"Hey, Elise, are you...alright?"

Elara asked her sister, noticing her suddenly pale considerably, her face filled with worry.

She thought Elise might have been affected by the change in the environment and the announcement of the "Voice of the World" they had just heard.

She didn’t know exactly what had happened, but the opening of a demon gate was not a good sign.

Even a normal citizen knew how fearsome such things were.

Elara never thought she would experience something like this firsthand.

To be honest, looking at the darkness that had shrouded the entire camp and the projection of the red moon hanging in the sky during broad daylight, even she felt sick.

Not to mention the corruption seeping into the atmosphere, growing denser with each passing moment.

"Y-Yeah... d-don’t worry, sister. I am just... shocked. Let me calm down for a moment."

Elise quickly reassured her sister, hiding the surprise she had just felt.

Currently, the insignia Soren had left on her belly squirmed slightly beneath her clothes, connecting her to him. Through it, she could feel he was somewhere in the forest.

Heck, she could even faintly feel that he was fighting right now.

She never knew it was so magical.

’What happened to him? Is he... alright?’

Yet Elise couldn’t help but frown, deep worry in her heart.

In fact, she was so worried that the moment Soren established the connection, she poured all her strength into the Crimson Bond, leaving herself completely drained.

The Scarlet Dominion did allow Soren to draw strength from Elise, but as always, it did not come from nothing.

If Elise did not actively sacrifice, at most, Soren would only gain 50% of her stats temporarily.

’I hope he will be alright.’

Unfortunately, that was all Elise could do for her lover, as she could only hope nothing would happen to him.

"All students, we have some emergency situations at hand. Please don’t panic and listen to the instructions from your professors. Don’t worry, the dangers will be resolved quickly."

As for herself, she had her sister beside her, as well as the professors. She could already see Professor Kael riding his huge wyvern, flying in the sky.

Not to mention Professor Ruther, who was scouting the area ahead, helping them avoid unknown danger.

As long as she waited inside the camp, nothing should happen, right?

***

---

Ding!

[You have used GAP Stat on your A rank Passive skill: Eagle Reflex]

[Congratulations! Eagle Reflex (A-rank) has evolved into the Killer Instinct (S) rank.]

---

*Boom!*

*Roar!*

Somewhere on the outskirts of the WhiteLeaf Forest, a young man was locked in battle with a monstrous beast as large as a house.

The creature resembled a wolf, only its body was twisted and overgrown, with blackened fur like coarse armor, and crimson eyes that glowed with an unnatural intelligence.

Its breath came out in heavy, scorching bursts, each step cracking the ground beneath it.

*BOOM!*

Its massive claws ripped through the earth where it attacked, tearing up soil and stone in a devastating sweep.

Unfortunately, before it could even land, the young man was already gone.

In its place, only a fading afterimage remained.

Instead, with absolute speed, he reappeared on the beast’s flank, a shiny blade already in motion.

*Drakefang!*

*Srrt!*

A dark fang-like sword flashed through the air, carving a clean cut across the monster’s side and tearing through its thick hide like paper.

*Dagger Bloom!*

And with the activation of an S-rank skill, the wound erupted in a violent burst of invisible blade-like forces, splitting outward in rapid succession as if countless daggers were blooming from within the cut.

The monster staggered, its massive body jolting as fresh gashes opened across its flesh in cascading layers of damage.

Simultaneously, dark blood splattered, and yet Soren saw that the beast barely flinched at all.

Rather, it twisted violently, swinging its massive body like a wrecking force.

*Roar!*

Then, with incredible precision, it struck again at Soren with a massive claw, aiming to tear him apart, while a shadow spike surged from the ground, trapping him mid-air.

In an instant, Soren’s only escape route was sealed.

Clearly, the monster was intelligent, trying to trade wound for wound and lure Soren into a fatal opening.

After all, if it got struck, it would not die instantly, but if it was Soren...

*Swish!*

Yet Soren still managed to dodge both with impossible precision, his body shifting like a phantom, leaving afterimages behind and making it hard for the wolf to tell which one was real.

His reflexes were so strong that he did not hesitate for even a fraction of a second.

Every attack from the beast was met with perfect evasion or a counter-cut.

*Backstab Chain!*

And he didn’t wait passively even for a second. Rather, he moved the instant he evaded, turning defense into offense in the same breath.

*Srrt! Srrt! Srrt!*

One blow after blow landed on the monster’s hide, making it angrier and angrier.

Each strike from his blade opened new wounds across its enormous body, while the wolf’s claws only grazed empty air or scraped sparks off the ground where he had been a moment before.

*Roar!*

The Abyss beast roared in frustration, its aura flaring violently as it tried to overwhelm him with sheer speed and power.

But Soren stood his ground.

Even against a monster of overwhelming strength, the battle was no longer one-sided. In fact, it was Soren who was constantly injuring the monster again and again.

So much so that Sylvia and Aria looked on with their mouths agape, unable to believe the sight.

"I-Isn’t Soren... an Archer?"

In the end, Sylvia couldn’t help but ask Aria, disbelief written all over her face.

When did an Archer ever fight a monster of this caliber in close combat?

Not to mention, come out on top.

Sylvia had never heard of such a thing in her whole life. Soren’s ability in archery was already something she couldn’t believe, and now...

"Y-Yeah..."

She wasn’t the only one surprised, as Aria felt the same. Only, she had a faint idea about Soren’s current state, unlike Sylvia, who was clueless.

’So... he has a second class too?’

It was a reasonable guess, as she remembered how Soren approached her to help her awaken a second class, Archer.

Just... she thought it was only a ploy to get close to her.

But seeing him now, it seemed he was honest.

Just... even if he had a second class, it didn’t make sense for him to fight a level 72 monster like this, did it?

"Bang!"

"Roar!"

"Shit! Teleport!"

While it was obviously remarkable that Soren was going toe to toe with the Abyssfang Terrawolf, he was also dancing on a thin line between life and death.

In fact, if not for the ungodly reflexes he got from the S-rank evolved skill, Killer Instinct, and the assurance of the Crimson Queen Lash, Soren wouldn’t have been able to injure it so severely.

’This won’t do. Its vitality is too strong.’

However, that didn’t mean he was capable of killing it quickly.

Higher-level monsters meant higher HP. Soren could definitely wear the monster down by kiting it like this, like in a game, but he didn’t have time after all.

*Roar!*

While there was the danger of other wolves from its pack appearing at any time, even his power-up wouldn’t last long.

’Sigh... in the end, it seems I have to use my archery to kill it, huh.’

Soren wasn’t feeling bad, just a bit disappointed that he couldn’t kill it solely in close combat, not realizing that the monster before him was far higher in level than he was.

’Forget it... I also wanted to try another SS-rank skill of mine recently. Let’s make it a target to practice then.’

Soren dodged yet another attack from the wolf calmly while making up his mind.

Then, silently, the Drakefang in his hand disappeared, and in its place appeared the worn-out D-rank bow.

Poor guy, he still hadn’t found a chance to go and get the bow he assigned Isolde to make.

’But this should help.’

However, Soren had now practiced his Concept enough that he was able to use it to strengthen his bow, ever so slightly.

*Swoosh!*

As Soren made up his mind, he instantly materialized the thin resonance strings from his fingers, weaving them into his bow...

The moment the strings settled, the bow trembled faintly, as if struggling to contain the foreign power being forced into it.

A low hum spread through the air, subtle yet sharp enough to make the surroundings feel distorted.

Soren narrowed his eyes, feeling the strain through his grip.

’Just enough... don’t break on me now.’

The crude reinforcement wasn’t perfect, but it didn’t need to be. It just need to hold for a while.

*Roar!*

*Boom!*

Yet another overwhelming attack, capable of devastating the entire forest around and creating a crater, but the human in front easily dodged it once again, as if mocking it.

The Abyssfang Terrawolf was already corrupted by the power of the Abyss; hence, its patience had its limit.

Time and time again, being mocked, played with, and cut into everywhere, how could it bear such insult?

Finally, it went completely insane, as the darkness surrounding it thickened further.

In fact, Soren could already feel the corruption beginning to affect all the surrounding area, rapidly killing anything and everything in its range.

This was the horror of any Abyss beast. Even if you managed to kill it, the damage it would do to you or the surroundings would be very hard to reverse.

Fortunately for Soren, the monster going insane meant more openings, as he suddenly activated his S-rank artifact, teleporting himself to a distance.

Then, in an instant, he cancelled his Killer Instinct, giving another order to his system instead:

’System, use GAP stat on my active skill: Aether Shot.’

Having high endurance meant having the ability to shift between different evolved skill effects effectively, and Soren used it impeccably.

---

Ding!

[You have used GAP Stat on your A rank active skill: Aether Shot!]

[Congratulations! The active skill, Aether Shot (S-rank), has evolved into Voidrend (SS) rank.]

---

Only, his idea that his Concept was enough to reinforce his bow for firing an evolved skill seemed wrong, as the moment the skill was activated, Soren directly heard his bow crack from the middle.

’Shit!’