The encounter with the Shaxil had reminded Val that safety was an illusion in this world, and self-improvement was the only reliable defense. Consequently, he resolved to venture into the forest first thing in the morning for a hunt. Alfred had informed him that training events were held once a week, so he wouldn’t be missing anything crucial while he pursued his self-imposed training regimen.
Due to the deadly phenomena that occurred in the forest at night, he waited until early morning when Eliana had left for her job before setting off towards the Verdant Deepwood Forest.
As he entered the forest’s second region, he channeled a few units of soul power into his eyes, activating the weakest version of his Heavenly Eye ability. This caused the obstructions in his surroundings to become transparent, a slight adjustment to reality that proved incredibly advantageous.
He had briefly experimented with the Heavenly Eye the previous night and learned that its power was directly proportional to the amount of soul power expended as it was said in the description given by his system.
A handful of units sufficed to activate the most basic version, which made the world semi-transparent to his eyes.
Then there was the upgraded version, requiring dozens of units, which allowed him to peer into the Other Side from within Reality.
There could potentially be more to the Heavenly Eye than this, but with the risk of experiencing negative side effects from overusing his wizardry, Val decided to proceed with caution. It wasn’t fear that held him back, but a sense of prudence.
‘This skill has made it easier for me to locate preys and catch them off guard.’
With the activation of the Heavenly Eye, the world around Val became transparent. Obstacles within the forest seemed to disappear, leaving a clear view of a group of creatures.
These creatures were unlike anything he had ever seen before.
They were tall, standing at about seven feet, with bodies covered in shimmering scales that reflected the sunlight filtering through the trees. They had three pair of eyes, and their eyes were a deep, mesmerizing blue, glowing with an inner light that seemed almost magical. They had long, slender arms ending in sharp claws, and their legs were muscular and powerful, built for speed and agility, and they were standing on their legs like humans. Each creature had a pair of wings folded against its back. The feathers of each wings were a mix of vibrant colors that seemed to change as they moved. They also had tails that were long and whip-like, and their tails were covered in the same shimmering scales as the rest of their bodies.
Licking his lips in anticipation, Val uttered to himself, “Found my preys. Time to begin the hunt.”
The Luminous Scalebeasts were far from Val’s current position, hidden behind a dense thicket of trees and overgrown bushes. They were oblivious to his presence, their attention focused elsewhere. However, thanks to his Heavenly Eye, Val was able to see through the obstacles and spot them.
Using the detect trait, he discerned their levels. They were formidable creatures, ranging between levels 20-25. The strongest among them had the following stats:
Name: Luminous Scalebeast
Strength: 28
Intelligence: 20
Agility: 30
Stamina: 20
Reflexes: 10
Their weakness lay in their reflexes, making them vulnerable to assassination. Val decided to exploit this.
The Luminous Scalebeasts were known for their incredible agility, making them difficult to hit. Their strength was equally formidable, allowing them to deal significant damage in a short amount of time. In fact, they were so strong that a single hit of their tail could tear apart a level 1 bloodline user.
However, Val after noticing that their agility surpassed his in his base form, activated Blood Rush, doubling his agility.
[Host agility has increased to 50 points!]
Now, his agility was 20 points greater than their strongest, making him incredibly fast. He had become so fast that it was a wonder whether their strong points would be effective against him.
His speed and the fact that he was in the dark while his enemies were in the light were now his greatest weapons, and he was ready to exploit them to his advantage.
Val unsheathed his cursed sword, its dark blade gleaming ominously. With a swift and discreet charge, he moved towards the Luminous Scalebeasts. The only warning they had was the rustling of grass before Val burst out of an overgrown bush, bringing his sword down on one of them. He moved with such speed that none of them had time to react before the attack met its mark.
The Luminous Scalebeasts weren’t too worried initially. After all, their entire bodies were covered in scales as tough as iron. What they didn’t know was that Val’s cursed sword was so sharp that it could cut through metal like a hot knife through butter.
His sword cleaved through the seven-meter-tall Luminous Scalebeast, cutting it into two halves from the middle. Blood sprayed into the air, painting the surrounding foliage a gruesome red. The beast let out a final, agonizing roar before collapsing to the ground, its life extinguished.
Suddenly, a system notification rang out in Val’s mind, [Ding! Congratulations, host. You killed a level 22 Luminous Scalebeast. You get 440 EXP. You’ve earned an additional 220 EXP due to the level difference.]
Val thought that he had taken another step towards his goal.
The group of four Luminous Scalebeasts was now reduced to three.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The remaining beasts whipped their thick, scale-covered tails at Val, but he maneuvered his body with agile, fluid motions reminiscent of a martial arts master. He moved with such speed that he seemed to leave behind afterimages as he weaved through their tails.
Simultaneously, he closed in on one of them, who clawed at him. 𝑜𝑣𝓛xt.𝗇𝓔t
But with a swift sidestep, he dodged the claw, and at the same time, he moved with such speed, that none of the three luminous scalebeast noticed when he moved behind one of them. It seemed like he had flashed to his destination.
Die!
Immediately after getting behind a Scalebeast, Val thrust his sword forward.
Puchi!
A squelching sound rang out as flesh was torn open.