Bloodstar System: Infinite Evolution Through Beast Slaughter

Chapter 3: System, Add Points!

Joren looked at his status panel and compared it with the memories left behind by his former self.

His Talent had been ordinary. Not good, not bad.

Middle of the pack, more or less.

If he worked hard before the college entrance exam, then with his [Bladehand] Talent, he still had a real chance of getting into an ordinary Astraeus War College.

But now?

For the current Joren, even if Astraeus War College opened its gates to him, he would not go.

Who needed school after getting the [Bloodstar System]?

He could head straight to the Outer March and kill Voidbeasts.

Of course, there was one condition.

He needed enough strength to keep himself alive.

Joren drew his thoughts back and looked around the factory.

He really had come to the right place.

There were Bloodstars to earn.

The risk was low enough.

It was perfect for the early stage, when he needed time to grow steadily.

First, he would raise his strength.

The complicated looks from the workers meant nothing to him.

He held the blade at his side. Blood dripped from the tip and tapped against the floor.

Then he turned toward the high voltage control station.

The worker in charge of the electric shock was still standing there with his mouth open, one hand frozen over the button, as if his mind had gone blank.

Joren spoke in a level voice.

"Next one."

Once he accepted the feeling of killing, cutting down Feralborn that had already been stunned by electricity was not difficult at all.

The worker jolted so hard his shoulders jumped.

He quickly looked away, not daring to meet Joren’s eyes again, then fumbled with the complicated buttons and switches on the control panel.

Zzzzt!

Blinding electricity flared again.

From the other end of the factory came the heavy rumble of a metal gate opening.

Another Brutebull was dragged into the high voltage area.

Boom!

The heavy metal gate dropped.

Zzzzzzt!

Violent current tore through the Brutebull’s body. Its massive frame stiffened, then crashed hard onto the ground.

Joren licked his dry lips.

A faint light burned in his eyes.

What he saw was not just a Feralborn.

It was a pile of walking Bloodstars.

As long as he had enough Bloodstars, he could become stronger at the fastest possible speed.

Gulp.

Brann swallowed with difficulty.

His eyes were fixed on Joren’s back.

He adapted that fast?

The young man had just killed a Brutebull.

That bloody scene alone would give an ordinary person nightmares.

But Joren?

Not only was he showing no discomfort, he seemed eager.

Brann had worked in this slaughterhouse for more than ten years. He had seen all kinds of people.

Some wet themselves the first time they killed.

Some forced themselves to stay calm, only to vomit until they could barely stand.

But he had never seen anyone like Joren.

It was not numbness.

It was not cruelty either.

It was the hunger of a hunter seeing prey.

The worker pressed the button to open the gate. The metal fence slowly rose.

Joren moved.

He walked to the Brutebull’s side, lowered his body, and swept the short blade upward in a sharp, tricky arc.

Pshk!

The blade slipped precisely into the gap between the cervical vertebrae. Then it twisted hard.

Pulled.

The whole motion flowed together, with nothing wasted.

"Moo!"

The Brutebull had only just begun to recover from the paralysis of the electric shock. It had not even opened its eyes before it released one short cry of pain and fell still.

Warm blood gushed out and splashed over Joren.

He did not care.

[Ding!]

[Feralborn Brutebull killed successfully!]

[Bloodstars gained: 0.5 points.]

[Host: Joren]

[Mental Force: 10]

[Combat Rank: Mortal 5/20]

[Bloodstars: 1.0]

[Combat Arts: Basic Bladecraft 5/5; Basic Body Tempering 3/8]

[Talent: Bladehand White]

Joren watched the numbers on the panel. The curve of his mouth grew wider.

He turned back toward the control station.

"Next."

The third Brutebull was dragged in.

Blade light flashed. A dull sound sank into flesh.

[Ding!]

[Feralborn Brutebull killed successfully!]

[Bloodstars gained: 0.5 points.]

[Bloodstars: 1.5]

Joren flicked the blood from the blade and looked toward the control station again.

"Next."

Less than five minutes had passed.

Three steaming Brutebull corpses lay on the ground.

"What are you all standing there for?"

Brann’s roar rang through the open factory.

"Move! All of you, move!"

A few old workers reacted first. They grabbed their tools and rushed toward the Brutebull corpses.

Once someone took the lead, the rest stopped hesitating.

Noise returned to the slaughterhouse.

Iron chains scraped harshly across the ground as carcasses were dragged away.

Cutting tools struck against one another.

Workers shouted back and forth.

The chaos gradually settled into order.

Joren remained where he was.

His job was only to kill.

Someone sent a stunned Brutebull in front of him.

He struck.

Then someone immediately dragged the warm carcass away for cutting, deboning, and freezing.

The division of labor was clear. The efficiency was frightening.

Zzzzt!

The fourth Brutebull fell.

[Bloodstars: 2.0]

The fifth.

The sixth.

The seventh.

...

Pshk!

By the time the tenth Brutebull was hauled away, the atmosphere in the slaughterhouse had changed completely.

"Faster! Hurry up! Cutting crew, keep up!"

"Deboning crew! Move your damn hands!"

Brann’s voice kept booming across the factory, thick with an excitement he could barely hold back.

In the past, even at his fastest, handling one Brutebull took more than ten minutes.

Now?

Joren needed less than a minute to kill one.

Blade up.

Blade down.

The entire slaughterhouse production line had been forced to its limit by him alone.

"Damn it, my hands are about to cramp!"

A worker in charge of deboning bared his teeth. The knife in his hand was almost slipping from his grip.

"I am done too! Are we trying to finish a full day of work in one morning?"

Another worker shouted back, though his hands never stopped moving.

Zzzzt!

Another Brutebull collapsed under the electric shock.

Pshk!

Joren pulled out the short blade without a change in his face.

[Ding!]

[Feralborn Brutebull killed successfully!]

[Bloodstars gained: 0.5 points.]

Inside his mind, the numbers on the panel continued to rise at a steady pace.

At the control station, the worker in charge of the electric shock shouted.

"Brann!"

"We are out! Every Brutebull for today has been processed!"

That had been the last one.

Brann looked at the clock on the wall.

Eleven thirty.

One morning.

They had finished an entire day of work.

After all that frenzied labor, the factory finally gained a brief pocket of quiet.

One worker after another collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air, too tired to lift even a finger.

Joren opened his status panel.

[Host: Joren]

[Mental Force: 10]

[Combat Rank: Mortal 5/20]

[Bloodstars: 5.0]

[Combat Arts: Basic Bladecraft 5/5; Basic Body Tempering 3/8]

[Talent: Bladehand White]

In his previous life, he had read more than enough web novels to know exactly how Bloodstars were meant to be used.

System points.

Of course he understood.