A muscur blue hand pushed through the undergrowth as a rge bipedal beast she air.
The two imposing tusks protruding from its jaws gleamed in the sunlight. A loincloth was ched around its waist, a pair of wristlet and a made of monster hide on each limb, and a neckce crafted of miniature skulls hung eerily around its neck.
It surveyed the area with careful scrutiny, deteg the st of potential prey. A small yellopeared over its head, which meant it had entered a state of curious suspi.
The name of monsters had different colors that indicated their retive strength and level pared to a pyer—white signified weakness, e, averageness, and red meant it was strong. Monsters were also cssified into various tiers based on peneral, Champioe, and Giant. There were also ?Field Bosses? that were the most powerful.
Daisuke’s hands moved with a frenzied determination. He braided strips of bamboo fibers into a thick, strong cord, each strand interlog with the .
The fibers groaned uhe tension as he stretched the cord taut between two t tree trunks, their thick bases serving as makeshift anchors.
As the monster’s thunderous footsteps drew nearer, Daisuke’s own pulse thundered in his veins. He found a rge, smooth ro the forest floor. With his heart pounding in his chest, he loaded it into the pocket of his giant slingshot, its sturdy cord quivering in anticipation.
The fiend, oblivious that it was being targeted, drew closer, its grotesque form now visible through the dense underbrush. Daisuke’s eyes narrowed to dangerous slits, his posure Stat stilling his nerves as he lined up his shot.
The monster’s bulbous eye, an inviting target, filled his vision. Time seemed to stand still as Daisuke released the taut bamboo cord. With a powerful snap, the rock shot forward, propelled by the pent-up energy of the bamboo fibers.
A split-sed ter, the projectile found its mark with unnerving precision, puncturing the bastard’s eyeball. A guttural roar of agony echoed through the forest as the creature stumbled backward, its monstrous form writhing in pain.
Simultaneously, the yellow cursor that marked the targeted monster’s location transitioned from white to yellow, then from yellow to a strikihis ge indicated the creature’s shift from passive to cautious, and finally to “target acquired.” Above its head, its name, level, and HP bar appeared.
[Exiled Hilitroll Chief | Lvl 17 | Field Boss]
With a mere mental and, Daisuke’s on materialized ies form solidifying within his grasp. His eyes narrowed as he observed the troll’s ched in red within the System’s interface. This meant the monster was at least ten levels above him, but he didn’t despair.
“Grr!”
In a fsh of fur and fangs, Zephyr lunged forward, his agile form a blur of motioargeted the tendons just above the monster’s heels, sinking his teeth into the fibrous tissue. Yet, as swiftly as they were torn through, they rapidly began regeing.
Daisuke frowned. As I thought… fighting it head on is just a plete waste of time.
Before the monstrous fiend could regain its bance, Zephyr twirled and lunged fain, aiming for the jugur with deadly i. But the creature’s reflexes proved faster.
Using its massive club as an anchor, the troll bent its bad repced its vulnerable neck with a rge palm. Caught mid-air, Zephyr found himself in a perilous situation.
“Zephyr!” Daisuke’s frantic cry filled the air as he charged forward to save his loyal panion. However, the troll, its beady eye fshing with ing, abruptly righted its form, hurling the e like a projectile towards the approag human.
Daisuke grunted as the pup collided into his chest like a onball, sending them both crashing to the ground. As they y vulnerable, the beast unleashed a deafening roar and charged forward, wielding its massive club menagly.
Daisuke paled.
Just below his own, a small window depicted Zephyr’s HP and MP—and both health bars just went down signifitly.
The world of Sehrei Online was nothing more than a rendering of a 3D virtual reality. But for Daisuke, it was more than just a game. His entire existence was a plex interpy of ones and zeros within this digital realm.
As far as he was ed, this virtual ndscape transded mere simution; it was his reality, and everything within it was undeniably real.
To that end, while his health bar being reduced was nothing more than a colle of hat showed his hit points, it held profound significe far beyond simple data.
Seg Zephyr into his clothes, Daisuke pushed to his feet and desperately started retreating along the beaten path. The troll immediately gave chase, its predatory instincts triggered by the fleeing prey. But when it found itself plummeting into a gaping pitfall, the liweeor and prey suddenly blurred.
The troll grunted in e. It leaped as high as it could, but its hands couldn’t reach the upper rim of the hole. As it looked around urgently for a foothold, it he yers of dry foliage that coated the inner walls of the pit.
Stupefied, the beast looked up, hoping to make sense of the situation through Daisuke’s facial expression. But his face was entirely bnk; only traces of pt and malice could be seen, and the promise of a grim fate.
Ehe troll hurled its club at the cheeky human, but Daisuke simply stepped back. The on crashed into the opy of the trees overhead, and then Zephyr stepped forward, his maw afme.
The troll’s eyes widened in dread, the glow of many fireballs reflected in them. It shielded its face from the fiery onsught, but its body wasn’t the target of the fmes.
The moment the foliage caught fire, the beast went on a rampage, but its fury couldn’t alter the course of its predit. And it roared and grunted a curse as Daisuke started sealing the hole with a b of leafy branches he had woven together beforehand.
As powerful as you are, especially with your crazy regeive abilities, your physiological makeup is just like ours. You need air to breathe and survive, and no hulking muscles or sharp teeth ge that.
As the fmes of revenge ed their adversary, Daisuke rested beh a nearby tree, his haly caressing Zephyr’s head as somber thoughts overshadowed savagery.
He couldn’t deny the gratitude he felt for being a pyer, but after spending twelve years in the game and losing everything in the real world, Sehrei had started to feel more like home than the world beyond its virtual borders.
The heads-up dispy, or HUD, was a stant presen his field or vision, providing graphical aual information such as health bars, minimaps, and notifications.
While it made the world resemble a prame for the very first time, it also draped a shadow of depression over him. His existenow seemed trivial and insignifit, with the perpetual sight of his health bar leaving him in a perpetual state of unease.
sequently, he couldn’t help but disable most of the visual effects, choosing to focus solely on essential information like monster details and reward notifications. These were the few sources of good hat brought him fort amidst the gloom of his virtual existence.
All of a sudden, a world message appeared on the s.
[Haxks has sin the Field Boss ?Exiled Hilitroll Chief?.]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[The title ?Devoted Hunter? has been acquired.]
[Sturdy Club has been acquired.]
[Small HP Recovery Potion x2 has been acquired.]
[Vitaberry x8 has been acquired.]
[Troll Essence x3 has been acquired.]
[Exiled Hilitroll Chief Tusk x2 has been acquired.]
[Horned Rabbit Hide x7 has been acquired.]
[Forest Imp Tail x12 has been acquired.]
[Malevocroak’s Legs x4 has been acquired.]
[Lipanthyer’s Fang x16 has been acquired.]
[8 Gold has been acquired.]
[Zephyr’s level has risen!]
[Zephyr’s level has risen!]
[Zephyr’s level has risen!]
[Zephyr’s level has risen!]
“10 levels and world reition for hardly doing anything,” Daisuke said in disbelief. I know it was a level 17 Field Boss, but 10 levels are kind of… and why did I get materials from other mooo?
“Anyway,” he remarked, a wry smile tugging at his lips. “I suppose that just goes to show how much the tables have turned now that I’m a pyer. Well the’s see what this itle is all about.”
[Devoted Hunter]
[Rank: Epic
A hunter is a signifit amount of time and effort in studying their prey— their behavior, strengths, and weaknesses, as well as their habitats and habits, all in order to effectively capture and elimihem.
Title Effect:
?? Monsters ensnared by traps are susceptible to a 50% increase in both physical and magical attacks.]
“Whoa~ that’s pretty overpowered,” excimed Daisuke, “but I ’t say I’ll be using traps as much as I did today.”
“Kyu~”
“You little powerhouse,” Daisuke ruffled the e’s tiny head. “You mao nd 4 levels as well.”
“Arf!”
Daisuke didn’t o assign Zephyr to the party; panions automatically received EXP, or ?Experience Points?, in battle ohey were summoned and within range. Additionally, EXP distribution could be toggled on or off, or adjusted as needed. Presently, Daisuke had it set at a ratio of 4:6 for Zephyr and himself, respectively.
[Name: Zephyr
Level: 7 | EXP: 3,947/7,656 (51.55%)
Race: Divi
Species: Wolf
HP: 1360/1360 | MP: 323/323 | Attack: 65 | Defense: 68 | Satiety 63/100 | Loyalty 35/100
Strength: 32 (+30) | stitution: 35 (+30) | Agility: 40 (+30) | Intelligence: 29 (+30) | Dexterity: 26 (+30) | Ce: 22 (+30)]
“I see your Stats are as abnormal as ever,” Daisuke murmured as he scratched the back of his head. “Though I guess I’m not oo talk. Mmm…”
For each level gained, pyers received ten Stat Points that could only be distributed to their Main Stats.
But judging by these ges, it seems that Zephyr not only gains 20 Stat Points per level, but they also be allocated to any Stat, Daisuke noted. Well, I guess that’s fair—you ’t use equipment like we , after all.”
GROWL~
“I’m starving,” whined Daisuke, cupping his belly. “How about we head back to town for now?”
“Rawrwu~”
