The forest clearing had beco a graveyard of silver fur and broken bodies.
Ethan stood amid the remains of the Shadowfang Whelps, his sword resting loosely at his side, its edge still shimring with the faint residue of severed shadow. The Sword of Infinity granted him strength one level above his current state, and the advantage it provided had transford what might have been a dangerous encounter into a brief and decisive execution. The three whelps had died before any of them fully understood the nature of the threat they faced.
Ethan had moved among them with a precision that exceeded what his level should have allowed. The first creature had lunged low, attempting to circle him while its companions advanced from opposite angles. Ethan had stepped forward instead of retreating, and his blade had traced a clean arc across the creature’s throat. The Sword of Infinity parted its shadow-tinged flesh as though it were mist, and the whelp collapsed without even completing its motion.
The second turned instantly, its claws carving through the air where Ethan had stood, but he had already shifted position. He appeared behind it with fluid inevitability, and the sword drove through its chest in a single controlled thrust. The creature stiffened, its body convulsing as the blade severed whatever passed for its core, before it dropped heavily to the ground.
The third, which had remained watchful from the beginning, reacted differently. Its body began to dissolve into shadow, flickering toward intangibility in an attempt to escape. The transformation had already reached halfway when Ethan struck. The Sword of Infinity did not recognize such transitions as protection. The blade passed through the creature mid-shift, and the whelp shattered apart with a sound like cracking glass, its half-ford body collapsing into fragnts of fading darkness.
As each monster fell, a wisp of gray mist rose from their bodies. The vapor curled upward like smoke from dying embers, carrying with it the condensed essence of their existence. Ethan watched as the mist began to disperse naturally, thinning into the surrounding forest air the way it did for all hunters in Elysium. The energy would have vanished within seconds if left untouched.
He extended his hand.
The mist responded imdiately to his will, drawn toward his palm as though pulled by an invisible current. It did not enter through his skin. Instead, it flowed into sothing deeper, sothing fundantal within him. The Law of Infinity Strand absorbed it completely, and Ethan felt a faint vibration travel through his core as the energy settled into place.
[Shadowfang Whelp defeated. Level 2.]
[Essence absorbed. Evolution points gained: 30.]
Three monsters ant ninety evolution points.
Ethan processed the numbers quickly. A level one monster granted one point. A level two granted ten. However, the Founder had explained that killing creatures above one’s level yielded triple the standard reward. At level one, eliminating a level two monster produced thirty points. The efficiency was too significant to ignore.
The massacre began before noon.
Ethan moved through the outer rings of Pandora Forest like a controlled force rather than a reckless hunter. He did not stalk prey with patience. He harvested them with deliberate calculation. The device on his wrist pulsed with constant updates, each red dot representing another creature within range. He did not rely heavily on stealth. He simply walked, and when monsters appeared, they died.
A pack of Thornhide Boars, all level two, charged him from between thick clusters of twisted roots. Their hides were covered in crystalline spines that glinted under filtered sunlight, and the montum of their charge cracked branches beneath their hooves. Ethan stepped forward instead of evading. The Sword of Infinity swept outward in a wide arc, its edge slicing cleanly through armored hide and bone. Three boars were bisected in a single motion, while the remaining two stumbled past him only to collapse seconds later as delayed damage severed their cores. Gray mist rose from their bodies, and Ethan absorbed it without hesitation.
[Essence absorbed. Evolution points gained: 90.]
Not long afterward, he encountered a nest of Venomroot Vipers hidden beneath fallen leaves. Their scales blended perfectly with the forest floor, and they struck upward in coordinated ambush, fangs aid toward his legs. Ethan’s perception registered the threat before their muscles completed the movent. His blade descended with precise timing, severing each serpent mid-strike. Their bodies writhed briefly before falling still, and the gray vapor that followed flowed directly into him.
[Essence absorbed. Evolution points gained: 120.]
An Ember Hawk circled above the canopy, its wings wreathed in pale fla. The creature folded its wings and dove, talons extended, aiming to tear through his skull. Ethan did not retreat. He raised his hand calmly, and the Sword of Infinity manifested above him in inverted orientation. The hawk impaled itself mid-dive, and the blade split it into two clean halves before it could even adjust trajectory.
[Essence absorbed. Evolution points gained: 30.]
The numbers continued to rise.
By midday, Ethan had killed more than thirty monsters, and every one of them had been level two. His movents had settled into a steady rhythm. He walked forward. He detected threats. He engaged. He killed. He absorbed. The Sword of Infinity never dulled, and his body showed no sign of strain. The process beca chanical, yet never careless.
Alongside his evolution points, another asurent was increasing.
[Law of Infinity Strand: 3.3 kiloters]
In less than a day, the strand had expanded beyond three kiloters. With each ter of growth, his strength improved increntally, reinforcing both his physical capability and the efficiency of his abilities. The growth was subtle but cumulative, and Ethan understood that the long-term advantage would be enormous.
He stopped briefly in a clearing scattered with the corpses of various species. His breathing remained steady, and his grip on the sword was relaxed. He accessed his status.
[Level: 1]
[Evolution Points: 990/3000]
He required 2010 more points to reach level two. At thirty points per level two monster, that translated to roughly sixty to seventy additional kills. If he maintained his current pace, he could reach the threshold before nightfall. However, the monster density in this section of the forest had begun to decrease.
Ethan consulted the map on his device. The outer rings of Pandora Forest stretched across several kiloters, but the concentration of level two creatures increased near the border where terrain transitioned toward interdiate zones. Advancing deeper would increase efficiency.
He prepared to move when sothing unusual appeared on the display.
A cluster of red dots gathered in a depression less than two hundred ters away. There were forty-seven in total. Their levels ranged from one to three. What drew his attention was not rely the number, but the pattern. They ford a loose circle, their positions stable rather than wandering. The formation suggested anticipation.
Or preparation.
Ethan adjusted his direction and moved carefully toward the location.
The monsters were gathered around a sinkhole where the forest floor had collapsed into an underground cavern. Steam rose from the opening, carrying the scent of sulfur and decay. The creatures included Shadowfang Whelps and Thornhide Boars, but another species dominated the group. Ethan observed them from a distance.
They were humanoid, but distorted. Their limbs were elongated and thin, ending in too many fingers. Their faces were smooth except for a vertical slit where eyes should have been. Their movents were jerky, insect-like, and subtly asynchronous, as though their joints operated under different spatial rules.
[Stalker
Level 3
Uncommon Monster
Ambush predators. Possess minor spatial distortion abilities. Highly dangerous in groups.]
Ethan counted eleven among the total. Engaging the entire cluster directly would create unnecessary risk, particularly because spatial distortion abilities could interfere with close-range combat. He did not step forward.
He had ti. Rushing into a dense formation would not increase efficiency. It would only increase unpredictability.
Instead, he evaluated alternatives.
The Law of Infinity Strand had recovered sufficiently after earlier usage. That ant he could use his abilities again. And now he wanted to combine two abilities. Teleportation would allow him to reposition the sword instantly within range, and Spirit Mastery would enable him to control its trajectory remotely. The combination would let him eliminate targets without physically entering the formation.
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