[Kill Confirmed: Lv.1 Greenclaw Fiend → Energy Points +5]
[Absolute Drop Rate Triggered: Loot stored in Void Backpack.]
[Kill Confirmed: Lv.1 Greenclaw Fiend → Energy Points +6]
[Absolute Drop Rate Triggered: Loot stored in Void Backpack.]
The notifications rang in rapid succession, like a triumphant battle hymn.
Hidden amidst the panicked mob, Trafalgar moved with cold precision. He never clashed head-on with the beasts. Instead, he waited, lurking in the shadows, only to strike at the decisive moment—when others had already pushed a Greenclaw to the brink. His longblade flashed, severing throats and heads in clean, merciless arcs.
In mere minutes, he had already reaped five heads.
[Total Energy Points: 28 / 100]
[72 points remaining until Level Up → Lv.2]
The chaos on the plaza slowly subsided. The stench of blood mingled with the rancid miasma, thick enough to choke the lungs. Corpses littered the stone floor—shattered limbs, mangled torsos, and puddles of putrid green blood painted a grotesque mural of slaughter.
But Trafalgar only crossed his arms, watching with detached indifference.
In his past life, he had been one of these weeping mortals. He had watched helplessly as his comrades' skulls were caved in by Greenclaws, despair drowning him like a relentless tide, leaving him trembling in the mud, paralyzed for three whole days. That was the life where he missed every chance to rise.
This time was different.
Ten years of memories surged through his mind, sharpening into a single unshakable thought—
On this continent, I will crush everything. I will survive until the very end… and claim eternity!
Not far away, three figures had already become the brightest stars of the battlefield.
Bob, his iron fists thundering, shattering monsters' chests with each blow.
Elmer, shield raised high, runes glowing, his defense unyielding as a mountain, absorbing the brunt of every assault.
And Ava, the blonde archer—her bowstring hummed, each glowing arrow piercing throats with deadly accuracy.
The three moved with seamless synergy, their cooperation smooth and instinctive. They already resembled a fully formed adventurer squad.
Trafalgar's lips curled into a cold smile.
"Hmph… just like last time. Not a single thing has changed."
He flicked his gaze toward the floating participant counter hovering before his eyes.
[Trial Grounds Survivors: 952 / 1000]
In just a single skirmish, forty-eight lives had already been snuffed out.
"A Level One Greenclaw has a Combat Power of two hundred… Level Two reaches four hundred," Trafalgar calculated coldly. "In my past life, I crumbled the moment I saw them—cowering for three days like a beaten dog. This time… it's my turn to reap."
Before the blood mist had even settled, chaos erupted again on the far side of the plaza.
"One of them is down! Finish it!"
The crowd surged forward, courage sparked by desperation, blades hacking down toward the fallen beast. But just as their weapons were about to connect—
A streak of silver flashed.
Shhhkt!
The monster's head flew high, a torrent of white light surging straight into Trafalgar's body.
[Kill Confirmed: Lv.1 Greenclaw Fiend → Energy Points +7]
[Absolute Drop Rate Triggered: Loot ×2 stored in Void Backpack.]
The would-be executioners froze, eyes wide with disbelief. Their precious spoils vanished into thin air, stolen before their very eyes.
"It's… it's him!"
"He's kill-stealing!"
"Despicable bastard!"
Angry shouts echoed across the battlefield—but Trafalgar paid them no mind. He was a cold hawk among panicked prey, striking only when it mattered, his blade harvesting kill after kill with surgical precision.
Blood sprayed. Notifications cascaded like a symphony—
[Kill Confirmed: Lv.1 Greenclaw Fiend → Energy Points +4]
[Absolute Drop Rate Triggered: Greenclaw Fangs ×2]
[Kill Confirmed: Lv.1 Greenclaw Fiend → Energy Points +6]
[Absolute Drop Rate Triggered: Greenclaw Claws ×3]
[Kill Confirmed: Lv.1 Greenclaw Fiend → Energy Points +5]
[Absolute Drop Rate Triggered: World Coins ×10]
In the span of a single bloody melee, while others gained scraps, Trafalgar's Void Backpack was bursting—eleven slots already filled with spoils.
"In my last life, I had to kill a hundred just to see a single Greenclaw Soul drop…" He chuckled inwardly, unable to contain his glee. "This time—five kills, five Souls."
Without hesitation, he seized the five crystalline [Greenclaw Souls], each pulsing with viridian light… and swallowed them whole.
In the next instant, a searing surge of power erupted from Trafalgar's chest, racing through his veins like a storm of lightning.
[Consumed: Greenclaw Soul → Strength +2]
[Progress: 5 / 10]
Five notifications blazed in quick succession, and his status panel shifted at once:
——[Personal Status Panel]——
Name: Trafalgar
Level: 1 (28 / 100)
Strength: 16
Agility: 6
Constitution: 6
Spirit: 6
Combat Power: 70 (Base 64 + Equipment 6)
Skills: None
Muscles swelled beneath his skin, bloodlines roaring with exhilaration. The torrent of newfound strength made the rusted longblade in his hands feel as light as a feather.
And yet—he knew this was still far from enough.
With only seventy points of Combat Power, fighting a single Level One beast was barely manageable. Against the elites or looming boss-class monsters… he would still be outmatched.
As his mind worked coldly through the next steps, a sudden golden radiance pulsed from deep within his Void Backpack.
"…Hm?"
His heart jolted. He immediately summoned the inventory display.
Among the eleven spoils, one ancient scroll glowed with a mysterious brilliance.
[Acquired: Skill Book — "Eye of Insight"]
[Rank: None]
[Effect: Grants the ability to perceive the essence of all things. Higher levels reveal deeper truths.]
[Learning Requirement: None]
Trafalgar's pupils contracted sharply.
"A… skill book?!"
In his past life, he had spent ten long years on the Continent of Gods and Demons. He knew too well how rare skill books were. Even the most common scroll required the slaughter of tens of thousands of monsters to have the slightest chance of dropping. And even then, strict class restrictions often rendered them useless.
But now, from just five of the lowest-tier Greenclaws, he had reaped five souls—and a skill book.
"Absolute Drop Rate… its power truly defies reason."
[Learn Skill: Eye of Insight?]
Without hesitation, his eyes burned with a fire so fierce it seemed to pierce the darkness itself, as though glimpsing the throne of the future.
"Learn! At once!"
Light exploded around him, his vision suddenly flooded with countless runes.
The trial… had only just begun.