The moon hung high above the forest canopy while cold wind drifted softly through the trees.
Traise crouched silently atop a massive branch nearly forty feet above the forest floor, one arm resting against the rough bark beneath him while Luna remained comfortably draped across his shoulders.
The Lunar Spirit Fox barely looked awake at first glance, though her glowing blue eyes tracked every movement below with quiet attention.
Wisps of darkness curled faintly around portions of her silver-gray fur whenever nearby shadows touched her body.
The forest no longer felt unfamiliar anymore.
That realization still felt strange sometimes.
Just over a week ago, every sound in the forest had immediately put him on edge.
Every snapped branch or distant growl forced his body into constant alertness while he desperately searched for ways to survive another night.
Now, although the danger remained very real, the panic had dulled considerably.
Hunting no longer felt like desperate survival every second of the day.
It had become routine.
It still wasn’t safe, and probably never would be, but compared to his first days in the forest, the difference was undeniable.
Far below, movement rustled softly through the undergrowth while a pair of Silverhorn Hares cautiously grazed beneath the moonlight.
Traise watched them quietly for several seconds before ultimately looking away.
A week ago, creatures like that represented valuable prey.
Now they barely felt worth the effort.
As his level increased, weaker creatures gradually stopped providing meaningful rewards.
Silverhorn Hares had already fallen into the Minor threat category several days ago, and the experience gained from hunting them had become almost negligible compared to stronger prey deeper within the forest.
The system clearly rewarded danger.
Which meant surviving required constantly adapting.
A faint feeling of amusement drifted across the bond from Luna while her tail brushed lightly against the back of his neck.
“You’re enjoying this way too much,” Traise muttered quietly.
Luna flicked her tail smugly before lowering her head back onto his shoulder.
Traise shook his head slightly before staring deeper into the forest ahead.
More than a week had passed since accepting the A True Hunter quest, and despite traveling farther than ever before, he still hadn’t found any sign of escaping the forest entirely.
If anything, the deeper regions only became larger, darker, and more dangerous the farther inward he traveled.
At this point, he suspected he was approaching the forest’s center.
Or at least something important.
The creatures here felt different somehow.
Stronger.
Smarter.
Even the atmosphere itself seemed heavier than before, as though the deeper sections of the forest carried a pressure that hadn’t existed near the outer regions where he first arrived.
Traise quietly opened the status of Minor Regeneration again while leaning back against the trunk behind him.
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Minor Regeneration
Class: Initiate Low
Type: Passive / Healing
Mastery: 88 / 100
Current Effects:
Passive healing over time
Reduced bleeding damage
Recovery Rate: 1% Max Health per minute
Pain response reduced during combat, though damage still exists
4 hours of sleep provides the benefits of a full night’s rest
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Traise stared at the final two effects briefly before closing the window again.
Minor Regeneration had become absurdly valuable.
At first, the skill simply helped him survive injuries that normally would have killed him.
Now, after nearly nonstop fighting throughout the last week, the mastery growth had started unlocking effects that remained useful even outside combat.
The reduced pain response alone made an enormous difference during dangerous fights.
Injuries still hurt, but the sudden panic caused by severe wounds no longer overwhelmed him nearly as badly as before.
The final effect honestly still felt ridiculous.
Four hours of sleep now left him feeling almost completely rested.
Not fully refreshed, but close enough that the difference still felt unnatural every time he woke up.
Traise flexed his fingers slightly while glancing toward the forest below again.
Other skills had improved through repeated use as well over the last week, though most changes remained subtle rather than dramatic.
Beast Digestion eventually climbed into Initiate Mid after surviving almost entirely on monster meat for days straight.
The temporary buffs granted from certain creatures now lasted close to three hours before fading completely.
Quickstep also evolved into Initiate High after constant combat usage, lowering its cooldown significantly while making the bursts of acceleration feel smoother and easier to control during fights.
Thankfully.
The last thing he wanted was another collision with a tree.
Even Advanced Climbing improved from repeated movement through rocky cliffs, damp branches, and ruined stone surfaces deeper within the forest.
Slippery terrain no longer felt nearly as dangerous as before, which had probably already saved him from several nasty falls.
Traise slowly exhaled before opening the current quest window.
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[Quest Progress]
A True Hunter
Dangerous Beasts Slain: 63 / 100
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His expression tightened slightly.
Sixty-three Dangerous threat level creatures sounded impressive at first.
Until he remembered how close several of those fights came to killing him.
The problem was becoming increasingly obvious now.
As his level continued rising, older Dangerous-ranked beasts gradually shifted downward into Moderate threats instead.
Silverhorn Hares had already become nearly worthless for experience, while even some creatures that originally forced him to flee now felt manageable with Luna’s help.
Finding Dangerous-ranked prey was becoming harder.
Which meant the system expected him to continue hunting stronger monsters farther inward.
Traise honestly wasn’t sure whether that realization felt motivating or terrifying.
Probably both.
A low growl echoed faintly somewhere deeper within the forest before fading back into silence.
Luna immediately lifted her head slightly while alertness drifted faintly through the bond.
Traise remained still for several seconds before relaxing again once the sound moved farther away.
The hunts themselves had changed considerably over the last week as well.
Luna and Traise no longer stumbled over each other during combat as they did at first.
Their movements gradually became smoother the more they fought together, eventually reaching the point where many encounters barely required spoken communication anymore.
Luna distracted targets while Traise attacked blind spots.
Other times, Traise baited creatures into focusing on him while Luna ambushed from the darkness behind them.
Shadows had become one of the most useful skills he possessed for exactly that reason.
Combined with Luna’s natural stealth and the Bracer of the Fallen One, reducing mana costs by half, maintaining concealment during hunts became dramatically easier than before.
Quickstep no longer drained nearly as much mana either, allowing him to use it repeatedly during prolonged fights without exhausting himself immediately afterward.
Night hunting, especially, had become terrifyingly effective.
Many creatures never even realized he was there before Luna struck from the shadows.
The Party system itself also turned out far stranger than Traise originally expected.
At first, he assumed sharing a party with Luna automatically divided experience between them somehow, but repeated testing throughout the week revealed something completely different.
If Luna remained within the party while fighting beside him, his experience gains stayed consistent so long as he actively participated in the kill.
However, if Luna killed creatures completely alone outside the party, he gained absolutely nothing.
No growth.
Nothing.
Oddly enough, even if Luna hunted alone while remaining inside the party, the results barely changed.
Quest progress still counted toward A True Hunter, but experience itself only increased if Traise genuinely contributed during the fight.
The system apparently treated experience as actual combat growth rather than ownership of kills.
Honestly, that made far more sense than simply receiving free levels for watching Luna hunt everything herself.
It also meant he couldn’t rely on stronger allies to carry him forever.
Somewhere beneath the branch, leaves rustled softly again.
Traise’s eyes narrowed immediately while Luna’s tail flicked once against his shoulder.
Another hunt waited somewhere below.
And despite everything that changed over the last week, the forest still showed no signs of becoming safer anytime soon.
Traise slowly lowered the quest window before opening his inventory instead.
Over the last week, the number of items inside had steadily increased as hunting became more efficient.
Monster materials occupied most of the available space now, especially venom sacs, fangs, hides, and usable meat harvested from creatures deeper within the forest.
The system shop purchased nearly everything, though some materials sold for dramatically more than others, depending on rarity and usefulness.
Roc Python venom sacs alone had already earned him several hundred Dragon Coins.
The creatures were dangerous to fight, but the rewards usually justified the risk.
One of the few actual equipment drops he received naturally during the week appeared near the center of his inventory.
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Roc Python Tunic
Grade: Initiate
A lightweight tunic crafted from the durable hide of a Roc Python.
Despite its flexibility, the material retains much of the creature’s powerful muscle tension and resilience.
Effects: +3 Strength
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Traise glanced briefly at the dark green tunic covering his chest before closing the window again.
The strength increase honestly felt more noticeable than expected.
At first, he assumed a three-point increase wouldn’t matter very much, but after wearing the tunic for several days, the difference became obvious during prolonged fights.
His attacks carried more force behind them now, and dragging larger creature corpses through the forest no longer exhausted him nearly as quickly as before.
Still, the tunic wasn’t the item he valued most.
That title easily belonged to the cloak resting around his shoulders.
After repeatedly selling extra monster materials and unused corpses to the system shop, Traise eventually managed to save over one thousand Dragon Coins.
Most of it disappeared almost immediately afterward, the moment he purchased a single item from the shop.
At first, he questioned whether spending that much currency on a cloak was stupid.
Then he equipped it.
Now he honestly considered it one of the best purchases he had made since arriving in the forest.
Traise quietly reopened the item description.
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Cloak of Infinite Night
Grade: Special
A relic woven from the remnants of eternal darkness.
Effects:
Self-repairing
Vision clarity improved during nighttime or low-light conditions
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The self-repair effect alone already felt absurd compared to normal equipment.
Before obtaining the cloak, nearly every fight eventually left tears, cuts, or damage across his clothing from claws, branches, or rough terrain.
Now, even after difficult hunts, the dark material slowly repaired itself within hours as though the damage had never existed at all.
The improved night vision changed even more.
Combined with Shadows and Luna’s natural stealth abilities, Traise could now move through darkness far more effectively than before.
Hunting during nighttime had gradually become his preferred strategy over the last week, especially after discovering how vulnerable many creatures became while sleeping.
Several beasts never even woke up before dying.
The Bracer of the Fallen One amplified those advantages even further.
Maintaining Shadows no longer drained mana nearly as quickly as before, while repeated use of Quickstep during hunts felt significantly more manageable thanks to the reduced mana costs.
For the first time since arriving in this world, Traise finally felt like his equipment matched the way he fought.
Silent, swift, and deadly.
Traise exhaled softly before opening his full status window.
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[The Upgrade System]
User: Traise Axton
Party Members: 1
Grade: Initiate
Level: 7
XP: 57 / 115
Health: 57 / 57
Mana: 10 / 10
Speed: +40%
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[Attributes]
Strength: 29
Dexterity: 41
Intelligence: 21
Endurance: 27
Willpower: 16
Luck: ???
Free Attribute Points: 0
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[Skills]
Mimic (Class – Special)
Class: Special
Type: Growth / Replication
Current Mimic Slots
2 / 3 Available
Current Mimic Skills:
Minor Regeneration
Class: Initiate Low
Type: Passive / Healing
Mastery: 88 / 100
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Advanced Climbing – Initiate Mid
Beast Digestion – Initiate Mid
Enhanced Agility – Initiate Mid
Observation – Initiate Low
Shadows – Initiate Low
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[Equipment]
Cloak of Infinite Night
Roc Python Tunic
Bracer of the Fallen One
Silverhorn Bone Dagger
Moonfang Necklace
Silverhorn Boots
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Traise stared quietly at the status screen for several seconds.
Compared to when he first arrived in the forest, the difference always had an unreal feel to it.
Back then, even surviving against a single Silverhorn Hare pushed him to his limits.
Now, weaker creatures barely registered as threats anymore.
His body had changed dramatically over the last two weeks as well.
Increased Dexterity alone made his movements feel lighter and faster than any normal human realistically should move.
Even his instincts had started changing.
The longer he survived in the forest, the more naturally he reacted to danger, movement, and opportunities during combat.
Sometimes his body moved before his mind fully processed the threat itself.
That realization honestly felt a little unsettling.
But what unsettled him even more was the system itself.
Traise’s eyes slowly moved across the clean layout of the screen again while faint unease settled in the back of his mind.
The Upgrade System looked noticeably different now compared to even a few days ago.
The menus felt cleaner, more organized, and smoother somehow, while the windows themselves no longer appeared rigid or incomplete like before.
Even the formatting had gradually improved over time without him doing anything at all.
At first, he appreciated the changes.
Now, though, the system almost felt like it was evolving alongside him.
Growing.
Adapting.
Maybe even learning in ways he still didn’t understand.
The thought sent a faint chill down his spine because a system shouldn’t improve itself naturally.
At least… not on its own.
Traise slowly closed the menu before lifting his gaze toward the deeper forest ahead.
It was already the eighth day since he began actively searching for a way out, and he still hadn’t found anything.
No roads, no ruins, and no signs of civilization existed anywhere he searched.
If anything, the deeper regions only became stranger the farther inward he traveled.
Massive ancient trees towered overhead while thick fog occasionally drifted through sections of the forest floor at night.
Even the creatures themselves looked different here compared to the outer regions—larger, older, and far more dangerous.
Moonfang Stalkers especially still remained firmly in Traise’s memory.
The first time he encountered one, Observation immediately classified it as a Deadly threat.
At the time, merely seeing the creature nearly convinced him he was about to die.
Now, after leveling repeatedly over the last week, he found himself wondering whether the system would still classify them the same way.
The thought alone felt ridiculous.
But possible.
Traise honestly wished the system would simply display levels directly instead of forcing him to estimate everything based on vague threat rankings.
At least then, he could properly judge how large the gap truly was between himself and stronger creatures.
Minor threats felt relatively manageable now, while Moderate threats still required effort and caution during fights.
Dangerous threats remained exactly what their name implied, capable of killing him quickly if he made mistakes.
Deadly threats, however, probably still existed far beyond his ability to handle alone.
And beyond even that?
Traise honestly didn’t want to imagine what kind of monsters qualified for a higher ranking.
Game over?
A sudden hiss from somewhere below interrupted his thoughts immediately.
Traise’s eyes narrowed as a familiar shape slowly slithered through the undergrowth beneath the tree.
A Roc Python.
The massive serpent slithered slowly through the undergrowth beneath the tree while dark green scales reflected faint moonlight through gaps in the canopy overhead.
Thick venom dripped steadily from partially exposed fangs while its tongue flicked repeatedly through the air.
Traise already knew how dangerous the creature was.
One bite could still kill him if Minor Regeneration failed to suppress the poison long enough to survive.
Thankfully, repeated hunts against the species had taught him their behavior patterns well enough to avoid most direct confrontations now.
More importantly, their poison sacs sold extremely well.
Luna immediately lifted her head from his shoulder while anticipation drifted faintly across the bond.
“Same plan,” Traise whispered quietly.
Luna vanished instantly.
Shadows swallowed her silver-gray body completely before she silently slipped into the darkness below.
The Roc Python reacted almost immediately, massive head snapping sideways while sensing movement nearby.
Too late.
Luna burst from the shadows near its tail, claws raking across several scales before disappearing again the instant the serpent lunged toward her position.
The attack barely injured the creature, but that was never the goal.
Distraction.
The Roc Python twisted violently toward the darkness where Luna vanished moments earlier.
Traise moved.
[Quickstep activated]
The world blurred around him as he launched himself downward from the branch overhead.
Wind rushed violently past his face while the Roc Python finally sensed danger above.
Fast.
Far faster than normal snakes.
The serpent twisted upward immediately while venom dripped from its open jaws.
At nearly the same moment, Luna struck again from the opposite side, forcing the creature to split its attention for only a fraction of a second.
That hesitation killed it.
Traise landed directly beside the serpent’s head before driving the Silverhorn Bone Dagger forward with everything he had.
The blade pierced through the Roc Python’s eye socket before sinking deep into its skull.
The serpent convulsed violently.
Its massive body slammed against the ground hard enough to shake nearby branches while venom splattered across the forest floor.
Traise barely avoided the thrashing tail before wrenching the dagger deeper into the creature’s brain.
Blood erupted outward.
Then the Roc Python finally froze.
A few final spasms rippled through its body before the serpent collapsed completely motionless against the dirt.
Traise exhaled slowly while pulling the dagger free.
“Still hate fighting those things,” he muttered.
Luna reappeared moments later beside the corpse before nudging the dead serpent proudly with one paw.
Traise snorted softly.
“Yeah, yeah. Couldn’t have done it without you, as always.”
Warm satisfaction drifted smugly through the bond.