First kill

Storm stood strong, the Wolf's blood covering most of his body—no, both Storms stood together.

The clone faded away within a few seconds, leaving only the real Storm, catching his breath.

Ember quickly rushed to Alden, "That was dangerous. You took a great risk by taking off like that to deal with the beast."

"Storm was having difficulty against the beast, so I couldn't back down when I saw the opportunity to deal with it," Alden replied.

Looking at Alden's body, she couldn't see any deep wounds—just a few minor ones and some scratches here and there.

"But how is it possible that you could still move under such heavy damage inflicted upon you?" Ember's eyebrow rose as she said with a confused gaze, searching intently for any hidden injuries.

Ember was extremely confused.

She had seen the wolf deliver a terrifying charge at Alden, and there was no way Alden could have avoided receiving a horrible wound from that damage.

"You're really fortunate, you know, surviving the wolf's attacks."

"Stay still while I heal you," she said, pushing aside the questions rising in her mind. Perhaps Alden hadn't really sustained any serious injury; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to stand on his feet until he was completely healed.

Alden proceeded to sit down and allowed her to do her work.

With her hand outstretched over his head, a faint white light emanated from her palm, flowing into Alden's body through his pores.

[Character healing taking place <88% of your health restored>]

The energy felt cool, providing a soothing sensation to his body.

[An external energy has been detected flowing into your body ]

[Would you like to block the energy?]

Alden ignored the notification that popped up, closing his eyes as he enjoyed the calming sensation. Ember's healing sped up his recovery.

Darian and Zara walked up to them.

"Alden and Ember, you two were careless or even idiotic by putting your lives on the line," Zara's cold words drifted over to them. "You rushed to fight an enemy without studying it."

Alden opened his eyes, looking and listening to her. He wasn't angry at her cold words; she was actually right, especially considering his hasty rush to engage the wolf.

"Ember, you need to improve and learn how to use your advantage against your enemy since you're a long-distance fighter. You could have targeted its weak points," Darian chimed in.

"You're lucky that was just an F-rank wolf. If it had been a higher rank, I wonder how you would have fared," Zara added sharply.

"As for you," Darian said as he bent down to Alden's level.

"Your last move was wild. Next time, be careful not to be rashly caught in your enemy's trap; study and calculate ahead before blindly going in."

Darian gave him a few pointers, like a senior guiding a junior who lacked experience.

"It was your first time, though. You were brave, unlike the little girl beside you who trembled in fear during her first encounter," Darian said with a playful smirk.

"Thank you, seniors, for the advice," Alden admitted his mistakes and expressed his gratitude, now seeing his own errors clearly.

[Health fully restored 100%]

Soon, he was back to full strength, no longer feeling any pain in his body or bones.

"I'm okay now," he smiled. "Your healing energy is incredibly effective. Thank you."

"Thank you?" Ember replied with widened eyes. "For what?"

"For healing me..."

"You don't have to thank me. Just treat me to a good meal instead," she said with a playful grin as she stood up and walked away to check on Storm.

"Looking for a treat when you're still lagging behind in your training. We honestly need to stop going easy on you," Storm coldly teased.

"Ahhh, such an annoying brother."

"Rest for a few minutes before we move out again and clear this dungeon quickly," Darian instructed, gazing into the distance.

##### Alden's POV #####

I settled down on top of a rock.

"Just an F-rank wolf was difficult to handle; if Storm hadn't stepped in at the last moment, my life would have been cut off," I thought to myself in my heart, reflecting on my actions.

"I couldn't even confront the beast head on."

I had actually chosen to fight against the wolf without copying or using the wind skills to fight.

I wanted to see and test how far I could fare against a weak beast with my current strength, and now I understood my real potential.

With the wind skills, I knew I would do better than that.

A screen visible only to me appeared before my eyes, displaying lots of notifications.

[Ding! First kill ]

[You received several rewards for your first kill]

[+10 CP | +1 strength | +1 agility | +1 endurance | +1 intelligent | +5 free points]

[Instant Level up]

[Level 1 → Level 2]

A bright smile painted my face, as expected—killing the beast also gave me a reward.

This was truly a win-win for me.

I was lucky to have received the system to aid me in this world; if not, I wondered how I would cope in such a dangerous world. The system gave me all the advantage I needed.

'Character stat.'

[-CHARACTER STATUS-]

HOST: Alden Finn

TALENT: Character Merge

RACE: Human

«STATS»

LEVEL: 2

EXP: 0/250

HEALTH: 100%

CP: 15↑

STR: 2↑

AGL: 2↑

INT: 3↑

END: 3 ↑

-SKILLS: Character Merge (SSS), Character Scan (SS), 10x Reward (SS), Skill Fusion (SS), Character Heal (SS)

TALENT SKILLS: Character Merge NUM [1/3] [Character profile view]

[Free point=5]

???: YET TO UNLOCK

CHARACTER SHOP: Open shop [Yes/No]

[-CHARACTER STATUS-]

Seeing how my strength had risen from just my kill brought a sweet sensation to my heart.

I passed the command for the character profile to open and then opened the only available character I saw there.

[Copying Wind control (B) and Wind speed (C) successfully]

I felt a rush of knowledge as the system gave me the new skills—Wind Control and Wind Speed. It was as if I had always known how to use them. A quick headache came and went, and soon I understood the skills completely.

"Wow," I whispered, amazed. It felt like the skills were mine from the start.

I moved my fingers, feeling the air around me. With these skills, I could attack swiftly and become faster and more agile. I was excited to use them in battle.

I tested the skills quietly, creating a small gust of wind that swirled around my hand. It felt amazing, and I couldn't wait to try them in a real fight.

"Alden, ready to go?" Darian called.

I stood up and stretched. "Yeah, I'm good. Feeling better than before."

Darian gave me a quick look but didn't ask more. "Good. Let's keep moving. We need to clear this dungeon fast."