Chapter 14 - Shadow Forest ( 2 )

I moved from my place and appeared some meters away. The shadow revealed its identity. It's a purple-coloured snake. Due to its colour matching with the surroundings, it is tough to find it.

It's a very venomous snake but its strength is not great. I moved my sword and killed it in seconds. Without wasting the time I continued to go deeper into the forest area.

The skill I used earlier was obtained from the reward given to me by the city council.

Even though they told me to take any manual skill I wanted the upper limit is tier 4 skill equal to the rank C skill book.

After lots of thinking I chose this skill.

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Name – instant movement

Rank – tier 4

Description – able to move from one place to another at a very fast speed. The speed of moving depends upon the user's original speed and the proficiency of the skill.

Note – using this skill continuously may cause damage to the body.

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As for what I got from the museum let's discuss it later.

I am in the tier 1 area which is equal to rank F. I killed the weak mutants who appeared in my way and soon entered into a tier 2 area.

The mutants became stronger compared to tier 1 mutants but I still managed to kill them with little to no effort.

My gear and skills allow me to challenge enemies a rank higher than my current rank.

While fighting the mutants I finally arrived in the tier 3 area where tier 3 monsters appear and the goal of my trip.

I checked my gear and changed my sword. I put the nightfury in the space and took out an old-looking sword.

It's the same sword I used in the museum. Due to this sword, I was able to defend myself against that man.

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Name – Vajra sword

Rank – C ( Rare )

Buff – increases the strength of the user by 190 %.

Skills –

Vajra smash ( C ) – summon a huge sword made up of mana and smash the opponents.

Vajra protection ( C ) – increases the stamina recovery speed of the user.

Vajra block ( D ) – able to block a skill or attack of D rank or below completely.

Note – all the skills are fully effective for the rankers less than or equal to the C rank.

===========

I still wonder why they keep such weapons in the museum. Well, it's okay for me as I got some good deals. Some limited people know that I use this weapon so exposing the sword is okay for me.

Also, I paid some money to change the appearance of this sword so even if people look at the sword may not be able to recognize it.

Let me look at my status.

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Name - David Adam (lv 0 )

Title - the soul of another world

Age - 16

Rank – E -

Potential - C

Affinity - shadow ( 65%)

Talent - shadow domain ( locked ), < not selected yet >

Bloodline - ???? ( sealed )

Stats

Strength - E

Agility - E

Stamina - E

Mana - E -

Mana recovery - E -

------ > Special state

Forbidden curse ( ???? ) - a strong curse born to slowly consume the holder's life force and give them a painful end. ( sealed for 10 days )

------ > Manual skills

Instant movement ( Tier 4 ) ( active ) ( beginner )

Move 5 meters away from your initial position at a fast speed.

Intermediate swordsmanship technique ( master )

A set of intermediate sword moves and styles.

Intermediate footwork ( elite )

A set of basic movement patterns and sets.

Intermediate martial arts ( elite )

A set of basic hand-to-hand combat moves and styles.

Intermediate herb gathering ( elite )

Gather medium-leveled herbs while preserving their properties.

 ------ > Skills ( 2/4)

scan ( EX ) - scan the surroundings or a certain area or a specific thing or any living being to know its information. Only some special level things or skills can counter this skill.

Parallel thinking ( E ) ( Gro.) ( Active / Passive ) ( Elite )

grants the user the ability of dual thinking. Can increase the thinking speed.

Skill points - 6

Quests - breaking the ban ( in progress )

Status - cursed

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I used the skill points to learn that tier 4 skill as I can not wait to learn it by myself. Apparently, you need to spend an equal amount of skill points which is the rank of skill you want to learn.

For example, you need to spend 1 skill point to learn a tier 1 skill and 2 points to learn a tier 2 skill and so on. The same conversion is used if you want to increase the proficiency of the skill.

I needed a skill that could be used to dodge or attack the enemy quickly and this skill meets my requirement perfectly.

The sword of Vajra gives a great boost in strength and confidence. I started to look for the target I wanted.

***

Somewhere deeper into the shadow forest. A group of people wearing the same clothes moving at a breakneck speed.

All have their faces covered in masks but everyone has the logo of something on their heart position.

It is the symbol of humanity. A photo of old Earth planet. In the memory of the once home of the humans, the federation decided to keep this as the symbol for a new start.

Though the current geographical structure of the earth is different from before humanity keeps the old image in the hope of returning to their peaceful days.

Suddenly the person running ahead signaled everyone to stop. He bent down and looked at the ground.

In the purple-coloured soil, some faint red spots appeared. The person touched the red spots and confirmed that it was human blood.

He spoke to his teammates.

" We have found the right direction. The enemy is not far from us. Be prepared to face them. I repeat everyone should stay alert..." ( ???? )

Just as the person was about to say something he sensed the intense danger right under his feet.

Before he could warn his teammates the ground beneath their feet exploded. A violet explosion throws everybody away.

Some suffered harshly while some who were away from the explosion were less affected.

Before they could get up and know what is happening various attacks hit them like rain.

Some unfortunate people died on the spot while some got seriously injured.

Some managed to keep themselves safe but the majority of people suffered more or less.

This attack managed to reduce the fighting power of the group by 30 %.

Suddenly all the attacks stopped. No sound can be heard except the groans of the wounded and the heavy breathing of everyone.

The person who was speaking earlier looked at the scene in front of him with indifference.

***

Unknown to the situation in some place in the forest I continued to my search journey.

After some minutes of searching, I found the target I was looking for.

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Name – iron tooth cat

Rank – tier 3 ( beginner )

Talent - none

Bloodline – shadow leopard ( 10 % )

Skills

Force bite – use the strong bite to break the bones and flesh of the opponent.

Big leap – jump a long distance using the strong leg muscles.

Weakness – skull, core near the right leg.

=========

It is a big cat that is almost in size of the leopard of my world.

Its bright long teeth shine in sunlight giving a chilling feeling.

Currently, it is eating something. Every mutant has a core in their body like humans.

While the human core is like an illusionary organ which exists in the same but different space mutants core is a part of their body.

Some say due to this mutants can learn how to use mana before human useing their core.

But this also makes their core a very weak part of their body as they might lose all their strength if their core is damaged.

Most rankers avoid hitting or damaging the core unless they have no other option as the core of the mutant can be used for various purposes.

However, harvesting the core is not easy as most mutants try to destroy their cores before dying.

I try to reach it without making any sound. Just as I entered the 2-meter area around It the cat mutant stopped eating and looked everywhere.

Soon it focused its gaze in my direction. It opened its bloody mouth and made a threatening gesture in my direction.

Damn, the cats still have superb sensitivity to their surroundings. I came out of my hiding spot and stood in front of it.

The mutant jumped onto me. It covered the distance between us in seconds. Its sharp claws are eager to cut my flesh.

But the mutant chooses the wrong opponent and method. I just swung my sword and retracted it.

I stepped aside as the mutant's body fell beside me. Due to inertia, the mutant body slid some distance and then came to a stop. While sliding its head got separated from its body.

I watched it in silence. Different from the dungeon monsters the mutants are real living creatures just like us humans.

I feel sad for killing them for no reason but soon throw these thoughts out of my mind.

This world is a dangerous one. If you do not get stronger someone will consume you to get stronger so no matter what getting stronger is not a wish but a basic need if you want to survive in this world.

I stored the mutant's body in the storage bag and continued to look for the new target.

Soon hours pass by and the sun starts to set.

I killed the two cat mutants and stored their bodies in the bag.

Seeing that it was getting dark I started to find a place to spend the night. The night in the wilderness is much more dangerous compared to the day as some nasty hunters get out to hunt for food.

After some searching, I found a suitable area. It is a cave.

Just as I approached the cave a giant figure came out of it.

I looked at it and used the scan.

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Name – raging wild boar

Rank – tier 3 ( middle )

Talent – none

Bloodline – shadow bear ( 20 % )

Skills –

Raging charge – charge towards the enemy at full speed and use the force to knock it out.

Mudguard – the whole body is covered in thick mud which increases the defence of the body.

Rage – once gets angry fall into a rageful state. In this state, the attacking power increases but the consumption of mana and stamina is increased and defence is decreased.

Weakness – right eye, core in its stomach.

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So the cave has its owner and a strong one too. I came out of my hiding spot and comforted the boar head-on. I need to end this battle fast and with little effort.

Boar looked in my direction and charged at me.

Well, a boar is a boar no matter how much it evolves.

I took a stance and looked at the incoming boar with full concentration.

Just as the boar was about to hit me it suddenly changed its path and ran deeper into the woods.

For some seconds I stood stunned on my spot.

I was prepared for the intense fight but things turned completely different.

Well, I did not go after the boar as the night time has started and wasting my energy on it is not the best option. What if some strong predator noticed our battle and came to watch the show?

Laughing at my jokes I entered into the cave. A strong smell hit my nose. What to expect from a wild cave that once belonged to a boar?

I took out a foldable broom and cleaned the space. I dumped all the trash just outside the cave as the boar excrement can stop other weaker creatures from appearing near the cave and if a strong creature comes to look for food then it will know the meaning of being humble.

After some quick cleaning and spraying some room freshener, the cave feels comfortable to spend the night.

I set up some devices at the entrance of the cave. The cave also has a hidden exit at the top of it. If some powerful mutant comes at night I can escape from there.

I set up a special device that made a spherical barrier around the whole area. This barrier can distort the view so that someone from outside can not see anything inside or see other images I want them to see.

I dumped the bodies of mutant cats and other mutants I hunted all day on a clean spot. Bodies are still fresh I took out some meat aside for my dinner.

After this, I took out a shadow key and placed it in the pile of corpses.