Zairon wandered deeper into the broken wilderness, stepping over scorched roots and ducking under glowing vines, completely unfazed by the strange pulsing energy around him.
"Alright, so I've got unstable power, an anime intro moment, and an angry fairy with boundary issues. Next step: first kill," he muttered, scanning the terrain.
A low growl to his left caught his attention.
From the underbrush emerged a creature roughly the size of a large dog. Mangy fur, too many teeth, and a single, bulbous eye in the center of its forehead.
A status screen flickered briefly in his vision.
[Lesser Eyebeast – Rank: F]
Zairon's eyes sparkled.
"Oh my god. It's my first mob. My first EXP farm. My first victim."
The Eyebeast snarled, its eye glowing faintly as it charged forward.
Zairon dodged clumsily to the side. "Whoa! Okay, okay, you're not a pushover. That's fair. Let's see what this baby power of mine can do—activate mysterious latent potential!"
Nothing happened.
"…I said activate! Any time now!"
The Eyebeast lunged again. Zairon grabbed a nearby rock and hurled it.
It bounced off the Eyebeast's face. It hissed but didn't stop.
"Right. Plan B."
He picked up a jagged stick.
The Eyebeast pounced.
Zairon screamed and stabbed upward on pure reflex.
The stick jammed into the creature's eye.
The Eyebeast let out a shriek and slumped over, twitching.
Zairon lay under it, blinking, panting.
"…Did I win?"
A chime echoed in his head.
SYSTEM ONLINE
[You have slain: Lesser Eyebeast (F-Rank)]
+50 EXP earned.
System Unlocked: Hunter's Path
EXP can be used to level up Cultivation Rank, Techniques, Skills, and Traits.
Current Cultivation Rank: F-Tier [0/100]
You have acquired: Primitive Stab (Lv. 1)
Zairon sat up slowly, blinking at the translucent screen hovering in front of him.
Then he burst out laughing.
"I knew it. Of course there's a system. Of course I gain EXP. Of course I get skills. This is classic protagonist protocol."
He stood, lifting his arms like a victorious gladiator.
"Bow before me, vile world! Behold the man who slayed the terrible… uh…" He looked down at the twitching corpse.
"…Thing with one eye. The details don't matter! What matters is—"
He pointed at the system screen.
"I. Have. Leveled. Up!"
He tapped his temple. "50 EXP already. Only 50 more and I'll ascend to E-Rank. E-Rank! The letter after F! That's practically S if you squint hard enough!"
Then he struck a heroic pose.
"Ha! As expected of me. Zairon, Voidslayer, Chosen of the Universe, Eye-Stabber of Eyebeasts, destined ruler of realms and accidental harem protagonist!"
A light breeze rustled his coat. It was very dramatic.
Until the fairy from earlier returned and slapped him with a glowing leaf.
"Ow! What is with you?!"
She pointed at the corpse, then at Zairon, and mimed vomiting.
Zairon blinked. "…Jealous of my power already? I understand. It's intimidating."
The fairy facepalmed midair and zipped off.
Zairon turned back to the screen. "Alright. Time to grind. Level up. Unlock new powers. Probably find a mysterious ruins or an ancient artifact left behind just for me."
He cracked his knuckles.
"This world doesn't stand a chance."