Lian stood in the middle of the street. Hundreds of monsters could be seen around him.
Bloodfang Hounds, Gravehide Brutes, and other creatures that did not even have names. Among them, a few Red-Eyed Stalkers could also be seen.
Their number was not large, but their presence was strange. Too strange. None of them behaved like the other monsters.
They did not roar. They did not move aimlessly. They just watched. As if they were waiting.
Waiting for something. Or waiting for someone.
Lian breathed quietly. At that moment, he realized. This was no longer a normal hunt.
This was an army. An army with order. An army with commands.
He was not worried about the number of these monsters, because with a single look, it was clear that most of them were between levels 9 and 15, and they could not pose any threat to him.
But the problem was that if he fought here, these humans would definitely get hurt, and that could be a problem.
Suddenly, while he was thinking, one of the Bloodfang Hounds separated from the crowd.
Its yellow, hungry eyes locked onto one of the mindless humans. Then it charged toward him with savage speed.
But before it could even cover half the distance, Lian’s eyes shone.
[Thunder Calamity]
The sound of a mighty thunder echoed in the street. But this thunder did not come from the sky. It came from his own body. A blue line of lightning split the street.
In a fraction of a second, it reached the Bloodfang. The monster did not even have time to scream.
Its body was destroyed. Flesh, bones, blood, everything was obliterated in the lightning explosion.
Only ash remained.
Lian quietly looked at the mindless human. He had not even noticed anything. He kept walking, like a lifeless puppet.
"It seems you bastards are here to test my patience."
"You are not allowed to touch them. If you do, I will wipe you all out." Lian’s voice was quiet, but there was a strange coldness in it.
But the problem was not that simple. The street was full of monsters. If he killed one... three more would appear.
If he destroyed three... ten more would come forward. This was not a battle defined by the number of enemies.
But by the speed of his reactions. Suddenly, the air around became cold.
And fortunately, in terms of speed, he doubted anyone below level 20 could be his rival.
[Glacial Reaper Claw]
Massive ice claws formed around his hands. Shining, deadly, and lethal.
A Gravehide attacked from the left. The ice claw moved, and the monster’s body was frozen in that moment, and a second later... it was torn apart.
Pieces of ice and flesh covered the entire street. But the pressure did not decrease. It increased.
Every moment, a new monster came close to the humans. Every moment, he had to intercept a new attack.
The first heavy hit struck him from behind. A Bloodfang landed on his back.
Its claws scratched the armor. The second attacked from the right. The third from above. The blows were not lethal, but there were many.
Too many. And even the best armor would get damaged under such a barrage.
Lian frowned. He could not risk his armor being destroyed and leaving him defenseless. He needed to strengthen his defense layers while fighting such an army.
[Steelhide]
Suddenly, he felt as if his body was covered with a metallic layer. But this time, it was not enough.
The system appeared in front of his eyes.
[Skill Evolution Available]
Twenty-nine Fragments were consumed.
Blue light coiled around his body. The metallic layer began to change, and then a new notification appeared.
[Steelhide has evolved]
[New Skill: Diamond Skin]
[Rank: Divine]
[Description: Increases physical defense by 300%. All attacks from normal monsters below level 25 have their damage reduced by 20%.
Consumes 0.9 mana per minute.]
"Much better now." Lian gave a faint smile. Now, with this skill, even without his armor, he had a perfect defensive layer.
But the monsters were still not finished. The ground under his feet shook. Dozens of creatures attacked from several directions. He slammed his fist on the ground.
[Earthbreaker]
A massive explosion shook the street. The asphalt cracked. The buildings trembled. Dozens of monsters fell to the ground.
But still, it was not enough.
He had spent nearly 15 mana on this hit. If he kept using mana like this, his reserves would be depleted.
The notification appeared again.
[Skill Evolution Available]
Twenty more Fragments were consumed, and then...
[Earthbreaker has evolved]
[New Skill: Cataclysm Pulse]
[Rank: Great (+)]
[Description: A very powerful strike that can even destroy steel and cause an earthquake.
The strike affects a radius of 1 kilometer and destroys designated targets. The level of destructive power depends on the amount of mana used.]
"So now I can choose any target I want to affect?" He smiled. This was better.
This way, he could target and destroy any designated target within a 1-kilometer radius. Which meant the whole street would not be blown up.
But using skills continuously came at a cost. His mana was rapidly decreasing. Besides, fighting such a large army required more power and endurance.
He immediately opened his status panel. He had 101 points, and it was time to use them.
Without hesitation, he decided.
30 points to Mana. 20 points to Resistance. 30 points to Strength.
[Mana: 156 --> 186]
[Resistance: 65 --> 85]
[Strength: 138 --> 168]
[Stat Points: 21]
New power flowed through his body. His heart beat stronger. His muscles became more compact. His lost mana was greatly increased. And fatigue suddenly retreated.
Just by looking at his stats, any Awakened would go crazy. These were stats that even level 20 Awakened did not have. But him? He had them at level 11!
God knows what his stats would look like when he reached level 20... or even when he went through his first evolution.
Three Red-Eyed Stalkers came out from among the monsters. Quiet, silent, coordinated.
They did not attack. They just moved. Like commanders surveying the battlefield.
Lian looked at them. He was now sure. These were not ordinary soldiers. But he still did not understand something. Why did the Stalkers themselves not attack him?
Could they be afraid of him? But he could not see or feel any fear in them.
Rather, they seemed to be avoiding approaching him because of an order they had received. Now the question was, what order did they have?
The battle continued.
But the advantage was completely Lian’s. Thunder Calamity, Glacial Reaper Claw, and Cataclysm Pulse.
Skills were activated one after another. Each wave of attack was destroyed. Each path was closed. The monsters died.
But the humans did not even get a scratch. Lian had practically become a living wall.
A barrier that no creature could pass. On the other hand, the monsters were being slaughtered one after another, as if they were being genocided.
And his stat points and Fragments kept filling up one after another. For him, this place was like paradise.
Bloodfang Hounds were wolf-type monsters, and for each one he killed, he gained 2 Fragments.
He even thought to himself, could this be paradise? If not, how else could he keep getting stronger so easily and effortlessly?
For a few moments, he even forgot the main reason he had come here.
[You have leveled up]
[Warning! Warning! Mana has dropped below 5 units.]
Until another notification appeared for him as well.
In the end, he stood in the center of the street. His body was covered in traces of battle, but no blood could be seen. His eyes were still calm.
His mana had reached a critical state, but he was not worried.
"Was that all?"
All the monsters stopped. At the same time, exactly in one moment. No attack, no retreat. Just stillness.
Lian laughed. It was clear that the monsters were scared too and had no more hope of killing him. They knew they could not get anything done this way.
Of course, he did not think the monsters’ goal was to kill him from the beginning. It seemed more like they wanted to tire him out and weaken him.
In the distance, one of the Red-Eyed Stalkers tilted its head. Like someone who had received a command.
A few seconds passed. Then something happened that even stopped Lian.
All the monsters moved aside. Quietly, orderly, silently. Like soldiers making way for a guest.
In the middle of the massive central street... a direct path opened. A path leading to the city hall building. To the heart of the city center.
To the place where all the answers were probably hidden.
Lian stared at the open path.
The monsters no longer attacked. They did not even look at him anymore. As if their task was over. As if something in the depths of the city center... had finally made its own decision.
And now... it was inviting him.