He opened his mission log with a thought. One job stood out like food on a silver platter.
Mission: Get rid of the Camostride Lizard
2× Camouflaged Scales and 1× Reflex Core are the goals.
Core Realm Rank for Power Tier
Reward: 210 Gold Coins and a Cloak of Greenstep (a loan item)
Danger: Almost Invisible. enhanced reflexes.
Status: Active
The Timbermaw Thickets no longer felt like mere trees; instead, each trunk seemed to scheme against him. Humidity, thick as a woolen blanket and tinged with the smell of sap and dirt, clung to his skin, lending every branch a sense of vigilance, each one almost alive.
The ground formed a tangled, hot trench—the air heavy with heat and imminent danger.
Perfect.
"SIGMA," Charles said in a low voice. "Turn off passive scans." No automatic detection. No tracking that predicts.
[So you're going full caveman?]
"No," he said with a smirk. "We're going with our gut."
[Logging: again, suicidal overconfidence.]
He turned on Shadowveil Steps. His body grew less visible, and his footsteps faded into silence. Qi became a whisper. He moved like smoke through stillness, with only the shaking of disturbed leaves and the quiet of displaced air to guide him.
But with each step, a thread of focus came undone, and memories started to fade, as if the very shadows he used to control were pulling at the edges of his mind.
A hiss.
It wasn't loud. Or exciting. Just a breath, taken by something intent on killing him.
Charles turned around.
Emberfang slashed diagonally, leaving a streak of black fire and thunder.
A loud crack split the air, making it sound like it could bleed.
A Camostride Lizard materialized mid-strike. Charles' blade cut deeply into its throat, and the lizard, no longer hidden, let out a dying scream.
"One."
Another dropped like a dagger from a tree.
Charles didn't blink.
He rammed his elbow back. Titanheart Anvil Fist flared. Bone crumpled under his gauntlet.
"Two."
Then a wave of them appeared. Ten, maybe more. Shadows moving so quickly they almost blended with the air. Each one fast and wild.
A heartbeat's silence.
Charles was faster.
"Magnetic Echo Pulse."
A hum. A pulse. A pop.
Every lizard flickered into visibility—caught like ghosts in a strobe of resonance.
[1.2 seconds of visual lock]
That was enough.
"Raijin Form – Serpentcut Arc!"
He spun, and Emberfang roared through the air, cutting down three lizards in a single sweeping motion. Purple blood sprayed across the canopy as their scales rattled onto the ground.
He dropped. Rolled. Parried.
Two lizards slashed him—one raked his thigh and the other sliced near his neck as he dodged.
He laughed. "That's the cost of dancing."
He kicked a lizard into a tree and nailed it mid-flight with a reverse dagger throw.
"Three."
"Four."
And then? He stopped counting.
By killing ten, Charles had turned the battlefield into a trap-laced death concert.
Echo Mines hid in the underbrush, each one ready to burst at the slightest touch.
He left fake footprints to trick them.
They always fell for it.
And when they hit,
BOOM!
Thunder. Shrapnel. Screams.
The lizards stopped hunting after killing fifteen.
They began to run.
Charles let two go, which was enough to scare the rest.
Then he went after them.
No mercy. No talking. Nothing but silence and blood.
He followed them to a glowing grove of mushrooms, where bioluminescent spores made death look beautiful.
One shimmered beside him.
He ducked and punched through its ribs.
Another lunged from the roots below.
He caught it midair, spun, and crushed its skull with a heel drop.
The third? Brave. It charged.
He pivoted and struck with a thunder-charged elbow, flinging its body into the spores.
The fourth one ran.
He allowed it. Almost.
"Thunderbind Pulse."
Lightning snapped out like a web, halting its leap. Charles advanced, silent and implacable.
He sliced downward with his blade, finishing the immobilized lizard with a single, silent motion.
"Twenty."
He stood there in silence.
He smiled as he breathed hard. Each breath shuddered, deeper than before.
[Mission Accomplished: Get Rid of Camostride Lizards]
20 Camostride Lizards Killed
40× Scales that blend in
20× Reflex Cores
Unlocking Rewards: 210 Gold × 20 = 4,200 Gold Coins
20× Cloak of Greenstep (borrowed, returned)
System Bonus – Trialmind Interface Bonus: 222,000 Gold Coins
Title: Ghoststep Predator Skill Level Up: Shadowveil Steps +9%
Raijin Form +4%
Echo Trap Methods +6%
Time Elapsed: 5 hours, 41 minutes]
Charles stood among the dead bodies, twenty killers who were no longer alive but still twitching. His cloak was in shreds, soaked in blood. The left gauntlet on his hand broke. His thigh bled a lot.
He didn't care. He laughed and tilted his head back, but he wasn't crazy. Not broken. Joy. True happiness.
"No SIGMA hacks." No easy ways out. "Just grit, instinct, and a little craziness."
He ripped off the cracked gauntlet and let it fall like a crown that had fallen.
Then it lifted Emberfang up into the darkening sky.
Its black edge sparkled with thunder, fire, and something deeper, something Charles had really earned.
"And that," Charles said, his voice full of triumph, "is what makes a predator king."
He turned, and his cloak fluttered like a flag of rebellion.
Then they disappeared into the fog. All that was left was silence, ichor, and legend.
The sun was low in the sky, like a melted coin behind a curtain of amber haze. The Timbermaw Thickets, which used to be full of loud, unseen life, were now quiet and wary. But Charles Ziglar knew better.
The forest was not sleeping.
It was looking.
He sat with his legs crossed in a small hollow between stones and brambles, where he was hidden by a double-layered array. One layer hid him, and the other changed his qi signature into ghostly echoes. He felt like he was wearing silence.
His breath slowed. Each inhale calibrated, each exhale carefully calculated.
There were three tears in his cloak. A spiderweb crack from a struggle long ago marked his left gauntlet. Dried blood covered his boots, his and the beasts'. Underneath, tiredness pulsed through his bones.
But his eyes still sparked with purpose.
SIGMA said in a cold voice, "Qi reserves at 83%. You are close enough to hit Foundation Realm Level 10. There are three scrolls left. There is only one day remaining until your return window closes."
Charles opened one eye. Under the orange light, the forest sparkled.
"I really overdid it, huh?"
"Correct. Your pattern shows you're taking more risks than is safe. I recommend you rest."
"And I recommend winning."
A dry laugh. He winced at the pain in his ribs, then rose up and quickly dusted the dirt off his pants.
"Let's finish the list. No big deal. No show-off. Just clean, surgical."
He pulled the next mission scroll out of his pouch.
[B RANK Venomroot Basilisk Hunt Power Tier: Core Realm Rank 1 – Mid Tier Mission Objective: 1× Venomroot Heart Gland
1× Basilisk Spine Frond. You get 340 gold coins and the Beast Lore Codex: Basilisk Kin as a reward.
Warning: Gaze can cause partial petrification. Use reflective shields or spirit-blindfolds.
The basin beyond the thickets oozed poison and old anger. The mud sucked at every step, and the air was thick with the smells of wet copper, rotting decay, and something much worse: resinous venom steeped in old roots and death.
Charles took a deep breath. Not because he had to, but because he could.
He pulled the Spirit-Sight Band tighter around his face. The silver blindfold was covered in intricate rune circles meant to block visual stimuli and replace them with stronger qi silhouettes.
When I put on the blindfold, everything went black, then flashes of blue, red, and gold appeared.
He unsheathed the Emberfang, and the blade throbbed with hunger.
He whispered, "SIGMA," in a low, sure voice. "Track for tremors that happen at the same time.Basilisks don't move in groups. They stagger."
[Confirmed. Gaze suppression is best. 1.6% chance of petrification. I wouldn't test that margin if I were you.]
"Since when do I listen?"
He smiled beneath the blindfold.
And then the ground twitched.
It burst from the swamp like a nightmare.
Twelve feet of scaled muscle, armored in tangled root-vines, its tongue barbed and dripping with toxin. Eyes glowed a deep bioluminescent green—lethal, hungry.
It hissed.
Charles didn't flinch.
The blindfold was already in place. It couldn't see his eyes. And he couldn't see its tricks.
He vaulted into the air, spinning once mid-leap.
"Titanheart Feint – False Arc!"
The blade sliced through the air, missing on purpose. The beast twisted to follow.
Too late.
Charles landed behind it, slid low beneath the tail swipe, and drove Emberfang upward into the soft jaw hinge behind its fangs. The blade tore through cartilage, venom sacs, and bone with a sizzling hiss.
The basilisk thrashed. Trees cracked. Branches screamed.
Charles planted his boot on its skull, twisted the blade, and pulled it free, tearing off half the snout with it.
"One."
This one came without a roar.
Fast. Clever.
Its tail whipped low, a blur aimed to sweep his legs.
Charles ducked beneath it, pivoted, and countered with a Thunderstep Jab—his gauntlet bursting into violet arcs as it struck the beast's side. Sparks scattered like lightning trapped in glass.
But the basilisk recoiled behind its armored plating, shielding its vital points.
"Smarter than expected."
He circled.
The lizard lunged.
He met the charging lizard head-on, angling his blade under its belly. As it surged past, he sidestepped, spun, and thrust the blade deep through the rib gap.
The body spasmed, twitched hard, and then went still.
Charles didn't wait.
He uncorked a Skyroot Flask, its mouth glowing bright green, and plunged it into the beast's chest cavity, extracting the still-warm Heart Gland before decay could start.
"Two."
The ground shook.
Murk bubbled. Trees bent. The swamp pulsed like a wound.
And then it emerged.
It was twice as big as the others, with a crown of thorns and mossy ridges along its back. Its eyes glowed with qi so strong it burned against his blindfold.
"Alpha. Of course."
It let out a guttural roar, a sound that shook the trees and burned the edge of his Spirit-Sight Band.
"SIGMA?" he said, vision flickering behind the blindfold.
[Spirit-Sight failing in 4… 3…]
He tore the blindfold free and tossed it aside, sweat beading down his temple.
"Fine. We do this the old way."
The Alpha's eyes met his.
A challenge.
He didn't blink.
Gaze pulse.
He disappeared the instant it attacked, Shadowveil Steps lighting up and sending him into ghost-speed as the petrification blast missed him.
"Thunder Fang Spiral!"
He floated back into the air behind the creature's spine, holding Emberfang, a deadly sword that glowed with fire, lightning, and earth qi.
A perfect arc.
The Spine Frond ripped free in the middle of the roar.
The beast fell to the ground, twitching violently as blood soaked into the roots like a gift to the gods of old.
Charles landed beside his kill. His hands were shaking, and his gauntlet was flashing.
"Three. Done."
[Mission Venomroot Basilisk Hunt
3 Venomroot Basilisks
3 Venomroot Heart Glands
3× Basilisk Spine Fronds
Reward for the mission: 340 Gold × 3 = 1,020 Gold Coins
3× Beast Lore Codex: Kin of the Basilisk
Trialmind Sync System Extras
Reward for Gold: 410,000
Title Progress: 67% for Basilisk Bane
Shadowveil Steps: +4% for Technique Advancement
Titanheart Fist: +3% Thunder Fang Spiral: +5%
Spirit Gaze Resistance +7%
Elapsed Time: 2 hours, 18 minutes]
Charles dropped to one knee, boots sinking slightly into the loam beside the Alpha's fallen body.
His cloak hung in tatters. His ribs throbbed with every breath. Half the blood crusted on his arm was his own.
Still, his piercing, rebellious stare remained unchanged.
"That's enough venom for a dozen lifetimes."
He carefully sheathed Emberfang after wiping it clean on the moss, and he let out a long, deep breath.
Level of Qi: 91%.
Close.
He reached back into his bag, this time feeling the brink of the next realm as thin as a film between his fingertips. Like unspoken vows, the two scrolls that remained were held between his fingers.
Not of glory. Not of survival.
But of ascension.
"One more push."
And he walked onward into the swamp's dying light.
Not as prey. But as something worse.
A predator... on the verge of becoming sovereign.
Echoes of Stone and Fury
The swamp gave way to twisted marshland—trees long dead, their blackened branches clawing skyward like petrified fingers. The air grew heavy, dense with iron-rich mist that clung to the skin and tasted of blood and stone.
Seated behind a twisted tree, Charles remained motionless and methodical. His posture is upright. Stooping like a warrior's lotus, legs folded. A halo of mana crystals, illuminated subtly by their circuitry brilliance, spun about him in perfect time.
Breathing slowly and deliberately, he drew strength from the earth with each inhalation and brought it back into his body with each exhalation.
Perched in his left hand was a glimmering tablet—blue-black, engraved with resonating runes that beat like an unconscious heart.
The Titanwake Restoration Pill has been validated, SIGMA whispered, in an unwavering, hushed voice.
[Restoring your qi, muscle mass, microfracture healing, and nerve delay correction is what this is all about. You might feel some regret, temporary sickness, and pain as side effects.]
An eyebrow was arched by Charles. "Sounds like rusty metal and bad choices in life, then."
Without any fanfare, he downed it.
The impact was felt right away.
It seemed as if lightning were ripping through his bones and fire was coursing through his veins. His qi pathways were disrupted and flooded, and his muscles and tendons cramped. As perspiration trickled down his cheeks, he clenched his jaw.
[Stabilization in 5... 4... 3...]
Every second felt like a year.
Silence.
His pulse softened.
Feeling calm.
He seemed to have a shimmering aura surrounding him.
[Compatibility with Core Realm Rank 2 has been confirmed.]
Standing up straight, Charles rolled his shoulders and flexed his sore arms. "I pay for that kind of misery, you know."
He pulled the next scroll from his pouch.
[B RANK Bogbone Golem Core Retrieval
Power Tier: Core Realm Rank 2
Objective:
1× Golem Core
2× Runed Knuckle Shards
Reward: 450 Gold Coins + Earth Qi Compression Band
Status: Solo | Armor Recommended
Advisory: Resistant to piercing. Prioritize blunt force or lightning-based qi.]