Ten Forest Wolves.
Bell stood in the middle of the dark forest with ten pairs of glowing yellow eyes surrounding him.
The moonlight barely reached the forest floor through the thick canopy overhead.
Branches moved with the night wind.
Leaves rustled.
The low growling of the monsters surrounded Bell from every direction.
Grrrrrrrrrrrr…
Bell slowly turned his head.
One wolf to his right.
Two behind him.
Three farther ahead.
Four moving between the trees.
All of them were watching him.
Waiting.
Studying.
Bell's right hand hovered beside his Endless Dune Sand Pouch.
A thin stream of sand was already spreading around his feet.
His heart pounded.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Bell swallowed.
Okay.
His golden eyes moved quickly between the wolves.
Ten F-Rank Forest Wolves.
They're faster than me naturally.
They know the forest.
They have Pack Instinct.
And unlike the training dummies…
One wolf bared its teeth.
…these things are actually trying to kill me.
Bell breathed slowly.
Panic would get him killed.
He had trained for two years.
Sand Sense.
Spatial Awareness.
Terrain Awareness.
Parallel Thought.
Danger Sense.
Sand Manipulation.
This was exactly what all that training had been for.
Bell lowered his stance.
Don't think about all ten at once.
Control the battlefield.
Sand continued spreading outward.
Twenty feet.
Thirty.
Forty.
The amount was nowhere near enough to cover the entire forest, but Bell did not need an entire desert.
He only needed enough to know when something moved.
His Sand Sense activated.
Tiny disturbances appeared in his perception.
Left.
Right.
Behind.
Every paw touching the controlled sand sent faint vibrations back toward him.
Bell's eyes sharpened.
"Okay…"
A small smile formed.
"Let's see if two years of training were actually worth it."
The wolves growled louder.
Then—
Bell's body suddenly screamed.
DANGER SENSE!
"Above!"
Bell looked up.
A Forest Wolf launched itself from a raised section of earth.
Its mouth opened wide.
Sharp fangs rushed toward Bell's face.
Bell raised his hand.
"SAND WALL!"
FWOOOOOSH!
Sand erupted from the ground.
A thick wall formed directly in front of him.
BAM!
The wolf slammed face-first into it.
"YIPE!"
The impact cracked part of the wall.
But Bell was already moving.
"Sand Step!"
SHHHHHHH!
Sand gathered beneath his boots.
Bell slid around the side of his own wall.
The stunned wolf landed awkwardly.
Bell pointed.
"Sand Bullet!"
BANG!
The compressed projectile struck the wolf's ribs.
THUD!
The monster flew sideways and crashed into the ground.
Bell's eyes widened.
Much stronger against something real.
There was no time to celebrate.
Danger Sense screamed again.
Bell ducked.
SWISH!
Claws passed over his hair.
"Too close!"
A second wolf landed behind him.
A third charged from the front.
Bell pushed his left palm outward.
"Sand Stream!"
FWOOOOOSH!
A powerful stream of sand smashed into the charging wolf's face.
The beast stumbled.
Bell jumped onto a fallen tree trunk.
The wolf behind him immediately pursued.
Bell ran along the trunk.
His seven-year-old legs were much shorter than the monster's.
The wolf quickly gained.
Bell glanced back.
"Come on…"
The wolf jumped.
Bell grinned.
"Now."
He kicked off the tree trunk.
"Sand Step!"
SHHHH!
A small platform of sand formed beneath his boot in mid-leap.
Bell pushed from it.
His body changed direction.
The wolf flew past him.
Bell grabbed a hanging branch.
His entire body swung around it.
"Whoa—!"
His grip almost slipped.
Bell kicked forward.
Both feet struck the wolf's side.
"GET DOWN!"
THUMP!
The attack barely hurt the beast.
But the kick changed its trajectory.
The wolf fell from the log.
Bell released the branch.
Sand rushed beneath him.
"Sand Cushion!"
He had no actual skill called Sand Cushion.
He was simply improvising.
A pile of loose sand gathered beneath him.
Bell landed.
PFFT!
"Oof!"
Not graceful.
But better than breaking his ankles.
Bell immediately rolled.
A wolf's jaws snapped at the place his shoulder had been.
"Okay!"
Bell jumped back.
"Definitely don't stand still!"
Three wolves rushed him simultaneously.
One left.
One center.
One right.
Bell's Parallel Thought activated.
Left wolf—Sand Bind.
Center—dodge.
Right—bullet.
Bell slammed one hand downward.
"Sand Bind!"
Sand wrapped around the left wolf's paws.
The beast stumbled.
Bell moved sideways.
The center wolf shot past him.
Bell's other hand pointed at the right.
"Sand Bullet!"
BANG!
The projectile struck its shoulder.
The wolf spun sideways.
Bell moved again.
The center wolf recovered.
It turned.
Bell saw its muscles tighten.
Jump.
The wolf launched.
Bell did not create another wall.
Instead—
He ran directly toward it.
"What is he—"
There was nobody there to ask.
Bell dropped low.
"Sand Step!"
SHHHHH!
He slid beneath the airborne wolf.
Its claws passed inches above his chest.
Bell looked upward while sliding.
"Sand Bullet!"
BANG!
The projectile struck the wolf's underbelly.
The beast yelped and crashed behind him.
Bell spun around.
His sand flowed with him.
"Two down?"
One injured wolf tried standing.
Bell frowned.
"No."
Not down.
They're tougher than training targets.
A growl came from behind.
Bell turned.
Too slow.
BAM!
A Forest Wolf slammed into his side.
"Agh!"
Bell flew several feet.
He hit the ground.
Pain exploded through his shoulder.
His vision blurred briefly.
"Damn…"
Bell rolled instinctively.
SNAP!
Jaws closed beside his head.
Bell thrust both hands forward.
"Sand Wall!"
FWOOOM!
The wall appeared beneath the wolf.
Instead of blocking it—
Bell raised the wall upward.
The wolf was launched into the air.
Bell's eyes widened.
"Oh."
That gave him an idea.
He raised both hands.
Sand followed the falling wolf.
"Sand Bind!"
The grains wrapped around its legs in midair.
Bell yanked downward.
BAM!
The monster slammed into the ground.
Bell stared.
"That works."
Another wolf came from behind.
Sand Sense warned him before Danger Sense even activated.
Bell pivoted.
His knife left its sheath.
SHING!
He wasn't a swordsman.
He wasn't even particularly good with a knife.
But he had trained enough to understand one thing.
Do not wildly swing.
The wolf jumped.
Bell stepped aside.
He brought the knife across the beast's flank.
SLASH!
The wolf cried out.
Bell jumped backward.
His hands shook slightly.
Blood darkened the fur.
Bell stared at it.
For a second—
Reality hit him.
This wasn't a game.
There were no pixels.
No reset button.
No harmless practice.
Bell's breathing changed.
Then the wounded wolf growled and charged again.
His hesitation vanished.
It'll kill me if I freeze.
Bell opened his palm.
"Sand Bullet!"
BANG!
The projectile struck the wolf's forehead.
It collapsed.
Bell stared for only half a second.
Then turned.
Seven remained.
Several had stopped charging recklessly.
Their Pack Instinct was changing their behavior.
They spread out.
Bell narrowed his eyes.
"They're learning too…"
Two wolves moved wide.
One remained directly ahead.
Another circled behind.
Bell could feel them through the scattered sand.
A strategy formed.
He deliberately stepped backward.
The wolves followed.
Bell retreated between two large trees.
He had less room.
But so did they.
One wolf rushed him.
Bell raised his hand.
"Sand Veil!"
FWOOOOOSH!
A cloud of fine sand exploded upward.
The wolf ran directly into it.
Its eyes shut.
"YIPE!"
Bell slid beneath its snapping jaws.
"Sand Step!"
He kicked off the ground.
His small body ran two steps along the side of a tree.
Then pushed away.
Bell twisted in the air.
"Sand Bullet!"
BANG!
The shot struck the wolf from above.
It collapsed.
Bell landed awkwardly.
"Seven-year-old parkour."
He stumbled.
"Needs work."
Two more wolves attacked.
Bell jumped onto a rock.
The first followed.
The second ran around.
Bell stomped.
Sand surged upward beneath the first.
"Sand Wall!"
The wolf was thrown off balance.
Bell jumped over it.
He grabbed a low tree branch.
Swung.
Released.
Sand Step activated as he landed.
SHHHH!
Bell slid directly between the two wolves.
They turned.
Too late.
"Sand Bind!"
Sand wrapped around both sets of hind legs.
Bell clenched his fist.
The restraint tightened.
Both wolves struggled.
Bell formed two Sand Bullets.
One above each hand.
Parallel Thought made his head ache.
But he held them.
"Fire."
BANG! BANG!
Both projectiles struck.
The monsters went still.
Bell breathed heavily.
"Five…"
His MP was dropping quickly.
He could feel it.
His breathing became harder.
His forehead was covered in sweat.
Yet five wolves remained.
The pack had lost half its members.
Their behavior changed again.
One whimpered.
Another growled.
The largest of the remaining wolves stepped forward.
Bell stared.
"Pack leader?"
Appraisal flickered.
FOREST WOLF — LEVEL 4
Slightly stronger than the others.
Bell smiled faintly.
"Of course."
Three wolves charged.
Bell backed toward a tree.
He waited.
Ten meters.
Eight.
Six.
Bell turned.
And ran directly at the tree.
The wolves followed.
Bell used Sand Step.
SHHH!
He accelerated.
One foot hit the trunk.
Then another.
Bell ran upward several steps.
Gravity caught him.
Bell pushed off.
He flipped backward over the first wolf.
The maneuver was nowhere near elegant.
For one terrifying second, Bell thought:
I have made a horrible mistake.
Then—
He landed behind them.
Mostly.
One knee hit the dirt.
"Ow."
The wolves tried turning.
Bell slammed both palms down.
"Sand Stream!"
FWOOOOOSH!
A heavy flow of sand blasted their sides.
All three were pushed into one another.
Bell extended his fingers.
The moving sand wrapped around them.
"Bind!"
The mass tightened.
One wolf broke free.
Bell saw it coming.
"Sand Bullet!"
BANG!
The shot stopped it.
The other two remained trapped long enough for Bell to finish them.
When everything became quiet again—
Only one Forest Wolf remained.
The largest.
Bell slowly stood.
His chest rose and fell.
Sweat ran down his face.
His shoulder hurt.
His legs felt heavy.
The last wolf stood twenty meters away.
Its yellow eyes remained locked on him.
Bell looked around.
Nine defeated monsters.
Sand scattered across the battlefield.
Broken branches.
Claw marks.
Small patches of blood.
His first real fight.
Bell turned toward the final Forest Wolf.
The wolf growled.
Bell smiled.
"Show me what you've got, little dog."
The wolf's ears flattened.
GRRRRRRRRR!
Bell raised his hands.
The wolf dashed forward.
Fast.
Much faster than the others had during their final moments.
Bell did not move.
Fifteen meters.
Ten.
Seven.
The wolf opened its mouth.
Bell smiled.
"Sand Veil."
FWOOOOSH!
A dense cloud of fine sand exploded directly into the monster's face.
The wolf shut its eyes.
Its charge continued blindly.
Bell stepped aside.
BAM!
The Forest Wolf slammed directly into a tree.
Its body dropped.
But it was still alive.
The beast staggered upright.
It scratched desperately at its face.
Its eyes refused to open.
Bell's smile disappeared.
He pointed.
"Sorry."
Sand gathered.
Compressed.
More tightly than before.
Bell aimed carefully.
His Spatial Awareness gave him the line.
Parallel Thought maintained compression.
Sand Manipulation stabilized the projectile.
"Sand Bullet!"
BANG!
The projectile shot forward.
THUD!
It pierced through the wolf's body.
The creature jerked.
Then went limp.
Silence.
The forest became strangely quiet.
Bell remained standing with his arm extended.
His breathing was heavy.
"Haa…"
"Haa…"
He slowly lowered his hand.
Ten Forest Wolves lay defeated around him.
Bell stared.
Then looked at himself.
Scratches.
Dirty clothes.
Sore shoulder.
Low mana.
Still alive.
A laugh escaped him.
"Heh…"
Then another.
"Hahaha…"
Bell dropped onto the ground.
"I actually did it."
He looked around.
"Ten."
His golden eyes widened.
"I defeated ten monsters."
He leaned backward onto his hands.
"I almost got eaten like six times…"
His smile became awkward.
"But I did it."
Then—
DING!
Bell froze.
"What?"
A golden screen appeared.
" EXPERIENCE ACQUIRED "
Bell's eyes widened.
Numbers rapidly appeared.
Forest Wolf defeated ×10
Experience gained: 1,180 EXP
Bell sat upright.
"What?!"
Another sound.
DING!
" LEVEL REQUIREMENT MET "
" LEVEL 1 → LEVEL 2 "
Golden light suddenly surrounded Bell.
His exhaustion eased slightly.
His mana stirred.
His muscles felt strangely refreshed.
Bell stared at his hands.
"No way…"
Another sequence appeared.
HP increased
MP increased
Strength increased
Agility increased
Endurance increased
Intelligence increased
Multiple skills gained proficiency
Bell stared.
Then—
He laughed again.
"Two years."
He stood.
"I've been Level One for two whole years."
His fist clenched.
"And all I needed was actual combat."
Bell looked deeper into the forest.
The smart decision would have been returning home immediately.
He had already achieved his goal.
He had proven he could gain experience.
He had leveled.
Bell stared at the darkness.
Then smiled.
"Let's not stop here."
Several Hours Later
Bell's first night of monster hunting became considerably more intense than he originally planned.
Five More Forest Wolves
Bell encountered another smaller pack beside a shallow creek.
This time—
He was ready.
The first wolf jumped.
Bell felt it through Sand Sense.
He sidestepped.
"Sand Bind!"
Its legs locked.
"Sand Bullet!"
BANG!
The second attacked from the left.
Bell slid sideways.
The third tried circling him.
Bell spread sand across the riverbank.
Their movements appeared through Sand Sense.
Bell smiled.
"I can see you."
Not literally.
But he could feel every pawstep.
The fight ended considerably faster.
DING!
Forest Wolf defeated ×5
Experience gained
Bell wiped sweat from his forehead.
"Much cleaner."
Ten F-Rank Grey Wolves
Grey Wolves were slightly smaller than Forest Wolves but more aggressive.
They charged Bell together across an open clearing.
Bell opened his pouch.
"Let's try something bigger."
Sand poured outward.
He swept both hands.
"Sand Wall!"
FWOOOOOM!
A long curved barrier appeared.
The front Grey Wolves slammed into it.
Bell ran along the wall.
Sand Step accelerated him.
He jumped from the end.
"Sand Stream!"
A powerful stream struck three wolves.
One spun across the grass.
Bell landed.
Two rushed from behind.
Danger Sense triggered.
Bell ducked.
One wolf passed over him.
He rolled.
Pointed.
"Sand Bullet!"
BANG!
A Grey Wolf dropped.
Bell kept moving.
Never standing still.
Never allowing the pack to surround him fully.
His two years of practice were finally becoming something real.
Not individual skills.
A fighting style.
Slide.
Turn.
Bind.
Shoot.
Wall.
Move.
Sense.
Repeat.
The last Grey Wolf charged.
Bell formed three Sand Bullets.
The projectiles hovered around him.
"Let's see…"
Parallel Thought strained.
Bell pointed.
"Go."
BANG! BANG! BANG!
All three struck.
The wolf collapsed.
Bell smiled.
"Multi-shot."
DING!
Four Horned Rabbits
Bell almost laughed when he saw them.
They looked harmless.
Small.
Fluffy.
Long ears.
Tiny noses.
Bell relaxed.
"Aww."
One rabbit lowered its head.
Its long horn pointed directly toward him.
Bell's Danger Sense went insane.
"…Oh no."
WHOOSH!
The rabbit launched itself like a living spear.
Bell screamed.
"SAND STEP!"
SHHH!
The horn passed inches from his stomach.
Bell stared.
"That rabbit just tried to stab me!"
Another charged.
Bell jumped onto a rock.
The Horned Rabbit smashed directly through a bush.
Bell pointed.
"Sand Bind!"
Sand grabbed its legs.
The rabbit immediately started violently kicking.
Bell stared.
"Why are you stronger than you look?!"
He eventually defeated all four.
Afterward—
Bell stood over the monsters.
"Never trusting cute things again."
DING!
Seven Goblins
These were different.
Intelligent enough to use crude weapons.
Bell discovered them near an abandoned section of road.
Seven small green humanoid creatures surrounded a broken cart.
Rusty knives.
Wooden clubs.
One carried a crude bow.
Bell immediately ducked behind a tree when an arrow flew toward him.
THUNK!
The arrow embedded itself in the bark.
Bell stared.
"Okay."
He looked around.
"Actual weapons."
The goblins shouted.
"GRAAA!"
Bell opened his sand pouch.
The archer pulled another arrow.
Bell pointed.
"Sand Veil!"
A cloud exploded around the goblins.
They yelled.
Bell activated Sand Sense through the grains.
Suddenly—
Their movements became visible to him as vibrations.
One goblin stumbled left.
Another ran forward.
Bell's eyes widened.
"This combination…"
Sand Veil blinded them.
Sand Sense let Bell track them.
Bell smiled.
"This is unfair."
He slid into the cloud.
"Sand Step!"
SHHH!
A goblin swung a club blindly.
Bell ducked.
His knife flashed.
Another goblin turned.
Bell kicked sand upward.
Then fired.
"Sand Bullet!"
BANG!
Minutes later—
The seven goblins were down.
Bell looked at the fading sand cloud.
"Okay…"
He stared at his hands.
"That was useful."
DING!
Twelve Kobolds
The Kobolds were faster.
Small reptilian humanoids with crude spears.
And unlike the goblins—
They coordinated extremely well.
Bell learned that immediately when three spears nearly pinned him against a tree.
"Whoa!"
He slid under one.
Jumped over another.
Used Sand Wall against the third.
CLANG!
The spear bounced away.
Bell jumped onto the wall.
Ran along its top.
A Kobold stabbed upward.
Bell jumped.
Sand Step activated in midair.
He redirected.
Landed behind two enemies.
"Sand Stream!"
FWOOOOOSH!
Both were thrown forward.
Bell formed a Sand Bind around another's weapon arm.
Then kicked its legs out.
One Kobold came from behind.
Danger Sense.
Bell spun.
Sand formed around his forearm.
Not a proper skill.
More like a thick temporary guard.
CLACK!
The spear struck the compacted sand.
Bell stared.
"Sand armor?"
The defense immediately cracked.
"Very bad sand armor."
He fired a Sand Bullet.
BANG!
The fight continued.
Fast.
Messy.
Dangerous.
But Bell was adapting.
Every encounter taught him something.
His movements became more efficient.
His Sand Step became smoother.
His spell transitions became faster.
Eventually—
The last Kobold fell.
Bell dropped onto one knee.
"Haa…"
He laughed breathlessly.
"Twelve…"
DING!
And finally—
Thirty F-Rank Blue Slimes
Bell stared at the clearing.
Blue gelatinous creatures bounced everywhere.
One.
Five.
Ten.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Bell's face became blank.
"You have got to be kidding me."
One slime bounced.
Boing.
Another.
Boing.
Then all thirty noticed him.
Bell stared.
Thirty slimes stared back.
There was a moment of silence.
Then—
Every slime bounced toward him.
"NOPE!"
Bell ran.
BOING! BOING! BOING! BOING!
Bell looked behind him.
"This is ridiculous!"
Slimes weren't particularly strong.
But there were thirty.
One launched acidic liquid.
Bell jumped.
"Sand Wall!"
SPLASH!
The acid struck the wall.
The sand hissed.
Bell's eyes widened.
"Okay! Definitely not harmless!"
He needed a new strategy.
Bell jumped onto a boulder.
The slimes surrounded it.
He looked down.
Thirty blue bodies bounced below.
Bell smiled slowly.
"Oh."
He opened the Endless Dune Sand Pouch.
A massive amount of sand poured outward.
SHHHHHHHHH!
The slimes looked upward.
If slimes could regret decisions—
They probably did.
Bell raised both hands.
"Sand Stream!"
FWOOOOOOOOOSH!
A wide torrent blasted downward.
Several slimes were thrown into one another.
Bell continued manipulating.
He separated the sand into multiple streams.
Parallel Thought pushed his concentration to the limit.
Sweat appeared on his forehead.
"Come on…"
Three streams became four.
Four became five.
Bell directed them through the clearing.
Blue slimes bounced everywhere.
Bell fired Sand Bullets whenever one escaped.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
One slime exploded into blue residue.
Another.
Another.
Bell jumped down.
Sand Step carried him between them.
One slime jumped at his face.
Bell ducked.
"Sand Bullet!"
BANG!
Another attacked his ankle.
Bell jumped.
"Bind!"
Sand compressed around the slime.
The creature struggled.
Bell squeezed.
POP!
Bell blinked.
"…That worked."
Soon—
Only five remained.
Then three.
Then one.
The final Blue Slime bounced weakly.
Bell stood several meters away.
His clothes were dirty.
Hair messy.
His breathing heavy.
His MP nearly empty.
Bell raised one trembling finger.
"Please…"
The slime bounced.
Bell sighed.
"Just stay still."
The slime bounced toward him.
Bell's eyebrow twitched.
"Sand Bullet!"
BANG!
The projectile struck.
POP!
Silence.
Bell remained standing.
Then his shoulders dropped.
"Haaaaaa…"
He slowly looked around.
Blue slime residue covered parts of the clearing.
Broken branches.
Scattered sand.
Bell stared.
"Thirty."
He laughed weakly.
"I fought thirty slimes…"
His legs trembled.
Bell dropped onto the grass.
"I am exhausted."
A golden notification appeared.
DING!
Bell looked.
Several experience messages stacked rapidly.
He stared at them.
Then his eyes widened.
"Oh…"
Another chime.
DING!
Then another.
DING!
Bell smiled.
"Definitely worth it."
He lay back.
The night sky appeared through the opening in the trees.
Bell breathed slowly.
"I've fought…"
He started counting.
"Fifteen Forest Wolves."
"Ten Grey Wolves."
"Four Horned Rabbits."
"Seven Goblins."
"Twelve Kobolds."
"Thirty Blue Slimes."
He paused.
His eyebrows rose.
"…That's seventy-eight monsters."
Bell stared at the stars.
"What is wrong with me?"
He laughed tiredly.
Then sat upright.
"No."
He could feel how exhausted his body was.
His mana was dangerously low.
His muscles hurt.
His shoulder still ached from the first wolf.
"I need to go home."
The return trip was much slower.
Bell walked through the forest beneath the moonlight.
His earlier excitement had disappeared beneath pure exhaustion.
Every few minutes—
He yawned.
"Should've brought more food…"
He drank the last of his water.
"Definitely bringing more water next time."
He stopped.
Then frowned.
"…There is absolutely going to be a next time."
Bell continued.
Eventually—
The distant lights of House Sirocco appeared.
Bell smiled.
"Home."
He avoided patrols.
Moved through the quieter sections of the estate.
Used Sand Step only when necessary.
His remaining mana was too low to waste.
Finally—
Bell reached beneath his bedroom window.
He looked upward.
"Oh."
His tired face became blank.
"I forgot about the climbing part."
Bell sighed.
He opened his pouch.
Sand flowed upward.
He created a narrow slope against the mansion wall.
"Sand Step…"
Shhhh…
Bell slowly slid upward using controlled sand.
It was much less exciting this time.
He reached the window.
Climbed inside.
Collapsed onto the floor.
"Made it."
No guards.
No servants.
No Heather.
Nobody had noticed.
Bell slowly changed out of his dirty clothing.
He cleaned his small scratches as well as he could.
Then collapsed into bed.
But before sleeping—
Bell remembered something.
His eyes opened.
"Oh."
He smiled.
"Status."
TING!
The golden screen appeared.
Bell stared.
Then—
His mouth slowly opened.
" STATUS "
NAME: Bell Sirocco
AGE: 7
RACE: Human / Reincarnated Soul
LEVEL: 5
CLASS:Sand Mage
TITLES
Reincarnated One
Otherworlder Soul
Youngest Son of House Sirocco
Child of the Five Great Houses
Awakened Sand Mage
The One Who Remembers Another World
Royal Fiancé
Persistent Sand Apprentice
First Monster Hunt Completed
F-Rank Monster Hunter
" ATTRIBUTES "
HP: 185 / 185
MP: 890 / 890
STRENGTH: 18
AGILITY: 27
ENDURANCE: 21
INTELLIGENCE: 47
LUCK: 31
Bell stared.
"Level five…"
He remembered the previous morning.
Level One.
Two years of training.
Still Level One.
Then one night outside—
Four levels.
Bell laughed.
"This system really wants me to fight."
His eyes moved downward.
" NORMAL SKILLS "
LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION — MAX
APPRAISAL — LV.4
Bell can inspect more detailed information regarding low-ranked monsters, materials, weapons, plants, magic items, and basic skills.
RAPID LEARNING — LV.5
Bell learns new magical principles and practical applications at an accelerated rate.
MEDITATION — LV.4
Improved focus and mana recovery while resting.
DANGER SENSE — LV.4
Bell receives stronger instinctive warnings from nearby immediate threats.
MANA RECOVERY — LV.4
Greatly improves natural MP regeneration during rest.
Bell nodded.
"Danger Sense definitely saved my life tonight."
Several times.
He continued.
" ABILITY SKILLS "
SAND AFFINITY — LV.6
Sand-element mana has become significantly easier for Bell to generate, manipulate, maintain, and shape.
SAND SENSE — LV.5
Bell can sense footsteps, impacts, pressure changes, and movement through controlled sand over a wider area.
SAND MANIPULATION — LV.7
Bell can control substantially larger quantities of sand with improved precision, speed, and responsiveness.
MANA SENSE — LV.4
Allows Bell to more clearly sense nearby sources of active mana.
TERRAIN AWARENESS — LV.5
Bell can rapidly recognize terrain advantages, hazards, unstable surfaces, footprints, elevation changes, and possible movement routes.
PARALLEL THOUGHT — LV.5
Bell can maintain several magical processes while observing his environment and planning simple combat actions.
SPATIAL AWARENESS — LV.5
Bell possesses enhanced awareness of nearby distances, trajectories, obstacles, enemies, and attack paths.
Bell smiled.
"These skills work way better together than they look separately."
Then came the fun part.
" SAND MAGIC "
SAND CREATION — LV.5
Bell can generate a larger quantity of ordinary sand directly from mana.
SAND BULLET — LV.7
Compresses sand into a high-speed projectile capable of piercing weaker F-Rank monster defenses and severely damaging wood.
Bell smiled.
"There it is."
The wolf from earlier flashed through his memory.
He became quieter.
"Definitely stronger now."
SAND BIND — LV.5
Creates stronger restraints capable of holding low-ranked monsters for longer periods.
SAND STEP — LV.6
Bell can manipulate sand beneath his feet for rapid directional changes, sliding, short acceleration bursts, improved balance, and limited terrain-assisted movement.
Bell grinned.
"Best movement skill ever."
SAND WALL — LV.5
Creates larger and more durable compressed barriers.
SAND SHAPING — LV.5
Allows Bell to create increasingly complex temporary constructs and simple moving shapes.
SAND STREAM — LV.5
Bell launches powerful concentrated currents of sand capable of pushing multiple low-ranked enemies.
SAND VEIL — LV.4
Creates a dense localized cloud of airborne sand that reduces enemy visibility and can irritate exposed eyes.
Bell thought about the goblins.
His smile widened.
"Sand Veil plus Sand Sense."
He nodded.
"Keeping that combination."
Then—
" UNIQUE SKILL "
GRAIN SOVEREIGNTY
A unique authority granting Bell extraordinary dominion over grains and granular substances.
Bell's growing combat experience has begun strengthening his instinctive ability to issue separate commands to individual sections of controlled sand.
Current Synchronization: 2%
Bell froze.
"Wait."
He leaned closer.
"Two percent?"
Before tonight, the skill had never displayed a number.
Bell stared.
"So actual combat improves my synchronization too…"
His smile slowly appeared.
"That means this thing can grow."
He continued.
" WEAPONS "
Training Knife
" ITEMS "
Endless Dune Sand Pouch
Small Healing Potion ×1
Empty Water Bottle ×1
Bell stared at the empty water bottle listing.
"…The Status System is judging me."
He closed the screen.
The golden light disappeared.
Darkness returned.
Bell lay back.
His entire body felt heavy.
But his mind was awake.
Level Five.
One night.
The difference was enormous.
Bell stared toward the ceiling.
"What happens when I reach Level Ten?"
Then twenty.
Fifty.
One hundred.
His imagination began running.
Sandstorms.
Giant constructs.
Massive sand walls.
Sand armor.
Sand weapons.
Entire battlefields covered under his control.
And Grain Sovereignty—
Only two percent synchronized.
Bell's golden eyes narrowed.
"How strong can I actually become?"
Then another thought appeared.
The future.
He couldn't remain inside House Sirocco forever.
Bell remembered the Adventurer Guild books he had read.
Adventurers traveled freely.
Accepted quests.
Explored ruins.
Entered dungeons.
Fought monsters.
Visited other kingdoms.
Bell smiled.
"That…"
He stared upward.
"…sounds exactly like what I wanted."
His second life was not going to become another cage.
No office.
No endless overtime.
No spending every day doing something he hated until his body collapsed.
He would train.
Grow.
Learn.
Travel.
When he was old enough—
Perhaps sixteen.
When he was truly ready.
Bell Sirocco would become an adventurer.
Join the Adventurer Guild.
Travel Ravelle.
Then beyond Ravelle.
Explore dungeons.
Ancient ruins.
Monster forests.
Deserts.
Foreign kingdoms.
Maybe even entire continents.
Bell smiled sleepily.
"Yeah…"
His eyelids slowly became heavier.
"That'll be my goal."
Train.
Grow stronger.
Understand Sand Magic.
Master Grain Sovereignty.
And someday—
Become an adventurer.
Bell closed his eyes.
His breathing gradually slowed.
Moonlight rested across his sleeping face.
Outside, House Sirocco remained peaceful.
Nobody knew that its seven-year-old youngest son had slipped beyond the estate walls.
Nobody knew that Bell had defeated seventy-eight F-Rank monsters in a single night.
Nobody knew he had reached Level Five.
And nobody knew that the supposedly disappointing Sand Mage had just taken his first true step toward becoming something far more dangerous.
TO BE CONTINUED