The next two weeks fell into a steady pattern.

Jack would wake at dawn or what passed for dawn in the perpetually dim bioluminescent forest.

He'd eat a quick meal, usually demon meat from his previous processing, then begin his work.

Five corpses per day. Three hours each. Fifteen hours of butchering, breaking down demon after demon with increasing efficiency.

His Butcher skill leveled rapidly with the constant practice.

[Butcher: Level 1 → Level 2]

[Processing speed increased by 5%]

[Butcher: Level 2 → Level 3]

[Material yield increased by 5%]

[Butcher: Level 3 → Level 4]

[Chance to extract rare materials increased by 5%]

The levels kept coming as Jack worked through corpse after corpse.

His hands became steadier.

His cuts became more precise.

He began to see patterns in demon anatomy that he'd never noticed before, understanding how different demon types were constructed.

[Butcher: Level 4 → Level 5]

[Processing speed increased by 10%]

[Butcher: Level 5 → Level 6]

[Can now identify optimal points at a glance. This will allow you to just naturally butcher monsters easier without having to question where to cut]

Kyren worked beside him in shifts. The reanimated demon didn't need sleep, so while Jack rested, Kyren continued processing. Eight bodies per day, every day, with mechanical precision that never wavered.

[Butcher: Level 6 → Level 7]

[Material yield increased by 10%]

[Rare material extraction chance significantly increased]

By the end of the first week, Jack had processed thirty-five bodies. Kyren had processed fifty-six. Ninety-one demons reduced to organized materials.

By the end of the second week, the numbers had grown substantially. Jack had processed seventy bodies total. Kyren had processed one hundred twelve.

One hundred eighty-two demon corpses broken down into their component parts.

Jack's system storage was now organized into neat categories:

[Demon Hearts: 363]

[Demon Horns: 364]

[Demon Tails: 182]

[Demon Eyes: 364]

[Demon Meat: 38,247 lbs]

[Demon Bones: 182 sets]

[Demon Hide: 112 pieces]

[Rare Materials: 6 various items]

The rare materials were a bonus from his increased Butcher skill.

Occasional finds like crystallized demon blood, enchanted bone fragments, or organs with unusual magical properties that he'd extracted during processing.

'My luck must be good to find some rare materials.'

Jack stood in the camp on the morning of the fifteenth day, looking at his inventory with satisfaction.

Two weeks of non-stop butchering had yielded incredible results. He had enough demon hearts to last months.

Enough meat to feed himself indefinitely. Enough crafting materials to outfit a small army.

But more importantly, his Butcher skill was now Level 7, high enough that he could process corpses faster than before.

The speed increase meant he could get through a body in roughly two and a half hours now instead of three. The material yield increase meant he was extracting more usable parts from each demon.

"That's enough processing for now," Jack announced, dismissing another completed corpse's remains into his storage. "We've still got five hundred eighteen bodies left, but they can wait."

He turned to face the forest, rolling his shoulders and feeling his muscles protest slightly.

Two weeks of hunching over corpses had left him stiff, and his fighting skills had gone unpracticed.

"The next two weeks are going to be different," Jack said. "I need to level my Demonbound class. I need to get better at close quarters combat." He looked at Kyren. "Which means I need a sparring partner who won't hold back."

Kyren's hollow eyes fixed on Jack. "Master wishes to spar with this one?"

"Every day," Jack confirmed. "Using my demon abilities against your light blade. I need to learn how to fight properly with my Demonhand, how to use Abyssal Steps in actual combat situations, and how to integrate everything I've learned."

"This one is honored to serve," Kyren said, and for once, there might have been something almost like anticipation in his emotionless voice.

S looked up from his tangerine with interest. "A training montage? How delightfully cliché." He smiled. "I'll enjoy watching this."

Jack ignored the contract demon's amusement. He activated Demonhand, watching his right arm transform into that massive demonic claw.

The black scales gleamed in the bioluminescent light, crimson veins pulsing with power.

"Let's begin," Jack said, his yellow eyes fixed on Kyren. "And don't hold back. I need to know my limits if I'm going to push past them."

Kyren drew his light blade, the weapon materializing in his hands with that familiar glow.

The reanimated demon settled into a stance before breathing quietly and closing his eyes.

Then everything changed.

When Kyren's eyes opened, they were different.

Still hollow, still empty, but now they carried something else, an intensity that hadn't been there before.

His entire posture shifted, becoming fluid yet coiled, like a spring ready to release devastating force.

The light blade hummed in his grip, and when Kyren moved it through a practice swing, the motion was so fast Jack almost missed it.

"Master," Kyren said, and even his voice had changed.

Still emotionless, but now carrying an edge of absolute certainty.

"For the next week, you will not use magic. No lightning, no spells, no Thunder Mantle. Only Demonhand and Abyssal Steps. Nothing else."

Jack blinked at the sudden shift in Kyren's demeanor.

This wasn't the quiet servant who stood watch and followed orders without question.

This was something else entirely, a master swordsman who'd spent lifetimes perfecting his craft.

"You're different," Jack observed.

"This one becomes what is needed," Kyren replied, settling back into his stance. "When teaching combat, this one must embody combat. Master needs to learn close quarters fighting. This one will teach."

He raised his blade, the light casting sharp shadows across his expressionless face. "Now. Attack."

Jack didn't hesitate. He activated Demonhand and lunged forward, his transformed claw sweeping toward Kyren's torso in what should have been a devastating strike.

Kyren's blade shifted slightly.

The light weapon intercepted Jack's clawed hand with surgical precision, deflecting the blow with minimal effort.

Before Jack could react, Kyren's blade was at his throat, the edge resting gently against his armor.

"Dead," Kyren stated flatly. "Again."

Jack stepped back and attacked from a different angle. Same result, his strike deflected, Kyren's blade finding a lethal opening in less than a second.

"Dead. Again."

This time Jack tried to use Abyssal Steps, teleporting behind Kyren mid-strike. The reanimated demon spun with impossible speed, his blade already in position to counter before Jack's claw even descended.

"Dead. Again."

"Fuck," Jack muttered, frustration building.

"Master's Abyssal Steps are predictable," Kyren said, circling Jack slowly. "Master teleports and immediately attacks. This creates a pattern. Patterns are death."

He gestured with his blade. "Master must learn when to attack and when to hold back. Abyssal Steps is not just for offense. It is for positioning. For creating openings. For making the enemy uncertain."

Kyren attacked without warning, his blade flashing forward. Jack barely managed to raise his demon hand to block, the claws catching the light weapon with a shower of sparks.

"Better," Kyren acknowledged. "But still too slow. Master blocks when master should evade. Master evades when master should counter. Master counter-attacks when master should retreat."

He pressed the assault, his blade moving in patterns Jack struggled to follow.

Each strike was precise, testing different angles, forcing Jack to react rather than think.

"Stop thinking," Kyren said, reading Jack's movements. "Master is thinking too much. Combat is not thought. Combat is instinct."

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