Chapter 124: Chapter 100: Demon Hunter Origin

The Shepherdess tightened her grip on her sword, thinking the Baron was about to complete the final imprinting.

But this upward surge hadn’t stopped.

The Spiritual Power fluctuations were still rising, accompanied by an oppressive aura that washed over them.

The black sheep looked up at the Shepherdess, who nodded. "The quality of his Spiritual Power has already surpassed Black Iron... This Secret Technique, [Burning Blood], is giving him twice the boost it gives me."

"You’re right. Perhaps the Dream Master has truly chosen a Dream Seeker with immense potential this time."

As soon as she said this, the Shepherdess saw the Demon Hunter let out a muffled grunt and begin directing the [Blood Pattern] to grow toward his head.

Those silver-red lines were like a few nimble fish, swimming upstream against a "waterfall," overcoming every obstacle.

From his neck to his jaw, then splitting from the jaw to run along both cheeks, they crept bit by bit toward the crown of his head.

As the [Blood Pattern] crept upward, the Demon Hunter’s body convulsed. It seemed that forming the [Blood Pattern] was both difficult and painful for him at his current level.

The Shepherdess whispered to the black sheep, "I am a being born from the dreamscape. For me, whatever I imagine manifests, within reasonable limits. Of course, I don’t experience the kind of pain he’s going through."

The black sheep let out a "BAA" and chewed listlessly on some grass. Its blank expression made it look like the Shepherdess was just talking to herself.

「Time passed slowly.」

Finally, with a distinct cracking sound of something unknown shattering, the [Blood Pattern] successfully converged at the top of his head.

The Demon Hunter, who had been hunched over, finally raised his head.

His eyes were blood-red. Bewitching Alchemy Circuits were etched across his cheeks, and fangs protruded from his mouth. His once pale complexion now held a morbid, crimson flush under the contrast of the [Blood Pattern].

Baron Constantin slowly raised his head, the bones throughout his body letting out a series of loud cracks, like a dust-covered engine roaring back to life. CRACKLE, POP.

He reached out and clenched his fist, feeling the power surging from within. His Spiritual Power rose, his strength rose, and it seemed even his physical fortitude had improved.

He casually released his Promise. The Dragon Flame burned in his hand, its quality not much different from before.

But the Baron’s next move proved that the enhancements brought by the [Blood Pattern] were far more than just that.

He snapped his fingers, and the Dragon Flame in his hand split into dozens of fiery blossoms.

They were true flowers, more than just burning petals. On closer inspection, one could even see their stems of flame. The Shepherdess recognized them at a glance as the Azure Flowers, unique to the dreamscape.

The flowers left the man’s palm and began to slowly rotate behind him.

Then, with a wave of his hand, the dozens of fiery flowers turned into crimson meteors and crashed into the surrounding Flower Sea, exploding, burning, and then dissipating.

The black sheep bleated unhappily. The Shepherdess glanced at it, and it slowly ambled off in the opposite direction, bleating every few steps.

The explosive increase in his Spiritual Power allowed the Baron to use his Dragon Flame to accomplish things he had always wanted to do but couldn’t due to his limited Spiritual Power.

It wasn’t simply that his control over the Dragon Flame had become more refined. Under the effects of [Burning Blood], his Promise—which previously had to cling to something to burn—could now burn freely in mid-air.

’Just imagine: before, because of the Dragon Flame’s properties, my revolver would have exploded. To ensure I could effectively harm my enemies, all I could do was wreathe myself in flames and tear at them with a Fire Blade.’

’My maximum burn radius was barely a meter around me.’

’Even if I condensed it into a fireball and threw it, the effective range was only about ten meters, and I still had to hope the Dragon Flame would actually stick to the target.’

’Think about it: the Promise of a Human Griffin Knight is a ranged attack that can shoot feathers. As a Dragon Knight, even if I can’t shoot Dragon Scales, my Dragon Flame should at least let me throw a few powerful fireballs like a Fire Mage from a video game.’

’If it’s all just melee, why wouldn’t I just train as a Berserker—if that class even exists in this world.’

This had always been a shortcoming the Baron wanted to remedy. He never expected that his lack of a ranged Dragon Flame attack would be solved just like that. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The Demon Hunter’s eyes filled with excitement.

’I can just picture it. I empty both my revolvers, then draw my blade. My opponent thinks I’m committing to melee, but then I just casually toss a few of these at them.’

’The thought alone is a little exciting.’

The Shepherdess: "It seems you’re ready."

The Baron nodded. "Enough talk. Draw your sword."

Above the sea of Azure Flowers, a map of stars began to spin. A full moon hung inverted at the world’s end, and moonlight poured down like water from a burst dam.

The flowers and grass were all coated in a silvery sheen by the mist-like moonlight.

In the center of the moonlight and the Flower Sea, the black-clad Demon Hunter faced the red-dressed Shepherdess.

A jet-black Blood Blade against a silver-red Blood Blade.

The Baron said, "I’m ready—"

The Shepherdess’s figure had already vanished.

His pupils contracted as he swiftly caught sight of a figure lunging at him from the side.

And so, his figure vanished as well.

Only the footprints left impressed in the soil of the Flower Sea proved he had ever been there.

Just like on the day he fought Ludwig, if there had been any spectators in the dreamscape watching this battle, they wouldn’t have been able to see a thing.

But unlike the fight with Ludwig, where a massive dust storm had obscured all vision, this time it was because the two of them were simply too fast. All one could see was a series of afterimages, flashing from one position to the next.

Just as your eyes might catch the glint of a blade in one spot, the sight of flowers and grass being flattened elsewhere would signal that their clash had already reached its next phase.

If Yalilan were here, she would have immediately recognized that the speed of their exchange had reached the Extreme for a Bronze Rank Silver Demon Hunter specializing in speed enhancements.