The next morning after breakfast, Aaron headed straight to Estrium, determined to find a better mission. With only eight more days left, he needed at least a thousand gold coins to get even E or F rank awakened. Buying higher-ranked Awakened from the Slave Market required tens of thousands—well beyond his means.
Aaron didn't mind starting at a low rank, since he could always upgrade their classes with Mission Points. In time, he could gather a team filled with powerful Awakened—perhaps even SSS rank—if fate allowed.
He stood before the mission board, searching for quests suited to his level. Anyone could accept missions within their rank, and as a level six, Aaron could even challenge a quest meant for a level twenty-five beast if he wished. In Estrium, the rule was simple: Awakened bore full responsibility for their choices.
After a while, he chose a mission that promised better rewards—and perhaps a chance to reach level ten.
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Mission: Collect Voltusk Razorboars Hearts and Horns
Mission Number: B2-121
Mission Type: Hunting
Rank Requirement: Bronze 2
Tier: Fragment ★★
Level: Levels 11 – 20
Reward: 5 to 10 gold coins for each heart and horn delivered based on levels.
Difficulty: ★★ ( Based on when in Bronze rank )
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Aaron flipped through the beast manual, searching for details about the Razorboars. These boar-like creatures could grow as tall as five feet, and their fierce temperament made them wander alone, attacking anything that crossed their path—even their own kin.
Their thick hides were strengthened by a natural skin-hardening ability. Razorboars charged with their horns, delivering devastating blows, and could even unleash lightning from those deadly weapons. Reading this, Aaron mused seriously, "Their only weakness is that they hunt alone. If these beasts ever learned to work together, they would be nearly unstoppable."
After jotting down the mission number, Aaron registered at the mission desk. Wasting no time, he set out for the forest. The Razorboars' territory lay nearly twenty kilometers deep in the trees—a journey that would take him over two hours, even at his fastest pace.
It took Aaron almost three hours to reach the region where Razorboars roamed. Before setting out, he had visited the merchant district to sell some of the wolf meat, taking up all the space in his inventory. He exchanged 15 kilograms for a single gold coin and kept just over 5 kilograms for himself—the inventory would keep them fresh.
As Aaron moved deeper into the forest, he noticed the trees were spaced farther apart, making the woods less dense. Territorial marks scarred the trunks, clear warnings that this land belonged to the Razorboars. Aaron drew his daggers—each one granting him an extra point of strength and half a point of health whenever he wielded them.
He advanced with utmost caution, careful not to make a sound. Aaron checked for any markings or trails left by the beasts. After a few minutes, he discovered a Razorboar's track and followed it to a wide clearing. There, a massive boar-like creature, with a sharp single horn on its forehead, was asleep.
Aaron activated Abyssal Insight to check its status. Instantly, a panel appeared before his eyes, displaying every detail about the beast.
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Name: Voltusk Razorboars
Tier: Fragment ★★
Level: 15
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Health Points: 750 / 750
Mana Capacity: 120 / 120
Attack Power: 98
Affinity: Lightening
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Skills
Ironhide Pulse
Channels energy through its body, tightening its hide into a dense, armor-like layer, reducing any physical damage by 20%.
Razor Charge
Lowers its horn and launches forward in a straight, explosive dash, increasing speed by 10% and damage by 20%.
Arc Horn Discharge
Gathers electrical energy in its horn and releases it in a jagged arc toward a target, dealing 50% increased damage.
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Aaron thought, level fifteen right from the start—its health is even higher than Taul's, who was almost the same level. Its attack power is nearly the same as mine, and if I get hit by its lightning-based attack, it could be painful. Still, Aaron wasn't worried. With his health now more than one thousand, he could easily kill it in two hits while in stealth.
Seeing the Razorboar not moving, he activated his Shadow Stealth, masking eighty-five percent of his presence. Aaron circled around the beast, closing the distance as quietly as possible. If it stood, the creature would be at least four feet tall, but now it was lying asleep on the forest floor. Aaron could easily attack its back.
When Aaron got within striking distance, he used Predator of the Weak and stabbed the beast with his right-hand dagger, aiming at its back. The Razorboar shrieked in pain, jerking awake. Without hesitation, Aaron followed up by slashing at the beast's shoulder with his left-hand dagger, keeping his attacks fast and coordinated.
The beast didn't even have time to use any of its skills. The damage from the first attack was enough to drop its health dangerously low—thanks to the boost, it did 720 damage. After that, Aaron's simple attack finished it off. His head fell on the ground lifeless, and the kill message appeared.
[A/N] : 110 + 10 ( From Dagger ), 120 × 6
[Voltusk Razorboars (Lv. 15) Defeated]
[Congratulations! You have leveled up. Bonus attribute points awarded.] x3
Aaron said looking at the lifeless Razorboar " i felt really bad for this boar ,this stealth is almost like cheat and i got leveled up 3 times" then he added " i should finish up butchering it first then go and find a few more before evening " it took him about 15 minutes to take all valuable parts of beast then he started looking traces of more Razorboars.
Three hours later, Aaron stood behind a tree. In front of him, a level 13 Razorboar was ramming its horns against the tree roots, likely having spotted a rabbit fleeing into a hole. Because of their aggressive nature, the beast continued to strike at the spot where the rabbit had vanished.
Aaron had already killed three more Razorboars since the first, but they only gave him one level because they were just level eleven or twelve. The smaller level gap meant he received less mana from each.
Clicking his tongue, he muttered, "This one is also low level. I must have used all my luck on the first one, being level fifteen." Glancing up at the sky, he added, "Well, it's already evening. I'll head back to the city after this. Including this one, I should get at least forty gold."
Using the same strategy, he activated Shadow Stealth and Predator of the Weak to finish it in a single hit. As the Razorboar fell lifeless to the ground, Aaron smirked. "Today went well—four levels and five boars. Let's wrap things up for today." He then began skinning the beast.
He had only been skinning for a minute, carefully working on the hide, when he suddenly heard the rapid steps of a charging beast behind him. Aaron spun around and saw a Razorboar just a few meters away, already using Razor Charge. He didn't have time to dodge; before he could brace himself, the beast's horn slammed into him below the ribcage, knocking him back.
Aaron quickly stepped away from the beast, pressing his hand to the wound where the boar had struck him. His stealth had just ended—he still needed forty seconds before he could use it again. He raised both daggers in front of him, taking up a defensive stance. The boar, larger than any he had killed today, turned to face him. Before anything else, Aaron activated Abyssal Insight.
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Name: Voltusk Razorboars
Tier: Fragment ★★
Level: 20
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Health Points: 1200 / 1200
Mana Capacity: 200 / 200
Attack Power: 145
Affinity: Lightening
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Skills
Ironhide Pulse
Channels energy through its body, tightening its hide into a dense, armor-like layer, reducing any physical damage by 30%.
Razor Charge
Lowers its horn and launches forward in a straight, explosive dash, increasing speed by 30% and damage by 40%.
Arc Horn Discharge
Gathers electrical energy in its horn and releases it in a jagged arc toward a target, dealing 80% increased damage.
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Aaron's eyes widened. "Damn, I had to jinx it. Because of that stupid boar knocking its head, this one must have been drawn by the noise." Seeing its stats, he realized why the hit hurt so much and why its skills were stronger than the others. He checked his HP, now just under 850, and muttered with narrowed eyes, "It's going to be tough dealing with it without stealth."
Then Aaron sprinted straight toward the boar, knowing that after using its charge, the beast could use a lightning attack next. To avoid getting struck, he moved in a zigzag pattern, anticipating the Razorboar's aim. As he closed in, the boar lashed out at him, but Aaron dove to its left side. While sliding past, he landed two quick strikes with his daggers.
As Aaron passed the boar, he quickly got to his feet and checked where he had struck—there were two marks, but both were shallow. Apparently, the Razorboar had activated Ironhide Pulse when Aaron attacked, hardening its skin and making his blows less effective.
He had twenty unassigned points from his recent level-ups. Aaron used five of them to boost his Strength, bringing it to sixteen. Now, with his dagger included, his Attack Power reached 170. He rushed at the boar again, using the same tactics, and managed to slash it two more times. But its tough hide meant he still couldn't do much damage; its health only dropped to 800. There were still twenty seconds left before his stealth cooldown ended.
As Aaron tried the same move again, the boar countered with Razor Charge. With little space, Aaron attempted to dodge to his right, but his cloak caught on the boar's horn. The force of the charge sent him sprawling backward, crashing hard onto the ground.
As Aaron hit the ground, the Razorboar instantly used Arc Horn Discharge. Lightning surged through the beast's body, gathering at its horn before it shot out in a jagged arc straight at Aaron. The strike hit him directly, his whole body trembling from the shock. His health dropped, and for a moment, Aaron's vision went blank.
As he came out of his stunned state, Aaron saw the boar charging at him, ready for another attack. He quickly got up and dodged—the boar wasn't using a skill this time. At that moment, Aaron's stealth cooldown finished. He instantly activated Shadow Stealth and vanished, startling the boar.
He didn't attack right away. First, he put some distance between himself and the crazed boar as it rampaged, striking at everything nearby. Quietly, Aaron took off his cloak and muttered, "Fuck me, and fuck every assassin who wears a cloak." He then flung the cloak at the boar's face. The cloak tangled around its horn.
Then Aaron used Predator of the Weak and struck at its back; the dagger sank deep, making the boar screech in pain as it crashed to the ground from the deep wound. He finished it off with Shadow Veil, and the kill message appeared instantly.
[Voltusk Razorboars (Lv. 20) Defeated]
[Congratulations! You have leveled up. Bonus attribute points awarded.] x3
As the beast went lifeless, Aaron dropped to the floor as well and said, "That was an intense fight." He smirked and added, "And I fucking liked it." After a minute, his stealth ended, and thanks to leveling up, his health was restored. He checked his stats—he now had a whole 30 attribute points and had reached level13. Aaron grinned, thinking, "These power-ups are getting bigger every day."
Then he stood up, butchered the Razorboar, and stored the valuables in his inventory. As the evening faded, he decided to head back. After some time, with about ten kilometers left before reaching the western gate, he heard a sharp scream in the distance that made him stop in his tracks.
He stopped and turned toward the direction of the scream. For a moment he wondered whether to go or not—it was already getting dark, and he was still an hour from the city. With a shrug, he muttered, "At least I can take a look, what's the worst that could happen—" He caught himself, not wanting to jinx it twice in one day.
As he got closer, Aaron saw two girls—he remembered them from when he was registering as an Awakened; they'd been in line in front of him. Now, both were injured and surrounded by eight men. Aaron didn't recognize all of them, but he did recognize the one in the middle, standing relaxed with a sword in hand.
He was the right-hand man of the boss of Twisted Vipers. Aaron thought, these are like cockroaches—the more you kill, the more come crawling out. As he debated whether to help, one of the thugs kicked a girl in the stomach, making her scream in pain as blood spilled from her mouth.
The other girl, furious but clearly hurt, stammered, "W...we already gave you everything you wanted. What else do you need?" The man who had just kicked her sneered, "It's not about the things anymore, it's about you two."
The girl, voice trembling, asked, "W...what about us?" He replied coldly, "We don't leave any witnesses. So you sweet girls have to die." Grinning and licking his knife, he added, "In this world, only the strong survive."
Hearing this, Aaron—who had been weighing whether to step in—murmured under his breath, "Well then, let's have some fucking fun."