Chapter 72 — Slaughter Intent

"This forest we’re currently in extends deep behind the Academy campus. There are many incredibly strong beasts who have even gained human-level consciousness living in the deepest parts.

But don’t worry about them, you will only encounter the beasts you can handle at your current level. I made sure of that."

Kaiser continued his explanation, gesturing at the dense forest surrounding them.

"I specifically established Stormhold Academy in this location to serve a dual purpose. If one day any of those powerful beasts tried to break out of the forest and attack human settlements, the Academy would serve as the first line of defense. But that situation has never actually occurred in over a century."

His expression turned contemplative.

"The fate of these beasts is simply to become resources for humanity to exploit. They exist to make us stronger. That’s the natural order now."

’You would be surprised in a few months when those same beasts you look down on, unleash their wrath on humans.’

Damian knew that these beasts would be the first crisis humans would face soon. He remembered his memory of that event very clearly.

Kaiser stood up slowly, brushing crumbs from his robes.

"I brought you here for a very specific reason, boy. You need to advance your Abyssal Slaughter weapon art to the next level. And that requires more than just technical practice."

Kaiser’s eyes locked onto Damian’s with absolute intensity.

"The name itself tells you what’s required. Abyssal Slaughter.

You must become so intimately familiar with the act of killing, so obsessed with the art of taking lives efficiently, that you develop what’s called Slaughter Intent."

"Slaughter Intent?"

"A manifestation of killing will so powerful it affects reality itself. Your enemies will feel death approaching before your weapon even touches them.

Weaker opponents will freeze in terror or flee on instinct. It’s the mark of a true master of this art."

Kaiser’s voice was absolutely serious.

"Only when you successfully develop genuine Slaughter Intent can you leave this forest and return to the Academy. Until then, you’ll remain here and hunt."

"How long will that take?"

"Depends entirely on you. Some of my previous disciples achieved it in days. Others took months. A few never managed it at all before dying to the beasts."

Kaiser smiled slightly.

"I’ll be checking on your progress periodically. Don’t disappoint me."

Before Damian could respond or ask any follow-up questions–

The old man simply vanished.

Not teleportation with any visible effect or sound.

Just there one moment, completely gone the next.

Damian stood alone in the massive forest, surrounded by ancient trees and the distant sounds of unknown creatures.

"...Great."

****

The first day was relatively calm as Damian explored his immediate surroundings carefully.

He had one significant advantage that Kaiser probably didn’t know about.

During the Serpent Gang operation, he’d taken a spatial storage ring from Marco’s body after killing him. It was a small ring with limited space, but enough to store essentials.

His axe was safely stored inside it, along with some emergency supplies.

With a thought, the familiar weight of his weapon materialized in his hands.

Sixty centimeters of obsidian handle. Two crescent blades. That distinctive circular hole that made it whistle when swung.

He felt immediately more secure.

The forest was beautiful in its own way. Massive trees with trunks wider than houses.

Streams of crystal-clear water running between moss-covered rocks. Strange, colorful plants he’d never seen before.

But there was also an underlying sense of danger everywhere.

The normal forest sounds – birds, insects, small animals – were all present.

But occasionally, he’d hear something else.

Deep roars in the distance that made the ground vibrate.

Crashes as something massive moved through the undergrowth far away.

Sounds that reminded him these weren’t normal animals anymore.

By late afternoon, Damian had found a decent stream and drank deeply, refilling a water container he’d found in the storage ring.

For food, he’d need to hunt.

As if summoned by that thought, he heard movement nearby.

Something was approaching through the dense undergrowth, moving with surprising stealth for its size.

Damian gripped his axe and waited.

A creature emerged into the clearing.

It looked somewhat like a wolf, but massively oversized. Easily the size of a horse, with midnight-black fur that seemed to absorb light. Its eyes glowed faintly red, and its teeth were like daggers.

An D- rank Shadowfang Wolf, if he remembered his monster classification studies correctly.

The beast spotted him and growled, a sound that resonated in his chest.

Then it charged.

Fast. Incredibly fast.

Damian’s Sonic Blink activated instinctively.

He vanished from the wolf’s path and reappeared to its side, his axe already swinging.

The blade, infused with his dark crimson Aura, met the wolf’s flank.

But the beast’s hide was tough. Far tougher than human flesh.

The axe bit deep but didn’t kill instantly.

The wolf yelped and spun, snapping at him with those terrible jaws.

Damian ducked under the bite and struck again, this time aiming for the neck.

His Abyssal Slaughter training kicked in – the belief that one strike should kill, the absolute commitment to each blow.

The axe whistled as it swung.

THUNK.

The blade severed the wolf’s head completely, the body collapsing as blood sprayed.

Damian stood over the corpse, breathing slightly harder.

’Tougher than humans. Need to adjust my technique.’

He spent the next hour carefully butchering the wolf, salvaging the meat like he’d seen Kaiser do.

That night, he roasted wolf meat over a fire and ate alone under the stars.

The meat was surprisingly good. Rich and gamey, with an almost electric tingle that suggested high Aura content.

As he ate, he reflected on Kaiser’s words.

’Slaughter Intent. I need to kill so much that it becomes part of me.’

He thought about the gang members he’d killed last night. The surgical efficiency of his Sonic Blink assassinations.

But that had been cold. Tactical. Necessary.

This needed to be different.

More primal.

More obsessed.

He needed to love the act of killing itself.

A roar echoed through the forest, much closer than before.

Something had smelled the blood.

Damian smiled and picked up his axe.

"Come on, then. Let’s see what you’ve got."

****

As the days passed by, they brought more challenges.

A pack of three Razorback Boars D+ rank beasts with armored hides and tusks that could gore through steel.

Damian fought them simultaneously, his Sonic Blink allowing him to appear and disappear around them.

But these weren’t mindless. They coordinated, tried to corner him, used pack tactics.

He took a glancing blow from a tusk that tore through his Aura shield and opened a gash across his ribs.

Pain exploded through his side.

’Focus. Can’t afford mistakes here.’

He channeled more Aura into his axe and went on the offensive.

The first boar died to a vertical split down its spine.

The second lost its head to a horizontal swing.

The third managed to clip his leg before he drove the axe blade through its skull.

Damian collapsed beside the corpses, breathing hard, blood running from his wounds.

There was no medical wing here. No Doctor Isabelle to heal him.

He bound his injuries with torn cloth and forced himself to butcher the boars before other predators arrived.

That night he ate well, the meat helping his body recover faster than normal.

By the next day, his wounds had mostly closed thanks to his vitality stat and the Aura-rich diet.

He was learning the forest’s rhythms. When to hide. When to hunt. Which creatures to avoid.

He’d seen a massive serpent in the distance – easily D+ rank or higher –and had hidden until it passed.

He was not ready for that yet.

But the smaller beasts? He was getting efficient.

A Steelclaw Bear – massive, aggressive, covered in metallic-looking fur.

Damian didn’t hesitate. Charged straight at it.

The bear rose on its hind legs, roaring a challenge.

Damian’s axe met its throat mid-roar.

Blood fountained as the bear collapsed.

He was starting to feel it.

That shift Kaiser had mentioned.

The kills were becoming easier. More natural with no thinking involved.

His axe felt like an extension of his arm now.

And when he closed his eyes, he could almost see it.

A dark red aura around his weapon that had nothing to do with his normal Aura.

It even covered his body.

"Slaughter Intent..."

It was beginning to form.