Chapter 64 – A Nightmare

“A warrior’s heart… ”

Calron’s eyes abruptly opened as a familiar bloodthirsty aura erupted around him.

A strange sensation started to surge within Calron, as he calmly gazed at the massive bear rapidly approaching him. He knew that under no circumstances could he actually defeat the bear with his physical strength alone, but Calron no longer hesitated in confronting the beast.

A trace of fear still existed within Calron, but it was only a matter of time until his heart would be tempered.

“Breathe and relax your muscles… your body is too tense right now. Conquer the fear within your soul, and just try to dodge as many of the bear’s strikes as you can.”

The Voice calmly advised his student with a soothing tone.

“Alright, Teacher… “

Calron softly whispered back, as he slowly exhaled and prepared to face off against the incoming beast.

The tensely coiled muscles on Calron’s body slowly loosened up, and the bloodthirsty aura around him also started to dissipate as well.

“Fighting is not just using your brute strength, Calron, it is about finding the most effective way to kill an enemy! So far, you have only fought against weaker opponents and your brute strength has always helped you. However, not all of your enemies in the future will be that weak, so you need to start learning how to strategize and to calmly assess your current situation.”

The Voice serenely began instructing Calron in battle tactics.

*thud* *thud*

Meanwhile, the Mountain Ash Bear continued to charge straight towards Calron, with a long trail of smoke following behind it. A series of small embers burst on top of its grey fur while the bear’s eyes sharply pierced through Calron.

“Your opponent right now is a beast from the bear species, so their main offensive strength lies within the sharpness of their claws. It is also a fire attributed magical beast, so you will need to maintain your distance to avoid getting burned. Get ready, Calron, here it comes!”

His Teacher abruptly yelled, just as the grey bear was almost upon Calron!

Intently focusing on the massive beast’s claws, Calron slightly bent his knees as he prepared to immediately dodge the first attack.

However, just as the bear was half a foot away, it suddenly raised its right paw and struck down towards Calron!

“Sh*t!”

Calron immediately cursed, as he realized that he had greatly underestimated the massive bear’s astonishing speed, and would not be able to dodge the incoming attack in time!

*Slash*

Suddenly, a spurt of bright red blood sprayed onto the grass below, and continued to slowly drip onto the ground as a small puddle of thick, crimson liquid started to form on the grass.

“Urghh!”

Calron gingerly clutched his injured chest while he heavily panted from a lack of breath.

There were four parallel slashes on the center of his chest, and a hint of white ribs could be faintly seen in the deepest part of the wound!

“Forget the pain, Calron, and focus on your opponent!”

The Voice strictly conveyed to his wounded student.

Although Calron was not currently using the Blood Legacy, it still granted his body a passive regenerative ability, as the wound on his chest was already starting to show signs of recovery! It appeared as if within several days the injury would completely heal, but it might leave a faint scar.

An ice-cold fury suddenly blazed within Calron’s eyes as he viciously glared at the grey bear. Noticing the bear’s right claw stained with his blood, Calron forcefully tried to suppress the wrath he currently felt.

*crackle*

Small bolts of Azure Lightning flickered across Calron’s eyes, as it violently tried to emerge out of his body!

“I’ll hold it back!”

The Voice suddenly whispered to Calron, and suddenly a mysterious energy started to envelop around his core.

“I’ve suppressed it with my soul energy, but I won’t be able to hold the lightning back for long. Continue your fight, and anticipate the strikes rather than waiting for the bear to attack you.”

The Voice evenly replied and continued to guide Calron through the battle.

“I will try, Teacher!”

Calron seriously stated as he tuned out the pain he currently felt from his wounds.

Seeing the human take a hit from its attack, the grey bear smugly looked into Calron’s eyes and prepared to strike again.

“Come, you fat bastard!”

Calron icily whispered.

*growl*

With bursts of flame erupting from its nostrils, the grey bear once again charged towards Calron.

*Slash*

The bear’s huge paw was just a hair’s breadth away from his face, when Calron instinctively started to lean towards his right. He was no match for the bear’s speed without the use of the Blood Mist Step, so the best alternative was to nimbly lean away from the attacks instead.

Time seemed to slow down for Calron as he stared at the massive claws nearing his face.

Five inches.

Three inches.

One inch.

*Whooosh*

A cold smile spread across Calron’s face when he realized that he had successfully dodged the grey bear’s claws!

“ROOOAARRR!”

The Mountain Ash Bear furiously roared as it saw the human escape from its grasp, and a sudden burst of orange flames erupted from its skin!

“Oi… that’s cheating… “

The elation within Calron immediately died down when he saw the enraged bear release its essence. Dark orange flames spiraled around the bear as its grey fur started to take the color of the orange flames!

This was the reason why the beast was known as the Mountain Ash Bear! Its natural fur was usually dark orange but when its flames died down after a battle, it transformed into the ash-grey color!

“FOCUS!”

The Voice’s abrupt yell instantly shook Calron out of his daze.

“Yes, Teacher!”

Calron quickly replied, as he gazed at the beast’s movements with an intense concentration.

After a single second, the bear angrily stomped the ground and raised its claw to launch another strike towards Calron’s chest.

However, this time the bear’s claws were enveloped with scorching flames!

“This is going to hurt… “

Calron muttered under his breath and once again prepared to dodge the attack.

“ARGHH!”

Calron suddenly dropped to the ground on his knee while painfully grasping his stomach.

A large burn mark was etched onto the side of his stomach, as the skin around it was still sizzling under the frightening heat.

“Teacher… I want to kill it… I promise I won’t use my essence or the legacy until you give me permission… but just against this beast… let me kill it!”

Calron murderously rasped, as a storm of blue lightning violently crackled within his eyes.

It appeared as if even the Azure Lightning wished to destroy this insignificant beast that had dared to injure its host!

“Sigh… this will be the only time I will permit this, kid.”

The Voice responded in a resigned tone, as it withdrew its soul energy from around Calron’s core.

The Voice knew that even if it tried to stop Calron right now, the Azure Lightning would not remain submissive and would have eventually broken his layer of soul energy enveloped outside Calron’s core.

I will just have to find another way to train the boy…

The Voice inwardly thought as it began to contemplate other training methods.

“Thank you, Teacher.”

Calron softly whispered as he slowly stood up from the ground.

Looking down at his bleeding chest, and along with the burnt skin near his stomach, Calron gradually lifted his head to look at the grey bear.

Suddenly, the massive bear started to feel its instincts warning it to run away. As it gazed into the wrathful dark eyes of the human, a seed of fear started to take root within its heart.

“Beast… Have you ever felt true pain?”

Calron coldly asked as his dark black eyes started to slowly transform into an eerie grey color.

“Let me show you a never-ending nightmare!”

Calron frostily whispered, as his eyes abruptly glowed with an unnatural light, and a mysterious white symbol flickered on his forehead!

……………………..

A series of miserable cries echoed out within the small forest until it slowly died down to absolute silence.

*thud*

Seeing that the beast had taken its last breath, Calron slumped down onto the ground in utter exhaustion as he suddenly lost his consciousness.

However, the most shocking fact was that the dead bear did not even have a single wound covering its body!