'Damn!' Draven remembered that monsters in the green mist had acute hearing.
He sprang to his feet and ran to retrieve his sword.
Draven quickly began cracking open the wolves' skulls to extract their monster crystals. When he was done, he absorbed them, adding an additional 24 mana to his total.
Just as he prepared to leave the mist, an idea struck him.
His eyes roamed over the dead wolves with their cleaved skulls.
A crazed gleam flashed in his eyes. 'Perfect bait. I can't miss this opportunity to speed up my ascension.'
Draven quickly scaled another tree, a few meters away from the dead wolves. He realized that staying directly above the monsters could be dangerous with the short trees after the ordeal with the wolves.
Steadying himself on a branch in the shadowy embrace of the treetop, Draven activated [Stasis].
'At this rate, I'll become an assassin for real.'
Peering through the gaps in the leaves with Soul Eyes, Draven saw numerous white lights in the distance, all moving toward his position.
His heart pounded in his chest, and the urge to flee surged through him. One wrong move, and he'd be overwhelmed by the incoming horde.
But remembering his condition, Draven pushed down the fear. He needed to seize every opportunity to beat the deadline. No one had ever ascended a rank in thirty days.
Pushing aside all distractions, Draven waited with bated breath.
Soon, a spotted, quadrupedal creature burst into the vicinity at blistering speed. It scanned the area warily, its gaze sweeping the trees.
Draven remained absolutely still, not even daring to breathe. His mind raced as he assessed the new threat.
'This thing is even faster than the wolves.'
When it didn't spot anything, the monster approached the dead wolves, sniffing their skulls as if searching for something.
Draven's heart skipped a beat.
'The monster crystals.'
When it didn't find what it was looking for, the creature glanced around again before burying its head in one of the wolves—the first one that had sensed Draven early—and began feasting on its body.
Draven watched in silence.
'That one must've been more nutritious. I remember it gave me 7 mana, while the others gave 4 despite all being Second Orders. According to what I saw on the forum, monsters one Order lower only give 1 mana, and two Orders lower give nothing. Same-rank monsters give between 4 to 7 mana. It might increase for higher ranks.'
Draven pushed the distraction aside.
'This thing is faster, but I don't know if it's as strong as the wolves. All I know is it might sense me when I pull the bow, and it's faster than the wolves, so it can dodge if it notices me.'
Draven glanced from the corner of his eye and saw more white flames approaching.
'I need to act now and kill it before it reacts. Instant pull and fire!'
Holding his bow steady, Draven nocked the arrow and steadied his breath.
He abruptly raised the bow, pulling the string taut.
The monster's head had just begun to turn when Draven released the shot.
A blue streak cut through the air and impaled its skull before it could react.
[Second Order Transient rank killed: Stride Leopard.]
[+1 Soul Vitalis.]
Draven used the glowing arrow, still infused with Soul Vitalis, to carry the monster up the tree with Psyche Weave. He extracted the crystal and tossed the body back to the wolves' location.
[+5 Mana absorbed.]
Then he activated [Stasis] and went still again, waiting for the next target.
The next monster appeared a minute later—a red quadruped monster. It just screeched to a halt, when Draven fired an enhanced arrow. The arrow struck its neck as it tried to dodge, killing it instantly.
[Second Order Transient rank killed: Scavenging Hound.]
[+1 Soul Vitalis.]
'Now, this is the lethality of Mental Serration.'
Draven used the arrow to carry the monster up, extracted the crystal, and tossed the body back.
[+4 Mana absorbed.]
Another Scavenging Hound appeared moments later.
Draven killed it with a single shot before it could react.
He ignored the notification as yet another monster emerged—a lithe creature with glossy night-black fur streaked with faint silver patterns.
Draven pulled the bowstring and fired, but the monster dodged with a sharp twist. It raised its head, its slit green eyes locking onto Draven's position with wild brutality. Then it shot forward like a loose arrow.
'Damn! Faster than the leopard.'
Draven recalled the arrow and fired again, but the monster dodged effortlessly, not even slowing down.
It dodged three more shots before reaching the base of Draven's tree.
Draven recalled the arrow but held his fire.
'I should wait for it to jump. It can't maneuver mid-air.'
The monster raised its head, its green eyes locking onto Draven's with a predatory glare. Then it began climbing the tree, using the trunk to block Draven's line of sight and create a blind spot.
'Screw me…'
Draven activated Soul Eyes, but he couldn't see through the tree.
The urge to jump and run surged through him, but he reined in his nerves.
'I can't escape it. Fast speed and super reflexes…'
He quickly controlled one of his swords to hover above him, hidden from view in the covering of leaves.
The monster lunged from behind the tree, its claws extended. Draven fired an arrow, but the creature twisted mid-air, dodging the shot effortlessly. It landed on a branch and dashed toward him.
Draven switched to a crouching position, gripping his sword tightly.
When the monster reached him, Draven swung his blade, but the creature twisted its body like a boneless serpent, vaulting over the strike and slamming into Draven. The impact made him lose focus.
Shaking off the disorientation, Draven felt sharp fangs sink into the neck of his armor.
He quickly commanded the hovering sword to drop. It plunged through the monster's back, sending it crashing to the ground.
Draven focused on it, despite lying still on the ground.
Few seconds later, the notification rang.
[Second Order Transient rank killed: Phantom Lynx.]
[+1 Soul Vitalis.]
[+1 Gear received.]
Draven exhaled, wiping the blood from his neck and feeling the cracks in his armor.
He snapped back to reality and looked around, spotting numerous white flames approaching his position.
'Hell.'
He dismissed all his weapons except his swords, jumped down, and quickly extracted the monster crystals.
Draven ran towards the other Scavenging Hound, planning to collect the monster crystal, but froze when he saw the outlines of countless monsters closing in.