Morning mist covered the land as the light shone upon the world. After a good night's rest, Max awoke at dawn. The smell of food spread through the forest as flickering flames cooked the meat. Refreshing, cold water flowed from the nearby stream. Sounds of grunting could be heard—Max was already training his body.
After physical exercises came meditation, mixed with aether training, followed by bow and dagger practice.
Loud breathing escaped Max's mouth as he walked to his temporary shelter with unhurried steps.
Plopping to the ground, he exhaled in satisfaction.
"Status," he said.
Name: Max Shevchenko
Affiliation: Independent
Titles: None
Realm: Apprentice
Aether Affinity: None
Weapon: Apprentice Hand-made Bow
Coin Balance: 130
Known Skills:
Skill: [Calm Heart]
Origin: Self-Developed
Mastery: Novice – 5%
Skill: [Butchering]
Origin: Self-Developed
Mastery: Untrained – 1%
Skill: [Aether Manipulation]
Origin: Self-Developed
Mastery: Untrained – 76%
Skill: [Dagger Mastery]
Origin: Self-Developed
Mastery: Novice – 3%
Skill: [Bow Mastery]
Origin: Self-Developed
Mastery: Untrained – 53%
"Good," he said calmly, looking at his skill progress with satisfaction.
"It's easier to improve mastery with the bow since I have a proper skill set for it. Aether improvement is a bit unexpected, but I think it's related to my IQ—like, it's easier to understand stuff if you're generally smart."
[ Tutorial: 28 days remaining ]
After checking the time left by the system, Max began to think.
"I've filled all the basics needed to survive the tutorial... but then why did the system give a full month for it? There has got to be more to it," Max murmured, lost in thought, reflecting on the past two days.
"There's more to be explored. I'll leave this place in an hour."
Gearing up and packing the rest into a sack, Max got moving.
The sun was high in the sky, as if slowly guiding him forward. The sounds of beasts echoed across the horizon. Excitement filled him as he felt the thrill of adventure. He moved quietly yet steadily, deciding not to avoid fights—they would serve as practice.
A short while later, he spotted three beasts in a group. Two hulking figures walked in tow with a smaller one staying between them. Covered in brown-red short fur, with a pair of gleaming silvery curved tusks, they looked like boars.
Hiding behind the trees, Max enhanced his back and arms with aether. Pulling the bowstring taut, he let the arrow loose.
Flying fast through the air, the arrow silently approached the head of the largest beast—likely the male. Sensing danger, the beast's ears twitched. It moved its body out of the way, though not completely in time—the arrow grazed its cheek, leaving a deep mark.
Enraged, the beast turned to Max and started sprinting at full speed, the other one following close behind.
Not expecting this result, Max was a moment too slow to shoot again.
He let another arrow fly, but the beast's tusks lit up with a brownish glow, blocking the projectile.
"Shit," he cursed.
By now, the group was already close.
Reacting quickly, Max powered his legs with aether, leaping up to a branch and dodging the charge. The beast crashed into the tree, leaving a deep mark.
"One hit and I'm crushed to pieces," he exclaimed, keeping calm as he fired another arrow into the beast's head.
"Fortunately, they're not that agile with those massive bodies."
The female boar roared in anger and charged Max's tree, its deep red tusks crushing the trunk into splinters.
The tree shook violently as it began to fall—Max with it.
Reacting fast, he sprinted across the branch and leapt onto a neighboring tree.
He nearly slipped on landing but managed to regain his balance. Realizing that trying for perfect shots would get him killed, he loosed a flurry of arrows. Half missed, the rest embedded in the boar's body, eventually bringing it down.
"Phew, that was close," he exhaled, shifting his gaze to the cub that whimpered beside its mother, trying to wake her.
Observing this, Max suddenly understood something: life or death belongs only to the strong.
I must never let something like this happen to those I care about, he vowed.
Drawing his bow, he quickly and painlessly ended the cub's life.
Looking over the battlefield, he smiled—complicated emotions stirring within.
"Alright, I need to get the usable arrows," he muttered, getting to work.
He glanced at the boars again. "I should probably take the tusks too."
[ System Message ]
Ironfang Boar – Feral Realm
Finishing the cleanup, he moved on through the forest.
He hunted, killing anything that moved. Most of the time, he succeeded with a single shot, earning a sizable amount of coins. Still, there were a few close calls. While moving through the forest, he instinctively honed a new skill:
[ New Skill Created ]
Skill: [Whisperstep]
Origin: Self-Developed
Mastery: Untrained – 19%
Effect: By instinctively adjusting weight distribution, foot placement, and breath control, silent movement can be achieved. At this level, the effect is minor, but overall noise is dampened. Increased mastery improves stealth efficiency, lessens the chance of enemy detection, and may eventually enable movement undetectable even to heightened senses or magical perception.
After hours of hunting, it was already evening when Max was interrupted by the sound of an angry roar nearby. Confused, he decided to check the area.
Moving fast but quietly in the shadows of the towering trees, Max approached the source—only to find a beast lying dead, warm blood still flowing from its wounds.
Approaching and examining the body, Max noticed sharp cuts all over it.
"There's another person here!" he exclaimed excitedly yet carefully, scanning the area for tracks.
There—they were faint, but visible: human footprints, alongside a wide trail of warm blood.
They're wounded. I should hurry! he thought, and quickly moved to follow.