( Past timeline, Kremeth's Secret Cave )
[ Blood Satiety - 61% ]
Max was on the verge of losing his mind, he had not drank blood for 2 days now and his Satiety had dropped fast.
Kremeth had started to attack the three disciples of his day and night, and as a result Max had only had one meal in the last 3 days while having starved for 2 days prior to that.
Sebastian, who had not eaten for 5 days now, had recently gotten a strength debuff of 50% for being too hungry, making his movements even more sluggish as his stamina regeneration hit a rock bottom.
Max was now on the verge of descending into his primordial madness and Kremeth showed no intentions of slowing down the training of the kids.
" We are going to die… we are definitely going to die " Sebastian murmured weakly as his stomach made gurgling sounds.
The duo was practising to improve the proficiency of their skills non-stop but were unable to focus on the practice at hand with all their senses being heightened fearing an attack.
In Max's opinion this was the most horrible training method ever, as the hunger and the fear made him unable to focus on the training at hand which made his progress slow, while he did not feel himself being any closer to understanding the concepts of counter, parry or block that Kremeth wanted him to learn.
*SHUA*
*SHUA*
-159
-500
" Agh, goddamnit "
" Fuck"
Both Max and Sebastian were cut by Kremeths dagger as the duo cursed at the old turtle.
Apparently when they were talking to each other, they were distracted for a split second and it was that split second that Kremeth exploited to attack the kids.
" No dinner for you both today " Kremeth declared as Max looked at his Satiety and sighed.
It was inevitable now, he was going to lose control of his body once again.
" If I attack you like you are a juicy fruit, please don't hold it against me " Max said as he continued his training, feeling his stomach groan and rumble in complaint.
Sebastian covered his boobs with his hands as he feared Max would start sucking on them for blood, not understanding that Max was not interested in such stuff.
Max felt it vividly, the moment his blood Satiety dropped below 60% as he felt his brain go into auto mode.
When the blood Satiety dropped below 60% for Max, it was like an involuntary response for him which he was conscious of but could not control.
Just like he could hold his breath consciously for 3-4 minutes but could not force his lungs to not breathe until he was unconscious, he could try and fight his primordial instincts once his Satiety dropped below 60% but it was a losing battle.
Max bared his fangs, as his pupils dilated, he began searching the surroundings for sources of immediate danger, but finding none his attention went to searching for food.
Max looked at the sleeping Rhea and decided he wanted to drink dragon blood for dinner today, but as he approached the dragon queen with a salivating tongue she decided to petrify him with her gaze alone as Max unwillingly kneeled before the superior beast.
*HISSS*
Max bared his fangs at Rhea as the dragon queen turned to look at Kremeth as she said " Your boy has became a beast from hunger"
Kremeth walked towards Max, as Max tried to attack the turtle but was pitifully defeated and restrained as Kremeth pinned him to the ground and said " If you want to eat breakfast tomorrow, you will practise your blood manipulation skill today and not let me hit you till the morning
You understand? "
*GAHHHSSSSSS* Max hissed like a vampire in response as he tried to struggle violently against Kremeths grip but it was to no avail.
He was powerless in front of the old turtle, there was nothing he could do.
" You dwarf, and you dragonling, go practice near the resting dragon queen.
You beastboy, go practice in the corner alone" Kremeth said as he let Max go with a kick to his bum.
Max turned and lunged back at Kremeth but was sent flying back with a kick as the old turtle looked at him expressionlessly.
" I said practice, NOW! " Kremeth said angrily as Max felt shivers sent down his spine as he reluctantly scurried to the corner and began practising his blood manipulation skill.
This was the first time Max was in an environment where he was in his primordial instincts form but had no imminent danger lurking and no one he could hurt around.
He was not dumb in this form, and did understand what Kremeth tried to convey, but he was just not obedient in this form and had to be beaten senselessly to forcibly obey.
In the end Max did start training his blood manipulation skill as Kremeth threw three daggers into the glowing lake, drawing blood from three dead fishes.
" Use the blood of the dead fish to kill more fish " Kremeth ordered Max, who struggled to collect the trickling blood from the dead fishes and use it as a weapon.
Nonetheless, his training was much more efficient than when he did it consciously as in his primordial form, whatever Max learnt was fed directly into his muscle memory which was akin to months of regular training.
Kremeth, who observed this phenomenon, knew that Max was unaware of his own gifts at the moment and that he as a teacher needed to help him a lot.
While Kremeth oversaw Max's constant hissing and training, he felt a peering gaze over his shoulders from afar, as if some celestial eyes were gazing on him.
Kremeth turned and looked directly at the spot he felt the gaze coming from as he maintained his stoic expression as he looked there.
Although Kremeth did not know who was gazing upon them, he knew he was not afraid of whoever it was.
It was Rudra, looking upon Max with his omniscient eyes as he tried to understand the background of the master training his brother.
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/// A/N - Happy new year bonus
Chapter 1/10 ///