[Name: Raven Kleinert]
[Status: Vitality Consumption / Mana Disturbance (Minor Effects)]
[Vitality: (-E) E]
[Endurance: +E]
[Strength: E]
[Speed: +E]
[Mana: -D]
[Ability (1): Locked]
[Ability (2): Locked]
[Element: Inactive]
[Skills: Combat (3), Rationality (2), Mana Control (3), Swordsmanship (3), Firearms (2), Eye of Truth (2), Spear Mastery (1), Dagger Mastery (1)]
[Rank: +E]
Hours had passed, and honestly, I had not expected this at all.
Monkeys, bears, even giant spiders…
During the last three hours, I had fought all of them. At times, it felt less like a rift from another world and more like an ordinary forest back on Earth.
I wiped the sweat from my face as I sat on the corpse of a massive bear, its body covered in wounds from our battle.
Then I pulled out a bottle and drank the cold water inside.
"Ooooh…"
A cheerful sound escaped me as refreshing coolness spread through my body.
For the past few hours, I had been like a machine.
Fight.
Recover.
Fight again.
After lowering the bottle, I looked at the blue panel floating before me.
My stats had not changed, but my skills had improved drastically.
By reshaping the ring into spears and daggers, I had eventually gained those skills as well.
But the greatest improvement was in my swordsmanship.
It had risen to the peak of the lower tier.
Combat had reached the same level.
The lower tier?
If I were to explain it, skills were divided into nine ranks.
The first three—Low, Middle, High—belonged to the Lower Tier.
Then came the Middle Tier, divided the same way.
Then the Upper Tier.
And beyond even that…
"A Rank Ten skill, huh?"
I took another sip of water.
Skills of that level were said to represent the absolute pinnacle of their field.
They had only ever been mentioned in the novel.
I shook my head and cleared my thoughts.
A Rank Nine or Ten skill meant nothing to me right now.
At the moment, I was about to hunt the rhinoceros.
After resting properly and restoring my body to peak condition, I was determined to kill it before leaving this place.
And I had already prepared the perfect bait.
"One minute…"
I glanced at the time just as I heard the faint trembling of the earth beneath me.
My eyes shifted toward the bear corpse, where I had deliberately left blood flowing.
Before a full minute passed, a wide and sinister grin spread across my face as the vibrations grew stronger.
"It worked."
My guest did not keep me waiting long.
With a body as large as a room and a deadly horn jutting forward, the beast appeared before me.
It stopped only a few meters away.
Its black eyes narrowed coldly as it stared at me.
Then its gaze lowered toward the bear corpse, hunger shining within them.
"Should I retreat?" I said aloud.
But I had no intention of doing so.
I simply raised my hand, and my familiar katana appeared.
I began reinforcing my body with mana.
My senses sharpened.
My speed increased.
My body felt lighter and stronger.
I slipped my hand into my coat.
When I noticed the rhinoceros was still focused on the bear corpse, I raised the pistol and fired directly at its eyes.
"Clang!"
As expected.
My pistol was useless now.
Against a heavily armored monster like this, it meant nothing.
I watched as its eyes turned toward me, glowing with cold fury.
"ROAR!"
The beast bellowed and charged.
Its enormous horn pointed forward like a lance.
It wanted to end this quickly.
But it failed.
I dodged to the side at the last second.
As its massive body thundered past me, unable to stop—
"Slash!"
I swung the katana coated in purple mana at its leg.
I did not sever it, but I carved a deep wound that made the beast roar in pain.
The giant creature turned toward me again.
This time, anger remained in its eyes—
but now it was mixed with caution.
Even so, it charged once more.
I tried to evade, but a wave of danger ran through me.
So I raised my sword defensively.
"Clang!"
Its horn crashed against my black blade.
The force behind the impact hurled me several meters backward.
"Huff…"
Sweat dripped down my forehead.
I could feel my stamina beginning to run low.
But before I could gather myself, it charged again.
I blocked.
I dodged.
Again and again.
Yet my focus had drifted elsewhere.
"The environment…"
I needed to use the trees around me.
I steadied myself, then leapt upward with all my strength to avoid its horn.
As I rose into the air, I activated a skill I had trained during these past few hours.
Eye of Truth.
Time seemed to slow slightly within my perception.
My analytical ability sharpened.
My vision became clearer.
Though this time, I could not see mana itself.
"Hehe."
I did not care.
My attention had already fixed on one enormous tree nearby.
And that sight widened my grin.
As I descended slowly, I saw the rhinoceros charging directly toward me.
So I ran.
Yes—
I ran straight toward the giant tree.
As I moved, danger screamed through every instinct I had.
I did not need that warning to know its horn was only inches from me.
But instead of panicking, I smiled wider.
My silver eyes shone with wild excitement.
"Crack!"
I reinforced my legs and kicked off the ground with explosive force.
Even the earth beneath my feet shattered.
Now the beast was only inches away from colliding lovingly with the tree.
My grin widened further as I saw terror enter its eyes.
At its current speed, it could not stop.
"Pierce!"
"It worked!"
Its horn drove straight into the massive tree trunk.
I did not let the chance escape me.
I landed lightly on its back and straddled it like a rider.
Then I gripped my katana again.
"Clang!"
I struck once.
No penetration.
"Clang!"
Again.
Still nothing.
I felt the beast thrashing wildly beneath me.
That only made me grin more.
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
3
4
5
6
7
I kept striking with sword and fist alike until the bony shell finally cracked apart.
Blood ran down my hands.
I did not care.
No—
I felt nothing at all.
I was intoxicated by the thrill of battle.
"Pierce!"
This time, I succeeded.
The shattered shell gave way, and my blade plunged cleanly into its massive skull.
I forced it deeper until the entire blade sank into its brain.
Blood spilled down its face.
Its movements slowed.
Though I could not see its expression, I imagined its eyes gradually losing life.
Then the struggle ended.
Its legs collapsed.
Blood dripped from its mouth.
I could endure no more.
I fell beside it, gasping for breath.
"Damn… haa… huff… that… was exhilarating."
My wide smile, now smeared with blood, must have looked horrifying enough to make children cry and men tremble.
"I need to leave now."
I could not waste time.
Ignoring the pain in my ribs and exhausted body, I forced myself upright.
I transformed the sword into a dagger and stabbed into its chest.
"I love you!"
A crazed shout escaped me as I tore out something resembling a core.
It was a +E Rank Core.
That meant it was worth around one hundred coins.
Even after tax, I would receive seventy-five gold coins.
I smiled as I looked at the dead beast.
Honestly—
It had been worth the effort.
I wiped the blood from the core and slipped it into my coat.
Then, using the last of my strength, I ran toward the place where I sensed dangerous mana.
The rift.
Only a few minutes later, I stood before the black space.
Without wasting another second, I stepped inside.
The familiar sensation of weightlessness returned.
As though I were drifting through an endless void.
Then I opened my eyes.
Everything vanished.
That strange feeling disappeared.
The foul smell.
The weaker gravity.
The thinner mana.
It all made me realize one thing.
I had returned to Earth.
"It was a very profitable trip."
I took out the core and looked at it with satisfaction.
Now I only needed to wait for the large man.
I checked the time, then sat down and closed my eyes to rest.
Not long after I did, a voice came from the space in front of me.
"I think you should take a shower first."
I opened my eyes to see the large man covering his nose because of the smell.
"…Hm."
I awkwardly sniffed myself.
A powerful odor invaded my nose.
"Please," I said, bowing my head in embarrassment.