Clad in the dark, unassuming leather of the [Wild Shepherd] set, Lucas moved through the forest with a newfound confidence. The passive [Ghost of the Woods] skill was a revelation; the ever-present awareness of nearby monsters felt muted, their detection ranges noticeably smaller. He and Kael were phantoms now, slipping through the trees with an unnatural silence.
Power needed to be quantified. He required a baseline, a test to understand the true impact of his new gear. He found his target in a sun-dappled clearing: a [Grizzled Bear], Level 12, a hulking beast of muscle and fury that was considered a party-level threat for players below Level 10.
Before, he wouldn't have dared. Now, he analyzed.
Thanks to his stealth bonus, he was able to get into optimal position without alerting the creature. "Kael," he whispered, "on my mark."
He cast [Designate Target]. The ethereal marker pulsed over the bear's massive head. "Go."
Kael exploded from the undergrowth. The 25% of Lucas's formidable Intelligence stat that now flowed into the wolf's Strength and Agility had transformed him. He was no longer just a fast predator; he was a gray blur of impossible speed. He evaded the bear's clumsy opening swipe and latched onto its hind leg.
[Vicious Bite] landed. A massive, bright red number floated into the air. A critical hit. The bear roared in pain and surprise, but the damage was far greater than it should have been.
The battle was a grueling twenty-minute affair, a deadly dance of Lucas's commands and Kael's swift execution. Lucas never once engaged directly, acting as a pure strategist, directing Kael to flank, retreat, and strike at the precise moments the bear was vulnerable. When the colossal beast finally fell, Lucas was low on mana, but his health was untouched.
The EXP reward was substantial, but the cost in time and resources was inefficient for grinding. He needed a better way to bridge the gap from Level 7 to 10.
He returned to Whispering Pines Crossing, his mind sifting through the tavern rumors he had previously ignored. He wasn't looking for quests or rare items anymore. He was looking for an anomaly, a place with a unique mechanic he could exploit. His [System Insight] caught a keyword in a conversation between two frustrated mages.
"...the Weeping Caves are a waste of time. The [Echo Wisps] give decent EXP, but their magic resistance is insane, and they drop nothing but dust."
Lucas focused on the name. His talent supplied the hidden data.
[Echo Wisp | Level 8 (Magical Spirit)]
[High magical resistance. Extremely low physical resistance.]
[Hidden Trait: Fission. If defeated by a single blow that inflicts more than 50% of its max HP, the wisp will split into two Lesser Echo Wisps (Level 6). This effect can chain.]
It was perfect. A monster designed to be a nightmare for mages was a goldmine for a Tamer with a single, high-damage physical summon.
The Weeping Caves were a network of damp, crystal-lit caverns. Ethereal, floating balls of light—the Echo Wisps—drifted aimlessly through the passages. Lucas initiated his new grinding method. He cast [Designate Target] on a lone wisp. Kael, empowered and directed, took it down in a single, overwhelming pounce.
The wisp shattered, and as Lucas had predicted, it split into two smaller, weaker wisps. Kael, still under the effect of the skill, dispatched them in two quick bites. They, in turn, split into four even smaller wisps, which Kael finished off with brutal efficiency. A single engagement had resulted in seven kills, the experience bar jumping a noticeable amount.
For the next several hours, Lucas and Kael became a ruthlessly efficient EXP-farming machine. The levels began to melt away. Level 7 became 8. Level 8 became 9.
Unseen on a high ledge near the cave entrance, a player in the iconic dark leather of the Helios guild watched in stunned silence. The rogue, one of Evelyn's top scouts, had been tracking Lucas for a full day. What he was witnessing defied all logic. He recorded the entire process: the impossible speed and damage of the wolf, the chain reaction of the wisps, the staggering rate of progression. He sent a priority, encrypted message to his guild leader.
"Captain, I've found him. You need to see this. The rumors aren't just true; they don't even begin to cover it."
Lucas was just about to engage another cluster of wisps when a new notification, different from any he had seen before, chimed in his vision. It wasn't a level up or a skill. It was a formal, glowing summons.
[Quest Acquired: The Tamer's Legacy]
[Your power has grown, and the echoes of the First Tamer have taken notice of your potential. To prove your worth and unlock your true path, you must seek out the 'Altar of the Ancient Beast' hidden deep within the Glimmerwood Forest.]
[This is the trial for your Level 10 Job Advancement.]
A new marker pulsed on his world map, far to the north, in a region he had only read about. The path to the [Tamer's Genesis Ring] was not a reward for reaching a level. It was a journey. And it had just begun.