It was the middle of the night, and the only light visible was the dull crimson from the blood moon, which was at its highest.

  “This place feels so strange,” Chael said as he walked alongside Eclipse through shrubs.

  The forest was dark and murky, and even though they had walked for quite some time, they hadn’t encountered any animals. The trees were shaking in the cold wind, sending leaves floating their way. It was natural for an average person to be creeped out right now, but not these two.

  They were motivated by food and food alone!

  “Where are these stupid animals!” Eclipse spat. His cry of frustration was swallowed up by the eerie wind.

  Rustle!

  Chael shot a glance back as the bush behind him rustled. Eclipse exchanged looks with Chael, and they both cautiously took a step back and assumed a fighting stance.

  Rustle! Rustle!

  Out of the bush, a single rabbit popped out.

  Their expressions changed.

  Chael smiled menacingly and took a step towards it cautiously, then another, “C’mere, little buddy, I won’t hurt you…”

  Despite saying this, he clenched his hands as he treaded toward the rabbit, fully ready to pounce the moment it decided to run away.

  It stood there silently observing Chael’s approach.

  Eclipse narrowed his eyes, his focus on something else.

  “Yep~ That’s right, no moving little-“

  Before he could finish his sentence, a change happened. The cute, white, and fluffy fur on the rabbit suddenly transformed into black hair that resembled spikes. It let out a sudden screech as its beautiful black eyes turned into a murderous blood red!

  “Chael, look out!” Eclipse shouted as the rabbit pounced on him.

  Chael, who was still astonished, struggled to react. As the rabbit clawed towards his neck, Eclipse moved even faster. He leapt up, and while spinning mid-air, he back-kicked the rabbit at full force.

  It squealed in rage and agony before it launched through the air and crashed against a tree, shaking it hard.

  “Ah…” Chael finally came to his senses, “I owe you one… but what the hell is that…”

  “It’s a blood beast masquerading as a harmless animal,” Eclipse said coldly.

  “A blood beast, huh?”

  The red glow in its eyes faded into black, and its fur returned to white before it stopped moving. Eclipse’s serious expression changed just as fast as the beast changed back into a rabbit, “Hehe food~”

  “Huh, no way we’re eating that thing,” Chael said, but his actions betrayed him as he strolled cautiously towards the blood beast with drool dripping down his chin.

  Eclipse stared at him with half-lidded eyes, “You look like you’re about to inhale it.”

  “Nuh uh~ We’re not having that thing.” Chael continued drooling as he walked closer, his nose widening.

  As he walked forward in a hungry trance, a violent gnash sounded in front of them, along with the sound of a blood-curdling screech and bones shattering.

  Chael instantly snapped back into reality, and Eclipse instinctively sprang into position. Both of their eyes widened as they saw what was happening in front of them.

  The bush parted ways, and an ash-grey wolf as tall as an average adult had bitten the rabbit in half.

  Blood dripped down its mouth as it swallowed the rabbit.

  Adrenaline instantly flared through the duo’s veins as they backed up ever so slowly, but it was too late. The wolf was already eyeing them hungrily.

  Realising that they won’t be able to outrun a wolf this big, Eclipse readied his fighting stance, but Chael put an arm in front of him and chuckled lightly, “Ahaha… let me take care of this.

  Eclipse didn’t notice his voice was woven in nervousness. “What, you’re gonna eat it?”

  Chael smiled off his fear as he walked towards the beast, “Oh man… You look really hungry. Bad luck, though, I’m hungrier.”

  There wasn’t a single trace of the rabbit left other than a few rivulets of blood that dripped down the wolf’s fang. It growled at Chael as he continued to walk in its direction with a smile on his face, as if he was completely unaware of the gaze of those dreadful eyes. Step by step, he drew closer and closer.

  Whoosh!!

  The wolf’s silhouette shot out from the bush like lightning, its explosive speed truly frightening. As its target came closer and closer to the grey wolf’s line of sight, its teeth were already aimed at its target’s throat and prepared to ferociously bite down….

  Bang!

  Although it was just about to pin him down and gnash at his neck, Chael shifted from its sight at the last second before, a fist filled with monstrous power struck from the right side of the grey wolf and ruthlessly smashed the top of its head.

  “You’ll serve as a good appetiser, hehe.” Chael giggled.

  Its skull audibly cracked, and it slumped down in an instant.

  “Probably a C-class Bestia,” Chael sneered arrogantly, “That was easier than I thought.”

  “Let’s set up a campfire,” Eclipse said listlessly, salivating.

  Crackle crackle

  A campfire was set right beside the Lake of Wrathful Riptides. Above the campfire was a large wolf on a spit roast, but there wasn’t much remaining.

  Even though it was taller than an average man, it was just about enough to serve the appetite of two young boys.

  They gobbled down the wolf meat without as much as talking. Eclipse had the bits smeared all over his face as he held one large leg piece with one hand and a meat chunk in another.

  Chael stared at him in amazement. Although he was eating like a decent human being, he had finished around a quarter of the wolf in fifteen minutes.

  “Chill out. The food isn’t going anywhere.”

  Eclipse acted as though he didn’t hear him and continued munching.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “Ooh~” Celestia whistled from behind them, “Looks like you two did a great job!”

  Eclipse looked over to the side and glared. Celestia was walking towards them with a bottle of alcohol in her hand.

  “We aren’t sharing with you!” Eclipse grunted…

  She laughed heartily before sitting down next to them, “Now now~ don’t be like that!”

  As she reached out her hand to grab a chunk of meat, Eclipse suddenly reacted as if he were a cat that got its tail stepped on and defended the campfire, and snarled at Celestia.

  “Ha?” A dumbfounded look appeared on her face before a vein popped, then she smacked Eclipse on the head, “You think you can eat this all on your own? Don’t forget who got you all your food during the time you were staying at my cottage!”

  Celestia wrestled Eclipse, who fought with every fibre of his being to get Celestia away, but in the end, he couldn’t match the strength of this woman. With Eclipse in a chokehold, Celestia tore a leg piece before inhaling it down much faster than Eclipse.

  Chael looked stupefied, “Am I… the only normal person here?”

  Three days later.

  Awooo!

  A mournful howl of a wolf echoed through the night. The crimson moon shone atop a certain lake, making it shimmer like it was sprinkled with crimson dust. The scenery was very calm and peaceful.

  But beneath the lake was far from peaceful.

  Thwack!

  Eclipse and Chael bounced away from each other with the help of the water pressure after a round of exchanging fists. They were both battered and bruised, but they still hadn’t come up, even though it had been much past five minutes since they had gotten down there.

  Celestia watched from the same hilltop she was always on, observing seemingly thoughtlessly.

  Eclipse and Chael stared at each other. Their vision now was much clearer than it was the day before, precisely because it was daytime, but the fact that they were underwater for so long also played a part in it. Both of their chests were puffed up and filled with air before they plunged at each other to exchange another series of blows.

  With their heart rate at its highest and their muscles and bones burning just like they had the day before, they continued fighting. They dodged or blocked each other’s blows and counterattacked under the intense pressure of the water above them.

  They also learned each other’s movement patterns, so it was harder and harder for both of them to land a hit on one another.

  Around another two minutes later, both of them emerged from the lake, panting and desperate for air just as they had been an hour ago.

  These days, Celestia would have them do their underwater sparring session every single hour of the day. Some of the time, they’d take a little longer than usual, and sometimes, they’d break a new record.

  “We… we did it… We beat this morning’s record… ha… ha …. haaa” Chael panted as he crawled onto the shore.

  “I… just want food,” Eclipse said, getting up, his eyes fixated on the forest.

  “Same…”

  After resting for a couple of minutes, they helped each other up and ran into the forest to get dinner.

  “Hey, granny!” Chael called to Celestia, waving at her.

  She was half-dozing, basking under the blood moon, when she lazily took her gaze to him and saw the duo carrying a black tiger thrice the size of their bodies. Though they seemed battered, bruised, and cut, their composure suggested it didn’t bother them at all.

  Chael shouted at her, grinning, “Eclipse and I tag-teamed this beast! Set up a campfire!”

  She was surprised for a second as she looked in their direction.

  ‘These brats beat a B-Class Bestia on their own? Their growth is frightening…’

  Celestia suppressed how pleased she was, then her lips broke into a smile. “Coming!”

  Since then, the two trained underwater during the mornings, holding on for longer and longer every session.

  And as soon as the blood moon came out, they would go into the forest in search of beasts and bring them back, no matter what shape or form they took.

  All the beasts in this region were fairly strong, but the duo were in a completely different league.

  Many days and nights shifted, and eventually, a whole two months passed.

  Thwach!

  Chael tanked an insanely fast kick from Eclipse underwater. Then, he punched out with monstrous strength, which Eclipse caught with his palm.

  They grinned at each other before somersaulting back with ease. Their eyes had adapted underwater, and now they could see each other very clearly.

  They both nodded, then charged at each other once again.

  Right now, their movements were so fluid it seemed like they were fighting above ground, and they had long grown used to this muscle-tearing underwater pressure.

  Eclipse ran swiftly, almost as though he was merged in with the water, completely disappearing from Chael’s line of sight. Chael closed his eyes and focused on the movements underwater. Suddenly, he lashed out his arm and blocked a powerful kick from Eclipse and winced.

  Even though his body was extremely strong right now, Eclipse’s kicks hit him like a truck. His vision shook as he floated back, but before he could land, Eclipse appeared behind him and punched towards his face.

  ‘Not so fast!’ Chael thought as his eyes swiftly moved in Eclipse’s direction and countered his fist with his own.

  Both of their punches put out enough force to cause a mini vortex underwater; however, it soon became one-sided as Eclipse’s fist pushed back. He winced and front-flipped over Chael, his fist bleeding.

  He felt Chael’s motion from behind him, then quickly disappeared from his sight.

  Chael once again closed his eyes to sense any immediate water motion. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and, to his complete shock, Eclipse was right in front of him!

  Chael gritted his teeth and clenched his abdomen for impact. He took a precise and powerful blow to the stomach and let out some air before he floated back and skidded on the seabed. Before he could compose himself, Eclipse charged again. Chael gritted his teeth before raising his fist and launching a powerful blow into the seabed.

  The instant his hit landed, a ravine formed in the seabed, which was at least two metres long. At the same time, massive vortexes and cross-currents blew out from the point of impact, sending Eclipse flying back before he could reach Chael.

  They stood in front of each other before charging at each other again.

  Celestia watched the lake in wonder. The once calm lake was now churning with bubbles and water currents. It wasn’t even rippling in the slightest when they had first started this underwater training.

  After a couple of hours, Eclipse and Chael emerged from the bottom. Unlike before, they weren’t panting as much. They walked ashore.

  Water dripped down Eclipse’s grey hair, and the sun glittered off droplets hanging on Chael’s black hair. They had a few scratches and bruises on their bodies, but certainly not as many as they had on day one.

  Their muscles had grown a lot since two months ago. They were much more toned and even bigger.

  “Man, this is so fun. You wanna go again in a few minutes?” Chael asked Eclipse.

  “Mhm. Are there any leftovers from the three-horned giant rhino we took down yesterday?” Eclipse asked lazily.

  “Aha, you ate most of it by the time I called granny! Do you think there’d be any left?”

  “Huh?” Eclipse raised an eyebrow as if he had been betrayed, “You finished it, not me.”

  Chael paused, looking grim and thoughtful, nodding seriously, “You’re possibly right, Eclipse.”

  After they had grown accustomed to hunting and fighting underwater, Celestia brought back their old training.

  Every day began with a sprint the moment their eyes opened. By now, Eclipse always finished first, often by nearly half an hour, which, of course, Chael hated. Even so, his breathing stayed steady, and he never slowed his pace. They’d be finished with this by noon.

  Then came the boulders.

  Eclipse’s stone was now larger than the one Chael had trained with at the beginning. Chael’s, on the other hand, was nearly twice the size of Eclipse’s. The weight was crushing, but neither of them questioned it. They lifted, squatted and squatted more to hit a thousand rep benchmark.

  Chael’s strength grew at a terrifying rate. Each month, the boulder seemed to weigh less in his hands. Eclipse couldn’t match that raw power, but his speed kept rising, and his movements were sharper and cleaner with every repetition.

  By late afternoon, Eclipse’s back would bulge and pop with veins rushing with hot blood as he pulled himself up a cliff over and over again. Thick tree vines were wrapped around his lean, shredded frame, and they went a few metres down and attached a boulder to Eclipse’s body. Eclipse continues doing pull ups, his teeth gritted in strain. After all, the rock attached to him weight at least seventy kilograms by now.

  The sinking sun cast would cast its meloncholic glow over Chael, right ahead of him on the edge of the cliff, grunting in exhersion as he pushed himself off the floor over and over again with much large boulder strapped to his back. This was at least thrice as big as the boulder Eclipse was doing pull ups with. Whenever the push ups would get more repetitions than necessary, Celestia would order him to get a much bigger boulder. His strength was improving incredibly as he would hit more repetitions than necessary at a very fast rate.

  By evening, they’d spar in the Lake of Wrathful Riptides.

  Nearly an hour would pass under those violent waters. They fought against each other and against the current, all while their legs and lungs burned. Only, unlike before, their bruises and cuts were far less than when this training had begun. This was mostly due to growing accustomed to each other's fighting patterns, their eyes growing accustomed to the water, and the general slow-mo nature of underwater warfare.

  And finally, when the blood moon was out, they hunted.

  Some nights, dinner was never taken, and they’d starve, but they only had themselves to blame for poor performance. This would drive them to make better plans, have better patience, and better observation.

  A year passed like this.

  When it was over, Eclipse and Chael were no longer recognisable as they once were. Their hair had grown, and their bodies were much taller. Eclipse was nearly as tall as Celestia, while Chael was already standing at her height, much to her exasperation. Both of their heights and the rate at which they grew, especially Chael, was mind-boggling even for twelve-year-olds.

  Their bodies were harder, heavier, and far more efficient. Strength, speed, stamina, and control had all risen far beyond what they used to be.