Taking on a Pack

Alex braced himself for the impending pain, yet its arrival did little to alleviate his misery.

Much like his other skills, the Beginner Combat Expert skill inundated him with a wealth of information.

It covered various martial arts, combat tactics, and techniques, providing guidance on reacting in different combat scenarios.

In contrast, the Focus skill yielded no information or discernible changes. What set it apart was its active nature, requiring manual toggling—unlike passive skills with automatic effects.

Unlike skills with passive benefits, Alex had to consciously activate and deactivate the Focus skill. This nuanced distinction made it stand out from his other skills.

The Minor Poison Resistance skill, on the other hand, bestowed upon him a trove of knowledge about poisons and toxic substances.

He could now easily identify common poisons, similar to the proficiency granted by the Gatherer skill in plants and flowers.

While gaining resistance to numerous poisons, it was important to note that he wasn't completely immune; rather, he became more tolerant to the most common and less potent toxins.

Upon acquiring all these items from the system, Alex was met with a new notification.

'Hmm, what is this?'

[The shop experience is full. The host can update the shop for new items.]

[Update Time: 1 hour]

[Update Cost: 75 SP]

[Does the host want to update the system shop?]

[Y/N]

"The shop update requires system points, and it's quite expensive too. Unfortunately, I don't have enough system points for it." Alex grumbled upon seeing the notification.

'The update cost is equivalent to killing 75 F-rank monsters.'

Uncertain about what to do with the shop update, Alex found himself short by 47 shop points.

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Moving on, after storing all the monster corpses, Alex found his mana reserves fully replenished. 

"This seems like an ideal place for practice. Let's get started." The inner dome of the cave proved excellent for honing his spellcasting skills.

With reduced concern about mana depletion, Alex initiated by casting <Dark Barrier> on himself, followed by unleashing <Dark Fire> and <Dark Lightning> a short distance away near the exit.

Empowered by heightened mana regeneration and increased magical prowess, he executed spells more efficiently, with greater impact.

'I've definitely noticed an increase in power and range.'

Observing the darker and more potent appearance of both fire and lightning, Alex continued casting until his mana dropped below 100 MP.

"The increased mana regeneration truly extends my endurance."

Regenerating 10 MP every minute significantly slowed the depletion of his mana reserves, granting him prolonged spellcasting capabilities.

As afternoon approached, Alex, feeling famished, exited the cave. Seeking shade under a tree, he quenched his thirst and had lunch, rejuvenating himself for the next round of spellcasting.

After a brief rest, he resumed casting the three spells until a notification signaled their achievement of E rank mastery.

"Now, let's elevate the mastery of this final spell."

Casting <Dark Ice>, Alex skillfully froze the entire cave from the inside, progressively walking backward.

Despite the impressive power and range of his ice spell on the first day of casting, it took nearly two hours to almost freeze the entire cave, and achieving E rank mastery.

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Alex currently found himself in the midst of the orange zone, precisely 8 kilometers away from the city gates. Opting for a change in hunting grounds, he decided to venture towards the borders of the red zone.

Eager to test a new spell and technique taught by Aurora, Alex had yet to find the opportunity to do so.

The spell seemed tailor-made for this time of the day, and E-rank monsters would serve as ideal targets for this new technique of his.

On his way to the red zone's borders, Alex encountered a handful of monsters—a mere two Horned Rabbits and a duo of Kobolds.

'It seems F rank monsters are no longer a match for me.'

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[The Host has killed an F rank Monster] X4

[+200 XP and +4 SP]

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According to the map, there was a location where a specific group of monsters always hunted, just 1 km deep into the red zone.

As Alex ventured deeper, the frequency of trees increased, accompanied by an escalation in their height and width. It was Alex's first time venturing so deep and far from the city.

Finally, Alex discovered what he had been searching for all this time—a Monster Wolf. This wolf was of a greyish hue, easily standing at 3 meters tall and weighing around 150 kgs, twice the weight of Alex.

A single pounce from this monster could prove fatal for Alex; one of its claws had the potential to rip him into pieces. Yet, fearlessly, Alex observed it from the sidelines.

Careful not to make a sound, Alex underestimated the sharp senses of the monster before him.

The Monster Wolf immediately sensed a presence around him. With just one look, it could tell that Alex was hiding on the sides, behind the trees.

Acknowledging that his cover was blown, Alex emerged from his hiding spot and locked eyes with the Monster Wolf.

No words were exchanged as the monster growled and lunged at Alex with breakneck speed, aiming for a fatal attack.

Prepared for this situation, Alex instantly casted <Dark Lightning>, paralyzing the Monster Wolf, causing it to fall with a resounding thud and emitting a mournful death cry.

"And here I was thinking I could end you in an instant." Alex lamented, still vigilant of his surroundings.

With the intention of preserving the Monster Wolf's hide to sell it to the guild, Alex ended the paralyzed creature with a swift stroke of his sword.

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[The Host has killed an E rank Monster]

[+100 XP and +5 SP]

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'So, I can get as many shop points equivalent for 5 F-rank monsters for a single E-rank monster, but the experience points are only doubled.'

Alex was abruptly pulled from his thoughts when he spotted a pack of four Monster Wolves not far away, with the lone corpse of the Monster Wolf he had just defeated near his feet.

"The monster guidebook did mention that you guys hunt in packs. I guess it's true now, seeing you. Well, shit then!"

While Alex's words carried a hint of fear upon suddenly encountering four of these creatures together, yet inwardly, he was eager to take on this group.

The earlier Monster Wolf was evidently part of this pack, and its death cry, along with the loud noise of it falling, had drawn the attention of the other members.

"<Dark Ice>" With this, Alex first froze the legs of the newly arrived Monster Wolves, preparing for his next attack.

'It's time for Overcharge.'

As he readied for the impending assault, Alex recalled his conversation with Aurora from the previous night.