The night air hung heavy and cold, a damp chill seeping into Tyler’s gloom armor as it shifted subtly with each tense breath. A text panel erupted before his eyes: Sli Activated Skill: Bash! The blue sli, a pulsating, obscene parody of life, launched itself at Tyler with the speed of a striking viper. He reacted instinctively, a practiced dance of evasion honed over countless hours of training, sidestepping the viscous wave of blue by a hair's breadth. The sli slamd into the earth fifteen feet away, the impact a jarring tremor that vibrated through the forest floor.
It offered no respite. With a renewed surge of sickening speed, the monstrous creature lunged again. This ti, Tyler t the assault head-on. He channeled every ounce of his strength into a desperate upward slash, the honed copper of his dagger singing a deadly song as it t the sli's resilient surface. A sickening thwack echoed through the silent woods, but the blow, though delivered with brutal force, barely registered on the monstrous being. The recoil, however, was enough. The force of the impact ripped the dagger from his grasp, sending it spinning into the darkness.
Tyler stumbled back, his breath ragged. He smoothly transitioned to his remaining dagger, his grip tightening. "Grone told that they have a lot of durability when fused," Tyler thought grimly. "He did kinda struggle with a level 27 sli that ti." The rhythmic pulse of the blue sli filled the chilling silence.
The text appeared before Tyler's eyes: Sli Activated Skill: Bash! In a blur of motion, the blue sli hurled itself forward, impacting Tyler’s chest with considerable force. The air exploded from his lungs as he skidded backwards across the forest floor, a guttural groan escaping his lips as he braced himself against the searing pain. The sli, in a grotesque display of triumph, began a bizarre, rhythmic bouncing, emitting a series of high-pitched kyuu sounds, a chilling symphony of its victory.
Tyler’s gaze dropped to the fallen dagger, its stats montarily imprinted on his vision: Attack Power: 44 . A sudden thought pierced the pain: Wait, what’s my attack power? The system responded instantly, the text panel flashing before his eyes: User ATK: 77. A wave of surprise washed over him. Could his bare fists inflict more damage than his daggers? The question was answered swiftly as both daggers – the one clutched in his hand and the one lying discarded on the ground – vanished, reclaid by the system.
The sli, in its victory dance, seed larger than the one Grone had faced—easily three feet tall and four feet wide. Tyler glanced at his HP display: 79. The sli's attack had only depleted 21 points.
Before he could fully assess the situation, the sli launched itself again. This ti, Tyler t the attack head-on, his fist connecting with the gelatinous mass with a sickening twamb. The sli recoiled, its impact against the forest floor a dull thud. Instantly, Tyler activated his Rush skill, a blur of motion propelling him forward as the sli initiated another Bash. He roared, a primal sound tearing from his throat, as his fist slamd into the sli's quivering surface. The creature recoiled violently, landing on ground with a violent thub. Without hesitation, Tyler planted his foot, digging his heel into the earth for leverage, and launched himself in pursuit, a predator closing in on its prey.
He unleashed a flurry of punches, a rapid-fire barrage that sent the sli reeling backward. Each blow connected with a sickening thwack, pushing the creature further and further until it was backed against a large tree, its escape route cut off. A loud kyuu shrieked from the sli, a sound of defiance or perhaps pain. "Shut up!!" Tyler roared, his voice raw with exertion, as he gathered his strength for one final, devastating blow.
His fist shot forward, a blur of motion, connecting with the sli with the full force of his rage. The tree behind the sli trembled violently, the impact creating a small gust of wind that ruffled the leaves. The sli, unable to withstand the force, began to disintegrate, dissolving into a blue dust that vanished as quickly as it appeared, leaving behind only a tennis ball-sized, pulsating core.
Tyler breathed heavily, the exertion leaving him breathless, as the core vanished into his inventory. The sudden rustling of bushes shattered the silence. Eight slis, a pack of smaller, yet still nacing creatures, erged from the undergrowth, their gelatinous forms shimring in the dim light. Surprise, cold and sharp, pierced through Tyler's exhaustion.
"Looks like that cry was a call for help," Tyler muttered, the realization dawning on him. His daggers reappeared in his hands, their weight familiar and reassuring. A quick assessnt revealed that all but one were above level 10. Without hesitation, he hurled his dagger at the level 6 sli. It pierced the creature's gelatinous form, instantly killing it. The dagger materialized back in his hand. "One less to worry about," he said, a grin spreading across his face as he adopted a battle-ready stance.
anwhile, at the Crossroads base, Rebecca stood at the counter, about to accept a new D-rank quest. The young man behind the counter presented her with a selection of fliers, each detailing a different mission. "This one," she declared, her finger tapping decisively on one of the fliers.
"Are you sure? This is one of the toughest D-rank quests we've got," the young man said, a hint of concern in his voice.
"What? You don't think I can pull it off? I'm a level 46 D-rank hunter—that's practically D-plus!" Rebecca retorted, her voice sharp. "Oh, I'm sorry, I—" The young man stamred, but Rebecca cut him off. "Just give the stupid pencil and let sign it," she snapped, her irritation evident.
"Right!" he said quickly, retrieving a pencil from his pocket and offering it to her. "You'll need to sign—" he began, but Rebecca interrupted again. "Yeah, yeah, I know where to sign," she said, her signature a bold flourish across the flier.
The young man took the flier back. "Good luck out there, miss," he offered.
"Don't need it," Rebecca replied, already turning to leave.
The other man behind the counter watched her go, a sigh escaping his lips. "Hunters man i tell ya," he muttered, shaking his head. "She probably thinks she's better than everyone here."
The young man sighed and said, "Yeah, probably."
Rebecca neared the forest and sighed. "I should have been nicer to him," she muttered. "He didn't an it that way. It's all because of my stupid uncle—that bastard stole my money while I wasn't looking and left. I almost died while taking that money. Those hunters could have killed back then." She said, "Well, it's ti to hunt for shadow claws."
Level up! The system notified Tyler as he finished killing the slis. Tyler looked at his inventory and saw that he now had he eight sli cores. It was a round icon that read Sli core x8 when he focused on it. He then looked at his status screen that displayed:
SPECIES: Human
NA: Tyler Evans
RANK: E
LVL: 31
CLASS: Craftsman
HP: 102/102 MP: 95/95
STR: 89 AGI: 77
DEF: 141 STM: 78
STATUS: Healthy
Skills: Armour Craft, Weapon Craft, Weapon Mastery, Alchemy
Another notification appeared: Achievent Unlocked: User has killed over 30 monsters in total: 7 Stamina.
Tyler smiled and checked his stats again.
SPECIES: Human
NA: Tyler Evans
RANK: E
LVL: 31
CLASS: Craftsman
HP: 102/102 MP: 95/95
STR: 89 AGI: 77
DEF: 141 STM: 85
STATUS: Healthy
Skills: Armour Craft, Weapon Craft, Weapon Mastery, Alchemy
Equipped Skill: Rush-MC 17
"Ti to look for Shadow claws," Tyler said, moving deeper into the forest.
As he walked through the forest, he spotted a small bush with leaves remarkably similar to those depicted on the quest flier. System text appeared above the bush: Brunish Bush. Tyler smiled and approached it. "So this is what they really look like," he murmured. He instinctively reached out to pluck so leaves, intending to add them to his inventory. Instead, the entire bush vanished, leaving only a small hole in the ground where it had stood. Tyler stared, surprised.
He checked his inventory and found a bush-shaped icon. "Woah, I thought it would only take the leaves, not the whole bush," he said, shaking his head. "Now that I think about it, the system displayed its na—it doesn't do that with every plant. Is this an ingredient I can use in alchemy?" he wondered.
He heard the sound of running water, closer now; he was nearing the river.
Reaching the riverbank, Tyler paused. The sound of the running water was strangely soothing, a calming counterpoint to the tension of the hunt. It reminded him of the peaceful sound of rain. He began to follow the river, searching for the narrow path he and Grone had traversed before. As he walked, a system notification appeared above a peculiar plant growing at the water's edge, its roots partially subrged. The text read: String Drain Plant.
Tyler approached cautiously, crouching down to examine the strange flora. "This is by far the weirdest plant I've ever seen," he thought, studying its thin, black branches that resembled tangled strings. He couldn't discern any roots.
He looked closer at the strings; they seed to be moving. "It's probably because of the water," he mused. He attempted to add the plant to his inventory ntally, but nothing happened. "Huh, why isn't it working?" he whispered, puzzled. He reached out and touched one of the strings. It felt surprisingly soft yet strong, and strangely warm to the touch. Suddenly, the string wrapped tightly around his fingers and palm.
"What the—" he exclaid, trying to pull his hand away. The strings held firm, their grip surprisingly strong. He tugged harder, attempting to rip the strings free, but more of the plant's tendrils attached themselves to his hand. Then, a system notification flashed before his eyes: String Drain Plant Activated Skill: Life Drain. A network of dark veins began to spread across his hand.
A searing pain shot through his hand, quickly spreading to his entire body, a combination of electric shock and agonizing drain. His whole body ached, his HP plumting. He groaned, pulling frantically at the plant's tenacious grip, but the strings held fast. His HP display flickered before his eyes: 81/102, then 79/102. The numbers dropped rapidly. His nose began to bleed.
"Co on!" he yelled, straining against the plant's hold. "I'm not going to die here! I can't die here!" he groaned, his HP now at 59. His daggers materialized in his hands, and he frantically tried to slice through the plant's surprisingly tough strings, but the blades seed useless against them.
"Co on, this is how it ends?" he muttered, his nose bleeding more freely, staining his gloom armor crimson.
He pulled with all his might, feeling the plant's roots begin to tear from the earth. "Pull... pull..." he groaned, muscles straining with the effort. With a sharp crack, the roots snapped, and he wrenched the plant free. The strings instantly weakened, their grip loosening. He threw the plant aside, collapsing onto his backside, gasping for breath.
"I thought I was a goner," he thought, breathing heavily. Slowly, he rose to his feet, his gaze dropping to his HP display: 34. He sighed. "All the way from one hundred and two to just thirty-four in seconds. What is this plant?" he wondered, staring at the discarded vegetation. System text appeared beside it: Extract. "Wait... was it a monster all along?" Tyler whispered.
He checked the plant's status with the system; it only displayed the na, String Drain Plant, with no level indicated. "So it's just a plant... that almost killed ," he muttered. Regardless, he decided to extract its materials. The strings vanished into his inventory, leaving only the roots behind. In his inventory, a string-shaped icon, an 'S', appeared, with the text Drain String underneath. He noticed that focusing on any item in his inventory zood the icon and displayed its na below. This ti, however, no number appeared beside the Drain String icon.
He turned his attention back to the river, deciding to follow its course upstream.
He spotted a quieter section of the river where stepping stones appeared amongst the rocks—the path he and Grone had taken. He wondered if soone had deliberately placed those stones to create a crossing. Reaching the other side, he imdiately saw a Level 17 Gloomfang approaching.
His daggers materialized, and he assud a fighting stance. The Gloomfang eyed him for a mont before turning tail and fleeing. Rush Skill Activated, the system displayed as Tyler activated his skill, blurring into motion as he pursued the wolf. The trees whizzed past in a green and brown blur. He caught up to the fleeing creature in seconds, his dagger arcing down in a swift, brutal strike that connected with the Gloomfang's back. With a howl of pain, the wolf stumbled. Tyler swiftly withdrew his dagger, dragging the blade through the creature's flesh before delivering a final, fatal blow to its neck.
He imdiately stood and extracted the Gloomfang hide, leaving the flesh and bones behind. He kept walking straight, then stopped and thought. "That ti when I was alone in the forest... which direction did I co from again? Oh, yeah, right." He said, hitting his fist against his palm.
"I need to follow the river upstream again from this side, all the way back. If I pass that Venom Bloom tree from that ti, I'll be sure I'm going the right way." He thought as he turned and started following the river upstream. He walked for a while until he saw the Venom Bloom tree again. He smiled as he looked up at the tree, thinking of the ti he'd grabbed one and it caused skin irritation. He then saw that there were fewer Venom blooms on the tree than the last ti he'd seen it.
He ntally collected the Venom Blooms; they vanished instantly, appearing as a stack of thirteen in his inventory.
Continuing his journey, he veered deeper into the forest's embrace. A dark shape moved in his peripheral vision, resolving itself into a distinct form as it drew nearer. It was a Hexhorn, its level registering as 10. With practiced ease, he launched both daggers, a twin arc of copper slicing through the air. The first found its mark with a sickening thunk, embedding itself deep within the creature's eye socket. The second followed swiftly, piercing the Hexhorn's nose. The creature shuddered violently, its legs buckling beneath it before it collapsed with a heavy thud onto the forest floor, lifeless.
Approaching the fallen beast, he efficiently harvested its hide. Then, a wave of nausea washed over him. A cloying stench, thick and acrid, assaulted his nostrils—the unmistakable odor of advanced decomposition. He shielded his nose, the familiar stench triggering a wave of revulsion as he moved towards its source.
What he saw made his eyes widen. A body lay sprawled on the forest floor, bathed in the pale moonlight. One arm was gone, severed cleanly at the shoulder; a leg was similarly absent, leaving a ragged stump where it once had been. The fingers of his remaining hand were gone, the ends of his wrist bone stark and white against the dark earth, as if so predator had ticulously stripped the flesh from the bone. His face was pressed into the ground, obscuring his features, but the back of his head, the dark, damp curls of his hair matted with sothing dark and viscous, spoke of a violent end. A wave of nausea threatened to overwhelm Tyler; he fought it back with grim determination, his stomach clenching. He risked one last glance, the system ssage flashing before his eyes: Tyson Green LVL 47. The stark reality of a fellow hunter, a D-Rank hunter, lying dead before him, struck him with brutal force. Sothing had hunted and killed him here. The system prompt, Extract, hung in the air, a stark reminder of the grim reality of his situation. The gleam of the dead man's armor, catching the moonlight, was almost mocking in its pristine contrast to the brutal scene before him.
Right then, sothing unexpected showed up. In the shadows, nurous red eyes glowed in the undergrowth. The system identified them as seven Shadow Claws, all appearing to be above level 20. Then, a new system ssage appeared, the letters stark red:
WARNING: FIELD BOSS MONSTER HAS APPEARED
Suddenly, a small black rabbit, no bigger than a toddler, hopped from the bushes, its red eyes gleaming in the moonlight. It stood on its hind legs, its posture unnervingly upright. Tyler's heart pounded in his chest. A red level indicator appeared above its head:
SHADOW WALKER: LVL 67
SHADOW WALKER ACTIVATED SKILL: SHADOW DEN
The rabbit smiled, revealing rows of needle-sharp teeth, stained crimson.
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