The ranger who had followed the assassin's lead fared no better.
As the howlers tore into his companion, the beast pack's bloodlust surged—and he too was pounced upon within seconds, his screams fading into the snapping of jaws and tearing of flesh.
Kaito didn't blink.
Not a flicker of sympathy crossed his face.
If they had simply split up and run in opposite directions, they might've had a slim chance at survival.
But instead, they made the worst possible decision—trying to drag him into their mess.
Against the Lupshade Howlers… they might've lasted a minute.
But against me? They never stood a chance.
Just as the final slivers of their HP vanished, Kaito moved.
Like a tiger breaking loose from its cage, he stepped forward—his blade slashing in a wide arc.
"Cross Slash."
A grey crescent of energy screamed through the prairie, slicing through the air with a shriek that rivaled the howls of the wolves.
-314! -377! -352! -408! -369!
The entire pack of Lupshade Howlers disintegrated—shredded to ash in the blink of an eye.
The ground was scorched in streaks. Only piles of burnt grey remains marked where the monsters once stood.
It had taken less than two seconds.
Too weak.
I've already outgrown them.
Even after killing more than ten monsters in one attack, Kaito barely noticed a bump in his experience bar.
At Level 14, the reward of several hundred EXP points was like flicking dust off a boulder—utterly insignificant.
He calmly walked over, picked up the dropped loot—mostly low-tier pelts, copper coins, and a common short sword—then tapped his inventory.
From within, he pulled out a Tier-1 Isolation Scroll.
With a faint shimmer, the scroll activated—shrouding his presence in a thin mist of arcane light, masking his location from both players and monsters alike.
Glory keeps evolving.
In older VR games, wild monsters had fixed movement paths and basic aggro conditions. But in Glory, their behavior had become far more lifelike.
Their sensory range had grown dramatically.
They could learn from repeated patterns.
Their roaming zones expanded beyond traditional boundaries.
Monsters were no longer mindless mobs—they were now instinctual predators, driven by algorithms that mimicked real-world creatures.
Their battle instincts had shifted—no longer predictable, no longer simple. Their movement, their targeting logic, even their reactions to player strategies had begun mimicking that of real-world creatures.
They were no longer just game entities. They were combatants.
Their fighting styles changed gradually, becoming more aggressive, more reactive—far closer to true melee combat.
And most noticeably…
They no longer backed down.
In older systems, low-level monsters instinctively avoided higher-level players, their AI coded to flee or remain passive when outmatched.
But now?
Even a Level 11 Lupshade Howler would lunge toward a Level 14 warrior if provoked. And if a player underestimated their new aggression…
They'd be dead before they knew what hit them.
Their vigilance range no longer shrank against stronger opponents. Once blood was drawn, once a threat was sensed—they reacted with terrifying precision.
Kaito had seen the consequences firsthand during his return journey.
All along the winding path of the Whispering Prairie, he passed corpses—players who thought they had the advantage.
In one particularly sobering scene, he saw a fully geared party lying sprawled in the grass. All six members dead.
They had successfully killed a few Lupshade Howlers—but had lingered too long.
The scent of blood, thick and metallic, spread across the grassland. Within minutes, a larger pack descended upon them, their bloodthirst amplified by the earlier disturbance.
Glory doesn't forgive overconfidence, Kaito thought quietly.
This was no longer a game where players could brute-force everything. Caution, tactics, and efficiency were now mandatory.
Fortunately, with his isolation scroll active, Kaito's presence was masked. No scent. No aura. Even visual detection by lower-tier monsters was dulled.
He slipped through the prairie unhindered, avoiding unnecessary conflict as he headed south.
After several more minutes, the grass thinned, the golden plains giving way to craggy terrain and rust-colored outcroppings.
Kaito had entered a new danger zone—one inhabited by Level 13 monsters.
A place feared by most mid-tier players for its erratic terrain and aggressive monster patrols.
Name Scorchscale Dens
Towering ridges of dark stone stretched in every direction, steam rising faintly from fissures below.
In this hostile zone roamed the notorious creatures known as:
Blazehorn Striders (Common)
Level: 13
HP: 1260 / 1260
Sleek quadrupeds with searing hooves and iron-like hides, these monsters were relentless chargers, capable of setting fire to terrain with their path of pursuit.
Kaito kept to the upper ridgelines, avoiding their vision as he descended into the pass leading to South Glade.
It had been an hours since he departed the Echoing Deep.
And finally…
After passing through the craggy ridges and avoiding the Blazehorn Striders, Kaito entered the final stretch of his journey.
A Level 14 monster area loomed ahead—a place dreaded by most but necessary to cross.
Name Gravewhisper Hollow
It was a forest so thick with decay that even daylight seemed to shy away. Gnarled, leafless trees stretched like skeletal fingers, their bark blackened with rot. A faint mist clung to the ground, veiling everything in a ghostly pallor.
A cursed place where even the wind refused to linger.
In this forsaken forest, no beast roamed. Only cursed apparitions drifted through the darkness—remnants of forgotten spirits bound by malice and magic.
They were known for their terrifying stats:
60% resistance to all physical attacks.
20% evasion, making even accurate strikes miss frequently.
Attack Power so high, just 4 to 5 clean hits could kill even someone like Kaito.
But they had a flaw.
Despite their brutality, they only had 600 HP, and they took double damage from magical attacks.
As a result, Gravewhisper Hollow had earned a notorious title among player communities:
"The Mage's Heaven, and the Melee's Hell."
But Glory had evolved… and so had its monsters.
The Cursed Apparitions were no longer static, floating blobs of code. They had become something more. Something sentient.
They no longer relied on scent like beast-type monsters.
Instead, they could sense the aura of living beings from up to 100 meters away.
Even players cloaked in stealth were not spared—the apparitions could detect even faint soul signatures.
To enter without precaution was to invite instant death.
But Kaito was prepared.
From his inventory, he retrieved a slender glass vial, swirling with pale green mist.
Dispersing Potion
Effect: Conceals all life aura from detection-based monsters for 10 minutes.
Without hesitation, Kaito popped the cork and downed the contents in one go.
A soft shimmer flowed over his body as his presence faded into nothingness, like a ghost walking among ghosts.
Ten minutes. That's all I need.
With the apparitions drifting just beyond the next grove, he slipped into the shadows, silently making his way through the cursed woods.
After narrowly navigating through Gravewhisper Hollow, Kaito finally emerged on the other side of the cursed forest.
His feet slowed.
The mist thinned.
But his vigilance did not drop.
He quickly resumed the steady, controlled rhythm of his stamina cycle—his breathing calm, his pace efficient. Every step forward was measured, calculated. The road to South Glade was in sight, yet something deep within him refused to relax.
Then—
A cooling breeze swept across the withered treetops, brushing against his skin.
It should have been refreshing.
Instead, it brought with it a bone-deep chill.
A sensation far more terrifying than the cold of Gravewhisper Hollow.
Killing intent.
It wasn't overt.
It wasn't wild.
In fact, it was barely there—like a whisper against the nape of his neck.
But Kaito stopped immediately.
His instincts screamed.
Experienced hands… refined control… they're trained.
If not for the countless battles he'd fought in his previous life, if not for the blood-soaked survival instincts he'd forged over the years… he might've ignored that subtle warning.
He might've walked into death.
But this wasn't his first time encountering such frigid, precise hostility.
This killing intent… it's not random. It's watching me.
Kaito's hand moved on reflex.
Schwing—!
His sword was out in a flash, the blade glinting with a faint ripple of mana as he stood his ground.
Someone's here.
Someone skilled enough to conceal their presence almost perfectly.
But not perfectly enough.
Not from him.