"Roar!!"
A terrifying and powerful roar echoed across the area, sending sand flying and making the nearby trees sway violently.
As for the source, it was none other than a spider-shaped Hollow, glaring at Ren with a murderous intent.
"When I look at it again… it really is disgusting." – Ren muttered, his hand on the sword at his waist as he quietly drew it. Even though he wanted to do something cool like vanish and suddenly appear behind the Hollow while sheathing his sword like in anime, that would go against his current goal. So he had no choice but to fight this weak Hollow head-on to gain actual combat experience.
The mockery in his eyes slowly faded, replaced by a cold, sharp gaze as he planted his feet firmly on the ground and took a deep breath.
The rustle of wind, the sound of his blade leaving its sheath—then, a strange silence followed, as if the world had held its breath for a moment.
Then...
"Come." – Ren muttered under his breath.
The Hollow didn't need a second invitation—it lunged forward instantly, its massive body crawling with a speed unfitting its size, its eight legs pounding the ground with a screeching rhythm.
BOOM!
The Hollow swung its front leg violently, causing massive destruction in front of Ren. It was clear it intended to crush him before enjoying its meal.
Lesser Hollows, or common Hollows, were pathetically weak. They didn't even know how to properly utilize their own reiatsu. All they could do was use their bodies to attack.
"Weak… but good enough to test my reaction time." – Ren muttered, lightly ducking under the violent attack at the very last moment.
Swish!!
The spider's leg passed less than an inch over his head but didn't hit him.
With a single smooth motion, Ren stepped to the left, twisting his body gracefully behind the Hollow, and raised his sword.
Slash!
One clean, angled, and intelligent strike—targeting the joint, the weak point he'd spotted using Six Eyes. With the sound of tearing flesh, the Hollow's massive leg hit the ground.
"Gyaaaah!!!"
The Hollow screamed in agony, writhing violently as it lost its balance momentarily.
Ren didn't seem to care much. He leapt back lightly, giving the Hollow some time to recover. He didn't want to just eliminate it—he wanted to gain fighting experience.
As the Hollow's massive body swayed in pain, Ren watched it closely with gleaming crystal-blue eyes, analyzing its movements, the angle it was falling, and even the amount of strength left in its remaining legs.
"It's shifting its weight to the left… its right side is exposed." – he whispered to himself while raising his sword again.
This battle was like a live training simulation—real combat in a deadly field. Ren was using every moment to learn and adapt.
"GRAAAAAH!!" – The Hollow roared again, but this time it didn't charge recklessly. It had become more cautious after losing its leg, now circling Ren slowly, testing him, advancing slightly then pulling back—as if it was studying him in return.
"Good." – Ren's eyes narrowed – "Then let's dance a little."
He rushed forward, seizing a small opening in the Hollow's movement, then leapt sideways with unexpected agility—even for a beginner.
The Hollow tried to strike, but Ren slid under its body, dragging his sword toward another joint.
Slash!
Another cry erupted from the monster, followed by the fall of a second leg.
After cutting the other leg, Ren retreated once more to give the Hollow a moment to recover.
"GRAAA!!" – Though the Hollow wasn't very intelligent, even with its limited mind, it realized Ren was toying with it—treating it like a punching bag. A hint of fear appeared in its ravenous eyes.
But the fear vanished just as quickly. The Hollow's greed for Ren's spiritual power overrode its fear. If it could just consume Ren's power, it would become much stronger.
As that greed blazed within it, the Hollow opened its wide, fang-filled mouth and began gathering a small amount of reiatsu into the blades of its front legs, preparing for a desperate final attack.
Ren smiled faintly, tilting his head slightly as a soft blue glow shone in his eyes—the Six Eyes fully activated.
"Looks like you're starting to learn." – he said happily, pleased at seeing his enemy evolve. That would allow him to grow stronger too. He raised a finger toward the Hollow, golden particles gathering at its tip, and muttered, "Is this how it goes…?"
The Six Eyes was an utterly broken cheat—just by seeing how the Hollow gathered spiritual energy in its mouth, Ren had already analyzed all the steps and applied them to his own body, despite their racial differences.
Swish!
Two beams of concentrated spiritual energy fired simultaneously—one blue-white, the other pure gold.
BOOOOOOMMMM!!!
The beams collided in the middle of the dusty battlefield, releasing a terrifying shockwave. A vortex of wind and spiritual pressure devoured the surroundings. Sand and small stones scattered in all directions. Leaves ripped from nearby trees, and the explosion's echo rumbled across the horizon.
In that moment, time froze for Ren. His eyes tracked every particle in the energy clash—how the reiatsu swirled, melted, burned, and collided at a subatomic level.
Soon, the golden beam began to overpower the blue-white one, pushing forward with terrifying speed and force.
ZRAAAASH!!
The golden beam pierced through the Hollow's body, shredding the outer layer of its mask before exploding from within.
BOOOM!!
A massive burst of light followed the beam, disintegrating the Hollow's body completely. A wave of intense pressure swept through the area, carrying gray particles that evaporated into the air—residual traces of tainted energy.
[Ding! A new technique has been learned: Concentrate Spiritual Energy (B)]
"... " – Ren stared at the system notification without saying much. He already knew that Concentrate Spiritual Energy was the foundation for using Cero, and he was quite satisfied with that—Cero was a powerful technique.
"I wonder if I can mimic Red and Blue from Gojo Satoru if I understand Cero better." – Ren muttered with some anticipation. Although Cero and Red & Blue were different—since his was based on reiatsu and not cursed energy—with Six Eyes and sufficient understanding of Cero, he didn't think it was impossible to replicate the effects of Red, Blue, or even Purple.
"Well, let's leave that for later. It's better to move on to the next Hollow." – Ren muttered, then began walking through the air. Thanks to his Six Eyes and Quincy blood, manipulating the Reishi in the atmosphere to create footholds was easy.
...
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