A grueling five hours ter, 28 wires disappeared into Ginn's right leg. The sand beneath him had clotted together and turned a dark crimson, as had the cloth wrapped around his leg.

  “And I’m supposed to endure this torture for 2 nights?... fuck me…” Ginn compined to the rge blue above.

  Although he underestimated the pain, it wasn’t anything he couldn’t endure. Every cell in his body screamed to pull out those damn metal wires, but Ginn remained calm. Quitting here was tempting, but the burden of his family name pushed him forward.

  ‘I guess I have to thank that sadistic nurse when I get back…’ Ginn shuddered at the memory of that devilish beauty stitching up his broken wrist without any anesthetics.

  -2 days ter-

  Ginn woke up sweating. Out of breath, he stared at the skin and blood underneath his fingernails. "Not again…" The cloth around his leg was pulled up, and deep scratches marked his upper thigh.

  ‘Let’s get these things out before I tear off my leg…’

  After 72 hours of sleepless pain and half a night of unconsciousness, it was now time to remove the wires from his leg.

  After two nights, the wires shed their outer yer, which then attaches to the inner lining of the artery while retaining their form. The inner core must then be removed with the help of a thin, magnet-tipped rod.

  Ginn started with the wire lodged in his rgest artery. He found the puncture wound from where he inserted the metal and began feeding the magnetic rod into the hole until it finally hit something hard.

  With more resistance than Ginn initially expected, he withdrew the rod until a thin, bloodied wire was finally visible. He then took hold of said wire and slowly pulled the entire length out of his thigh.

  Instead of pain, Ginn was hit with a wave of euphoria. The satisfaction of the wire leaving his body was immense; it felt like finally scratching that itch on the inside of your skull.

  Removing the remaining 27 only took Ginn an hour. The happiness of being able to bend his knee again was offset by the thought of having to do this four more times. Although his right leg needed the most adjustments, the 52 wires he reserved for his other three limbs and torso were nothing to ugh at.

  Ginn took a bite of the cooked fish he had prepared beforehand. And with a heavy sigh, he tightly wrapped a bloodied rag around his left leg.

  -10 days ter-

  *SHLIICCCKKK* *THUNK* “Y-Yes… Finally!” Ginn let go of the final wire he had just pulled from his right bicep. However, rather than embedding itself into the soft, white sand following Ginn's release, the wire produced a sound akin to striking rock.

  But, it didn’t. It nded on a congealed mix of sand and blood.

  This crimson monolith beneath the young man was the result of twelve days of suffering and pain.

  But Ginn’s celebration was short-lived. The constant pain and ck of sleep made sure to knock him out as soon as said pain started to lessen.

  When he woke up the next day, Ginn felt like a different man. It was almost as if he were on drugs; his vision was crystal clear, his focus sharp and controlled, and his joints no longer ached from overtraining. Even his bum leg felt better.

  Looking down at his bicep, he could see some blood had stained the makeshift tourniquet he had wrapped around his upper arm. Only this blood was different; it sparkled brilliantly in the sun.

  The small flecks of gold that had dried on the bandage made the corners of his mouth curl upward.

  “Ichor… I have it!” Ginn shouted into the ocean. “I have it!”-

  ~ GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: ICHOR, WHAT IS IT? ~

  After the blood has revolved around the entire body, Ichor manifests. This Ichor can then alter internal functions or transform into a different substance altogether. This depends on the type of Ichor:

  Internal Ichor is often looked down upon as inferior, but only a fool would underestimate it. It might not be as fshy as External Ichor, but it can be a lot more unpredictable. It all depends on what part of the body the Ichor takes effect on, the brain is especially tricky. Take me, the great Sir Siegfried, for example, the internal Ichor that runs through my veins collects somewhere inside the front of my skull and grants me the power to travel back in time, or at least… it did before most of my veins exploded…

  Moving on to External Ichor, this type can only be used outside of the body, so the user would have to cut themselves first. After the blood starts flowing, it quickly transforms once in contact with the air, however, skilled users can dey this process.

  ~~~

  Ginn suddenly felt an itch run through his body, but try as he might, he couldn’t scratch it. It felt like bugs were crawling all over his skeleton. His skull, his femur, even his pinky toe, they all started tingling like crazy.

  He recognized the symptoms as an awakening and sat down to focus on his heartbeat.

  Soon, hundreds of bony spikes split his skin as he started resembling a porcupine. This could’ve been quite the comedic scene if not for all the blood accompanying it.

  But before Ginn could marvel at the horror unfolding before him, he suddenly felt anemic and passed out.