The forest bear rushed forward like a boulder, swinging a paw larger than Dexter's head. The massive claw had missed, but its force struck Dexter as he dodged, sending him crashing into the ground. Off instinct, he rolled with his shoulder, the reinforced case of his guitar protecting the instrument from damage. But dirt smacked him in his face as he exited the maneuver, causing him to panic in the brief instance where he was blinded.

Then the light from the sun ruptured, flowing with waves of energy that highlighted his surroundings in crisp detail. He had activated his Perception skill Shade Sight just in time as another paw was heading his way, moving with the speed of a berserker. But this time he sent energy to the new pathways anchored in his legs, boosting the efficacy of his Dexterity.

Dust kicked up into the air as Dexter soared over the giant bear, who lifted its paw from the meter wide crater it had formed. As he fell, his reinforced spear thrummed with Iron Shroud, and a blade of wind aura slashed down with the weight of gravity behind it. The new ability wasn't a part of his Wind Scythe skill, rather it was the work of his wind aura blended with his Strength attribute—an insight gained thanks to his meditation skill.

Dexter unleashed a barrage of strikes as he landed, but the bear was a tank, charging at him as the blades bit deep in its fur. With a thrust, Dexter met the charge head on, and watched as a wind bullet in the shape of a spearhead smacked into the bear's face. To his surprise, the bear shrugged that off as well, refusing to slow as blood trickled into its eye.

Flowing backwards, Dexter unleashed another series of wind blades, backed with the power of Advanced Wind Manipulation. This time, the blades expanded in size, leaving deep grooves on the forest floor. With the attack, he had finally managed to slow the beast down, leaving large lacerations in its hide.

[ Adept Wind Manipulation proficiency has drastically increased! ]

His energy channels resonated as the gust flowed through him, slamming a dozen more wind blades into the grizzly marauder.

[ Adept Wind Manipulation proficiency has leveled! - Basic: lvl 5 ]

Shade Sight marked the weak points for Iron Shroud, and Munchkin flowed out of Dexter's robe like a hammer ready to hit a nail. The Wind Scythe's size had remained the same, though its tenacity had doubled, and the churning vortex pulsed with streaks of azure light. Each time the blade bit deep into the wounds Dexter made, the bear roared in anger, unable to find a release for its frustration.

Concentrating his attacks on its neck and chest, Dexter got ready to end the fight, when its roar shook the ground. He had expected the ability, having seen the tremors from the smaller marauders, but the impact had far surpassed what he expected. The skill was similar to the Earthquake perk he obtained through his bond with Grav. However, unlike Dexter, the marauder's version didn't put it out of commission.

With blood-red eyes intent on crushing Dexter into a pulp, the elite marauder swung its massive paw, with claws that had increased in size. Munchkin met the blow as Dexter leapt backwards, only to shatter under the savage blow.

The energy recoil Dexter received caused him to falter in pain, his eyes going wide, as he had never thought such a thing was possible. With Wind Scythe forced into a cooldown, Dexter had to wait for the skill to gather into a pristine blade once more, draining energy from him to repair itself.

He could flee and return when the blade had fully formed, but now was the perfect time for his spear to shine, so Dexter started circulating wind aura around the spearhead as he dashed behind the shaggy titan. With a single thrust, a wave of the wind energy blasted forward, and the blade tore into the bear's leg like a gun shooting into a wound at point-blank range. He wasn't able to follow through, however, as it seemed the bear's roar had the added effect of doubling its pain tolerance.

With the same ferocity used to crush Munchkin, the bear turned, swatting at Dexter as if he was a fly and its claws were the flyswatter. But still, Dexter's speed was unmatched, and his spear continued to shoot into the bear's hide. Every thrust held a note of Adept Wind Mastery, flowing into a tempo that soon even he had trouble managing. There were too many notes to consider, too many draws on his energy from his skills to his enhanced speed, and channels that harnessed the power of Advanced Spear Mastery.

But the azure energy shrouding his spear continued to rise, biting chunks out of the bear, until a series of notifications flashed by.

[ Synergy Increased! - Advanced Spear Mastery: 1% ]

[ Synergy Increased! - Advanced Spear Mastery: 2% ]

[ Synergy Increased! - Advanced Spear Mastery: 3% ]

And as Dexter increased the pressure, his spear continued to dance, weaving into forms that pushed him further down the path of the spear. His entire body harmonized with the skill like never before, and he marveled at the difference a single foot placement could make—at the strength unleashed from his core as he pivoted to avoid an attack and render one of his own.

[ Synergy Increased! - Advanced Spear Mastery: 4% ]

His spear was the wind that would erode a mountain.

[ Synergy Increased! - Advanced Spear Mastery: 5% ]

[ Adept Wind Manipulation proficiency has increased! ]

[ Adept Wind Manipulation proficiency has drastically increased! ]

[ Adept Wind Manipulation proficiency has leveled! - Basic: lvl 6 ]

[ Iron Shroud proficiency has drastically increased! ]

With a growl, the hulking marauder swayed on its feet then collapsed out of exhaustion, pushing dust into the air. Feeling exhausted himself, Dexter quickly walked over and ended the beast. But as the energy coursed through him, raising his level to the brink of 21, his legs gave out and a jolt of electricity caused him to go into shock. He could barely make out the notifications that hovered over him.

[ Elite slain: Kanuk Grand Claw - lvl 34. *Bonus experience awarded! ]

[ Quest updated: Adept Rogue (Bronze) ]

[ Quest: Adept Rogue (Bronze) ]

Fill the Path Token with Vital Energy. Level: 10/10. Elites slain: 2/10 Reward: +15 Dexterity.

[ Quest updated: Giant Hunter II (Title) ]

Kill 10 awakened beasts over 10 levels higher than your own. 2/10 Reward: Choice between 3 compatible skills (Ranked).

The agonizing current caused Dexter to pass out. When he woke, the seal on his shoulder continued to burn, though the pain had lessened quite a bit. He ate a health bar, hoping that would fix his condition, but it sadly had no effect. Was this what Grav had warned him about?

After a minute observing the seal, Dexter discovered that it was siphoning his energy. That caused him to feel like the world's biggest hypocrite when an image of Yassa appeared in his mind. But unlike her, the seal released his energy back into his body. The agonizing episode had refined his vitality. Unfortunately, he couldn't say that he welcomed another round of treatment. He'd much prefer the visions that the seal brought on, granting him insight into his past life.

Eating a stamina bar to recover from exhaustion, Dexter finally read over the notifications, then grabbed the giant marauder's skill stone.

[ Skill Stone: Shattering Roar (Bronze) ]

Dexter placed the Skill Stone in his pocket, planning to offer it as a contribution to the Safe Zone, when he sensed a hint of the marauder's aura in the air. He looked around with Shade Sight and found the location of the aura. It flowed from the thicket of trees the marauder had come from. A closer inspection revealed that the location was the beasts' nest, and the culprit was a bronze treasure box waiting for him to open it.

"You don't have to tell me twice," he said, eager for the loot. The box was small, but the aura emitted from it was intense. To his surprise, he opened the box and found a single leather glove inside.

"Who do you think I am, Michael Jackson?"

[ Marauder's Sleeve (Bronze): A glove infused with the might of Kanuk Grand Claw.

*Effect: Shrapnel Blade - Conjure a throwing knife that explodes upon impact. 5/5 Claws available. Infuse vital energy to refill Claws. ]

Dexter couldn't help but notice the glove fit perfectly. Was it specifically tailored for him? The thought caused him to wonder about Vräodhir Shade Sight. He was sure the night stalker hadn't dropped anything besides the Shade Sight Skill Stone that night. Perhaps there was an item waiting for him within the creature's lair.

Shugging, Dexter imbued energy into the glove and summoned a throwing dagger that resembled Kanuk's twelve-inch claws. The blade was surprisingly heavy, and it had no form of aim assist when he threw it. But after it slammed into a tree and carved out a crater, sending shrapnel flying about, he was quite sure he wouldn't have to worry about that for now—the weapon was noob-friendly.

Rather than returning to Skyfall, Dexter pushed further into the forest, hunting the strongest predators he could find. Fortunately, the rest of the day had gone smooth, and he collected a ton of Skill Stones on the hunt. Two days later, he was stalking an awakened forest constrictor, having learned about the snakes after it killed one of Yassa's followers.

Now he found himself within another part of the forest where thousands of snakes gathered. The blades conjured by Adept Wind Manipulation soared with his Shrapnel Blades as the snakes darted towards him. They slithered over each other like worms, and the forest green of the forest shimmered off their scales, breaking up their forms. As far as he was concerned, a wave was surging towards him.

"Floor is lava," Dexter said, and leapt into the trees. Sitting near a bird's nest, he started raining down wind blades that crashed onto the forest floor, bisecting the snakes in half. Yet, the tide continued.

[ Forest Constrictor - lvl 17 ]

[ Forest Constrictor - lvl 11 ]

[ Forest Constrictor - lvl 21 ]

The snakes swept over the ground like a plague, occasionally turning on their own brethren and squeezing the life out of each other.

"Damn, I haven't seen a grip like that since Asa Akir—!"

Dexter's senses screamed as a shadow in his peripheral twisted and leapt in the air, coming straight for him. He didn't even have time to leap away, and simply leaned over, allowing gravity to take control. As he fell, he saw the horned shadow's fangs snap open, clamping into the branch that he was sitting on.

[ Ebisu the Night Terror, Shadow Viper - lvl ?? ]

"Night Terror," Dexter muttered, quickly leaping off the branch he fell onto. He wasn't sure what was worse. The fact that the serpent had question marks over its head, or that the creature was an overachiever—looking to obtain the title Day Terror as well. But it was odd, the adventuring parties in Skyfall had detailed maps of the area for a week now, and none had mentioned such creatures. It then dawned on Dexter why no one had mentioned them. Fortunately, there only seemed to be one as no other shadow aura stood out to him, so Dexter darted through the forest leading it away from the Safe Zone.

However, he only managed to make it about a dozen or so feet when he landed on another tree and Munchkin leapt out of his robe on its own accord, whirling into action. With his heart racing, Dexter ducked, bringing his spear to bear and unleashing a wind slash. It carved deep into the tree bark, causing splinters to fly into the air.

The attack missed though Dexter wasted no time flaring Shade Sight and pushing on his aura, leapfrogging towards a tree that was five meters away. He was sure there wasn't another of the shadow vipers around after checking with his Perception skill. He even thought to look deep into the shadows; knowing full well how hard that aura was to spot after sparring with Alina. But even with his precaution, a snake had appeared near him. Perhaps there were more snakes than he thought?

As Dexter was about to land, his eyes strained, scouring the tree for signs of the shadow vipers. However as before, there was nothing… until he landed and a hissing sound caused hair to stand up on his neck. For the first time, he had met a Dexterity main that surpassed his speed, and it sent chills down his spine. Although Dexter didn't hesitate and used Adept Wind Manipulation to fuel Wind Scythe with speed. The blade blurred as a result… only to slash into the shadows after-image.

Panicking, Dexter pushed his pathways to their limit and managed to avoid getting bit by its black fangs due to his rising spear that smacked into the snake like a baseball bat, sending it careening into the distance. His form was rushed, but he scored a hit with the edge of the blade, leaving a streak of red on the tip of his spear. The good thing about the creature having such speed was that its Constitution wasn't as robust.

After spending most of the week in the forest, Dexter noticed the strongest beasts focused primarily on two main attributes, and if you discovered those you could exploit their lack of balance. Kanuk was a predator that had overwhelming Strength and Constitution, but those strengths had also become its greatest liability due to the fact that it couldn't effectively apply them.

It reminded Dexter to not become a glass cannon because no matter how fast he was, one good hit would be all it took to cripple him. And he planned to do exactly that to the shadow viper, launching a wind slash as it flailed through the air. But as it crashed into a net of leaves, it vanished in a flash of shadow aura, leaving the tree to take the blow in its stead.

The branch crashed down to the forest floor as Dexter wondered if his eyes betrayed him. He had focused in on the viper's aura, ready to watch it slither away from his incoming attack, while he prepared another one. But the opposite had actually occurred. It didn't move at all.

"Teleportation…" Dexter said, realizing that the viper's main focus was Magic. Yet, its speed was still undeniable as it leapt out of his shadow with black mist trailing around its fangs.