"Help! Someone! Please!"
Sarah's voice was high-pitched and ragged, tearing through the gloomy mist of the Shadow Woods. She was no longer the elegant, untouchable beauty of Astrum High.
Her white dress was shredded at the hem, and her face was smeared with black mud.
A few meters away, Lucius was crawling backward, his hands scraping against the jagged roots of a dead tree. His "Epic" rank shield—the one his father had spent millions of credits on—lay in pieces.
"D-don't come closer!" Lucius whimpered, his voice cracking. "I'm the son of the Great Merchant! If you kill me, you'll be hunted to the ends of the earth!"
The Iron-Tusk Boar didn't care about his father's money. It was a Level 12 Elite, a mountain of dark muscle and bone-chilling rage. Its tusks weren't made of ivory; they were jagged shards of living iron that pulsed with a dull, red light. It let out a huff, spraying hot, foul-smelling steam from its snout.
"Lucius, do something!" Sarah sobbed, grabbing his shoulder. "You're a Holy Knight! Use your Divine Strike!"
"My mana is empty!" Lucius yelled, shoving her hand away in a panic. "I told you we shouldn't have come this deep! It's your fault for wanting to find 'Rare Herbs' to show off!"
The boar lowered its head. The earth began to tremble as it dug its massive hooves into the dirt. It was the "Charge of Death." Even a professional Hunter team would struggle to block this.
"We're going to die..." Sarah whispered, closing her eyes.
Whoosh.
A shadow flickered past her, so fast it felt like a cold breeze in the middle of a furnace.
CLANG!
The sound of metal hitting metal rang out, loud enough to make Sarah's ears bleed. She opened her eyes, expecting to see Lucius's crushed body. Instead, she saw a back.
A boy in a dark, cheap hoodie stood between them and the beast. He was half the size of the boar, but he hadn't budged an inch.
In his hand, he held a thick, glowing bar of Refined Iron. He had used it as a makeshift club to deflect the boar's primary tusk.
"Who... who is that?" Lucius stammered, staring at the hooded figure. "A Senior? No... he's wearing our school's basic pants."
Kai didn't speak. He couldn't. If he spoke, Sarah would recognize his voice instantly.
He tightened his grip on the iron ingot. With his [Strength: 50] and [Agility: 40], the world looked like it was moving in slow motion.
He could see the anger in the boar's red eyes. He could see the exact point on its neck where the armor plating was thinnest.
The boar roared and swung its head, trying to gore the interloper.
Kai didn't retreat. He stepped into the beast's space. He moved with a predatory grace that Lucius could only dream of.
He slammed the iron ingot into the boar's snout, the sheer force of the 10x stats shattering the monster's frontal bone.
CRACK.
The massive Elite was sent staggering back, its legs buckling.
"He... he pushed it back?" Sarah gasped. "With a piece of scrap metal? Is he an S-Rank?"
Kai didn't give her time to think. He leaped, landing softly on the boar's broad, bristly back. He placed his bare palm against the back of its skull.
"Harvest," he thought.
[Ding! Target: Iron-Tusk Boar (Level 12 Elite - Living State)]
[10x Multiplier Triggered!]
[Evolution in Progress: Extracting the 'Sovereign Bone'...]
A terrifying golden light erupted from Kai's hand. The boar didn't just die; it seemed to be sucked dry from the inside out. Its massive muscles withered, and its iron-like hide turned to grey ash.
[Kill Confirmed! Level 12 Elite Slain!]
[Experience Gained: 5,000 XP (10x Multiplier!)]
[Level Up! Level Up! Level Up! ... You have reached Level 12!]
[Loot Obtained: Iron-Tusk Heart »» 10x Adamantine Life-Cores (Epic Rank)!]
[Loot Obtained: Common Boar Hide »» 10x Dragon-Scale Leather (Epic Rank)!]
The loot didn't fall to the ground. It vanished directly into Kai's "Enhanced Backpack." In seconds, the terrifying monster that was about to kill the class "Geniuses" was nothing but a pile of bones.
Kai stood in the center of the clearing. The silence was heavy.
"Wait!" Sarah called out, her voice trembling. She stood up, her eyes wide with a mix of terror and intense admiration. "Please... stay! You saved us. Who are you? Are you from the Dragon-Slayer Guild?"
Kai didn't even turn his head. He looked at Lucius, who was still sitting in the mud, looking pathetic. Kai felt a flash of disgust. This was the man he had tied shoes for? This was the man Sarah had left him for?
Lucius tried to regain his dignity, standing up and brushing the dirt off his cracked armor. "Hey! You! I'm Lucius of the Gold-Vault Merchant Group. If you give me that loot, I'll make sure you get a position in my father's company. That boar was mine anyway, I had already weakened it!"
Kai's hand twitched. He almost wanted to turn around and Harvest the very clothes off Lucius's back. But he heard the distant sound of Instructor Miller's mana-whistle. The teachers were coming.
"Trash," Kai whispered, his voice muffled by his hood.
He moved.
To Sarah and Lucius, it looked like he simply evaporated into the mist. By the time they blinked, the clearing was empty.
"Where did he go?" Sarah whispered, her heart racing. She looked at the spot where the hooded boy had been standing. Then, she looked at Lucius.
For the first time in her life, the "Rich Genius" looked small. He looked ugly.
"He called us... trash?" Lucius hissed, his face turning red. "That nobody! That scavenger! When I find out who he is, I'll—"
"Shut up, Lucius," Sarah said, her voice cold. "He saved our lives. And he didn't even care who we were."
Minutes later, Instructor Miller burst into the clearing, his mana-arm glowing. He looked at the shattered bones of the Level 12 Elite and then at the two trembling students.
"What happened here?" Miller demanded. "Who killed this Elite? Did a Senior find you?"
"We... we don't know," Sarah said, her eyes fixed on the forest where Kai had vanished. "He was just a shadow. But he was... incredible."
Meanwhile, deep in the darker part of the woods, Kai sat in the hollow of a tree. He opened his system interface.
[Current Stats:]
[Strength: 120]
[Agility: 110]
[Endurance: 150]
[Hidden Reward: You have saved a 'Destined Heroine.' 10x Karma Multiplier applied...]
[New Skill Unlocked: Eyes of the Predator (B-Rank).]
Kai looked at the "Adamantine Life-Cores" in his bag. One of these could buy a mansion. He had ten. He leaned his head back against the wood and closed his eyes, a small, cold smile playing on his lips.
The game had truly begun.