[Successfully killed a 2-star soul beast. First kill bonus: +100 skill points]
A system notification popped up in front of him, causing Ronan to raise an eyebrow. It wasn't a new skill notification like he'd hoped, but rather an increase in skill points. That alone was enough to pique his curiosity.
"System, what are skill points for?" he asked.
[Skill points are used to enhance existing skills]
Ronan was slightly taken aback, not expecting his system to have that kind of function. If he could improve skills without grinding them manually, that was a huge advantage.
"System interface," he said eagerly.
A transparent panel appeared before him.
[Name: Ronan Raylinde]
[Age: 18]
[Cultivation Base: Human Realm Level 2]
[Special Ability: Starflame (S-Class)]
[Combat Skill: Devil's Covenant (Unique)]
[General Skills: Home Cook, Beginner Cyclist, Speed Reading, Beginner Driver]
[Skill Points: 100]
[Skill Enhancement Tier: Level 1 requires 100 skill points]
Ronan stroked his chin, eyes narrowing. Out of everything listed, one thing caught his eye the most—his skills could be upgraded with skill points!
"Interesting... In that case, I want to upgrade Devil's Covenant!" he said with a grin.
[Upgrading Devil's Covenant to the next stage requires 1,000,000 skill points.]
"What?" Ronan frowned. "Didn't you say Level 1 only needed 100 skill points?"
[Special skills follow a different tier, depending on their power. If converted to this world's skill system, Devil's Covenant ranks as an SSS-level skill.]
Ronan exhaled, his eyes lingering on the skill in question.
It wasn't without reason that the upgrade cost was sky-high. Devil's Covenant boosted his strength by 1000%, including speed, reflexes, and endurance. The side effect? If usage hit 100%, his body would be completely taken over by the demon. But below that threshold, the downsides were almost nonexistent.
If a powerful awakener got their hands on this skill, they could easily become an unstoppable monster. Still, the usage limit kept it risky—no one could guarantee they wouldn't one day fall into despair or rage beyond reason.
Eventually, Ronan shifted his gaze to the rest of the skill list.
Cooking and driving skills seemed tempting, but he shook his head. No point wasting skill points on trivial things right now. Better to save them for more combat skills that could be enhanced later.
Closing the system interface, Ronan looked down at the two 2-star soul beast corpses before him. Every soul beast carried something valuable inside.
Without hesitation, he crouched beside one of them. His hand swiftly tore through the beast's chest, slipping into the warm tissues and organs. His fingers searched for something hard within.
A smile spread across his face.
"Gotcha."
When he pulled his hand out, a fist-sized stone lay in his palm—a Soul Stone. Its surface shimmered faintly, with a gentle energy pulsing from within.
Soul Stones were the primary resource for cultivators. These stones came in four tiers: Low, Medium, High, and Profound. The higher the tier, the purer the energy it contained.
Ronan inspected his haul.
"Hm, six Soul Stones," he muttered, counting them one by one. "Four low-tier, two mid-tier, and a wolf's horn. Not bad."
He stashed everything into his backpack and stood up.
A cold breeze blew across his face, carrying the distinct scent of the forest.
He rolled his shoulders, stretching out his limbs.
"All right, time to go deeper."
With light steps, Ronan dashed farther into the forest.
---
The forest grew quieter and darker than before, sunlight unable to pierce through the dense canopy of towering trees.
There were still many forests in this world unexplored by humans—and the main culprit was, of course, the dimensional rift.
It had been over forty minutes since Ronan ventured deeper into the forest, yet he found nothing.
Rustle!
Ronan stopped in his tracks.
From the south, a sharp rustling—unnatural in sound—broke the silence. Something was tearing through the underbrush, smacking leaves, and snapping branches.
He slowed his pace, eyes narrowing as he focused on the direction of the noise.
The closer he got, the clearer it became. There were heavy impacts, groans, and deep, guttural growls.
A fight.
When he finally found a break in the trees that gave him a clearer view, his brow furrowed slightly.
In a small clearing illuminated by moonlight, two people were locked in battle with a giant mandrill-type monkey.
A two-star soul beast.
It stood over two meters tall, with thick black fur covering its muscular frame. Its jaw gaped wide, revealing two long fangs that glinted under the moonlight, dripping with thick venomous saliva.
Its eyes were red—brimming with killing intent.
Boom!
The beast's punch slammed into the ground, creating cracks in the hardened dirt—proof that even as a two-star, its raw physical power was no joke.
One of the people fighting was clearly exhausted.
An elderly man with long white hair tied back stood unsteadily. Under the moonlight, his face was drenched in sweat, and blood still flowed from a wound on his shoulder.
In front of him stood a young girl around 17 years old, with black hair tied in a ponytail, standing about 170 cm tall. Her clothes were ripped from claw marks, and fresh blood stained her left arm.
But her eyes remained locked forward—determined, unyielding.
"That mandrill has binocular vision. Try attacking its blind spots—behind the head, along the side," the old man said, panting.
"I'm trying, Grandpa!" the girl replied.
With sharp eyes, she dashed forward, swinging a short dagger in her hand swiftly.
Moonlight danced along the blade.
Slash!
The strike landed on the mandrill's knee, drawing blood and forcing a loud roar from the beast.
She didn't waste the chance. Following her grandfather's instructions, she maneuvered behind the mandrill, noticing that it was still focused on its wound.
"Gotcha!" she thought as the back of its neck became exposed.
She leapt like a tiger pouncing on prey, seizing the opportunity.
But unexpectedly, the mandrill swung its arm brutally to the side—right into her body.
CRACK!
Her body was flung sideways, smashing into a tree trunk hard enough to knock her out instantly. Several of her ribs were clearly broken.
"Zara!" the old man shouted in anguish, rushing forward, his hands trembling, glowing with a faint green light as he tried to use his healing ability.
But…
He himself was too gravely injured.
They wouldn't last much longer.
The mandrill grinned, bloodlust shining in its eyes. It stomped forward, leaping toward them with a massive fist ready to smash them both to death.
And then—
A fireball shot out from the shadows, slamming into the mandrill's side.
BOOM!
It exploded in a burst of heat.
The beast roared in pain, stumbling back several meters, frantically swatting at itself. Its thick fur caught fire easily, making it feel the heat even more intensely.
Smoke curled into the air.
The old man froze, breathing heavily, the weight of despair almost turning into resignation.
Then, from the shadows of the trees, someone stepped out.
Tall, wearing a simple jacket with light combat gear underneath. His backpack had already been dropped near the base of a tree.
Ronan.