Gangster Hybrid

One week into his training, Draven thought, My old man breaks my bones every morning, and Mom won't even let me sleep at night. But today was different. His parents had business to attend to. They mentioned that someone was turning humans into ghouls. Ghouls are like lesser vampires, he mused, almost like animated corpses. I've never seen one myself, but I've read about them. They're created when a human is infected by a vampire's tainted blood. He frowned. It's a cruel fate. Some twisted individual is going around doing this. He rose from his bed. Anyway, that's not my concern today. Today's my free day. I'm going to try something I've always wanted to .After dressing, Draven left the castle. It was situated deep within a vast forest. As he walked among the ancient trees, he thought, Since coming to this world, this is the first time I've actually felt the urge to explore. I always considered it too much trouble. He smiled. It's more interesting to experience things firsthand. I've read about all sorts of creatures and how they possess magic stones—that's how beasts store magical energy. Not all of them have them, though. Dragons, for example, use their hearts; they're called Dayme Gods and are said to live for millions of years. Elves and humans use magic cycles, while vampires draw magic from the ambient atmosphere. I can use all of those methods, but that's not why I'm here. I've heard that beasts consume other beasts' magic stones to become stronger. He grinned. I'm going to put that theory to the test.After an hour of walking, he encountered a pack of hellhounds. Finally, he thought, I get to see you in person. I haven't actually fought since I was reborn, he realized. He smiled, a predatory glint in his red eyes. You'll make a good first test. He moved with surprising speed and precision, dispatching the hellhounds quickly. Ten minutes later, twenty hellhounds lay lifeless at his feet. I expected more of a challenge, he thought, but they were only low-rank beasts.He carefully extracted a magic stone from one of the hellhounds. Of all the books I've read, he thought, a wide grin spreading across his face, I've never heard of anyone actually consuming a magic stone. He swallowed it. Immediately, the veins in his body bulged, becoming visible beneath his skin. A sharp pain shot through him, and he coughed up a small amount of blood. Even with my regeneration, he gasped, that still hurt.After a few moments, the veins receded, and his body returned to normal. But he could feel a noticeable increase in his power. He collected the remaining magic stones and swallowed them all. This time, the pain was far more intense. He felt as though his very being was being torn apart. He bled from his nose and mouth, his veins throbbing violently. After thirty agonizing minutes, he lay on the forest floor, exhausted and weakened. I'm never doing that again, he groaned. I'm sticking to my plan of an easy life. He forced himself to his feet and headed back toward the castle.