Arion groaned as he woke up the next morning, the pain completely gone. He felt an energy he hadn't known in ages, a new strength coursing through his veins. The sun was rising, and the faint second moon had vanished, leaving its beauty to the stars.
"I'm back in full strength! That stench of death no longer clings to me!" Arion muttered to himself, a wide grin splitting his face. "Time to make some real money."
He looked at Leora and Kalin, still sleeping soundly. "Don't worry, little ones. I'll get you everything you need."
New Quest: Seek Rare Resources
Arion set off for the forest once more, but this time, he wasn't after hedgehogs or rabbits. He was hunting bigger, more valuable prey. He activated his danger sense, and every time he felt a sharp tingle, he readied himself for battle.
He ventured deeper into the woods, where the trees grew thicker and the shadows darker. After about an hour, a strong, unpleasant prickle crawled up the back of his neck. His danger sense screamed.
Ding~
[Target Info: Greater Shadow Wolf]
Type: Predator Beast
Level: 8
HP: 350 / 270
Skills:
Dark Bite Attack: A powerful bite dealing high damage.
Enhanced Shadow Speed: Greatly increases its speed, making it hard to hit.
Terrifying Howl: Causes deep fear and confusion in foes.
Soul Devour: Drains target's HP and restores its own.
Weakness: Very bright light, repeated light magic attacks, fire.
"Greater Shadow Wolf!" Arion whispered, eyes narrowing. "Level 8? That's way bigger than I expected! Soul Devour? That's seriously dangerous—but it looks wounded. There's a chance."
Arion didn't back down. He knew the reward would be huge if he could bring it down. But how? His normal sword wouldn't cut it.
He recalled the weaknesses: bright light, repeated light magic, fire.
"Fire!" Arion's eyes gleamed. "That damn system let me create simple skills… maybe I can craft something fire-related!"
New Skill: Primitive Fire Spark
Ding~
[Skill Maker — Creation Mode]
"I need a simple but effective fire skill," Arion thought.
[Analyzing requested skill: Primitive Fire Spark]
Proposed Description: Releases a small spark of fire that can ignite flammable materials or deal slight damage. Each cast launches up to 3 sparks.
Expected Rank: F
Mana Cost: 5
Cooldown: 10 seconds
"Perfect! Simple enough for the stingy system to approve." He hit Create.
Flash—Flash
[Creating...]
[...Success!]
Ding~
[Skill Created: Primitive Fire Spark]
Type: Magic Skill (Fire)
Rank: F
Description: Releases a small fire spark to ignite flammable materials or deal minor damage (5 damage per spark × 3).
Mana Cost: 5
Cooldown: 10 seconds
"Excellent!" Arion grinned. "Now I've got some firepower!"
[Mana: 20]
The Greater Shadow Wolf stood just a few meters away, its black fur absorbing the surrounding light, its crimson eyes glowing in the dark. It was much larger than the smaller Shadow Wolf Arion had killed before.
"Let's dance, wolf!" Arion shouted, drawing his sword.
The wolf lunged at incredible speed, but Arion was ready. It snapped at him, but he rolled aside, dodging the bite.
"Now's the time!"
Fwoosh~
Arion used Primitive Fire Spark, firing a small spark at the wolf. It struck its shoulder, a tiny puff of smoke rising.
[5 Damage dealt to Greater Shadow Wolf!]
[HP: 350 / 265]
[Mana: 15 / 50]
"Only five points? That won't be enough!" Arion muttered. "But it's a start. I'll use fire to keep it distracted and find my chance!"
Arion retreated, keeping his distance. He fired sparks whenever the cooldown ended, annoying the wolf and throwing off its focus for strong attacks.
He realized this would be a battle of attrition. He had to stay patient.
Ding~
[Skill Upgrade Available for "Deceptive Pit Trap"! ]
[Enough successful uses detected (3/3). Do you want to upgrade the skill?]
A window flashed before Arion's eyes mid-battle. "Upgrade now? Seriously?" he muttered. "This sly system shows me this now? Of course, I want to upgrade!"
He hit Yes immediately.
Ding~
[Select an upgrade type for "Deceptive Pit Trap":]
Deep Pit Trap: Increases pit depth (2 meters) for harder escape. (Mana for upgrade: 5)
Flaming Pit Trap: Adds auto-ignite effect for flammable material placed in the trap. (Mana for upgrade: 10)
Poison Pit Trap: Adds weak poison at the bottom, dealing damage over time. (Mana for upgrade: 10)
Arion didn't hesitate. "Fire is the wolf's weakness! That's my pick!"
He chose the second option: Flaming Pit Trap.
Flash—Flash
[Upgrading...]
[...Success!]
Ding~
[Skill Upgraded: Flaming Pit Trap]
Type: Tactical Skill (Trap)
Rank: F (Upgradeable)
Description: Creates a 1-meter-deep pit camouflaged with the environment. Automatically ignites flammable materials placed inside when a creature falls in.
Mana Cost: 30
Cooldown: 6 hours (to recharge after use)
"Just as I thought! The mana cost only applies for the upgrade, not the skill use itself! That means even if it upgrades, its cost stays the same but requires mana to evolve! And looks like I can still use it? Brilliant!!"
The Greater Shadow Wolf lunged, while Arion kept firing sparks. As the wolf charged, Arion lured it toward an area where he'd scattered dry branches and grass from his stash (for fire fuel).
He activated Flaming Pit Trap quickly.
Click!
Sensing the new threat, the wolf pounced at Arion but didn't notice the hidden pit. It crashed down hard.
Thud!
The wolf snarled in rage, scrambling to get out.
Immediately, the dry branches in the pit ignited on their own, flames curling around the beast.
[50 Fire Damage dealt to Greater Shadow Wolf!]
[HP: 215 / 350]
The wolf writhed and howled, trying to leap out, but the flames scorched it mercilessly.
Arion kept launching sparks whenever his cooldown ended. The wolf's strength drained fast.
[5 Damage dealt to Greater Shadow Wolf!]
[HP: 200 / 350]
Arion drew his short sword, leapt to the pit's edge, and struck the wolf's head with quick, heavy blows.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
[You have slain the Greater Shadow Wolf!]
[You gained 50 EXP!]
[Current Level: 1 (100 / 100)]
Ding~
[Congratulations! You leveled up!]
[Current Level: 2]
[You gained 5 Free Attribute Points!]
[HP: 100 / 100] → [HP: 200 / 200]
[Mana: 0 / 50] → [Mana: 100 / 100]
[Strength: 3 (-2 due to extreme exhaustion)]
"I did it! I leveled up!" Arion shouted with pure delight. "Finally! And now… free stat points!"
He eyed his stats. Just like in games—my health and mana increased!
Attribute Point Allocation
Arion studied the new status screen.
[Available Points: 5]
Strength: Increases physical attack power and carrying capacity.
Intelligence: Increases magic skill power and maximum mana.
Agility: Improves movement speed, reaction time, and dodge rate.
Defense: Boosts resistance to physical and magical damage.
Arion thought deeply. "Strength? Intelligence? Agility? Defense?"
He knew his body was still weak, and his skills relied on mana. But he also needed to survive close combat.
"I need balance. But for now, my combat ability comes first. And I'm not crazy enough to fight another Shadow Wolf without leveling up more!"
"5 stat points… 5 points!" Arion muttered slyly. "This damned system finally gives me something nice!"
The wolf's carcass, though not huge, was valuable. Arion skinned the hide, collected the meat and sharp fangs, and stored them.
[Item Stored: Greater Shadow Wolf Meat (15 kg / 10 kg) in Slot 1.]
[Item Stored: Greater Shadow Wolf Hide (3 kg / 10 kg) in Slot 2.]
[Item Stored: Greater Shadow Wolf Fangs ×4 (0.5 kg / 10 kg) in Slot 3.]
"Wait a sec! Slot 1 is maxed out!" Arion realized. "This meat exceeds the slot's max capacity! So I have to leave some or store it in a new slot!"
Arion sighed. "This cursed system still tries to strangle me with its limits!"
He decided to keep 10 kg of the wolf meat in Slot 1 and leave the remaining 5 kg for now.
[Item Stored: Greater Shadow Wolf Meat (10 kg / 10 kg) in Slot 1.]
Now, it was time to distribute his stat points