The system notification hovered directly in front of Traise while he struggled to steady his breathing.
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[New System Function Available]
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His breathing still came unevenly.
Blood soaked portions of his torn clothes while pain pulsed through his ribs, shoulder, thigh, and neck every time he shifted too quickly against the tree behind him.
The level up had eased some of the exhaustion dragging at his body, but the damage from fighting the Moonfang remained painfully real.
[Health: 10 / 23]
Traise stared at the notification for several long seconds before mentally confirming it.
The window vanished instantly.
Several smaller blue interfaces unfolded one after another in front of him.
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[Observation Ability Unlocked]
Observation
Grade: Initiate
Functions:
creature analysis item analysis status detection
Higher Grades unlock additional analysis functions.
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A slow grin spread across Traise’s face despite the lingering pain.
“Now that’s useful.”
After everything he had experienced since arriving in this world, information honestly felt more valuable than raw power sometimes.
Levels and stats mattered, but blindly running into stronger creatures nearly got him killed more than once already.
His thoughts drifted immediately toward the Moonfang cub and, more specifically, its previous movement during the fight.
The creature had never fully disappeared.
Even now, replaying the battle inside his head made that obvious.
The cub still followed physical momentum naturally whenever it attacked.
The problem was that its acceleration and directional changes happened so quickly that his eyes struggled to track it properly.
It wasn’t teleportation as far as he could tell, but a skill.
And he wanted it badly.
Traise focused on the inventory.
Withdraw.
The Moonfang corpse materialized on the forest floor beside him.
Silver-gray fur reflected faintly in the moonlight, though dark blood still matted parts of its coat from the battle.
Traise crouched beside it carefully before activating Observation.
Observe.
The system flickered briefly.
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[Moonfang Stalker Cub]
Threat: Dangerous
Observed Traits:
High agility.
Enhanced low-light vision.
Predator instincts.
Detected Ability:
[Unknown Movement Skill]
Status: Dead
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Traise’s eyes immediately locked onto the detected ability.
Unknown movement skill.
So the system had definitely recognized something abnormal about the cub’s speed during the fight.
That realization immediately pulled his thoughts back into the battle itself.
The cub never wasted movement.
Every shift between the trees felt controlled and efficient.
It attacked only after positioning itself advantageously, and even while wounded, it kept circling carefully instead of panicking.
The more he thought about it, the more dangerous the creature seemed in hindsight, and somehow that only made him want the ability more.
I need that movement skill.
Surviving another Moonfang encounter without a comparable skill felt nearly impossible.
After storing the corpse back in his inventory, Traise eventually shifted his attention toward the Silverhorn Bone Dagger in his hand.
Observe.
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[Silverhorn Bone Dagger]
Grade: Initiate
A dagger crafted from the sharpened bone of a Silverhorn Hare.
It has excellent balance which allows for quicker attacks.
Effect: +1 Dexterity
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Then the boots.
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[Silverhorn Boots]
Grade: Initiate
Boots crafted using Silverhorn Hare leather and reinforced fur.
Designed for speed and agile movement across rough terrain.
Effect: +2 Dexterity, +15% Movement Speed
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Traise stared at the descriptions for a moment before nodding slowly to himself.
The information wasn’t overwhelming, but it immediately gave him a better understanding of how the equipment affected his movement.
The dagger emphasized speed and handling, while the boots clearly focused on mobility across terrain.
Observation didn’t feel broken or unfair.
It felt useful.
Like another tool The Upgrade System expected him to gradually learn over time instead of instantly mastering.
Traise leaned back against the tree afterward while Minor Regeneration continued working slowly beneath his skin.
The shallow cuts across his arms and chest had already stopped bleeding entirely, while the deeper wounds around his neck and thigh still pulsed painfully beneath the healing effect.
The forest still held a sense of tension.
Distant movement echoed occasionally beyond the trees while unfamiliar cries sounded somewhere deeper within the darkness.
Earlier, every sound would have forced panic into his chest immediately.
Now he found himself listening and observing things differently.
He tested activating Observation on nearby plants and objects around the area.
Most ordinary stones, roots, and vegetation produced little or no response at all, but one dark vine wrapped around a nearby tree finally triggered a small system window.
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[Blackthorn Creeper]
A parasitic forest vine commonly found in damp regions.
Observed Properties:
Its sap causes mild tissue deterioration and damage over time when exposed to open wounds.
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Traise stared at the window for a moment before carefully stepping closer to the vine again.
“Wonder if this counts…”
Store.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Store Blackthorn Creeper?]
Estimated Weight: 1kg
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Traise blinked in surprise before mentally confirming the action.
The vine vanished instantly.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Blackthorn Creeper Stored]
Current Inventory Capacity:
47kg / 75kg
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A slow grin spread across his face afterward.
“Okay… that’s definitely going to be useful later.”
Observation didn’t instantly explain everything around him, but at least it gave him a place to start.
Eventually, another notification appeared.
[Minor Regeneration Mastery increased: 25 / 100]
A second window unfolded immediately afterward.
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[Minor Regeneration Information Updated]
Current Recovery Rate:
1% Maximum Health per minute
Additional Effect Unlocked:
Reduced damage over time from bleeding attacks
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Traise reread the information twice.
“One percent per minute…”
That explained why the skill constantly felt active without producing dramatic recovery immediately.
Minor Regeneration repaired damage steadily beneath the surface, but visible Health restoration only appeared once enough healing accumulated.
Still, the second effect immediately caught his attention.
Reduced bleeding damage.
After the Moonfang cub nearly ripped open his neck earlier, that effect felt incredibly valuable.
Traise slowly exhaled before reopening his status screen.
Five unused attribute points still waited near the bottom.
This time, he didn’t allocate them impulsively.
Observation had already shown him exactly where his weaknesses still existed.
The cub overwhelmed him through superior movement.
His attacks lacked stopping power unless he committed completely.
And if the bleeding damage had continued slightly longer during the fight, he probably would have collapsed before winning.
The Moonfang cub wasn’t even fully grown.
That realization settled heavily in his chest.
He needed to become stronger.
Fast.
Traise finally focused on the status screen again.
Allocate 2 points to Strength.
[Strength increased: 13 → 15]
Warmth spread immediately through his arms, shoulders, and chest.
The soreness from the earlier fight remained, but beneath it, his muscles felt noticeably denser than before.
Then he continued.
Allocate 1 point to Endurance.
[Endurance increased: 13 → 14]
[Maximum Health increased: 23 → 24]
A deeper warmth spread throughout his body this time while some of the lingering fatigue weighing down his muscles eased slightly.
Finally—
Allocate 2 points to Dexterity.
[Dexterity increased: 20 → 22]
The difference felt instantly noticeable.
His balance adjusted more naturally, while even small movements became sharper and easier to control than before.
Combined with the Silverhorn Boots, the increase made his footing feel unnaturally stable against the uneven forest terrain surrounding him.
And maybe…
Criticals?
Traise honestly wasn’t sure.
But in most games, Dexterity usually affected precision, timing, or weak-point attacks somehow.
Whether The Upgrade System followed similar logic remained unclear for now.
Still, more speed definitely mattered.
Especially against Moonfangs.
By the time Minor Regeneration finally repaired the deeper wounds enough for movement to stop hurting constantly, Traise no longer felt close to collapsing every time he stood.
[You have recovered 1 Health]
[You have recovered 1 Health]
The healing continued steadily while he resumed hunting.
The remaining Silverhorn Hare hunts afterward felt completely different from earlier.
Observation made tracking movement through disturbed grass, broken branches, and uneven trails noticeably easier, while his improved Dexterity allowed him to move through the forest with far greater control than before.
The hares still reacted quickly once spotted, but now Traise intercepted them before long pursuits fully developed.
The hunts no longer felt challenging.
They were beginning to feel natural.
The final Silverhorn Hare attempted fleeing through a dense patch of bushes before Traise cut across its path entirely.
One clean strike ended the chase.
[You have killed a Silverhorn Hare]
[You have gained 1 Experience]
Traise slowed slightly after the kill while the system notification lingered near the edge of his vision.
Only 1 Experience.
Earlier, the Silverhorn Hares had rewarded twice that amount.
His eyes narrowed slightly as the realization settled into place.
The hunts no longer felt difficult.
Observation made tracking them easier, his Dexterity allowed him to intercept their movements more consistently, and the creatures themselves no longer carried the same pressure they had during his first encounters.
Slowly, Traise activated Observation on the corpse.
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[Silverhorn Hare]
Threat: Minor
Observed Traits:
High-speed directional movement.
Enhanced lower-body strength.
Sharp danger instincts.
Detected Ability:
[Quickstep]
Status: Dead
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Threat: Minor?
That explained it.
As he grew stronger, weaker creatures gradually became worth less.
Grinding endlessly against harmless prey would have been too easy otherwise.
After two more kills, another window unfolded in front of him.
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[Quest Complete]
Quest: Kill 10 Silverhorn Hares
Rewards:
Quickstep Skill
+5 Experience
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A second window appeared immediately afterward.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Skill Acquired]
Quickstep
Class: Initiate Mid
Type: Active / Movement
Mana Cost: 1
Cooldown Time: 15 Seconds
Briefly enhances movement speed and directional acceleration.
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Traise stared at the skill window while his pulse quickened slightly.
That actually fit perfectly.
The Silverhorn Hares had never relied on strength.
Every fight against them revolved around speed, acceleration, and sudden changes in movement.
More than once, they nearly escaped simply because they changed direction faster than he could react, and now he had a skill built around exactly that.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
This is going to be useful.
Unlike raw stat increases, this felt different immediately.
Practical.
Flexible.
The type of skill that could completely change a fight if used properly.
Traise slowly closed the skill window again while thinking back to the Silverhorn Hares.
Their speed and sudden directional changes had nearly allowed them to escape multiple times earlier, and now he possessed a skill built around exactly that kind of movement.
As darkness gradually deepened beneath the forest canopy, Traise eventually leaned back against another tree while Minor Regeneration finished repairing the last lingering damage from the earlier fight.
[Health: 24 / 24]
The final stiffness across his neck faded gradually afterward, while the deeper cuts along his thigh finally stopped aching beneath the passive healing effect.
Traise reopened his full status screen one final time.
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[The Upgrade System]
User: Traise Axton
Grade: Initiate
Level: 3
XP: 11 / 35
Health: 24 / 24
Mana: 10 / 10
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[Attributes]
Strength: 15
Dexterity: 22
Intelligence: 11
Endurance: 14
Willpower: 10
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: 33 / 100
Current Effects:
Passive healing over time
Reduced bleeding damage
Recovery Rate: 1% Maximum Health per minute
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Beast Digestion
Class: Initiate Low
Type: Passive / Survival
Allows safe digestion and absorption of foreign biological material from monsters and beasts.
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Quickstep
Class: Initiate Mid
Type: Active / Movement
Mana Cost: 1
Cooldown Time: 15 Seconds
Briefly enhances movement speed and directional acceleration.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Abilities]
Observation
Class: Initiate
Allows basic analysis of creatures, items, skills, and plants.
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Traise stared quietly at the screen while distant movement echoed softly somewhere beyond the trees.
Only a short time ago, even a single Silverhorn Hare had felt dangerous.
Now he had survived a Moonfang.
Not the adult.
Not yet.
But close enough to understand exactly how terrifying those creatures truly were.
His eyes slowly drifted deeper into the darkness between the trees.
Fear still lingered there, but beneath it, something else had started growing stronger.
Confidence.
I need to learn how to use Quickstep properly.
Because next time…
Traise slowly closed the status screen with a dangerous grin.
He intended to hunt the real Moonfang Stalkers.