Alexander stood at the edge of a large forest that expanded as far as the eye could go.
After returning to Earth and doing all the checks in at the guild, a digital map was sent to him that acted as a guide to locate magical creatures, and their movements and detect very strong energy signatures that could threaten his life.
He was currently in his combat suit, and unlike the one he used in the VR world, the one he owned came with a helm and HUD functionality.
"Okay, let's begin."
Alex muttered and then ventured into the forest at a sturdy running pace. On his display were a couple of red dots spread around the terrain.
For his first solo mission, Alex chose to slay 15 magical beasts.
"Xex, how far from the closest target?"
Though he had the map in view, his focus was on the terrain he was traversing. With large trees reaching several meters high with canopies, uneven grounds and vines, he had to keep his eyes on the path.
[Approximately 89 meters from your current location and decreasing.]
Xex replied and then went the extra mile.
[Energy signature reveals the beast is at the mid-tiers of Class F.]
"Thanks."
Alex replied. 'This should be a simple kill. I don't want to waste too much time here.'
Shortly after, he arrived in the vicinity of his target and climbed up a tall tree with enough branches for Alex to move.
[Analyzing target…]
The system prompted once Alex was in range to see the beast. It zoomed in on the creature and determined what beast it was based on its features.
[Target determined: Black Scaled Viper]
Alex narrowed his eyes the moment the analysis came back.
"A black-scaled viper as my first kill, huh?"
His voice came out in a mechanical tone due to his helm, but to him, it was just his normal voice.
Staring at the impressively long and coiled beast with black scales reflecting the light of the sun, Alex thought about his plan of attack.
'These beasts are known for their hard scales, powerful fangs and poisonous breaths capable of melting steel. That and their killer grip makes them very deadly.'
He recalled the description of the beast but Alex didn't have anything to worry about.
For starters, he was stronger and faster than the beast, his suit could withstand attacks from Class B awakened and finally, he could take on the Manastorm state or the Voidflare form.
'But I won't be needing that.'
With that thought, he descended and moved closer to the seemingly sleeping creature.
'Let's go physical first, but I shouldn't cause too much of a commotion.'
The map on his HUD showed the locations of other nearby beasts that could approach the area if they sensed the disturbance as well as the blood that would be ultimately shed.
Alex smirked lightly, clenched his right hand into a fist and leapt towards the Black Scaled Viper.
...…..
The Black Scaled Viper had just finished swallowing some poor creature and decided to take a nap.
In this part of the forest, it was very strong and normally stayed within its territory, hunting smaller creatures for food.
However, the beast suddenly sensed the presence of a powerful creature nearby as the killing intent the invader gave off was poorly hidden.
Abruptly, it opened its vertically slit green eyes towards the direction it sensed the invader.
*SCREECH...!*
It screeched in outrage and lunged at the invader with its fangs dripping venom.
It may have sensed that the invader was stronger but it wasn't about to sit around and be beaten in its own territory.
However, the invader proved to be stronger than it thought as the moment it arrived before the invader, it received a powerful blow that moved too fast for its eyes to follow.
*BOOM!*
The Black Scaled Viper hissed in pain, shock and outrage as it was sent flying back.
Its outrage came from the fact that the attack cracked its facial scales and disoriented its senses.
The Viper crashed into the trees in its path, blowing out their stems and bringing most of them down. The result was a straight cleared-out path that covered more than 20 meters in length.
*HISS...*
The Viper was pissed and swiftly slid back up and looked in the direction of the invader.
With fangs dripping venom, it let out another hissing sound and dashed towards the invader.
And as soon as it was close enough, it opened its maws and shot out a jet stream of poison.
"It's not that easy!"
It heard the invader say something it didn't understand and didn't care about. However, what increased the Viper's annoyance was how agile the invader was.
Like a ghost, it watched the invader zoom out of the way before the poisonous breath got there.
The Viper sensed danger and quickly moved out of its place, its eyes looking around for the enemy when it suddenly felt a heavy blow ram into it.
*CRACK!*
The Viper felt its hard scales shatter like glass as it was once again flung away, destroying every obstacle it encountered.
From the spot it was hit, the Viper felt the stinging pain and the scent of its own blood.
It was wounded!
*SCREECH!*
The beast didn't like how it was being toyed with, and the fact that the enemy was able to cause it this level of damage drove it mad.
Looking around, the beast tried to find the enemy, this time with caution and fear in its eyes.
The enemy was too fast and strong. Twice now it had been hit and hadn't gotten a chance to retaliate. If only it caught the enemy in its grip.
Then the annoying sound came again, this time from above.
"Up here, slow poke!"
The Viper sensed extreme danger this time around and swiftly abandoned its pride in an attempt to flee. It didn't even try looking at the invader.
However, its luck had run out as the Viper felt a sharp object pierce its head, instantly dimming the light in its eyes.
....
"Haa… can't say this was fun."
Alex muttered as he dispelled the mana blade he conjured.
"Is this creature good for consumption?"
[Affirmative. While the Viper is a poisonous beast, with a proper cooking technique, it can be made edible.]
"Nice…"
With that confirmed, Alex retrieved a special storage device designed to store the meat of their kills.
Despite Alex ending the fight as soon as possible, it still generated a lot of disturbance that other nearby creatures sensed.
[Alex, I'm afraid multiple energy signatures are closing in on your location.
[Energy signatures reveal multiple peak Class F beasts.]
Xex prompted and brought up the map, showing Alex his current position and the more than seven beasts rushing towards him.
Instead of feeling anxious and attempting to leave the place, he smiled excitedly and then retrieved his spear.
"Hehe, this is more to my liking."