Chapter 11: The Sniper of the Jungle (Part 1)
It had been three days since the family began working in their private world. The reality of their situation was proving more exciting than they could have ever imagined. The air smelled of fresh pine and damp earth, and every day felt like a grand adventure.
Their leveling speed was completely off the charts. Anyone would be energized by this kind of rapid growth. Without even setting foot deep into the dangerous jungle to hunt, Randolf and Aurora had already reached Level 20 just by building their base. Ran, on the other hand, had hit Level 15, while his younger sister Mia trailed slightly at Level 13.
The difference in experience points was a special feature of the System. As a Lord, Ran gained a higher percentage of experience from the actions of his subordinates. Combined with the passive skill **[Family]**, their collective growth was shooting through the roof.
By now, both of Ran's parents had unlocked their third skills. As their levels climbed, the power of their abilities grew right alongside them. His father, Randolf, had unlocked a skill called **[Dash]**. It perfectly matched his double jump. With the right combination of jumping, double-jumping, and dashing, Randolf could literally stall in the air for up to ten seconds, changing directions mid-flight. Ran half-suspected his dad would unlock actual flying later down the line.
Aurora, his mother, had unlocked **[Replenish]**. This amazing ability restored mana to a target. She was leaning heavily into a pure support-type build, cementing her role as the absolute backbone of their family's survival.
Ran was eager to hit Level 20 himself. Back at his school on Earth, Level 50 was the baseline for a low-tier instructor. Seeing how fast they were growing proved just how absurdly strong they were going to be.
"It all comes down to our Martial Innate Souls," Ran said during breakfast, drawing a circle in the dirt with a stick. "Mom and Dad, you both have Normal Martial Innate Souls. That doesn't mean you are weak, but it means your skills are standard. The power output is normal, and the skill types are common, like jumping or giving mana."
"Hey, my jumping is very cool," Randolf protested, taking a loud bite of a juicy, cherry-like jungle fruit.
"It is cool, Dad," Ran laughed. "But look at Mia. Her Martial Innate Soul is Epic rarity. That is why it is truly effective and powerful. Her skills have a wider range, extra effects, and she can do things Normal souls simply can't. The difference lies in the sheer force of the skills and the rare skill types."
Ran's expression turned serious but hopeful. "I am explaining this because we have to find more Martial Tier Upgrade Potions. Finding those potions is one of our main goals. We are going to find them and upgrade both of your souls from Normal to Epic, or even higher."
"So, basically, I'm awesome," Mia grinned, puffing out her chest proudly.
"You have potential," Ran corrected her with a smirk. "But staying safe behind walls won't help us reach it. Our base has evolved into a nice small camp. We have wooden fences, a watchtower, and a storage shed. Now, we need to step into the wild and capture our first unit."
Ran paused, looking at his family seriously. "But remember, we cannot just beat the unit up. If we punch it too hard, we might kill it. We need it alive to capture it. We will have to be smart."
For the next two hours, the family worked together crafting traps. They used strong, thick vines from the jungle to weave heavy nets. Randolf used his camp shovel to dig small pitfalls, while Aurora carefully tied tripwires using thin, invisible plant fibers.
Once they were armed with ropes, nets, and tools, they finally crossed the tree line into the dense, tropical forest.
Ran moved silently ahead, acting as the scout. Suddenly, he raised a fist. The family stopped instantly.
"This... this is actually perfect," Ran whispered, ducking behind a massive, moss-covered tree trunk.
He pointed through the leaves. About thirty feet away, in a small clearing, a creature stood with its back to them. It was a dwarf-like beast with bulging ears and tattered, primitive clothes. Strapped firmly to its back was a massive, oversized sniper rifle that looked like it belonged in a war zone, not a jungle. One of its eyes was completely replaced by a permanently bulging, mechanical magnifying glass.
Ran quickly opened his System menu.
> **[New Beast Detected: Sniper Beast]**
> **[Rarity: Epic]**
> **[Level: 10]**
"Level 10," Ran murmured, creeping back to his family. "It's an Epic unit called a Sniper Beast. Perfect for us. But listen closely: they are 'glass cannons'—deadly from far away, but very fragile up close. If we hit it too hard, we will kill it. It's a sniper. Snipers hate close combat. If I charge at it, it will not charge back. It will immediately jump backward to create distance so it can use its long-range gun. We will use that instinct against it. We set the trap *behind* it."
Randolf nodded, a wide grin spreading across his face. "Smart boy."
He took the heavy vine net and climbed up a nearby tree using his double jump, hiding quietly in the thick branches right behind the clearing. Aurora and Mia crept through the bushes, holding the ends of a tripwire rope, positioning themselves directly behind the beast's likely escape path.
"I will spook it," Ran whispered.
Ran stepped out from behind the tree and intentionally snapped a thick branch under his boot. *Crack!*
The Sniper Beast's giant magnifying eye twitched. It spun around, letting out a high-pitched snarl. The moment it saw Ran standing there, its survival instincts kicked in. Just as Ran predicted, it did not charge. Instead, its quick, nimble legs pushed off the ground, leaping backward to create distance while its hands rapidly unslung the massive rifle from its back.
"Now!" Ran yelled.
Aurora and Mia pulled the rope as hard as they could. The invisible tripwire snapped tight right behind the beast's ankles just as it landed from its backward leap.
The Sniper Beast let out a surprised squeak as it tripped backward, falling hard onto the dirt.
"Incoming!" Randolf roared from above.
He dropped from the tree branches like a boulder, casting the heavy vine net right over the beast. However, the beast panicked. It thrashed wildly under the heavy vines, its finger slipping on the trigger of its gun. *Bang!* A bullet shot harmlessly into the dirt, but the violent kickback of the heavy gun, combined with the beast twisting violently inside the tight net, caused a loud *snap*.
The Sniper Beast let out a terrible shriek of pain. Its leg was bent at a completely unnatural angle. The trap and its own panicked thrashing had severely broken its leg. Deep red blood began to pool on the dirt.
"Oh no! We hurt it too badly!" Aurora cried out, rushing forward. "If it loses all its health and dies, we can't capture it!"
The beast was thrashing in pure agony, trying to bite at the net.
"Mia! Keep it still!" Ran ordered.
"I'm on it!" Mia shouted. She closed her eyes, and a brilliant, warm light erupted from her body.
This was the power of her Epic Martial Innate Soul. The bright light wrapped around her like a cocoon. Suddenly, magnificent wings colored in vibrant shades of blue, purple, and gold burst from her back. Beautiful, glittering line tattoos traced down her arms and across her face, glowing with magical energy. When she opened her eyes, they had completely changed color to a bright, piercing yellow!
She couldn't actually fly yet—her level was still too low to lift her off the ground—but she looked incredibly intimidating. Running forward on foot, she waved her hands over the thrashing beast. "**Paralyze Powder!**"
With a powerful flap of her new butterfly wings, she sent a soft, sparkling dust raining down over the Sniper Beast. The moment the dust touched the beast's skin, its muscles locked up. Its painful thrashing stopped immediately. It could still breathe and blink its giant eye, but it couldn't move a single inch.
"Wow," Randolf gasped, staring at his glowing daughter. "That is incredibly effective."
Ran nodded, feeling very proud of her. "Now, Mom, Mia, heal it! We need it alive!"
Aurora placed her hands over the beast's broken leg. "**Replenish!**" she chanted. A soothing green aura flowed from her palms, transferring her mana into pure life energy for the beast.
At the same time, Mia used her second skill. "**Healing Dust!**"
A golden powder fell from her flapping butterfly wings, mixing with Aurora's green magic. Before their very eyes, the terrible bone break began to shift back into place. The bleeding stopped, and the wound closed up, leaving only a faint scar.
The Sniper Beast blinked its large eye, looking confused. It was no longer in pain, but it was still totally paralyzed by the powder.
"Great job, teamwork," Ran smiled. He walked over to the helpless beast and summoned a blue Basic Orb into his hand.
"The process of capturing a beast requires it to be severely weakened or fully subdued so it cannot resist," Ran explained to his family. "Since it is paralyzed and injured, the capture will not fail."
He pressed the cold, crystalline surface of the orb against the beast's chest. A glowing magical circle appeared in the dirt beneath the creature. The Sniper Beast's physical body dissolved into a stream of blue light, lifting off the ground and getting sucked directly into the glowing orb.
*Ding!*
> **[Congratulations! Sniper Beast (Level 10) captured.]**
> **[Experience Distributed.]**
> **[Mia has reached Level 14!]**
> **[Ran has reached Level 16!]**
> **[Loot Acquired: Blueprint - Advanced Workbench]**
Ran's eyes lit up at the blue notification screens. Not only had he and Mia leveled up, but they had also secured a valuable blueprint for the camp. He tapped his interface to open the Beast Space Manager, and the filled orb safely vanished into his inventory.
"Alright, family meeting," Ran said, calling his parents and sister over. "We successfully caught it without killing it! Now, the System gives us four options for this unit in the manager: Assimilate, Summon, Let Go, and Assign Task."
"Explain the difference in simple English, Mr. Professor," Randolf joked, leaning on his shovel and wiping sweat from his forehead.
"**Assimilate** means I absorb and fuse with the beast like an external martial soul," Ran explained patiently. "I would temporarily gain its stats, and I could personally use its skills. **Summon** means we bring the beast out into the real world as a physical helper to fight with us. **Let Go** simply means releasing it back into the wild. Finally, **Assign Task** means directing the unit to automate base labor, like guarding our walls or working the fields."
Aurora thought about it, tapping her chin. "If you assimilate it, you become a stronger fighter yourself. But if you summon it, we basically get a fifth family member to help us hunt. An extra gun watching our backs from a distance sounds a lot safer to me."
"I agree with Mom," Mia chimed in. Her glowing tattoos faded, her yellow eyes turned back to their normal brown, and her butterfly wings vanished into sparkles as she deactivated her soul. "A sniper on our side is way cooler! We can use it to shoot things from far away!"
"Summon it is," Ran nodded. He tapped the option on his screen.
A pillar of blue light erupted in the clearing. When the light faded, the Sniper Beast appeared. It was fully healed, holding its massive rifle, and standing at strict attention, waiting for Ran's orders.
"Alright, listen up," Ran said to the dwarf-like creature. "I want you to let go of your fear—you are on our side now. Your task is overwatch. Stay hidden in the brush and trees, keep a safe distance, and cover us from afar while we move. Only shoot if we are in danger or if I give the command."
The Sniper Beast gave a sharp nod. It instantly scrambled into the thick jungle bushes, blending in perfectly with the shadows to watch over them.