Actually, it wasn't just [Blood Frenzy]; [Iron Eater] and [Feast] also possessed a dark side.
[Iron Eater] had caused Ivy to wake up from nightmares, convinced she was transforming into a evil corpse.
Furthermore, she’d recently noticed that the evil corpses she incinerated didn’t seem as grotesque as before. She could even tell which ones were more aesthetically pleasing.
That’s terrifying, she thought. Humans can’t even distinguish which spiders are prettier. If you can, you should go see a doctor.
And then there was the still-unactivated [Feast] skill.
Ivy had suppressed the urge to use blood to heal her wounds. Was it because she didn’t want to?
No.
It was because she was instinctively afraid.
[Feast]: The blood of your kind holds an alluring fragrance. Devour them, and you will achieve immortality.
Think about it.
Could consuming the blood of others lead to immortality? Ivy wasn't sure. Or perhaps, she didn’t believe it. How much blood would she need to consume?
One person? Definitely not enough.
Ten? A hundred? Still insufficient.
Thousands? Millions? Maybe still a drop in the ocean.
After all, immortality represented an unimaginably vast number—the combined lifespans of every human on Earth, multiplied.
Immortality required a vast amount of blood, a number Ivy couldn’t fathom.
But she guessed that once she tasted blood, she would never be able to stop, sliding uncontrollably into the abyss.
If [Iron Eater] represented a physical transformation from human to non-human…
Then [Feast] represented a spiritual descent.
It was simple. If you see your fellow humans as walking blood bags, can you still consider yourself human?
That day might come, but Ivy hoped to delay it, preserving her humanity for as long as possible.
Ivy tore up the paper, mixed it with iron powder, and swallowed it, then drew another vial of blood, muttering to herself, “I used my life to activate the system and obtain these abilities. I can’t just let them go to waste.”
Smoking was bad for your health, yet few people quit, clinging to it until their dying breath.
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She couldn't stop eating iron, drawing blood, or training.
Perhaps due to the recent intense fight, or a subtle shift in her mentality, Ivy was feeling particularly energetic.
[Absorption rate ↑↑↑] Three upward arrows appeared simultaneously.
Three times the efficiency?
She decided to train until dawn.
3/30, 7:55 AM.
Ivy stopped training, the summary appearing on her retina.
[Iron Eater: Rank 1]
[Consumable Iron Types: 1]
[Absorbable Metal Properties: 1]
[Currently detected iron type—Common cast iron, absorption rate 94%.]
[Absorbed properties: Plastic Embryo (White)]
“Whew—”
Ivy breathed a sigh of relief, her pupils gleaming with joy.
“Only 6% to go before I max out Rank 1. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I can complete it tonight.”
“Maybe even before work…”
Lost in thought, Ivy pulled up her sleeve and drew another vial of blood.
Her arms were covered in needle marks. If a stranger saw them, they’d be horrified.
She carefully put away the needle, put on her backpack, and sat down to eat.
Wang Suli looked tired, having clearly not slept well. She wanted to tell Ivy to stay home and wait for Eric Ruiz to arrange something for her.
But as if knowing it was unnecessary, she simply reminded her to be careful.
Her bike made a squeaking noise as she rode. It was like a dying patient wheezing its final breaths.
“Time to get a new bike,” Ivy thought.
She’d been riding it for a long time. She wasn’t heartless; she wouldn’t abandon it. She’d bury it once she got a new one.
Arriving at the incinerator, the security guard looked startled.
Ivy ignored him, changed into her work clothes, put on her mask, and entered the incinerator.
Wang Jian arrived early and was relieved to see Ivy arrive safely. He seemed to want to ask something but hesitated, seeing Ivy’s uncommunicative demeanor.
After the La Tap incident, Wang Jian had become more cautious and guarded his words.
No evil corpses arrived that day, as if the universe was urging Ivy to level up.
4:20 PM.
After completing her final set of physical training and consuming a large amount of iron powder, Ivy’s absorption rate surged.
Ding—
A clear chime, like a bird hatching.
[Iron Eater: Rank 2]
[Available Iron Types: 2]
[Absorbable Metal Properties: 2]
[Absorbed properties: Plastic Embryo (White)]
Her muscles felt tense, her skin tight, her bones restless, like a giant struggling to break free.
Fear gripped Ivy. She felt her bones were trying to break through her skin.
Although this would drastically increase her strength and defense and make her a more imposing villain, she…
Ivy stared at the empty incinerator, unwilling to become a corpse just yet.
“Don’t break through!” Ivy screamed silently.
After a minute, two minutes, three minutes… the restless bones calmed down, ceasing their attempts to break through.
A strange energy pulsed in her head.
Ivy sensed a restless emotion emanating from the [Iron Eater] skill. A skill possessing emotions—how wild.
A wild thought occurred to her: “The three abilities from [Blood and Iron] are… alive?”
“No, not yet. But as I continue to upgrade them…”
Ivy shuddered, suppressing this disturbing thought. “My training is… simultaneously nurturing them?”
“No, I’m overthinking…”
After calming down, Ivy felt the changes in her bones.
The first change was their increased weight.
The second…
Ivy suppressed the urge to experiment, glancing at Wang Jian, who was smoking at the entrance. She decided to wait until she got home.
Otherwise, she’d have to silence him as well.