Crattt! The bullet struck the monster's vital point perfectly. Its massive hands were still gripping the junior it almost crushed, while its blazing eyes widened.
The Doddlarrybear was a level 25 monster, extremely rare, most likely the descendant of a monster above level 50—one that humanity had yet to identify.
Rayne remembered defeating several level 68 monsters that resembled the Doddlarrybear very closely.
This monster had extremely high defense, with thick skin and bones. And its unique trait: it grew stronger the more its emotions rose—though still within limits.
From all the signs, it was almost certain Doddlarrybear was a descendant of that monster.
Its only weakness was one spot: the genitals (the monster core), regardless of whether it was male or female.
But if you struck that part and failed to kill it instantly, its rage would skyrocket.
Everyone felt something off about its growl.
The King, watching from afar, narrowed his eyes as he noticed a tiny hole in the formation.
"Grraaaaaaaaaaa!"
Boommm!
The monster smashed the ground, creating a terrifying shockwave that instantly destroyed the formation and everything around it.
Ardyn, the only one who could withstand the shockwave, was stunned by what he saw.
From behind the smoke, a massive figure stood with gleaming claws and fangs, and eyes burning with fury.
"W-what… the…?"
He grit his teeth as he saw everyone behind him sprawled helplessly. With the pure soul of a warrior, he dashed forward to slash the monster. His slash only cut a few strands of fur, but it was enough to draw the monster's full attention.
The monster set its sights on Ardyn, and the man sprinted away, leaving the Voltare residence area and entering the forest nearby.
Meanwhile, Rayne had already left his room, and… even left the house?
???
"I only helped them. Hehe," he said without a hint of guilt as he kept running.
{DING! Has your revenge been satisfied by that, master?}
"What are you saying? That revenge was real back then, but now I'm already aware."
His speed increased.
"They weren't wrong to treat me like that. They were just normal humans. It's abnormal to pity someone completely powerless in this world, isn't it?"
{DING! Very logical, master.}
"Haha, next… I don't want any connection with them at all. Rayne Voltare is dead."
"Since I'm not even sure this is the real reality or not… I'll just do everything I want!"
Rayne wasn't convinced. Even though he had been told, he could not simply accept that this was the real world. After living years in that strange place, he was full of doubt.
{DING! System mission triggered. Make 10 people angry and hold a grudge against you.
Time limit: 04.59.59
Mission reward: Eyes of the Void
Penalty for failure: Permanent full-body paralysis.}
Rayne's eyes widened. He couldn't believe he got a mission involving humans—since in the dream/other reality, missions were always massacres involving monsters.
"Why did it show up now, damn it! Earlier I was in a place where everyone could've hated me easily!"
"Kid! Hey! Don't run too fast!"
Behind him, the old butler grandpa was running desperately to catch up, but the boy only gave a faint smile and didn't look back even once.
After running for some time, he arrived at a city still within the Voltare region.
Voltare sat between three cities and two forests.
The three cities were famous for providing various kinds of high-quality resources.
Meanwhile, the two forests produced abundant resources as well, though of course monsters still lived inside them—but it was manageable, despite occasional rampages.
Rayne kept running. Even though his legs were numb, his face didn't show any desire to stop.
{DING! Endurance +3}
{DING! Strength +1}
{DING! Agility +1}
Brukk!
Exhausted beyond limit, he stumbled as his legs could no longer stabilize his body.
Rayne pushed himself up and started running again, occasionally taking deep breaths between fatigue and pain.
Eventually, he made it out of Voltare territory, yet he still kept running.
"A-Almost… there…" he whispered weakly.
After a long while, he stopped beneath a well-covered tree.
After checking the surroundings, he sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and controlled his breath. Suddenly, his body tensed up, muscles and veins bulging as if ready to explode from within.
His teeth chattered violently.
Slowly, from the core of his white bones, tiny cracks appeared—glowing with deep black.
The cracks spread rapidly, reaching all over the old bone, as if marking the points that would be destroyed.
Then from the very core, the new black bone began to grow. It looked rough, yet every fiber roared with ferocious power.
The black bone pushed against the white bone from the inside, crushing the fragile parts piece by piece.
The sound of cracking and shattering echoed clearly—the weak white bone breaking into tiny fragments, while the black bone replaced the old structure, reshaping his skeleton with strength far beyond before.
The entire process lasted only an instant, yet Rayne felt every bit of it: burning heat, stabbing pain—something beyond words.
Once the white bone was completely replaced, Rayne opened his eyes.
His entire body felt as though overflowing with limitless power.
"This is it!"
He stared at both his palms.
"When the body is half-dead, the muscles and fibers heat up. When a new bone suddenly appears, they immediately adapt to match its power."
Author: please don't look for logic here (╥﹏╥)
As he was about to stand, a voice suddenly spoke.
"Hey, what are you doing here?"
"A child shouldn't be near a forest full of monsters like this."
Rayne looked up. A young man with a kind smile stood there, along with four girls behind him wearing the same uniform.
Their chest emblem resembled a symbol of an association—likely an academy.
"Ah… I…"
"Are you hurt?"
"No, I'm just—"
Suddenly the young man stepped closer and whispered.
"Leave now if you don't want to die."
Rayne's expression went blank. "Why?"
"I have business with them."
The young man released his magic aura, trying to intimidate him.
But Rayne only smiled cruelly.
(Magic aura was the basic ability of mages where their mana surrounds their body, generating an aura.)
"Sean, what's wrong?" the girls behind him asked, immediately alert.
"This kid isn't human."
"What?"
"Yes, he's a monster disguised as a human."
"I-I see! Then we must kill him immediately!"
Rayne's eye twitched several times. He couldn't believe he was accused of being a monster—and the girls believed it instantly.
Each one drew their weapon.
The young man began chanting a spell.
"Oh God of Fire, who burns evil with blazing heat, grant me your power to cleanse this wickedness—Fireslash!"
His sword was enveloped in flames as he slashed swiftly.
Rayne casually blocked the sword with a single black dagger.
Slash!
One simple swing sliced both flame and metal in half.
Half of the young man's sword fell.
He stared at it, stunned.
"Aghhh! Damn… oh gods, this fire is so hot! I'm burning!"
His face turned bright red, while the girls growled fiercely.
{DING!
1/10
Time remaining: 03.26.55}
"Don't embarrass Sean, you monster!"
"Oh God of Wind, who controls—"
"Your posture is awful when chanting spells," Rayne commented flatly.
The girl froze.
His words stabbed her deeper than a blade.
"Unforgivable! Aaaghhh!"
The young man named Sean leaped forward, pouncing at Rayne with uncontrollable anger.
Rayne lifted his chin slightly, eyes sharp yet hollow—devoid of emotion. To him, every movement felt slow… unbelievably slow.
Just as Sean was about to touch him—
Tap.
Rayne moved only two fingers to Sean's chin and lightly pushed.
A simple gesture, like playing around.
Yet—
DUAGH!
Sean's body was flung violently, smashing into a tree trunk hard enough to crack the bark into a crater.
A cough of blood followed instantly.
The girls were horrified.
"W-What did you just do!?" one screamed.
Rayne stepped toward them.
"Why? You all look scared."
He spoke lightly with a faint smile.
One girl stepped forward, sword trembling.
"You really are… a monster!"
Rayne tilted his head.
"If I'm a monster, why are you all this easy to provoke?"
Duak!
The girl ran while screaming.
"Aaakkhh!"
Rayne simply struck her leg, making her crash violently onto the ground. Her sword flew away, and her dress was covered in dirt.
"AAAHH! My hair! You bastard!" she yelled, humiliated.
{DING! 2/10}
Another girl began chanting magic.
"UNFORGIVABLE—OH—"
Rayne suddenly appeared in front of her before the spell could finish.
He held her chin with two fingers and lifted it slightly.
"I've seen mages uglier when chanting. You're second worst."
The girl's face flushed red with anger and shame.
{DING! 3/10}
"STOP MOCKING US!"
The third girl slashed without magic.
Rayne stopped the blade with two fingers.
It halted completely.
"Is this a sword or a spoon?"
Rayne bit the blade.
CRACK!
The sword snapped in two.
The girl screamed.
{DING! 4/10}
Meanwhile the last girl only trembled.
"Y-You demon… you demon…"
Rayne approached slowly.
He stopped one step away and whispered softly:
"I was just playing with the big sisters."
The corner of his lips curved—
a smile that made the air turn cold.
"You all screamed like you had fun too, right?"
The girl gritted her teeth, face burning with rage and humiliation.
{DING! 5/10}
Rayne looked at all of them.
Sean still kneeling, holding his chest.
The four girls trembling between fury and shame.
"Playtime's over, yeah?
Bye, big sisters."
He turned around and walked away casually.
Behind him—
"DAMN YOU!!!"
"BASTARD!"
"WE'LL GET YOU BACK!"
"I WON'T FORGET HIS FACE!!"
{DING!
5/10
Time remaining: 03.25.07}
Not far ahead, Rayne stopped.
That smile had returned to his face.