's blood could only maintain its form for a mere five minutes. Once the time limit passed, these blood creations would turn into ordinary blood, dry rapidly, and lose every trace of their peculiar properties.

Furthermore, Ye Chen discovered through experimentation that even storing his drawn blood with anticoagulants was useless. This Blood Spirit Art seemed to require freshly drawn blood for immediate use. Once separated from the body for too long, it lost its effect.

Once he made more than one bullet within ten minutes, his body would experience severe dizziness lasting dozens of minutes. In actual combat, this was clearly extremely disadvantageous for Ye Chen.

That meant that before confirming and approaching his prey, Ye Chen could only keep one "Blood Bullet" loaded in the chamber to be safe. If he needed to use a second "Blood Bullet" without becoming dizzy, he would have to create a rest period of as long as ten minutes after firing.

"Hmm... If the next prey can resist ordinary gunpowder damage like I can, then the 'Blood Bullet' will be a trump card that cannot be played lightly. Most of the time, I'll still have to rely on close combat with the 'Blood Blade.'"

Ye Chen lay on a beast-hide blanket, rubbing his somewhat pale forehead as he reached this conclusion.

According to his teacher, abilities awakened from the First Nightmare Realm did not have much room for varied development. The experiments of these three days had already allowed Ye Chen to fully understand the effects of the Blood Spirit Art he currently possessed. If he wanted to further expand the uses of his blood, he would have to wait until the arrival of the next Nightmare before he could continue exploring this ability.

Although the Nightmare had greatly improved his physical condition and substantially strengthened his blood-producing function, he had still overdone it somewhat with blood extraction during these past two days of testing. Using this final day to rest and recuperate was naturally for the best.

Having made his decision, the boy closed his eyes and waited for the arrival of a new day. The previous Nightmare showed no intention of disturbing him again.

Ye Chen could not understand the principles of the Nightmare at all. He only knew that he slept very sweetly that night.

Three days passed. The trials were at hand.

Early in the morning, Ye Chen strapped on his polished long blade and loaded revolver, then stood in the middle of the church hall, waiting for his teacher to issue instructions.

Lyle still sat on the old wooden bench in the front row, facing the damaged Statue of God with his back to his student, Ye Chen. Before announcing the mission, he first made a request of Ye Chen.

"Ye Chen, recite the Three Rules of the Hunter first."

The boy immediately spoke the principles his teacher had taught him for many years, one by one.

"First Rule of the Hunter: Always remain rational, consider every possibility, and do not let anger or fear blind your eyes."

"Second Rule of the Hunter: Always pursue wisdom and skill, temper yourself to the limit, and extend your path to its utmost."

"Third Rule of the Hunter: Always hold fast to your humanity. No matter when, never yield and never fall."

Lyle nodded in satisfaction after listening, then formally announced the contents of the first trial.

"Yesterday, a death row prisoner from Frost White City escaped from prison at midnight. He is currently resting in the village ruins south of the mountain's foot. You have only hunted low-intelligence beasts in the past and have never hunted a high-intelligence Heteromorph, so he is an ideal target for you to practice your Spirit Art on. Hunt and kill him. That is the content of your first mission."

"Remember, he has also experienced the Labyrinth's Nightmare. Although he lost himself in the dream and became one of The Fallen, he can still use Spirit Art. He remains a threat you must not underestimate."

"Keep the Three Rules of the Hunter in mind at all times. Do not go easy on him just because he has a human form, and do not let mercy become your downfall."

After explaining the contents of the first trial, Lyle lightly waved his hand.

"Go."