Chapter 45: Baptism of Blood and Bone
The jungle no longer felt like a mystery to Frank. It was still dangerous, yes. Still filled with monsters that could crush him like an ant—but now he wasn't prey.
The vine twined tightly around his arm, now like a living gauntlet. Thorned tendrils lay coiled beneath his sleeves, and every now and then, a faint glow shimmered beneath his skin, like blood infused with magma. It pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat.
They were hunting.
Frank moved through the underbrush like a shadow. The forest seemed to recognize him now—small critters stilled as he passed, birds no longer chirped. The beasts could sense the shift.
They had felt the vine's awakening.
Ahead, a Rank 3 saber-horned lizard drank from a shallow stream, its body covered in obsidian scales that shimmered under the fractured sunlight. Its long tail swept lazily, powerful enough to snap trees in half. This was no easy prey—but it was perfect.
Frank crouched low, tightening his grip on the jungle floor. He exhaled.
Then he moved.
In a flash, the vines lashed forward, spearing into the lizard's back as Frank lunged. The beast roared, flailing in panic—but Frank was already beneath it, plunging his sword into its underbelly.
The beast twisted, blood spraying in hot arcs, but the vine surged again—piercing the skull with a brutal crack, siphoning the creature's life in a single, violent pull.
The lizard convulsed.
Then went still.
Frank stumbled back, panting. The vine retracted—and then came the surge.
Vitality poured into him, but it was clean, precise. The vine processed it instantly, sending purified essence flooding through his veins. It wasn't just strength—it was restoration.
He fell to his knees as his body lit up from within.
Muscles snapped and reformed. Bones cracked, expanded, realigned. Old injuries—ligament tears, broken ribs from past fights—healed in seconds. Scar tissue melted. Nerve damage from his reckless early training was scrubbed clean. His breathing deepened as his lung capacity doubled. Even his senses—smell, hearing, touch—were reborn, sharper than ever.
His heart pounded like a war drum.
The excess vitality went deeper than the flesh—it reached into the core.
But now, the vitality from the vine didn't just patch over cracks—it excavated and rebuilt.
"You're ascending…"
The vine's voice whispered inside
"Let it happen. Break through."
Frank screamed—not from pain, but release.
His core detonated inward. Pressure surged through his channels. His aura burst out like a tidal wave, flattening the grass around him, shaking the trees.
Something deep within snapped free.
A lock that had always been there.
He stood up slowly, breath steady, movements fluid. The world looked different. Colors more vibrant. Details more precise. The mana in the air no longer felt foreign—it felt like home.
His life level had increased. His body no longer strained to contain mana. It drank it, absorbed it with the ease of a seasoned Grandmaster. He felt no restriction in growth—no bottlenecks. As long as he had vitality, he would grow.
He already decided to ask if there was a body refining technique
Frank closed his eyes and gave a silent command to the vine.
"Store any excess vitality," he told it. "Condense it into a fruit-like core inside my body. If I'm injured or near death, I'll detonate it to recover."
"Understood."
Then he stood and turned toward the edge of the garden.
It was time to leave.
By the time he returned to Ur, the sky was already darkening. He was gone foe 3 weeks this time but they kew he was taking care of him self he had already submitted resources for five months
He stepped through the perimeter gates with calm poise, and people glanced up. No one could say what had changed, but something had. Frank's very presence exuded pressure—confidence—but not arrogance. His movements were too smooth, too silent. His eyes—brighter, calmer, watchful.
He felt like a new man.
When he entered the ops building, his team leader looked up from a mana-screen and squinted.
"…You broke through?" the leader asked quietly, more a statement than a question.
Frank shook his head in denial. He had experienced enlightenment
The man let out a low whistle.
You are lucky most never experience it in their lives
"I'm ready," Frank said simply. "But I need something first. A body refinement manual."
The leader leaned back. "You can't get that here. Not in the frontier bases. You'd need to access the main libraries—on Earth or the Moon colonies. Even then, you'll need to trade something of value."
Frank nodded. "Like mana crystals?"
"Mana crystals, rare beast cores, or artifacts. If you've got something special, even better. But those manuals are ancient—they're not given lightly. You'll need contribution points or private trade. Maybe both."