Black Phoenix Heir

Chapter 48: Chapter 48 — Starving

Chapter 48 — Starving

After Victor left the cellar and landed on the forest floor, he glanced around for only a brief moment.

There was no panther.

Much to his relief, the massive beast was nowhere in sight.

His eyes shifted toward the ruins nearby.

Now that he wasn’t running for his life, he finally had a chance to properly look at the enormous structure surrounding the hidden cellar. At its center stood a massive training platform.

Victor’s gaze briefly passed over the center of the platform.

Something caught his attention beneath the moss.

An upside-down flask.

A few drops of liquid fell from its opening.

The symbol was partially hidden beneath vines and dirt, but Victor recognized it immediately.

The alchemist’s symbol.

His eyes narrowed for only a second.

Then Victor turned and ran.

He headed away from the direction where he had last encountered the panther, moving back toward the safer regions of the forest. The deeper parts were filled with monsters like the Beast Soldier that had nearly killed him, and Victor had absolutely no intention of wandering farther inside.

Not yet.

Spiritual Energy gathered beneath his feet.

Victor activated Flashstep.

His body shot forward.

The forest blurred around him as he moved between the trees, using his technique whenever he could to gain short bursts of speed. He didn’t maintain Flashstep continuously. He still wasn’t capable of doing that without quickly exhausting himself.

Instead, Victor ran at his fastest speed and used the technique in bursts.

Each activation sent him shooting forward, allowing him to cover ground far faster than normal.

He continued for nearly fifteen minutes.

Eventually, Victor began slowing down.

His breathing remained steady, but the tension in his body gradually disappeared. If the panther had followed him, it would have caught him by now.

That didn’t mean Victor was safe.

It just meant the panther probably wasn’t nearby.

At the moment, that was good enough.

Victor continued walking through the forest, keeping his senses alert as he moved between the trees. After several more minutes, he pushed through a thick passage of bushes.

Then stopped.

Something stood on the other side.

Victor slowly raised an eyebrow.

The creature looked vaguely similar to a hyena.

At least, that was the closest comparison Victor could make.

Its body was much wider and heavier than a normal hyena’s, almost resembling a boar. Thick muscles bulged beneath its coarse fur, and a single horn protruded from the center of its head.

The beast stared at him.

Victor stared back.

A deep growl escaped the creature’s throat.

It slowly lowered its body.

Victor could feel the Spiritual Energy coming from it.

Rank Seven.

Maybe Rank Eight.

Either way, it wasn’t particularly strong.

The creature began walking toward him.

Then Victor’s stomach growled.

The monster paused.

Victor slowly looked down at his stomach.

Then raised his eyes toward the beast again.

A smile appeared on his face.

The creature froze.

For some reason, the smile didn’t make Victor look friendly.

The beast’s instincts screamed at it.

Something was wrong.

A moment ago, it had believed that the human standing in front of it was prey.

Now, suddenly, it wasn’t so sure.

Victor took a step forward.

Victor’s smile widened slightly.

The creature turned around.

And ran.

”Yeah,” Victor muttered. ”It’s too late for that.”

Flashstep activated.

Victor disappeared.

The beast had barely taken a few steps when Victor appeared beside it.

His hand came down.

Chop!

The side of Victor’s hand struck the back of the creature’s neck.

The monster immediately collapsed.

Victor looked down at the unconscious beast.

”Sorry,” he said calmly. ”Wrong place, wrong time.”

He grabbed one of its legs and began dragging it toward a nearby clearing.

At least, Victor didn’t need to worry about finding food.

The universe had apparently decided to deliver it directly to him.

Victor quickly got to work.

He gathered dry wood from the surrounding area and built a small fire. A large stone sat near the edge of the clearing, providing a convenient place to sit while he worked. Using what he had available, Victor prepared the beast and cut away the meat.

Before long, pieces of meat were cooking over the fire.

The smell alone was enough to make Victor’s stomach hurt.

While waiting for the meat to cook, Victor sat down on the large stone.

Then closed his eyes.

Spiritual Energy slowly entered his body.

His consciousness turned inward.

Victor found himself looking at his Spiritual Core.

The fracture was still there.

The crack running across his core remained exactly as it had been.

Victor frowned.

Before the fracture, his cultivation speed had been dramatically different. He could feel the difference now more clearly than ever. Spiritual Energy still entered his body, but the damaged core affected everything.

The process had slowed tremendously.

At his current speed, Victor doubted he would reach Rank Seven anytime soon.

Maybe a month.

Maybe longer.

The thought bothered him.

Victor didn’t have the luxury of growing slowly.

Every monster he encountered seemed stronger than the last. The panther alone had nearly killed him, and that was only a Beast Soldier.

What would happen when he encountered something stronger?

Victor pushed the thought aside.

Worrying about the fracture wouldn’t fix it.

So he cultivated.

For nearly half an hour, Victor remained sitting on the stone, guiding Spiritual Energy through his body and doing everything he could to continue strengthening himself.

Eventually, the smell of cooked meat pulled him back to reality.

Victor opened his eyes.

The food was ready.

He didn’t hesitate.

By the time he finished eating, almost nothing remained.

Victor leaned back slightly.

For the first time in seven days, his stomach wasn’t trying to kill him.

Victor raised his right hand.

A small black flame appeared above his palm.

His expression became serious.

The flame flickered.

Victor carefully controlled the flow of Soul Power feeding into it, making small adjustments as he practiced maintaining the Black Phoenix Flame.

Then something hit him.

Hard.

Thwack!

”Ow!”

Victor immediately grabbed his head.

For a second, he just stood there.

Then his eyes widened.

What the hell had just hit him?

Victor jumped to his feet.

His body immediately tensed as he looked around the clearing.

Nothing.

His eyes narrowed.

Then something moved.

Victor slowly looked upward.

A small bird stood on a branch nearby.

It looked almost like a cardinal from Earth.

Almost.

Its feathers were midnight black, with strange red markings that ran along its body like ancient symbols. A small red flame burned at the end of its tail, flickering gently.

The bird stared down at Victor.

Victor stared back.

The clearing became silent.

Then the bird puffed out its chest.

Victor slowly lowered his hand from his head.

”...You hit me?”

The bird chirped.

Victor’s expression darkened.

”Oh, so that’s how we’re starting this.”

The little bird spread its wings.

The flame on its tail flickered.

Victor slowly straightened.

The bird stared at him.

Victor stared back.

For several seconds, neither of them moved.

Then Victor narrowed his eyes.

The bird chirped again.

And somehow—

Victor had the distinct feeling that it was insulting him.