Before anyone could react, another growl came from the mist.
A second thornhide hound emerged.
This one was larger.
Its eyes locked onto Qin Yuan.
The world slowed again.
Qin Yuan adjusted his grip, his body and mind already far clearer than before.
The hound charged at a speed that would have bewildered any average human. Wisps of Spirit Qi sprinkled across the beast's body, clinging to its gray hide like smoke around hot iron.
Qin Yuan waited until the last possible breath.
Spirit Qi circulated through his body.
Then he moved.
Not backward.
Forward.
His power and speed rose to a new height.
His sword rose from low to high, sliding beneath the beast's jaw and cutting through the soft line of its throat.
The hound's momentum carried it past him.
But its blood sprayed before its body landed.
It hit the ground without a proper cry.
The system chimed.
Clean Kill.
Weak Point Severed.
Sword Mastery Experience +6.9
Combat Talent Experience +5.1
Killing Talent Experience +4.4
Beast Anatomy Talent Experience +3.2
Efficiency Bonus Applied.
Qin Yuan exhaled.
The second kill had given more.
Because it was cleaner.
Because he understood more.
Because the system did not merely reward survival.
It rewarded improvement.
His mind became very calm.
Luo Sheng slowly turned his head.
"Yuan…"
Lian Xiaoru stared at him as if she had never seen him before.
The seniors had finally turned around.
Zhou Kang's eyes narrowed.
"You killed them?"
Qin Yuan looked at the hound.
Then at his sword.
Then at Zhou Kang.
"I got lucky."
At that moment, another chime rang inside Qin Yuan's mind.
Hidden Mission Generated.
Mission: Survive the Hunt.
Warning: This beast wave does not match mission intelligence.
Additional Warning: Unknown observer detected.
At the same time, growls multiplied in the mist.
The mission seniors finally raised their weapons.
For a moment, the noisy collection valley became strangely still.
Mist drifted low between the trees, crawling across the grass like pale smoke. Broken sunlight slid over metal barrels, cheap mission swords, reinforced spears, talisman gloves, and trembling fingers. Somewhere ahead, within the thick green shadows, dozens of small eyes reflected cold light.
Zhou Kang's face no longer carried its earlier laziness.
He held a long-backed saber in one hand, its blade covered in thin wind-shaped engravings. Spirit Qi crawled along the weapon like invisible snakes, causing the grass around his feet to bend away from him.
"Too many," Luo Sheng muttered, tightening his grip on his spear. "There shouldn't be this many Low Common beasts in the first zone."
Lian Xiang's expression turned grim. "The scent lures were measured properly. Unless something drove them here…"
Zhou Kang's eyes narrowed.
"Stop talking." His voice cut through the nervous crowd. "Front line, shields and spears. Spirit rifles behind them. Staff users stay in the center. Do not chase wounded beasts. Do not break formation. Anyone who runs before my order dies on their own."
A young worker swallowed hard. "Senior Zhou, should we call it in?"
Zhou Kang's jaw tightened.
"We call it in after we survive the first wave."
The first beast lunged.
It was a red-furred Splitclaw Hare, almost the size of a large dog, with rear legs packed tight with muscle and front claws curved like hooked knives. It sprang through the mist with terrifying speed, flying straight toward a girl holding a shock baton.
She screamed and swung too early.
The hare twisted in midair.
Before it could rip her throat open, Zhou Kang's saber flashed.
A pale arc of wind crossed the air.
The Splitclaw Hare split in two.
"Hold!" Zhou Kang roared.
Then the entire tree line moved.
Needleback Rats poured out from roots and tall grass. Mossjaw Wolves came behind them, low to the ground, their mouths dripping greenish saliva. A few Iron-Tooth Badgers slammed through the bushes like living stones.
The workers panicked.
The mission seniors did not.
"Fire!"
Spirit rifles cracked.
Blue-white bolts tore through the mist. One Mossjaw Wolf's shoulder exploded open. Another beast rolled across the grass, scrambled back to its feet, and kept charging.
Qin Yuan stood near the left side of the second line.
He did not rush forward.
He did not shout.
He watched.
The mission sword rested in his right hand, already lighter than it had felt fifteen minutes ago.
A Needleback Rat rushed at his legs.
Qin Yuan stepped back half a pace.
Not too far.
Just enough.
The rat's spines brushed past his robe. Its head lifted, jaws opening wide.
Qin Yuan cut down.
The sword entered through the side of its neck and jammed halfway through bone.
His wrist jolted.
The beast shrieked.
Qin Yuan's eyes sharpened. Instead of pulling the sword out directly, he twisted the hilt, planted his foot against the beast's side, and dragged the edge through the wound.
Blood splashed across the grass.
The beast stopped moving.
A cold blue screen opened.
Combat Talent Experience +0.18
Sword Mastery Experience +0.22
Killing Technique Experience +0.10
Focused Practice Experience +0.07
Qin Yuan glanced at the notifications once.
Then he looked away.
Another Needleback Rat came from the side.
This one leaped at his shoulder.
Qin Yuan's first instinct was to retreat.
Wrong.
If he retreated fully, he would crash into the rifle line.
His body moved differently.
He lowered his center of gravity, turned his shoulder, let the beast's claws scrape across the outer layer of his sleeve, and stabbed upward.
The sword pierced under the jaw.
The beast's weight pushed him back one step.
Qin Yuan exhaled and shoved it off.
Sword Mastery Experience +0.31
Combat Talent Experience +0.24
Calm Mind Experience +0.06
He blinked once.
Calm Mind.
So mental state could also become a talent.
Interesting.
A Mossjaw Wolf noticed him.
Unlike the smaller beasts, it did not jump blindly. It circled slowly, green saliva dripping between its teeth. Its eyes locked onto Qin Yuan's sword arm, then his neck, then his leg.
Qin Yuan felt pressure.
This beast was stronger than him.
Not overwhelmingly.
But enough that a single mistake would cost him flesh.
Luo Sheng shouted from several meters away, "Don't fight that thing alone!"
Qin Yuan did not answer.
The wolf let out an ugly snarl. Wisps of Spirit Qi swirled out of its body as it lunged at incredible speed. Shards of dirt and pebbles whipped around it.
Qin Yuan narrowed his eyes, circulated his Spirit Qi, and swung.
His blade flashed with a faint silver glow.
The silver glow dispersed as the wolf ducked.
Too fast.
Too sharp.
Claws shot toward his ribs.
Qin Yuan's pupils contracted.
His sword could not return in time.
So he released one hand from the hilt and slammed his left forearm against the beast's neck.
Pain shot through his arm.
The wolf's claws scraped his side, tearing cloth and drawing a line of blood.
But its bite missed.
Qin Yuan stepped inward instead of backward.
The wolf's body was too close now.
Its own momentum trapped it.
He reversed his grip and drove the sword down behind its shoulder.
Blood spewed as the wolf snarled, froth foaming from its filthy mouth.
Qin Yuan did not even blink.
His calm mind sharpened by the second.
Not deep enough.
He slashed again.
Spirit Qi circulated through his arm. His sword speed became a silver flash in the air.
The blade savagely tore into the wolf's heart.
A wave of blood gushed out.
The Mossjaw Wolf spasmed, then collapsed.
Qin Yuan's breathing grew slightly heavier.
Combat Talent Level Up.
Combat Talent — Level 1 → Level 2
Sword Mastery Level Up.
Sword Mastery — Level 1 → Level 2
Killing Technique Talent Unlocked.
Killing Technique — Level 1
Qin Yuan lowered his eyes to the wolf corpse.
His arm hurt.
His ribs burned.
But his thoughts were clear.
He needed more of this.
Real experience.
Experience that forced his body to its limits.
His System gave him the gateway, but only he could make himself unfathomable.
He looked toward the battle.
The first wave was already collapsing. Zhou Kang and the other seniors held the formation together. Whenever a beast broke through, one of them killed it before it could cause a massacre.
But the price was obvious.
The workers were too weak.
Too slow.
Too afraid.
Three had already fallen. Two more were being dragged back by trembling companions.
Lian Xiang held a short sword in one hand and the talisman charm she had chosen in the other. Her short sword flashed with pale green light as she cut open a beast's leg, then shouted, "Don't stab the skull! The core is behind the heart for this species! You damage the core, you lose half the reward!"
Luo Sheng kicked a wounded Iron-Tooth Badger away with the butt of his spear and cursed. "You're still thinking about payment?"
Lian Xiang snapped back, "People who survive still need to eat!"
Qin Yuan found that reasonable.
He moved again.
He did not chase kills.
He took wounded beasts.
Beasts with damaged legs.
Beasts distracted by seniors.
Beasts that had already committed to attacking others.
Some might call it cowardly.
Qin Yuan called it efficient.
He killed another Needleback Rat by cutting its spine. He finished a Mossjaw Wolf that Luo Sheng had stabbed through the abdomen. He avoided an Iron-Tooth Badger entirely because its hide was too hard for his current sword and strength.
Each movement became cleaner.
Each kill became less clumsy.
Sword Mastery Experience +0.19
Combat Talent Experience +0.21
Battlefield Observation Experience +0.12
Killing Technique Experience +0.16
After his sixth kill, another notification appeared.
Battlefield Observation Talent Unlocked.
Battlefield Observation — Level 1
After his ninth, two more followed.
Sword Mastery Level Up.
Sword Mastery — Level 2 → Level 3
Combat Talent Level Up.
Combat Talent — Level 2 → Level 3
Qin Yuan's sword stopped for half a breath.
Level 3.
His grip had changed without him noticing.
His stance too.
The sword no longer felt like something he had borrowed from another person's dream. It was still not natural. Not yet. But it no longer felt absurd in his hand.
Zhou Kang cut down the last Mossjaw Wolf with a heavy slash and shouted, "Check injuries! Strip the cores quickly! We leave in ten minutes!"
No one cheered.
The valley was too quiet.
Then Qin Yuan felt it.
A strange chill crept up the back of his neck.
Not wind.
Not fear.
A warning.
He turned his head toward the left side of the valley.
The mist there was thicker.
Something moved inside it.
A beast stepped out.
It was lean, gray-black, and long-limbed. Its spine rose in jagged ridges. Its eyes were yellow and strangely focused, nothing like the wild panic of the Low Common beasts. Spirit Qi pressed around its claws in faint ripples.