The sun lit the meadow like a torch, turning the deep green into a sea of golden flashes that stung the eyes.
The breeze, which last night had been a gentle whisper, now blew with a dry warmth, pushing the tall grass in lazy, rolling waves.
But in the middle of this idyllic landscape, a much less peaceful scene was unfolding.
[T0m-54: Oh come on! THAT'S his brilliant strategy? Using Larry II as a chew toy??]
[4inz_Sam4-67: THIS IS AN OUTRAGE. I demand the immediate intervention of the Undead Justice Tribunal. Poor Larry II is suffering.]
[Hunted_99: I mean, it's a bit cruel, but you have to admit it works perfectly as a distraction. Look at those wolves, they're completely focused on him.]
[K1ra_X8: It's a textbook strategy, even if it's morally questionable. While the wolves are busy chewing on bone, the lone wolf is setting up his next move. Efficient. Nothing more to it.]
Four wolves with dirty ochre coats, a daytime subspecies far more aggressive and territorial than the gray wolves Sora had run into the night before, had piled onto a skeletal figure in the middle of a clearing.
Poor Larry II, a fresh summon Sora had called up right after arriving in the Spiritual Realm, could barely do anything to defend himself.
Larry II had already been through all kinds of assignments like this one, acting as bait for boars, or sprinting through the fields while entire wolf packs gave chase.
Two of the wolves were yanking at his arms with savage growls, a third was working on crushing his right femur, and the last one had latched onto his spine and was shaking him like a worn-out ragdoll.
The sound of teeth scraping against calcium and bone cracking under pressure was an unpleasant symphony that made the skin crawl.
Sora, hidden in the undergrowth about ten meters away, watched the scene with cold analytical focus.
His violet eyes tracked the rhythm of the predators, waiting for the exact moment all four had their guard completely down.
Then it happened. Almost like a divine sentence handed down by death itself, Sora moved.
He became a blur, like a fly passing at full speed right beside your ear.
Using a combination of [Dash] and the momentum amplified by his upgraded attributes, Sora crossed the distance in an instant.
His figure, clad in the immaculate white of the Selenic Veil, looked like a ray of light slicing through the ochre of the meadow. The Lunar Fang gleamed in his right hand, tracing a perfect zigzag path through the air.
Slash!
Slash!
Slash!
Slash!
Four surgical cuts. Four throats opened before the wolves could even release the bones of Larry II.
The movement was so fluid and precise that Sora came to a stop inside a cloud of white mist, what the monsters' bodies had already become before they ever touched the ground.
[+315 EXP] ×4 [+5 Ochre Wolf Fang] [+3 Ochre Wolf Hide]
[Level Up!]
"Easy," Sora said, allowing himself a small triumphant smile hidden behind his wooden mask.
He pulled up his interface and quickly distributed his attribute points.
___
Name: Sora Sieghart
Race: Human
Age: 16
Level: 6
EXP: 650 / 7,000
Spiritual Core: [Mist — 30%]
Class: Classless
Unique Skill: [Akashic Records — EX]
Class Skills 2/5: [Dash — F Rank] [Swift Cut — F Rank]
Passives 3/3: [Small Inventory — F Rank] [Small EXP Buff — F Rank] [Small Drop Rate Buff — F Rank]
Attributes:
H.P: 190/190 (+10)
S.E: 100/100
Strength: 10
Constitution: 10 (+1)
Speed: 10
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 10 (+1)
Points to distribute: 0
[Attack Power: 1.4 +(0.8)]
___
He'd spent the last few hours grinding with an efficiency that bordered on obsessive.
After the rest at home and the emotional boost of breakfast with his mother, his mind was sharper than it had been the night before.
The drowsiness that came from entering the Spiritual Realm in the middle of the night was gone, and he was operating at full capacity.
He'd stopped playing defensively. Now he was the apex predator of the zone.
The difference in level was starting to show: his movements were faster, his senses sharper, and his connection to the skills inside the Akashic Records felt like an outright cheat code.
The area was running out of worthwhile targets, and he'd need to find a new farming spot soon.
[Yul1_087: Did you see how fast he's clearing wolves now? Last night three of them gave him way more trouble.]
[T0m-54: The scaling on this guy is insane. Still maintaining that the Larry II thing is animal abuse though.]
[0n_Kn15T: "Inhumane strategies," they say. I call it resource optimization. Larry II doesn't feel pain, he's just condensed spiritual energy. Stop crying.]
[4inz_Sam4-67: Sora PLEASE treat your skeletons better!! They almost snapped him completely in half!]
Sora let out a dry laugh behind his mask as he read the comments blinking at the edge of his vision.
"You can question my methods, but not my results," he said in a light tone, storing the dagger in his inventory with a smooth gesture. "Besides, Larry II is a professional. He knew what he was signing up for when I summoned him."
He was in an exceptionally good mood. The morning conversation had lifted a weight he hadn't fully realized he was carrying. Knowing his mother was behind him, even believing him to be classless, had given him a mental freedom he hadn't known he needed.
On top of that, this was shaping up to be the most productive day of his life, though in fairness, it was only his second.
"Come on, Larry II, get up. It wasn't that bad," he ordered.
The skeleton, lying on the ground like a pile of bone wreckage, began reassembling itself.
Its pieces clicked back into place with a series of dry snaps, and though there were a few fang marks along the ribs, it stood back up with complete obedience, falling into step one pace behind its summoner.
Sora started walking, leaving the clearing behind. His violet eyes swept across the edges of the meadow.
The terrain was beginning to rise and the vegetation was thickening, signaling that a more dangerous zone was nearby.
"I should start thinking about moving on," he said half to himself, well aware his viewers could hear him. "This part of the meadow is getting a little low-level for my stats now. If I want to keep this pace up, I need tougher targets."
But his plans for exploration were cut short. A sharp sound, loaded with violent frustration, sliced through the quiet of midday.
"Are you KIDDING me?! How can you be so completely useless?!" a male voice shrieked, dripping with a toxic arrogance that made Sora's brow furrow behind his mask.
He stopped. That wasn't a monster. It was another Awakened. He exchanged a quick glance with Larry II, who, naturally, returned no expression at all, and dropped into the tall grass.
He moved carefully to the top of a nearby hill, sliding like a white shadow between the golden stalks.
Though given how much he stood out against the grass, his attempt at blending in was almost comical.
He peered over the edge, and there it was.