—

The first thought that came to mind when analyzing Scar’s usage of Crimson Current was the size of the wave.

Although Scar didn’t add or subtract anything from what Kieran supplied to the skill, the tide seemed three times smaller than when he released it.

However, that size difference was temporary. Once the current touched the floor, it expanded faster than Kieran could comprehend, regaining its former yet somehow improved glory.

‘The force of the current was like getting hit with a wrecking ball unexpectedly. Furthermore, rather than fixate on hitting me with the first attack, Scar turned it into an attack that gained extra momentum.

From Kieran’s perspective, he felt Scar fused the principle of Seethe Burst with Crimson Current because the rapid explosion of momentum was eerily similar to when the blood coating erupted.

However, Kieran also felt there was more to it than just drawing inspiration from another skill. The fact Scar took control of his vitality, which should be unique to his body, meant Blood Mania didn’t stop at mastering one’s vitality.

There was a difference between absorbing ambient vitality to heal and claiming the vitality embedded in an active attack to redirect it.

‘It was only for a moment, and it was before he grabbed ahold of my attack, but I sensed the threat of death. However, it was so fleeting, lasting no more than a split second, that Retaliatory Sense couldn’t activate.’

Scar looked at Kieran’s pensive expression and smiled. He could tell from Kieran’s rapid eye movements that he was racking his brain to find an explanation and possibly a solution.

‘Perhaps I should help the young boy. It feels as if he needs a small push,’ Scar thought.

He crossed his arms and cleared his throat. “I’ll give you some advice. When restoring your vigor, experience the sensation with your entire being. To understand your power, understand your body. Focus on your heart. It is the crux of our power. The moment our heart falters is the moment our power ceases.”

‘Focus on my heart,’ Kieran mused. He closed his eyes and applied his Perception to its fullest extent. Kieran soon felt as if his body tingled unusually. He could feel the blood flowing through his veins with every heartbeat.

〈System: By utilizing your Focus stat, you have triggered «Supersensitivity»!〉

Supersensitivity was a state of increased concentration and sensitivity toward internal and external events.

The intensity of the state relied on how many points of Focus the user possessed. Every point temporarily heightened the user’s natural Perception. The range varied from 100 to 500% per point of Focus.

The duration of this state wasn’t permanent either, differing from person to person. However, the higher one’s Focus, the longer one could hold this state. The only downside of activating this state was the long cooldown.

Activating it again within seven days was impossible.

Kieran gained immense benefits from Supersensitivity as he activated Vim Restoration once more to see what truly occurred when it was used.

A condensed blood marble formed over his heart, drawing power from the active Vampiric Blood Encrustation.

When the marble finished coalescing, Kieran noticed his heart stopped beating.

Usually, when the heart stopped, it meant death. But, this temporary halt felt oddly satisfying to Kieran, as if his heart was amassing power. Finally, after one second of not beating, it released a pump ten times its average vigor.

The blood marble exploded, carrying exuberant vitality throughout his bloodstream, injecting his muscles with ample vim. Aside from this, Kieran noticed a shocking amount of energy remained within his blood without being utilized.

However, moving that energy was difficult. A large vein surfaced on Kieran’s forehead as he tried to influence it without following Blood Mania’s standard road map for Vim Restoration.

‘Come… on!’ Kieran inwardly thought.

Crimson gases seeped from his body like evaporating boiling water.

‘Oh? The boy is making progress, but it is indeed a challenge. Once he takes this step, his journey to becoming a Blood Fiend won’t be too far away.’

Scar understood those gases meant Kieran found Blood Mania’s source energy floating in his blood and was currently trying to influence it.

In the beginning, such an action produced immense wastage, but it was a step both Scar and Agrianos had to go through. Practice led to improvement, but improvement didn’t exist without failure.

After almost ten minutes of trying, Kieran lost his Supersensitivy state and fell over while heaving. “I failed!”

Scar glanced at Kieran’s exhausted body and nodded. “And that’s okay. Failure is permitted. What isn’t permitted is quitting. However, your body is frail. So I’ll give you a small break before we resume.”

After hearing he could have a small break, Kieran immediately closed his eyes and logged out of the game without a second’s hesitation.

…

Inside the Medical Facility…

Kieran breathed heavily while removing the VR Helmet from his head. As he expected, his body felt depleted, but more than that, his body felt clammy from insane amounts of sweat, and he was starving.

He turned his gaze to the side to find Dr. Riley sleeping soundly with her cheek on his lower thigh. In his peripheral vision, he noticed several X-hancers sitting in a bowl of ice.

Two of them read X-010, while the remaining three read X-011 to X-013. After monitoring Kieran’s vitals, Dr. Riley noticed they dipped below a dangerous threshold where his cells became starved.

Kieran lifted his hand and moved a few strands of hair from Dr. Riley’s cheek while she slept. ‘I’ve noticed it before, but Lilian is adorable when sleeping, like a defenseless kitten. I guess the state-of-the-art security systems give her peace of mind.

While eyeing Dr. Riley, Kieran downed the X-010 X-hancers in rapid succession but still felt devoid of energy. Only after drinking all of the X-hancers Dr. Riley prepared for him did Kieran feel refreshed.

Though revitalized, he was still famished. X-hancers sated the body, but the desire to eat persisted.

Dr. Riley felt movement and fluttered her eyelashes before opening her eyes. “Oh, you’re back. I prepared some X-han—”

She pointed at the bowl not too far away but paused midsentence when she noticed the empty containers arranged neatly on the table. To ensure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her, Dr. Riley rubbed them and looked again.

Dr. Riley’s eyes widened while looking at Kieran repeatedly. “You consumed all of them?!”

Kieran gave a small nod with a thin smile because he understood her shock. “I did.”

The energy levels on the device showed that Kieran’s condition fluctuated between two unusual peaks as if his body was actively digesting the immense energy introduced to it.

“I swear you are getting more and more abnormal by the day. I love the knowledge I’m obtaining, but what will I do with you? Not even members of Magnate Families with carefully selected genes assimilate X-hancers this well. What are you?” Dr. Riley asked.

It was partly rhetorical, but her curiosity was genuine. How did Kieran’s body handle X-hancers so well? Furthermore, why did his once thin body now resemble a bodybuilder with almost two years of training progress?

If she hadn’t been present at the start of his consumption, Dr. Riley would have mistaken Kieran for a professional bodybuilder that participated in worldwide competitions.

“I don’t know. I couldn’t give you an answer if I wanted to. I recently asked myself this question. So we’re in the same boat in terms of curiosity. But, enough about me. When did you fall asleep?”

Kieran touched the bags under Dr. Riley’s eyes and sighed.

The signs all pointed to her exhausting herself to keep tabs on his condition around the clock. Kieran felt it was somewhat silly but endearing because these machines were designed to do just that!

Dr. Riley reddened slightly when Kieran touched her cheek. A question couldn’t help but flow from her mind. “How are you so relaxed? There’s something about your nature that feels too natural.”

Kieran didn’t flinch, pause, or grow nervous when touching her. His actions flowed naturally, giving off the air of a casanova, which was funny given his sparse interactions.

“Mm, it just feels right? I guess I don’t feel anxious,” Kieran muttered. He noticed that his nervousness regarding all matters was vanishing. More precisely, it felt like any anxiety was being converted into confidence.

“Oh—!” Kieran snapped his fingers after recalling something important. “I have invited a few people that I’ve come to trust. I’ve arranged for them to come here.”

“!!” Dr. Riley sputtered and stammered before hitting Kieran. “You did what?! And you didn’t think to ask me first, you jerk?!”

“Well, errr, no?” Kieran smiled wryly. “In my defense, I thought you’d be happy to have more test subjects. And one of them even has the Hyper-Cognitive Overload Sickness.”

Kieran gave a sly smile while appealing to Dr. Riley’s knowledge fetish. He topped it off with a killer wink that made her pout.

“You can’t do that! That isn’t fair!” Dr. Riley groaned and mushed Kieran’s face as not to be drawn into his charm.

Eventually, she sighed and shook her head. “When will they be arriving? I’ll prepare the facility’s upper floor to give them individual rooms.”

“Within a week. In the meantime, I’m going to shower and grab a snack.”

Dr. Riley exhaled sharply while watching Kieran’s back. ‘What did I get myself into? This entire situation isn’t normal! That boy is dangerous! You need to stay away from him, Lily.’

While trying to psyche herself into avoiding Kieran, Dr. Riley didn’t realize she sighed in relief after confirming Kieran was perfectly fine without any issues.