The following morning, Nel woke up to find his house was empty. Moreover, it seemed like they had left in a hurry. They had left the bed undone—something Loui hated with a passion. She loved to keep things organized, almost as if she had an obsession with it.

Five points in endurance made sure that Nel wouldn’t suffer from hangovers. He woke up fresh and energetic. Nel picked up the handphone laying on the table next to the couch. There was a message from Loui explaining their reason for the abrupt departure. Apparently, they received a call from their superior from Aries, who had also arrived in the Vedan. They went to meet him.

Nel felt a bit worried as a bad feeling welled up in his heart. Nel wasn’t dumb. Even though he didn't know what was happening, he was sure it involved a large-scale conflict. Or else, what else could attract so many powerful people to a small isolated town like Vedan?

‘I hope nothing bad happens to Chen and Loui!’ Nel prayed in his heart. He also vowed to get stronger so that he could help them. As of the present, he was too weak to get involved with those people. The pressure that man exuded gave him the feeling akin to having a mountain weighing down on his shoulders and the look of disdain on his face—they gave Nel a profound sense of powerlessness. He was never going to forget them any time soon.

Nel’s eyes fell on the leather case. He suddenly remembered he had yet to open his gift. Last night, he had completely forgotten about it. His eyes betrayed his excitement as he picked up the case and retired to the couch. Putting it on the tea table, he took a deep breath and unlocked the case.

Click!

Nel’s eyes slowly widened to the point of popping out as the thing inside was revealed. The first thing he noticed was the blue-colored spear tip. It was made in the shape of a dagger and had curly braces shaped guard. The handle was a bit longer and had a mechanism to attack the spear shaft. The interesting part about it was countless alchemic runes drawn on its blade.

Nel picked up the dagger to inspect it in the light. It looked beautiful and deadly, a well-suited combination. He held it in a vice grip and performed a few moves to get used to its weight. Although he preferred spears as his primary weapon, Nel was adequately proficient with a dagger, as well. His trainer was none other than Loui, who was a dagger specialist. He had picked up a few tricks while watching her.

‘Feels amazing. The weight distribution was quite well balanced. As expected from Terka guys,’ Nel complemented the smithy. But the speartip’s amazingness was not its looks, but the alchemy circles on it. Nel stimulated his Magic Reserves as he pulled on the mana. As the energy flowed through his veins, Nel noted some changes in them. It had become tamer, denser, and easier to control. In short, a qualitative change had happened to it.

As the mana flowed to the weapon through his fingers, a greenish glowing veil appeared around the blade, surrounding it like a membrane. Moreover, the dagger had started vibrating.

The mild wind blew from out of nowhere, caressing his face gently. Then, suddenly a swallow cut appeared on his knuckles. “Ouch!” Nel screamed and stopped mana flow abruptly. The membrane disappeared, returning the dagger to its former appearance.

“Such sharp wind!” Nel commented, seeing the paper-thin cut on his knuckle. Although he didn't have invulnerable skin, his natural defense was not to be underestimated. Despite that, just a random gust was able to break open his skin. It was quite intriguing.

There was a parchment attached to the inner part of the case. Nel took it and started reading.

Name: Piercer Model 178 Type Spear

Tip: Dagger Model 2247 Type Spear

Tip Length: 8 inches

Tip Material: Starfall Alloy

Shaft Lenght: 2 meters

Shaft material: Bloodvore Wood

Rank: C+

Unique Ability:

[Razor Wind- Increases cutting and penetration power by 25%~100%(scales with mana)]

[Warning: Repeated use will decrease the material’s durability. It is advised to limit the usage of the ability to five times per day.]

Physical Parameters:

Attack Power: 400

Physical Penetration: 55

[Note: Soaking the spearshaft in monster blood will increase the wood’s durability.]

“Razor Wind! That's a strong ability,” Nel exclaimed in surprise. Alchemy had become the core and backbone of hunters. Relying on the principle of [Transmutation], the alchemists had managed to achieve a lot of extraordinary feats. The GED was their peak creation.

Similarly, the creation of weapons with special abilities was also a result of alchemist research. Nel marveled at such people who had done the impossible. Using the materials brought by hunters from the dungeon, they had created things to further increase their prowess.

Nel was quite satisfied with the ability. ‘If I use Wave, it’ll further increase the ability’s powers. With this, I might even solo a weaker Rank-II monster!’ Unknowingly, a smile lit up on Nel’s face.

Nel had no plans on joining any group for the time being. Since he was going to hunt alone, his limited strength will impede his rate of hunting. With this C+ ranked spear, Nel’s confidence grew to a new level. With increased battle capability, he can hunt stronger and rarer monsters. Ultimately it’ll improve his strength and also earn him big bucks.

Nel felt like he had hit the jackpot.

With excitement building up, he threw caution to the wind and headed for the dungeon on the east side. It was the same one where they hunted the minotaur. He had already decided on a target.

The 5-Star dungeon was located on the far east of the town and close to the edge of town. There were no human settlements nearby, only a few shops and a restaurant. After having his identity verified, Nel rushed into the dungeon like a dog with its tail between legs. He felt quite uncomfortable as he became the center of attention instantly. Especially the looks those girls at reception threw him made Nel quite uncomfortable.

Once inside, he shook his head and wiped his sweat. Those girls were too scary. If he wasn’t careful enough, he might get drawn into their pace.

Knowing the danger that lurked in the dungeon, Nel didn't relax his guard. He pulled his spear and held it firmly as he advanced towards the west side slowly. This 5-Star dungeon was separated into three parts, East, West, and North. Last time, he went East to hunt the minotaur. There was a ruined mine present in that direction. They had attracted that monster there to limit its scope movement.

This time, his destination was the mountains in the west. From the stone platform that was the entry gate to the dungeon, he could see a series of mountain ranges in the distance.

Nel circulated his mana as he walked at a brisk pace. Last night, and in the morning, he had managed to accumulate a few [Waves]. If he had a little more time, he would have created more. Unfortunately, he was unable to suppress his excitement.

“Grr!!”

Nel halted when he heard a familiar nasal growl coming from ahead. Up in the distance, stood a group of four short, green, and bald humanoid creatures with long noses and beady eyes. They wore animal skin loincloths to cover their modesty. In their hands, they had rusty swords and wooden shields as weapons.

“Goblins!” Nel exclaimed excitedly. He readied his spear and got ready for a short but intense battle.