Smack!
A sharp stinging sensation bloomed from his chin, spreading across his body.
Shun's body flew upward before crashing down, limbs sprawled.
"That was close. I forgot you were new. Don't look at their faces for more than three seconds or you'll become one of them."
It was the same guy who had punched Shun. The blow was so powerful it almost knocked Shun's consciousness out of his body.
He lay on the ground, weak and in pain. As much as he wanted to complain about the unexpected and brutal punch, he still felt grateful.
Better than turning into one of those faceless creatures, he thought and forced himself to sit up.
The same guy offered an apologetic look and extended a hand.
"Don't stare into the unknown, kid. Remember that from now on."
Shun gave a bitter smile and accepted the hand, pulling himself up.
The crowd entered the settlement and dispersed almost immediately.
"Everything beyond this settlement is where the beasts roam. Their strength is about the same as mid-tier monsters in the real world," the guy explained kindly.
"Aren't you going to join, too?"
"Too much competition," he sighed.
Shun processed his words and nodded in understanding.
He figured the guy was afraid his prey would be stolen by other hunters. Even if someone completed their assignment, the reward still depended on bringing back the carcass.
Just imagining all that hard work being stolen... Shun could picture the heartbreak.
"Hey, motherf***[!]+#!! That's my prey, a**hole! I'm gonna cut your throat and feed you to the pigs! Give me what's mine!"
Almost immediately, an argument broke out in the distance, loud enough for them to hear.
"Not my fault you've got slow hands," the other party mocked.
"I'm getting my money back, d**chebag!"
"Haha! Come on, then!"
A fight erupted. The sound of clashing blades echoed with each heartbeat.
"And so, the hunt begins," the guy next to him narrated like a TV announcer. He glanced at Shun.
"You're not going to look for a beast? Time limit's until sunset."
Shun glanced up. The golden rays cast gently across the sky.
I don't have a lot of time! he panicked inwardly, sprinting toward the bushes, rustling leaves in his wake.
He walked for a bit, then stopped.
Wandering around hoping to stumble on a beast would only waste time.
It was smarter to rely on something else.
He pressed his hands to the ground and closed his eyes, focusing on his innate ability, Aura Manipulation.
He drew it out and pulsed it across the terrain, spreading like waves.
His aura could cover a one-kilometer radius. Everything it touched came back to him in distinct frequencies.
Inanimate objects returned static signals, while living organisms pulsed with a zigzag frequency. Each had its own unique rhythm.
Some slow, some fast, some erratic, some steady.
From those beats, Shun could distinguish humans from monsters.
Cheating? No, he'd earned this technique fair and square.
When he discovered he couldn't Ascend, he poured everything into mastering Aura Manipulation. Of course, there was a limit to how far he could go without a larger mana pool.
Once he Ascended, he'd be able to fully utilize everything he'd learned.
Then, he sensed a slow, zigzag rhythm, coming from his right.
He opened his eyes and headed in that direction, but slowed as he spotted the source.
A four-legged beast resembling a winged dog. Its eyes glowed a sharp, piercing red.
The corner of Shun's lips twitched.
[Terechabra - Lvl 60]
[Osamu Shun - Lvl 7]
Even with Living Alloy, he doubted he could take it down.
Shun paused, realizing he was being hasty. He had forgotten something about that form.
"All right."
He transformed into Living Alloy. His voice deepened, menacing.
"Here goes nothing."
He recalled something he'd been wanting to try in this form.
Since he could manipulate Cursed Energy just like Aura, it was naturally versatile.
Unlike Aura, Cursed Energy had no technical limit, only his stamina.
So he gathered cursed energy into his palm.
But he frowned. It was different.
Gathering cursed energy felt like dragging ten five-ton boulders into a single point.
Impossible, especially with a scrawny human doing the pulling.
Turns out, cursed energy was much harder to control when condensed.
Aura didn't change in nature even at its densest. Cursed energy, on the other hand, became volatile.
The beast turned its head toward him.
It shrieked, having recognized Shun as a threat.
"Shut up," Shun muttered and charged.
But then, something blurred past his vision.
He couldn't tell whether it was a claw or a tail.
His mind went blank. His body lifted.
The next thing he knew, a crushing blow slammed into his abdomen and sent him flying.
Boom!
He crashed into a thick boulder, carving out a crater and scattering dust in every direction.
Agony tore through him. His pupils dilated in intense pain.
Blood welled in his mouth and he coughed up a mouthful.
As the dust settled, Shun raised his head and grinned.
Now that's an attack worthy of its level, unlike Ordinal's beasts, which were nerfed to hell.
He stood, enduring the pain searing through his body. He didn't ask himself how to run,
Instead…
Now then, how should I defeat it? he thought with a smile.
Its speed was beyond his vision. Its attack pierced even Living Alloy's defenses. Its hide looked tougher than steel.
But that wasn't his main concern.
Two more hits, and Shun was done for.
He thought for a moment and came up with a plan. He had only one chance to make it work.
"All right," he whispered, exhaling deeply, and began the first step.
He cloaked his feet with both cursed energy and aura.
He could maintain the aura just fine, but the cursed energy evaporated faster than a blink.
Anticipating that, he switched tactics, he'd try using it on his eyes instead. Smaller area, easier to control… right?
The effects were immediate.
His pupils turned faintly red. Each second chipped away at his clarity.
But in return, his perception accelerated, seeing everything five times slower.
With that discovery, he chose to use cursed energy only in short bursts. If not, he'd lose clarity entirely and went berserk, akin to a monster that rely on instinct alone.
Okay. I've figured out which body parts I can enhance with cursed energy, Shun thought, moving on to the next step.
He touched the ground and activated his skill:
[Echo of the Divine Forge]
Only this time, he fed it cursed energy instead of mana.