The blood-red shield was circular, about one and a half meters wide. It was paper-thin—less than a centimeter thick—and looked incredibly fragile. Yet this very shield had blocked multiple bone darts without a scratch.

I froze. The Boneplate Lion froze too. Such a turnaround in this death trap was utterly beyond my expectations.

But where had this shield come from?

I suddenly felt my arms damp, slick with warm liquid. I looked down and nearly fainted.

Blood! My arms were drenched in blood! Not just that—tiny droplets and blisters rose from my skin, floating weightlessly into the shield!

This shield was made of my own blood! Could this... be some kind of Anomaly Power? I checked my arms—no wounds. The blood had seeped right through my skin.

On the other side, the Boneplate Lion roared in fury. Twice as many bone darts shot out like shotgun pellets, aimed straight at me!

If it blocked the first attack, it could block the second! "Reinforce the shield!" I commanded in my mind. That strange numbness returned. A gush of blood surged from my body into the shield. The crimson barrier twisted and swelled, doubling in size and thickness. Delicate carved patterns shimmered along its edges, giving it an eerie beauty. *Clang! Clatter!* Bone darts bounced off or shattered on impact.

It worked!

My confidence soared after two successful defenses. No doubt—I now wielded an Anomaly Power over blood! Those two men earlier couldn’t survive one hit from the Boneplate Lion. I’d blocked two perfectly. My strength was no joke!

A deafening rumble snapped me out of my trance. The Boneplate Lion charged like a cannonball! Two failed attacks had made it abandon ranged strikes—it wanted a brutal close-quarters clash.

Head-on?

A direct hit?

Are you serious—

Before I could brace myself, it slammed into the blood shield—

*BOOM!*

The impact shook the ground. The Boneplate Lion skidded back ten meters, cracks spiderwebbing across its bone armor. My shield trembled slightly, faint fissures appearing on its surface.

The beast’s fury exploded. Ignoring its damaged armor, it leaped again, crashing into the shield! This time, it flew back twenty meters. Chunks of bone armor broke off, revealing a more monstrous form. My shield cracked heavily—it’d shatter after two more hits!

What now? Repairing it would cost more blood. By Earth’s standards, I should’ve been dead from blood loss already. I felt fine for now, but pushing further might trigger something dangerous.

Fine. Time to attack!

The Boneplate Lion charged a third time, faster and fiercer! A direct hit would pulp me instantly.

Disable its movement first!

I steadied my pounding heart, picturing it crippled and fallen. My focus sharpened like never before, clearing all distractions.

"Strike its knees!"

Blood obeyed my will. The rigid shield melted instantly into a supple whip. It lashed out in a blur, cracking against the Boneplate Lion’s knees!

The bone armor there shattered. A sickening *snap* echoed as its kneecaps broke. The massive beast lost balance, flipping sideways and lying helpless.

Now! Finish it!

I recalled the man’s wind blade technique. If he could unleash wind blades, why not a Blood Blade?

Mimicking his motion, I raised my right hand. The blood whip liquefied, swirling around my palm. I swung down hard!

Crimson blood arced gracefully, forming a crescent-shaped Blood Blade. Rose-like patterns adorned its edge. It traced a faint red path through the air, slicing cleanly into the fallen Boneplate Lion!

The Blood Blade cut through bone armor like paper. It split the beast’s entire body—from left shoulder to lower back—leaving a smooth gash. No guts spilled out.

I gasped. This Blood Blade’s sharpness stunned me! Euphoria surged. Power was survival anywhere. Alone in this other world, I now had strength to protect myself—and a way home.

With the beast dead, I needed to leave. The noise might attract those two men’s allies. They didn’t seem evil, but their earlier talk mentioned searching the forest for suspects. Clueless about this world, I’d be treated as one. No extra trouble.

Suddenly, crushing exhaustion hit me. My limbs turned to jelly. Darkness clouded my vision. Dizziness blurred my thoughts. Anemia? Had I lost too much blood after all?

No... collapsing here would be fatal... I forced my weak legs to hold me up. But my heavy head refused to cooperate. Just as I was about to fall—

!?

Through the haze, I spotted faint glimmers. A trickle of warmth flowed into my body, clearing my mind. Minutes passed. More warmth seeped in. My strength returned slowly. My vision sharpened. Tiny points and ribbons of light gathered around me, merging into my skin. I blinked—they vanished. Focused again—they reappeared.

"Spiritual energy!"

I’d heard "spiritual energy fluctuations" in those men’s talk. So this world had spiritual energy like web novels? But "spiritual energy" and "Anomaly Power" felt mismatched—one fantasy, one urban/sci-fi. Like dipping mantou in ketchup. A brain-dead author’s lazy mashup.

My stamina recovered to sixty percent. Absorbing spiritual energy felt amazing. With spiritual energy, Anomaly Powers, and demon beasts... this world fascinated me. I got curious about the lion’s corpse. Countless protagonists made their first gold from demon beast loot—hides, bones, magic cores, essence blood. Easy to sell. Broke as I was, I’d struggle without currency here.

I approached the bisected corpse. Confirming it was dead, I touched it. My palm flared with suction. Raw power flooded through me! Stamina surged at lightning speed—nothing like sipping ambient spiritual energy. Earlier was sipping broth; this was chugging a vitality potion!

In seconds, I was fully restored. Every nerve, muscle, and cell thrummed with energy. I could take on ten more demon beasts!

I pulled my hand back. The corpse’s flesh beneath the bone armor had shriveled into a mummy. I’d... drained all its blood.

Did my blood-control Anomaly Power include an absorption skill? Shields, whips, blades made sense—but draining life essence? That felt villainous. In games, such skills belonged to antagonists... the kind heroes easily crushed.

Still, ignoring silly biases, this skill was absurdly practical for survival.

Someone might arrive soon. I sped up my search. I shaped blood into a short knife and easily dissected the corpse. Thankfully, its blood essence was gone—no messy fluids, and shriveled organs reduced the gore.

My efforts paid off. In its chest cavity, I found three dark red stones, each half a fist-sized. Magic cores, probably. Three of them.

I gathered them and started walking along the river, out of the forest.

Thus, my journey in this other world truly began.