Rustle… Rustle… The shockwave of flame gradually subsided, leaving only Munir's figure advancing slowly.
His aura had grown even stronger.
The remaining Elf wore an expression of utter terror. Having seen his comrade slain in an instant, Munir had scooped up the longsword that lay on the ground and, with incredible speed, charged at him—like a fiend!
"You… you don't come over!! Don't come over!"
The guard's voice trembled.
Where was the malice and insolence he'd shown Munir just moments before?
He would have given anything to flee immediately!!
The guard was filled with regret—why had he gone searching for this runaway Divine Gifted alongside his comrade??
The situation before him… wasn't it… hopeless!
Then he forced himself to calm down. When Munir charged him, those terrifying purple-gold flames were nowhere to be seen!
"As expected of the Divine Gifted our race summoned—the pinnacle of talent. I never thought you'd be able to play your trump card again! But you won't be able to use it a third time, right?"
The Elf narrowed his eyes slightly; his expression shifted in an instant.
"You dare kill another of our Elven Race? The punishment my people will mete out will haunt you for the rest of your life!"
A flicker of malice passed through the guard's eyes.
The comrade who had been with him moments ago was his friend of decades—and Munir had killed him in an instant. How could his hatred not surge uncontrollably?
The remaining guard leaped forward several steps and drew his weapon. "Let me collect a little interest first!"
He howled as he launched his attack.
Convinced that without that purple-gold flame trump card, Munir could never defeat him!
Out of caution, he reached for the green cylindrical device at his waist—it was the magic tool used to send a distress signal.
But seeing Munir rushing at him with lightning speed, he knew he had to knock him back first or he couldn't send the signal—so he swung his blade forward in a lashing attack!
Munir pressed his lips together and, using the upward-slash technique he had learned from Jungle Skirmish Technique, sliced upward in a powerful counter!
The Elf couldn't help but sneer, "Without your class's special powers, you think you can still win, Divine Gifted? You're asking for death!"
Unexpectedly, there was a "clang" as the two blades collided. In the next moment the guard sensed a cold flash before his eyes—his own longsword was effortlessly cleaved in two by Munir.
The razor edge flashed across his throat, and blood gushed forth.
Munir's All Attributes had reached 75 points—higher than these ordinary Elves—giving him a decisive edge in direct combat! Even without activating Wrath of Rebellion, a single clash had severely wounded the guard.
Although his throat was cut, the guard's strong vitality as a class-holder kept him from dying immediately. Yet already at a disadvantage and grievously wounded, how could he possibly fight Munir?
After his throat was severed, the Elf reflexively tried to activate his distress signal. But at the next moment, there was a "shing" and a slash—he tried to scream but no sound came, only a hoarse "hrgh". His arm was cut off and flew skyward!
A second later, Munir drew his blade again, and the Elf's head flew into the air.
With that, the entire two-man hunt squad was wiped out!
Munir drew a breath, excitement flickering in his eyes.
[You have successfully resisted and slain a fiercely hostile foe; their malice has been converted into fuel for your growth, granting you 2,000 experience points.]
[Your level has increased to LV8 (3020/1600).]
[You have received a one-time God-Tier Class upgrade attribute reward: All Attributes +10.]
[You have also gained a special skill [Jungle Skirmish Technique]. Detection confirms you now possess this skill; its quality has improved from Common to Superior!]
As the system's messages appeared, Munir's eyes shone and a warm torrent of energy flowed through his body.
He did not rush to reflect on his gains, but quickly stripped the leather armor from the guards and donned it. Grabbing both of their packs, he vanished into the jungle with a swift flick of his form.
Munir knew the noise from the fight had been considerable. If he remained, more Elven pursuers would surely find him.
He moved rapidly through the woods in a large circle, then deliberately tore a strip from his sleepwear and left it behind to mislead the Elven Race trackers.
Having done all this, Munir climbed a massive tree—nearly a hundred meters tall—and hid in a nook of its trunk.
He closed his eyes to sense his surroundings, then rifled through the two guards' packs, reviewing the spoils of his recent battle.
When he opened his eyes again, the thrill of victory was evident: "Not bad." He gave a slight nod.
His surprise attack had yielded immense rewards—over 4,000 experience points, two level-ups, and another significant boost in power.
Moreover, Munir finally had the essentials for surviving in the wild: having replaced his sleepwear with Elven leather armor, he no longer had his skin abraded raw by branches and underbrush.
The Elven Race prized cleanliness, so Munir picked through the two sets of leather armor and donned them; aside from a slight whiff of blood, they felt almost perfectly comfortable.
Munir was even more delighted to find, tucked into the pockets carried by the two Elven Guards, some insect-repellent salves, healing bandages, and strange fruits. From his knowledge of the [Jungle Skirmish Technique], he knew these fruits were edible, restored stamina quickly, and were specially cultivated by the Elven Race—impossible to find in the wild.
In addition, there were some loose coins of two kinds: one bearing a human portrait—currency circulated with the outside world; the other stamped with the Elven Race's tree emblem—apparently internal Elven coinage.
Since it was impractical to carry everything on his person, Munir stowed all the coins into the leather purse he'd taken from the guard, carefully wound the bandages and salves around his waist, and tucked the fruits gently into an inner pocket of the armor.
And the great rewards from his recent raid had not yet been claimed.
Munir summoned his class panel and opened the upgraded skill [Jungle Skirmish Technique · Superior]:
Jungle Skirmish Technique (Elven Guard): Having absorbed the lingering souls of numerous Elven Guards, your combat experience in the jungle now rivals that of a seasoned Elven Guard scout. This skill grants an additional bonus: when fighting in jungle terrain, you receive a 10% boost to All Attributes.
"Impressive," Munir murmured, feeling its power.
He had gained another valuable insight.
Pressing a hand to his temple, Munir spent a good while fully integrating the flood of new memories.
Now, situated deep within the forest, he possessed complete mastery over how to conceal himself, use the terrain to launch attacks, and ambush his enemies. He even felt as though the captured longsword and the leather armor had become one with him.
His swordsmanship felt honed as if he had trained for years, and he'd learned to exploit the armor's toughness and lightness to parry enemy blows in combat.
Although Munir's raw attributes hadn't risen with the extra combat experience, his actual fighting power had at least doubled!
He stood in the perfect proving ground for his [Jungle Skirmish Technique]—a dense primeval forest!
And the skill's 10% All Attributes bonus thrilled him even more.
With a current All Attributes total of 85, that bonus granted him an additional 8.5 points—equivalent to leveling up once.
Moreover, that All Attributes boost was permanent. If he could reach dozens or even hundreds of levels in Otherworld, that 10% bonus would effectively give him the power of an extra ten or more levels in the jungle. How could that not be formidable?
Munir stood atop the hundred-meter-tall giant tree, sunlight streaming down, illuminating the murderous intent in the boy's eyes.
He gazed over the entire forest, as if he could faintly sense countless Elves—and even more powerful, elite Elven Guard warriors—scouring the woods for his trail.
"You want to capture me as a Slave? Fine by me—I intend to use you all as fuel for my own ascension." His eyes gleamed with bloodlust and desire.
That ambush had taken less than ten minutes—at most half an hour, even counting the time spent finding his targets and concealing his tracks—yet it had earned him over 4,000 experience points and a Superior-grade skill.
This yield is quite impressive!
Munir could hardly resist unleashing even more slaughter!
...
Meanwhile, in a valley just outside the Celestial Seraphim's territory.
A large number of low-level Demonic Beasts had managed to survive here—none dared approach the magnificent city of the Celestial Seraphim, so they had thrived in isolation.
Originally, these low-rank Demonic Beasts could live out peaceful lives.
Now, countless Divine Gifted had completely overrun the valley, and the beasts' agonized screams echoed without end.