River sprinted through the dead forest, the skeletal remains of trees clawing at the moonless sky like desperate fingers. Their branches were bare and blackened, as if the very life had been scorched out of them. The ground beneath his feet was soft with decay, and each step sent a crunch echoing into the silence.
As he moved, his mind drifted—not with fear, but with calculation.
Was this the right choice? he thought, his breath steady despite the pace. He wasn't as fast as true Physical Class Hunters, not by a long shot. But after reaching Level 15, he'd begun investing most of his Status Points into the same attributes they prioritized: STR, AGI, VIT, and DEX.
For a Mage, it was a strange build. But River wasn't like other Mages.
On paper, he was still low-rank—an F-Rank Bubblecrafter, no less. But his current speed was more than respectable for someone on low rank. Among Mages in the same rank, he was fast. Too fast.
