[Notice: Skill successfully learned.]
[Acquired Skill: Eye of Insight Lv.1]
[Effect: Active skill. Allows analysis of basic information for monsters and items.]
A translucent prompt shimmered across Trafalgar's vision. He clenched his fist, joints cracking like snapping steel.
"At last… my first skill."
He drew a long breath, eyes shifting toward another item glowing faintly blue inside his Void Backpack.
[Skill Stone: Can be used to enhance any skill level.]
"Perfect." His lips curled upward. Without hesitation, he crushed it in his hand.
[Notice: Eye of Insight Lv.1 → Lv.2]
[New Effect: Can analyze full details of monsters and items; reveals partial terrain maps.]
The words had barely faded when a surge of runes flooded outward. Instinctively, Trafalgar pressed his palm against the ground.
Boom!
In an instant, a map of glowing light unfurled in his mind—the entire outline of the Poison Mist Marshlands etched with flawless clarity.
A low laugh rumbled from his chest.
"With this map… and ten years of memories… I'm nearly untouchable."
Yet three more items in his inventory still gleamed.
Three finely wrought machetes, their edges gleaming, runes etched like the work of a master smith.
[Greenclaw Cleaver: Attack +5, Strength +2, Tier: One]
[Detected duplicates ×2. Would you like to fuse for enhancement?]
Trafalgar didn't hesitate.
"Enhance."
[Consumed: Duplicate equipment ×2 → Enhancement successful]
[Greenclaw Cleaver +2: Attack +15, Strength +6, Tier: One]
He drew the weapon, fingers trailing along the intricate engravings as the blade's cold gleam reflected in his eyes.
"Now this is worthy of my rebirth."
Discarding the battered novice iron blade, he equipped the newly forged Greenclaw Cleaver +2. Then, with a thought, he summoned his panel.
——[Personal Status Panel]——
Name: Trafalgar
Level: 1 (28 / 100)
Strength: 22
Agility: 6
Constitution: 6
Spirit: 6
Skill: Eye of Insight Lv.2
Equipment: Greenclaw Cleaver +2 (Attack +15, Strength +6)
Combat Power: 95
World Coins: 20
Trafalgar stared at the string of numbers, a strange gleam flickering in his eyes.
95 Combat Power.
That meant he had already surpassed Bob—the so-called boxing champion.
"In my past life, I could only watch their backs grow distant… but now, it is you who will look up to me."
Closing the glowing panel, Trafalgar slowly rose to his feet.
Across the plaza, some still wept over fallen companions, others sat in shock, hollow-eyed and trembling. Trafalgar gave them only a passing glance before turning away.
The moment he stepped beyond the plaza, the world dimmed.
Ancient trees towered overhead, their crowns interlocking like the bars of a prison, blotting out the sky. The ground was riddled with slick, sinking bogs, bubbles of venom rising and bursting with a stench that stifled the lungs.
Keeping to the shadows of the trunks, Trafalgar moved cautiously. The mire churned with deadly toxins—one misstep would mean certain death.
In his ears, the regional chat buzzed:
[Has anyone found a chest yet?!]
[No… nothing.]
[Even if someone did, you think they'd tell us?]
Trafalgar chuckled under his breath. Treasure chests—that was exactly what he was hunting.
The Poison Mist Marshlands crawled with beasts. Slaying them was one path to leveling up, but a costly one—solo combat always carried lethal risk. Chests, however, were different. Hidden in perilous swamps, hollow trees, or jagged crevices—whoever found them first could seize enormous gains at minimal cost.
Caution. Precision. Ruthlessness. That was the law of his survival.
Moments later, he arrived before a colossal tree in the southeast quadrant.
[Notice: Chest signature detected within range.]
Circling around, he spotted a one-meter hollow at its base. Inside, a gray chest sat silently in the shadows.
"So it really is here."
Trafalgar slipped into the hollow, kneeling before the prize. His voice was low, sharp.
"Insight."
[Gray Chest: 90% chance to yield World Coins; 20% chance to yield Tier One equipment; 5% chance to yield Skill Book or Special Item.]
Trafalgar's lips curled into a cold smile.
"Chance? In front of me, such a thing doesn't exist."
He pressed his palm upon the lid.
A burst of prismatic light erupted skyward—
and in an instant, the chest dissolved into shimmering motes of dust.
[Absolute Drop Rate Triggered. Rewards have been delivered to your Void Backpack.]
Trafalgar summoned his inventory, and in that instant, his eyes blazed with fierce light.
—200 World Coins.
An ancient silver ring.
A blood-red pill.
And… a skill book gleaming with dark-gold radiance.
[Agility Ring: Agility +8 (Tier One)]
[Body-Tempering Pill: Upon consumption, Constitution +10]
[Stealth: Tier One Skill. Consumes Spirit. Grants 30 seconds of invisibility. Cooldown: 2 minutes.]
Without hesitation, Trafalgar slid the ring onto his finger and swallowed the pill whole.
A torrent of heat erupted through his veins, his body thrumming with newfound vigor as his Constitution soared. His status panel flickered and recalculated:
——[Combat Power: 131]——
A long breath escaped his chest, the haze of weakness vanishing. His gaze sharpened into a blade's edge.
"Now… even in a straight duel against a Level One beast, I may not lose."
The moment he absorbed the skill book, his form blurred—fading into the air as invisibility cloaked him.
It was then the sound of stumbling footsteps and hushed voices drifted near.
Three men and one woman, their clothes torn, blood smeared across their bodies, staggered into the hollow.
Their eyes widened at the faint traces of the vanished chest.
"Damn it… I knew that flash wasn't normal. Someone got here first!"
"They struck it rich… shame it wasn't us."
Muttering bitterly, they turned to leave—unaware that, hidden in the shadows, a pair of cold eyes tracked their every move.
The corners of Trafalgar's lips curled into the faintest of smiles.
The hunt… had only just begun.