The next year passed in a blur of training and hunting.
Jax became a phantom in the new world, a rumor among the criminal underworld and fledgling guilds.
He would slip into low-level, undiscovered Dungeons—usually found in abandoned subway tunnels or derelict buildings—and clear them out before anyone else could claim them.
He knew their locations from his past life's knowledge.
He also knew which ones were most likely to yield seeds.
He wasn't reckless.
He scouted, planned, and executed his raids with meticulous precision.
He was a force of nature in the shadows.
A ghost who left nothing but cleared dungeons and a few, often terrified, witnesses who whispered about a Hunter who fought like a dancer and moved like smoke.
He used his Telekinesis for everything.
He'd levitate the monster corpses to sell their valuable cores and parts.
He used his Kinetic Enhancement to increase his speed and punching power, turning a simple jab into a concussive blast.
He filled his third and fourth slots with powers he knew were destined for other people—powers that were powerful but not world-changing.
The third seed, found in an old abandoned hospital, gave him Gravity Dominion (Rank: S).
He learned to increase or decrease the gravity around him.
A power that made his enemies feel as if they were fighting in thick molasses, while he moved with the lightness of a feather.
This S-rank ability, combined with his S-rank Telekinesis, made him a one-man army.
The fourth, a seed he wrestled from a nest of mutated bats, granted him Shadow Step (Rank: A).
With a single thought, he could dissolve into shadows and reappear nearby.
A perfect skill for stealth and evasion.
His body continued to change.
The lean muscle he had forged in the year before The Eclipse now thickened, hardened, and became denser.
His height, already a respectable 6'0" at 16, had stretched to a commanding 6'2".
His shoulders broadened.
His frame filled out with a powerful, compact build that suggested a fighter of immense strength.
He was a specimen.
A living weapon honed by the brutal crucible of his new life.
By the end of the year, he had found his fifth and final seed.
A relatively common one that granted him a powerful ability he could use to complement his sword work.
He found it in a C-rank dungeon he cleared out.
A seed that had been overlooked by a major guild's sweep.
[New Seed Detected. Commencing Trait Extraction...][Activating Trait: Unbound.][Ability Acquired!][System Window Updated.]
Abilities:
Slot 1: Telekinesis (Rank: S)Slot 2: Kinetic Enhancement (Rank: B)Slot 3: Gravity Dominion (Rank: S)Slot 4: Shadow Step (Rank: A)Slot 5: Blade Aura (Rank: A)
He had done it.
Two S-Ranks, two A-Ranks, and a B-Rank.
An arsenal that would make the world's top Hunters weep with envy.
He had trained each ability relentlessly, achieving a mastery far beyond what his level suggested.
The time for hiding was over.
His mother was safe.
He had his powers.
His foundation was set.
It was time to step into the light and claim his place in this new world.