Changing Winds

In the heart of an old temple, a horde of Lycan monsters huddled together, their eyes darting anxiously and their teeth audibly chattering.

Abruptly, a flurry of footsteps echoed through the air, igniting a wave of sheer panic among the creatures.

Roaring in fury, they swiftly turned towards the source of the sound, without realizing that the intruder had already infiltrated their midst. 

Conceal, capability enabling the user to hide their presence.

Dora raised his right hand, initiating the haunting symphony of death's howl.

|Soul Stone - Scent Identifier: the user's scent is amplified, ability to locate the target by its scent - range: 600 meters|

|Elemental Stone: Strength|

|Soul Stone - razor claw: strike with high penetration force - possibility of inflicting bleed|

|Elemental Stone: Speed|

|Elemental Stone: Accuracy|

|Elemental stone...

The cloud of energy stones gradually disappeared, freeing the young man's figure.

1 year had passed since the awakening of Sloth's blessing and the results of Dora's intense training were visible.

His hair grew longer, adding an ambiguous charm to his feminine face, but the biggest change remained in him. He looked at the palms of his hands, slowly narrowing his eyes.

"That should be 1007 accuracy stones now...I can try that."

A distant roar echoed through the air, gradually approaching as Dora's hand started emitting a crimson light.

"Toughen up, I need a strong guinea pig."

The massive bear lunged towards Dora, its jaws gaping wide like a cavern ready to consume him whole. However, the frigid air that surrounded them was the only victim of the bite.

Dora, positioned above the beast's head, clenched his fist tightly, a radiant glow emanating from within.

In a split second, the bear attempted to lift its head, but before it could react, Dora's punch landed with an earth-shattering force, driving the top of its skull deep into its own body.

A shock wave shook the place, followed by the heavy fall of the monster. Dora landed on its body and observed his reaction, and when the glow of the energy stones appeared, he showed a smile.

"It worked, it's definitely a critical hit!" He looked at his fist with satisfaction.

"So that means I need to assimilate 1000 stones to get my full 100% effect, so if I get 1000 defense stones and status ailments I should be invincible!...against monsters of my rank of course."

He began to assimilate the bear stones after evaluating them.

|Soul Stone - Hammer arm: increases hit damage|

|Elemental Stone: Strength|

|Soul Stone - thick grease: significantly reduces damage received|

"Oh? So it had a good defense? Aren't I too strong now?" He took a deep breath and placed a hand on his chest.

"I don't feel tired at all, that should mean I have assimilated a lot of stamina stones... I should definitely check them out more."

He was feeling in great shape and was now used to leading dozens of raids a day, but he decided to take a break now to return to his family.

"This was the 7th synthetic rift only during the morning anyway, I'll do 10 more before night, if I could stay awake maybe I could even get 15."

Just 2 months ago he would have spent every hour here creating and clearing rifts until fatigue got the best of him, but after so many raids he lost the ability to be exhausted in his rifts.

"The rifts I'm creating are becoming too easy to clear now, it should mean I'm close to my max as an E-rank."

He walked, keeping his attention fixed on his hands.

"When this happened in my past life, I couldn't get any stronger because I needed a Player, but in this world, they shouldn't exist. I have their power within me and there's no Sin Avatar since the Queen is here..if only I had a way to check my stats like the system."

He couldn't help but let out a deep breath. After raiding alone several times a day for a year, the only certainty he had was that his power was increasing significantly, but he was becoming terribly curious about the results of his efforts.

Was he really strong? Stronger than the past him at the same age? He was absorbed in these questions but he hardly had time to think, as he arrived home he noticed a car parked nearby.

"Hm?...is this another anomaly? I'm sure no one in the village could...Oh! crap, I forgot!"

Dora just realized that this day marked a special event. He rushes into the house and discovers a small group in the living room: his parents, Gloria, and a new face who left the young boy frozen for a few seconds.

Rudy and Malia gestured for the boy to join them.

"Ah, there you are, where have you been? You can't keep our guest waiting like that."

"Sorry Dad, I was...practicing."

"I know, darling, but please don't forget the people who move heaven and earth for us. Ria has a very busy schedule."

Gloria chugged her teacup and took a few sips, then she opened one eye and smiled at Dora.

"It's okay Mal, I don't mind having to wait if it's for someone so hardworking, you keep getting better every month, it's getting suspicious, what kind of training are you doing? "

She teased him as usual, once a month Gloria came to see Dora and determine the path he should follow as an emissary and the training he should take.

This was the plan at first until he was a teenager, but within a few months, Dora became stronger to the point where Gloria simply decided not to influence him in any way.

"It's just normal training...maybe Dad's tutoring is paying off?"

"You're not going to avoid school with your boot-licking, son."

"Ugh…"

Gloria laughed a little, along with the person next to her.

"What do you think? Isn't it interesting?

The woman next to her coughed a little and looked at the young boy with her teasing blue eyes. She gave him a smile and nodded.

"Indeed, Mistress Gloria, with all your description, I was expecting a very cute boy but now I feel jealous."

"Come on, you know what I'm talking about…"

The woman in the servant outfit laughed once more and after a final sip of tea, she turned her gaze back to Dora.

"I don't think there's much to say, if this boy really is the same newbie you talked about and he grew up like that in a just few months, then I don't think you need my approval."

Rudy and Malia looked at the servant with wide eyes, Malia began to tremble all over her body with a quivering smile.

"Ria...does that mean...that's it, ok? Are you saying you're fine with that???"

Rudy crossed his arms, a proud smile on his lips.

"Great job, Dora, you are truly amazing."

The poor boy was completely lost in this exchange, not that he could pay attention anyway, the sight of this new individual filled him with deep anxiety.

Gloria put down her cup and adjusted Wendy's position in her arms.

"Ah, you didn't know this before I asked your parents not to tell you, but let me introduce you to one of my greatest friends and confidants, Eryl, an Examiner of the Kingdom's emissaries."