"Sigh… no one there. Okay."
Adil gripped the hilt of his blade, still lodged in the Krate's skull.
With a swift pull, he yanked it free.
The moment the blade left the bone, the skull began to glow—deep violet cracks spreading like veins across its surface.
A translucent screen flickered into view.
System Message: MOVE AWAY QUICKLY
Adil's eyes widened.
"Oh no—"
BOOM.
The skull exploded, sending a shockwave of mana-infused force across the clearing.
Adil was thrown back, crashing into the dirt. His skin sizzled—burned by the blast.
"AHHHHGH… hahhah…dam it," he groaned through the pain.
Then it started.
His body began to heal—slowly, violently.
Every nerve screamed.
The pain doubled.
Adil lay on the ground, breath ragged, body twitching as the healing process clawed through his nerves.
The pain finally began to fade.
He sat up slowly, dust and ash clinging to his skin.
A translucent screen flickered into view.
System Message: Special Ability of Krate — Self-Destruction Upon Death
Adil stared at it.
Then narrowed his eyes.
"-_– Are you telling me this now?"
The system didn't respond.
Just blinked once.
Then vanished.
Adil groaned, dragging himself to his feet.
"Next time, lead with that. Thanks to those clothes, the damage was not that bad."
He sighs.
"As expected, nothing goes easy for me".
Adil stood, fully healed, the pain from the Krate's explosion now just a memory.
He walked toward the chest near the flickering fire.
"This better be worth it," he muttered.
He opened the lid.
Inside, a shining blue orb pulsed softly with mana energy. Beside it lay a scroll, sealed with a rune that shimmered faintly.
Adil picked up the orb.
System Message: Mana Orb — Grade E
He nodded.
"Not bad."
Then he reached for the scroll.
System Message: Unknown Scroll — Decoding Required
Adil raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, translate it."
The system flickered.
Lines of code scrambled across the screen.
Then—glitching.
Symbols warped. The translation stuttered. The screen blinked and vanished.
Adil sighed.
"Expected."
He pocketed both items and turned toward the hills.
"The cave's close. Time to hunt."
After a few moments of walking, he reached the cave entrance.
Dark. Silent. Waiting.
Adil looked down at his right arm—gone.
"This'll be tough to do…"
Just then, the system flickered again.
System Message: Mana Orb can be used to temporarily form a Mana Arm. Duration: 10 minutes.
Adil stared at the orb.
A faint pulse.
A temporary arm.
A chance