CHAPTER TEN
...
Carl was bedazzled by the variety of skills that came with the talent he had received. Each one of them was incredibly overpowered if used in the right way, but what amazed him even more was how perfectly they complemented one another.
They were not simply powerful skills thrown together randomly. Each ability seemed to cover a weakness or enhance the effect of another, making the entire talent feel almost perfectly designed for him. In this world where strength meant everything, this was undoubtedly the best talent he could have hoped for.
Carl couldn't help but wonder why it was only rated SSS and not something even higher.
If this was only an SSS-rank talent, then just how ridiculous would a talent beyond SSS have to be?
Not wanting to dwell on this for too long, Carl washed himself in the lake before deciding to explore the lush forest around him. He wanted to see if he could find anything useful... or possibly encounter a monster that he could use to test his current strength against.
Just as he was about to walk in a random direction, the system suddenly spoke.
[You should walk straight west and walk to the end of this forest. There will be a surprise for you if destiny is on your side.]
Then, it went silent.
Carl was first surprised, then bewildered.
He stood there for a moment before calling out to the system.
"System, what do you mean by that?"
System: "..."
"What's the surprise?"
System: "..."
Carl stared blankly for a few seconds before shrugging in defeat.
Since he couldn't get the system to talk, he would just comply. At least he knew that the system wouldn't harm him.
Carl acknowledged the system's words and turned west before starting to walk in that direction.
The deeper he went, the quieter the surroundings became.
The once lively forest gradually became eerily silent, with only the sound of his footsteps breaking the stillness. Every now and then, faint beast roars could be heard somewhere ahead, deep and distant, as if the creatures of the forest were waiting for him to show up.
Carl continued forward without slowing down.
He passed through the lush forest, crossed a swamp, and traveled through several other areas before eventually walking into a dry grassland.
The scenery changed completely.
The lush greenery disappeared, replaced by dry grass stretching across the land. The wind carried a strange scent with it, and the further Carl walked, the more uncomfortable he became.
He continued for nearly an hour.
Then, he suddenly started feeling a tingling sensation all over his body.
Carl's footsteps slowed.
Something felt wrong.
The air he breathed in felt different... almost as if it had been tainted by something invisible. The atmosphere around him had also changed. It was no longer simply quiet.
It was desolate.
Dead.
There was a strange oppressive feeling hanging in the air, as if this entire region had been abandoned by life itself.
Carl immediately became vigilant.
His instincts warned him that something was wrong.
Without hesitation, he summoned his sword, Desolate.
The moment the heavy weapon appeared in his hand, Carl's entire demeanor changed. His eyes sharpened as he tightened his grip around the hilt.
With Desolate in hand, Carl proceeded cautiously.
His intuition kept telling him that something was watching him.
And then...
Suddenly, four dark shadows lunged at him from different directions, catching him completely off guard.
Carl reacted almost instantly.
Desolate swept outward in a wide swing.
BANG!
The first shadow was knocked away by the flat side of the blade before Carl immediately followed with an upward slash, sending the second one flying backward.
He then quickly repositioned Desolate in front of himself, using the massive sword as a shield.
BOOM!
The two remaining shadows crashed directly into Desolate.
Even with Carl's strength reaching a hundred thousand kilograms when wielding Desolate, the sheer force behind the impact caused him to slide three meters backward before he could finally stabilize his body.
It might have seemed like a long distance...
But in reality, it had only taken a few seconds.
If not for Carl's incredibly fast reaction speed and his ability to respond instantly to danger, that sudden ambush could have seriously injured him...
Or even killed him.
The moment Carl stabilized his body, his eyes immediately locked onto the monsters that had attacked him.
He couldn't help but be surprised.
The four monsters looked somewhat like wolves, but their bodies had been twisted into something far stranger and more terrifying.
A fierce and destructive aura continuously radiated from their bodies.
Each of them was 2.5 meters tall and five feet long. They had six legs each... two at the front and four at the back, giving their already monstrous bodies an unnatural appearance.
Their canines protruded from their mouths like those of the historical saber-toothed tiger, long, sharp, and terrifying enough to make even the sight of their mouths intimidating.
Carl's expression became serious.
He immediately activated Soul Eyes.
"Reveal..."
[NAME: Vicious Calamity Wolf]
[RANK: D-Rank Chieftain Monster]
[HP: 50,000/50,000]
[STR: 80]
[AGILITY: 90]
[DEFENSE: 50-80]
[DESCRIPTION: A ferocious wolf that was exposed to Destruction Energy for too long, disrupting its evolution chain and forcing it to undergo a variant evolution into a Calamity Wolf. They possess strength surpassing their level and are extremely ferocious. The more injured they become, the stronger they get. Watch out for their canines. They are extremely sharp. Also, beware of their unpredictable skills.]
[THREAT LEVEL: Very Dangerous if you are not careful.]
Carl's expression changed slightly.
He was surprised by the system's threat evaluation of these monsters.
Very Dangerous.
That was enough to make him take them seriously.
Carl immediately became even more vigilant.
The four Calamity Wolves slowly began circling him, their six legs moving across the dry grass as they searched for an opening.
They weren't rushing anymore.
They were waiting.
Waiting for Carl to make a mistake.
Waiting for him to let his guard down so they could ambush him from his blind spot.
Carl's eyes narrowed.
He started studying the legs of the four wolves.
According to what he knew, beasts of the cat family were a fast bunch, and whenever they prepared to lunge at someone, their hind legs would become tense as they gathered strength, waiting for the perfect opportunity to deliver a single, lethal attack.
These wolves were different...
But the principle should still apply.
Carl carefully studied their movements.
The tension in the air became palpable.
One wrong movement could trigger an attack.
One opening could mean death.
Suddenly...
Carl noticed it.
One of the wolves was about to charge.
The moment Max saw that one of the wolves was about to attack, he burst out with his maximum speed, catching them off guard.
Carl immediately added strength to his feet and jumped more than fifty meters into the air.
The four Calamity Wolves reacted immediately.
Their bodies launched upward almost at the same time, their six legs pushing against the ground with frightening force.
They jumped after him, quickly surrounding Carl from all sides while activating their skill.
..... Destruction Beam ...
Energy rapidly gathered inside their mouths.
The surrounding air began vibrating under the immense power being concentrated within them, while the temperature around them steadily rose.
Four destructive energies were converging on Carl from every direction.
They thought he was cornered.
They thought there was nowhere for him to escape.
But they didn't know...
They had already walked straight into his carefully prepared scheme.
A faint smirk appeared on Carl's face.
Immediately, he activated two skills on Desolate.
..... Weight Manipulation [Maximum Weight] ...….
... Mountain Cleaver ...
[Active Skills: (Weight Manipulation) (Mountain Cleaver)]
[Weight Manipulation: The wielder can actively manipulate the weight of the weapon. Minimum weight is 100 kilos and maximum weight is 5,000 kilos.]
[Mountain Cleaver: Increases attack strength and attack speed by 100% and transmits vibration energy when used.]
Carl's veins bulged as he tightened his grip around Desolate.
Then...
He brought the massive sword down.
BOOOOOOMMM!
The instant Desolate descended, the world seemed to go silent.
The airflow was violently disrupted.
The pressure in the surrounding space surged.
The ground beneath Carl's feet cracked apart from the sheer force behind the attack.
Then...
BOOOOOOOM!
Desolate crashed directly into one of the Calamity Wolves.
The terrifying impact cleaved the monster apart before its massive body crashed violently onto the ground.
At the same time, powerful shockwaves exploded outward in every direction, carrying the vibration energy generated by Mountain Cleaver.
Rocks were sent flying.
Dust erupted into the air.
The surrounding grass was flattened.
The remaining wolves were blasted away in random directions by the overwhelming force.
Everything went silent.
For a brief moment, there was nothing but the settling dust and the faint rumbling of the devastated ground.
Then...
Notifications immediately appeared before Carl.
[Congratulations to the host for killing a Calamity Wolf.]
[Battle Points [B.P]: +1000]
[Congratulations to the host for killing a Calamity Wolf.]
[Battle Points [B.P]: +1000]
[Congratulations to the host for killing a Calamity Wolf.]
[Battle Points [B.P]: +1000]
A few seconds later, everything finally began to calm down.
The dust slowly cleared.
A wave of air blew to the side, almost as if whatever had been blocking the airflow had finally been removed.
What remained where the battle had taken place was a massive crater.
Blood was splattered all around it.
The dry grass had been destroyed, rocks had been thrown everywhere, and the ground itself had been torn apart.
It looked as if a natural disaster had struck the area.
And then, from within the crater...
Carl was finally revealed.
His clothes were full of holes, dust covering parts of his body, but he was still standing.
He slowly walked out of the crater.
His expression remained calm.
When Carl finally got out of the crater, he looked at the notifications he had received from the system.
Seeing the Battle Points he had gained, he immediately pulled up his status.
[STATUS:]
[NAME: Carl Fallen]
[RACE: Human]
[AGE: 18]
[BLOODLINE: ???????]
[CONSTITUTION: Dragon Origin Source Constitution]
[TALENT: Touch of Death [Click to view more details]]
[STR: 50]
[DEX: 45]
[AGILITY: 50]
[CONSTITUTION: 200]
[VITALITY: 200]
[CHARM: 100]
[SOURCE ENERGY [S.E]: 1000/1000]
[SOUL POWER [S.P]: 10,000/10,000]
[BATTLE POINTS [B.P]: 3000]
[Equipment:]
[Armor: None]
[Weapon: Desolate [Growth-Type Weapon]]
[Innate Skills:]
[CHARMING EYES]
[TYPE: PASSIVE]
[RANK: MAX]
[DESCRIPTION: Your eyes have an irresistible allure. When you gaze at the opposite gender for too long, they will become mesmerized and will want to possess you.]
[PLEASURE HANDS]
[TYPE: PASSIVE]
[RANK: MAX]
[DESCRIPTION: When you touch the opposite sex, your hands become a natural stimulation and will arouse their desires.]
[ADDICTIVE SCENT]
[TYPE: PASSIVE]
[RANK: MAX]
[DESCRIPTION: The scent coming off your body has the effect of stimulating the opposite hormones. Long-term exposure to the scent by the opposite sex will help stimulate their potential and strengthen their foundation.]
[FOUNTAIN OF STAMINA]
[TYPE: PASSIVE]
[RANK: MAX]
[DESCRIPTION: Your stamina recovery is twice the speed of others, and your stamina cap is increased twofold.]
[The stamina recovery speed will also increase correspondingly according to the rate at which it is used.]
[FOUNTAIN OF LIFE]
[TYPE: PASSIVE]
[RANK: MAX]
[DESCRIPTION: Your healing speed is increased twofold, and due to the host's Constitution, it grants the host the ability to absorb the life force of things to temporarily increase the rate of healing.]
Carl's eyes moved down the status screen.
His gaze immediately landed on the Battle Points.
Zero...
Had become 3000.
He stared at the number for a moment, curiosity appearing in his eyes.
Then, he immediately asked the system.
"Hey, system, what are the Battle Points used for?"