Chapter 15: Testing New Skills (Part 2)
Evan stopped 50 meters away from the lion. The monster had already noticed Evan, but it did not attack him immediately because it could sense a dangerous aura from him.
Evan smiled when he saw how cautious the lion was upon seeing him. If it had been before, the lion would have already attacked him without giving him a chance to catch his breath.
Roarrrr!!!
The lion roared at Evan upon seeing him smiling, although it could sense the danger he posed. As a monster with the primary instinct to kill, it couldn't endure any longer and charged toward Evan at full speed.
The lion was quite fast for a D rank monster, but when Evan saw it, he felt like the lion was moving in slow motion. As the lion charged toward him, Evan also moved.
"Haste!" Evan used his newly acquired skill, Haste, and his agility increased sharply.
But when he used haste to increase his agility, he wasn't able to control his speed properly and ran past the lion appearing behind it.
When Evan stopped, he felt like his head was spinning. Since he had just advanced to D rank with his monarch core and his prime core had also advanced to E rank, his agility had increased exponentially.
It was his first time using his newfound power, so he wasn't able to control it properly, and instead of appearing in front of the lion, he ended up appearing behind it.
"Damm! I'll have to practice if I don't want to crash into something while running," Evan said when he realized he couldn't control his new power.
The lion, which was charging toward Evan, also stopped and quickly looked behind when it sensed Evan's presence.
Roar!!!
The lion roared once again and charged toward Evan once more. Evan took a deep breath and dashed toward the lion but didn't use the Haste skill this time to enhance his agility. He wanted to first control his natural speed.
Even without using the Haste skill, Evan was much faster than the lion. When he neared the lion, the monster used its front claw like a hammer to strike him, but Evan easily dodged the lion's claw with his agility and punched the lion in the face.
Roar!!!
The lion roared in pain as Evan's fist landed squarely on its face. Due to the impact, the lion was blasted ten meters away from him.
Evan was shocked by his own strength. Normally, an average D rank hunter would have a hard time fighting against a monster of the same rank. But here, he wasn't even using his full strength, but he was able to fight against the lion effortlessly.
"Looks like the power the monarch core gave me when it advanced to a new rank is vastly different from the power that the prime core gave me," Evan said, impressed by his ability to fight against the lion without much effort.
Roar!!
The lion roared and stood up after being blasted away by Evan's punch. Suddenly, a black mist started to emanate from the lion, covering its entire body.
The mist began to solidify, forming armor that covered the entire body of the lion. Because of the armor, the lion's defense greatly increased, and with a loud roar, it dashed toward Evan once again.
Evan didn't care about the skill the lion had just used and pointed one of his fingers towards the incoming lion.
"Shadow bullet," Evan muttered, and a dark bullet shot from his finger towards the lion at a frightening speed.
Since the lion was running towards him at full speed, it wasn't able to dodge the bullet. The bullet struck the lion in the center of its head.
The bullet easily pierced through the lion's armor, and even its tough skin couldn't stop the shadow bullet completely. The bullet dug deeper into the head of the lion and made a small hole at the center of its forehead.
Roarrrrr!!!!
With a loud roar, the charging lion dropped to the ground when the bullet struck it in the center of its forehead, and black blood spurted out from its forehead.
"The power of Shadow Bullet is not bad," Evan remarked, observing how his bullet easily pierced through the lion's defense.
"I think I can easily take care of any Rank D monster with my current power. I should finish off this lion so I can go back and eat something. After doing so much today, I'm starting to feel hungry," Evan said, dashing towards the lion, which was still roaring in pain because of the earlier bullet.
With his high agility, Evan reached the lion in the blink of an eye and once again used Shadow Bullet, but this time, Evan used three times more mana than before.
A sharp, two-centimeter-long bullet formed at the tip of Evan's finger, and he shot it at the lion. The bullet pierced through the lion's head, destroying its brain.
Roarrr!!!
With a loud, agonizing roar, the lion ceased to breathe and died. Evan looked at the lifeless body of the lion for a moment and remembered how just a few hours ago, he was struggling to fight against monsters of similar strength. But in a matter of hours, everything changed due to a single event.
As Evan contemplated how easily he had killed the lion, a small smile appeared on his face. "I wonder what kind of expression those arrogant students from the academy will make when they find out about my current strength."
After killing the lion, Evan searched for its core, but unfortunately, he didn't find anything. Nevertheless, Evan was not disappointed and began walking toward the exit portal of the dungeon.
This time, he didn't encounter any monsters and safely arrived at the exit portal of the dungeon.
Evan took a deep breath and exited the dungeon, ready to start a new life where he wouldn't have to endure the mocking looks of others and could continue to improve his power.
Chapter 16: Coming Back To Academy
"Looks like that kid died in the dungeon," the guard who had warned Evan when he entered the dungeon said.
"Many ignorant people like him die every day because they overestimate themselves and enter dungeons that are of higher rank than they can handle," the other guard said, shaking his head.
"According to the card he showed, he was a student of Astrate Hunter Academy. I wonder what they are teaching the students there."
"You can't expect them to pay attention to every student. There are hundreds of people who awaken their abilities and join the Hunter Academy. If a student overestimates themselves and enters a dungeon that is higher level than them, you can't blame the academy for it."
"I wonder if he informed his teachers that he would be entering a D rank dungeon," the guard said.
"We already know his name. We'll do our duty and inform the academy about him if he doesn't come out before tomorrow," the second guard said, yawning.
Suddenly, the entrance portal of the dungeon flashed. When both guards, who were in conversation, looked at the portal, they saw a boy in tattered clothes stained with blood emerging from it.
Even though the boy was wearing tattered, blood-stained clothes, he still looked devilishly handsome. His pitch-black hair waved in the cold night wind. The guards were momentarily stunned as they observed Evan, for he looked completely different than before.
"Who is this guy, and how did he enter the dungeon without us noticing?" one of the guards asked upon seeing Evan.
"Idiot, he's the same F-rank student who entered a few hours ago," the guard who had warned Evan replied. He remembered Evan's face clearly, and even though Evan looked completely different now, he could still recognize him.
"What?" the guard exclaimed, scrutinizing Evan's face. "How the hell did his appearance change this much?" he asked, his expression filled with astonishment as he, too, recognized Evan.
After emerging from the dungeon, Evan walked towards the gate where the guards were standing. When he approached them, he nodded at them with a small smile.
"Hey, what happened to you?" one of the guards asked Evan.
Evan was initially confused but then remembered that his appearance had changed significantly due to his core advancement. His once skinny body had gained muscle, and his height and charm had increased. In essence, he looked completely different from before.
"I just got lucky, and my core advanced to E rank, which is why my appearance changed a little," Evan explained, scratching the back of his head.
The guards were stunned upon hearing this, as they had never seen someone's appearance change so drastically after advancing from F rank to E rank. However, they couldn't find any other reason for Evan's sudden transformation, so they were unable to say anything further.
"You're lucky you didn't die in the dungeon. Next time, only enter a dungeon according to your rank," the guard advised when he noticed Evan's tattered and blood-stained clothes.
"Thanks for the advice. I'll keep it in mind," Evan replied politely and began to walk away. This time, the guards did not stop him.
Evan waved his hand when he spotted a taxi, and the driver pulled over. "Astral Hunter Academy," Evan requested.
"Are you a student at the Hunter Academy?" the driver asked as he drove towards the academy. He wasn't surprised by Evan's tattered clothes, as they were near the Shadow Kingdom Dungeon, and many hunters emerged with similar appearances after battling inside.
"Yes, I'm in my final year," Evan replied to the taxi driver.
"Sigh, I also wanted to become a hunter but wasn't able to awaken any ability," the driver lamented.
Evan did not say anything in response to the driver's remark, as he was already aware that very few people were able to awaken their abilities.
The driver fell silent after that, focusing on driving Evan to the academy. Meanwhile, Evan sat in the back, reflecting on the events that had transpired earlier that day. He was particularly puzzled about how he had acquired the Shadow Monarch Physique after sacrificing his Shadow Physique. He was certain that the person who had taken his physique was not the one who had bestowed the Shadow Monarch Physique upon him.
"I'll have to find out how people can obtain a physique," Evan said to himself, thinking about looking into the details of the physiques once he returned to the academy.
"Although my power is now even higher than that of a D ranker, the aura emanating from my body still reflects the strength of an E-ranker," Evan mused.
His Monarch Core was completely dormant, not emitting any aura, so anyone who saw him would assume he was an E-rank hunter.
Evan felt content with this fact, as he had no intention of revealing his Shadow Monarch Physique to anyone. The details he had come across described it as a forbidden physique, and he wanted to ensure that no one else knew about it.
After a two-hour journey, Evan finally arrived at the academy. He paid the taxi fare and stepped out of the vehicle.
"I'm almost out of money. I'll have to sell these cores, or I won't even have enough to buy cup noodles," Evan sighed, contemplating his financial situation, as he entered the academy.
Inside the academy, there weren't many students around, as it was nighttime, and most of them were either training or asleep.
However, there were still a few students who caught sight of Evan. With his strikingly handsome face and blood-stained, tattered clothes, he stood out.
"Who's that guy? Is he also a student?" one male student wondered upon seeing him.
"He might be a new student who forgot to bring spare clothes when he entered a dungeon," another student speculated.
"I think I've seen him somewhere before," a student remarked, staring at Evan. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "Isn't he that trash Evan?"
As the other students heard this, they, too, were taken aback. They looked at Evan's face and recognized him, as Evan was famous throughout the academy for being the weakest student.
"What happened to him?" the students murmured in shock, witnessing Evan's dramatic transformation.
Anticipating this reaction, Evan simply ignored them and continued walking toward his dorm room.
"Evan?" However, Evan stopped in his tracks when he heard someone call his name from behind. A cold glint flickered in his deep black eyes upon hearing the voice.
Evan turned around and saw four individuals approaching him. The person who had called him was a muscular man, resembling a bodybuilder, and he walked at the front of the group. The other three men followed closely behind, appearing like third-rate street thugs who extorted money from people.
"Mike," Evan muttered the name of the muscular man as he recognized him.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
14 Power
stone You may also Like
Paragraph comment