The system's notification was a sweet melody confirming his victory.
Dravin let out a long, shuddering breath, the tension finally draining from his body.
His eyes fell upon his cleaver, still deeply embedded in the Tyrant Silverback Bear's thick neck. He walked over and, with a grunt of effort, wrenched the weapon free from the beast neck.
The blade was thankfully undamaged, however, there was still a slight chip at the edge.
It was then that a flash of brown and grey caught his eye. The little thief, the mole-like creature that had led him here, was scurrying out from behind a rock.
Its large, black eyes were fixed on the bear's corpse, a look of undisguised desire on its furry face.
It chirped excitedly and made a beeline for the dead beast, its powerful front claws already extended, clearly intending to burrow in and claim the dimensional crystal as its own.
"Oh no, you don't!" Dravin snapped, his voice sharp.
He moved in a flash, appearing directly in front of the bear's chest and blocking the little creature's path. He was not about to be robbed a second time, especially not after a life-and-death battle for the prize. He glared down at the tiny thief.
The little creature skidded to a halt, its long nose twitching. It looked at Dravin, then at the corpse, and let out a series of pitiful, heartbreaking squeaks.
Its large, black eyes began to well up with what looked suspiciously like tears, and it lowered its head, its entire body trembling as if it were the most wronged being in the entire dimension. It was an Oscar-worthy performance of pathetic cuteness.
Any other person might have had their heart melted by the display. Dravin, however, was completely unmoved.
"Save the act," he grumbled, turning his back on the creature and kneeling beside the bear. "We're not friends. You led me here, I killed the beast. I get the spoils. That's the deal."
Ignoring the renewed squeaking behind him, he plunged his hands into the gash his cleaver had made, digging through the warm flesh and sinew.
After a moment of searching, his fingers closed around a hard, dense object nestled near the beast's heart. He pulled it out.
It was a dimensional crystal, but it was vastly different from the low-quality grey one the little thief had stolen. This one was the size of a goose egg and pulsed with a vibrant, silvery light.
It was heavy, and he could feel a potent, condensed energy thrumming within it, a power that seemed to resonate directly with his own physical body.
This was a high-quality crystal, befitting a Rank 3 creature.
Without hesitation, he focused his will, and the system immediately responded.
[High-Quality Tyrant Bear Crystal detected.]
[Primary Attribute: Physique. Do you wish to absorb?]
"Absorb," Dravin commanded in his mind.
The crystal in his hand dissolved into a stream of pure, silver energy that flowed into his palm and surged through his veins.
It was a gentle but powerful current, not as violent as the Physique Strengthening Fruit, but focused and potent. It targeted his bones, muscles, and cellular structure, reinforcing and strengthening them on a fundamental level.
A series of notifications chimed in his mind.
[Physique +1]
[Physique +1]
[Physique +1]
His total physique had increased by three whole points.
A wave of vitality washed over him, completely erasing the exhaustion from the fight. He clenched his fist, feeling a tangible increase in his resilience and underlying strength.
This fight had been absolutely worth it.
A satisfied smile spread across his face. He stood up, feeling reborn, and turned to gloat at the little thief. But the creature was no longer putting on a pitiful act. It was happily munching on something else.
Dravin's eyes widened in horror.
The little bastard had given up on the crystal and moved on to the next treasure in the cave: the Moonlit Jade Orchid.
It had already chewed through half of the delicate, glowing petals.
"What the hell?! Get away from that, you thief!" Dravin roared, his good mood evaporating instantly.
He lunged forward, but the creature, with a final, defiant chirp, swallowed the last of the petals and scurried to a safe distance, looking at him with an infuriatingly innocent expression.
Dravin stared at the bare, severed stem of the priceless herb, a vein throbbing in his temple. He was too late.
Grumbling under his breath about the insatiable greed of dimensional hamsters, he knelt and salvaged what was left—the glowing stem and the root system. He didn't know if they held any value, but he wasn't about to let the thief have them.
Annoyed, and not wanting to be outdone, he decided to just eat the stem himself. It had a strange, cool taste, like mint and moonlight, and dissolved into a refreshing stream of energy in his stomach.
Almost immediately, the system chimed again.
[Moonlit Jade Orchid (Stem) consumed. Potency is 30% of the full herb.]
[Strength +2]
[Speed +2]
Dravin blinked. His strength and speed had each increased by two points. He snorted, glancing over at the little creature, who was now patting its full belly contentedly.
Even the leftovers of the herb had given him a significant boost. The treasures in this cave were truly extraordinary.
With the beast dead and the treasures claimed, Dravin's mind turned to the next order of business.
He had a new combat technique to learn, and there was no better time than now, in the relative safety of the cave.
He took out the leather-bound book he had taken from Klein: `Mortal Rank Combat Technique: Inferno Slash.`
He sat down and began to study it. The technique was surprisingly complex, detailing a unique way to channel one's energy to create a burst of flame and heat, focusing it into a single, devastating attack.
After an hour of careful study and memorization, he felt he had a basic grasp of the theory.
He stood up, his cleaver in hand. He took a deep breath, trying to emulate the energy circulation path described in the manual. A faint warmth gathered in his palm, but it was weak and unstable.
He swung his cleaver, and the warmth dissipated with a pathetic fizzle.
[Practice of 'Inferno Slash' detected.]
[Random multiplier activated: 5x!]
['Inferno Slash' proficiency has reached Initial Stage <1.20%>]
It was a start. He tried again, and again. For hours, he practiced in the dim light of the cave.
The multipliers were consistently low, mostly single digits, with the occasional 20x or 30x boost. He was slowly but surely building his proficiency, but the process was arduous.
Just as he was starting to feel the drain of constant practice, his arms aching and his energy reserves dwindling, he put his focus into one final, desperate swing.
[Ding! Random multiplier activated: 7,000x!]
It was like a key turning in a lock that he didn't even know existed.
A torrent of profound, fiery insight flooded his mind. It was the complete, unabridged understanding of the Inferno Slash, from its most basic principles to its most advanced applications.
His proficiency bar skyrocketed.
['Inferno Slash' has reached the Mid Stage!]
[Mid stage <5.00%>]
[Mid stage <10.00%>]
[Mid stage <50.00%>]…
['Inferno Slash' has reached the Advanced Stage! <00.00%>]
[Advanced stage <10.00%>]
[Advanced stage <30.00%>]
[Advanced stage <85.00%>]
He was just a single step away from the Mastery Realm.
Dravin's eyes snapped open, a fierce, orange light glowing within them. He lifted his cleaver, and this time, the result was completely different.
"FWOOSH!"
The wide, silver blade of his cleaver was instantly engulfed in a sheath of brilliant, roaring orange flames. An intense, scorching heat emanated from the weapon, raising the temperature of the entire cave.
He could feel the power thrumming through the blade, a wild, destructive energy that was eager to be unleashed.
At the Advanced Stage, the technique didn't just heighten his reaction speed and reflexes; it amplified his attack power by a terrifying degree.
Any strike made with this flaming cleaver would be at least three times more powerful than his normal attacks.
With this he felt more confident.