The Shadow Lurks

Marcus, leaving the blacksmith's shop, thought, This sword is perfect for me, since it's made with silver, the universal enemy of monsters. As he walked through the village streets, a strange feeling crept over him: something was watching him, but he couldn't tell what. The tension in his body increased, but he kept walking, determined not to let paranoia get the best of him. However, after a while, the feeling didn't fade, and Marcus started to feel uneasy.

Upon arriving at the inn, he realized that he hadn't been able to investigate anything else during the day. He decided to rest and meditate, as he had done on other occasions, to improve his skills. As he settled in, he thought, When I get back to the Hunter's Guild, I need to buy a basic sword manual. I can't keep relying only on my gun skills.

Outside the window, a shadow watched him intently, ready to act as soon as Marcus let his guard down. However, Marcus was unaware of this. Hours passed, and he finally finished his training session. He felt a surge of satisfaction when he realized that the Basic Refinement Manual had gone from advanced to complete. He had reached a level of control he hadn't anticipated.

With a newly acquired learning point, Marcus thought that he could have advanced his skills on his own, simply by killing monsters and practicing along the way. Without hesitation, he decided to assign the point to the same manual, advancing it from complete to perfect. The constant practice and achievements had led him to an unprecedented level of power. When he finished, he noticed that all of his stats had increased to 23, and his Hunter Energy had reached 4.9. During his training, he had tried to push further, but it seemed he had hit a bottleneck. However, with his stats so high, he felt like he could achieve anything, even though he knew that this was just the fleeting sensation of a boost.

He checked his panel: Strength: 23, Agility: 23, Constitution: 29, Hunter Energy: 4.9. Marcus was surprised to see his points so high. He had reached a new stage of power, and the euphoria of his success flooded him. He thought he had made great strides in a short time, but he decided to calm down and rest. A new day is about to begin, he thought as he lay down to sleep.

Meanwhile, outside the tavern, the shadow that had been watching him hadn't noticed Marcus's increase in strength. All it perceived was his higher vitality, which made it more determined to strike. It waited patiently until Marcus finally fell asleep, and in that moment, the shadow entered through the window, armed with sharp claws, ready to strike Marcus's neck while he slept.

However, something interesting happened. With his recent power boost, Marcus had sensed the shadow's presence before it could strike. Despite noticing it, he decided not to act. It will be the perfect bait, he thought. When the shadow got close to Marcus's neck, he reacted quickly. From beneath his pillow, he pulled out his revolver and fired twice with silver bullets. The creature screamed, like a wounded monster, and leapt through the window, fleeing toward the mountains behind the village.

Marcus, determined not to let this opportunity slip away, grabbed his sword and rushed to follow it, knowing he couldn't let the creature escape.