Chapter 13 Beast Core

[System Notification: You have slain a Level 1 Ground Hound! Rewards: 3 EXP | 6 Omnipoints]

[System Notification: You have slain a Level 1 Ground Hound! Rewards: 3 EXP | 6 Omnipoints]

[System Notification: You have slain a Level 1 Ground Hound! Rewards: 3 EXP | 6 Omnipoints] x 23

...

With the number of notifications buzzing crazily, it'slike a group of mosquitoes in his ear, Alexander stood amidst the chaos. It's supposed to cause frustration if it's a mosquito, but it's not.

Alexander can be seen standing without any injuries from head to toe; he was very much fine after this carnage

He was so dumbfounded since he did not know the limit of his strength. He had not even used his powerful skills, yet with just a normal punch, he was able to kill the beast so easily.

Now, he was more curious to find out what level he was truly at, but in order to gain a better understanding of the scope of his strength, he needed to assess himself further.

He needed to find at least a decent opponent. "This place has become so smelly," Alexander said aloud, as the stench was particularly bad after the Ground Hound's death.

"Razon, please show me my status," he instructed.

A holographic panel began to manifest in the air itself, displaying his current stats.

[Status:

Level: 1 (81/100)

Name: Alexaner Aurelious

Coins: 0

Omnipoints: 154

Class: None

Race: Human

Bloodline: Behemoth Bloodline

Innate Skills: Titan's Might, Behemoth's Wrath, Legacy of the Behemoth

Passive Skills: Unyielding Will, Behemoth's Presence, Unyielding Stamina

Active Skills: Earthen Fortress, Primal Roar, Crescent Blade Arc

Free Attributes: 0

Health: 450

Vitality: 50

Strength: 115

Defense: 110

Speed: 32

Stamina: 65

Mana: 200

Magic Power: 10 ]

"81 experience points and 154 Omnipoints. I've earned a lot this time," he mused, looking at his loot.

However, when he remembered that mastering one of his current skills, 'Crescent Blade Arc', required more Omnipoints, the victorious smile on his face disappeared, replaced by a broken smile.

He was really poor, so poor that if he spent all of his Omnipoints right now, he would only add 15 points of mastery to the skill. It wouldn't even reach 50%, which made him feel disheartened.

"I should just save it for future use. Actually, since I'm already here, I should grind for more. But I haven't even arrived at my destination yet," Alexander said, glancing ahead.

He was still in the middle of the forest, where only these lowly beasts were present. To encounter stronger beasts, he needed to step foot in the Grimhowl Forest.

He then decided to move forward, but after walking about ten steps toward his destination, he stopped abruptly.

Slapping his forehead in frustration, he muttered, "I almost forgot! Dang, I nearly left some loot behind," Alexander cursed himself inwardly.

But the curse words were directed at the other Alexander. Still, he felt stupid for blaming his former self for his lack of awareness rather than taking responsibility himself.

In truth, the curse was only backfiring, as he was now the same Alexander he was scolding.

Walking toward the Direwolf, Alexander squatted down. He gently caressed the beast's chest and, with a straight hand mimicking a knife, he pierced it into the beast.

Blood sprayed onto the ground, with some splashing onto his face. As he stared at the blood covering his hands, he couldn't help but vomit.

This was his first time killing an animal, let alone opening its insides. However, he gritted his teeth and continued as his hands searched through the wolf's innards.

Suddenly, he felt something sturdy, like a rock, lodged between the beast's heart. It wasn't the heart itself, as he couldn't fully grasp it if it were.

Pulling it out, a bluish, rock-like core rested in his hands, radiating vitality so intense that even Alexander could feel it.

The bluish energy within the Beast Core was saturated with Arcane Energy, but he knew that attempting to absorb it would result in being consumed by the beast's madness.

It wasn't a matter of strength—it was a battle of the soul. Only those with powerful souls possessed the ability to absorb such energy.

But if someone truly possessed a powerful soul, why would they waste their time absorbing a low-grade Beast Core?

If a person cultivated their soul and defeated a beast at the same level, attempting to absorb its Beast Core would still be suicidal.

This is because the core's power would triple if the beast's soul became aware that the person who killed it intended to absorb its essence.

However, if the beast's soul saw, that it was an unknown person it would only retain the beast's prime strength from when it was alive.

Even so, if both the person and the beast were at the same level, the chances of success would be nearly zero. Even if the person were one level higher, the chances of success would still be only 10%.

He had learned this information from Alexander's memories, where his father had been speaking to a man whose identity he couldn't recall, as he had been very young at that time.

Their discussion had been about this very topic, so he understood it to some extent.

"I can just sell this Beast Core for money. Since I have the system to level up, finding someone to purify this core to increase my strength isn't worth it," Alexander though.

After all, he would still need to spend money to have the Beast Core purified. If it were a high-grade core, he might have been tempted, but since it wasn't, he decided to focus on more important matters instead.

(Just to be clear here, Arcane Cores and Beast Cores are the same. So don't even try to think on what this is and that OK!!!)

"Now that the kingdom is already in ruins, and I'm running very short on funds, I should be more mindful," he muttered to himself.

With that, he walked toward the nearest Ground Hound and repeated the same process. However, he was stunned. After wandering his hands around its chest, he found nothing.

When he pulled his hand out, it was coated in black, oil-like blood. He frowned and glanced down at the already dead Ground Hound.

"Has this beast not developed a Beast Core yet?" he muttered, furrowing his brows.

But then an idea emerged in his mind. Lowering his hand from the beast's chest all the way to its abdomen, he pierced it again, causing the already dead Ground Hound to yelp instinctively.

As he moved his hand around that area, Alexander finally found it.

This time, the Ground Hound's Beast Core was smaller than that of the Direwolf. While the Direwolf's core was the size of a walnut, the Ground Hound's core was only the size of a small pebble.

He didn't mind it too much so long as it could be sold, he would be satisfied. Placing the core into his inventory, he continued the process until he had gathered a total of 27 low-grade Ground Hound cores and 1 low-grade Direwolf core.

With that, he resumed his journey through the forest. Every time he ran, he would encounter the same creatures over and over again.

Mostly, he came across Direwolves and Ground Hounds. Other than these beasts, he hadn't encountered anything new.

However, the most frequent encounters were are Ground Hounds. Now, in front of him, a Ground Hound stood with its hair bristling like a cat, blocking his path.

Alexander pounced at it, propelling himself forward like a cheetah in a short burst of speed. In mere seconds, he closed the distance, his fist brimming with power.

His punch came crashing down, striking the beast's snout. The bones in its snout snapped instantly, the Ground Hound's nose broke like a kite crushed beneath the weight of a car.

The Ground Hound let out a yelp of pain as its body was sent flying, slamming into a tree with its back. Moments later, it fell to the ground lifelessly.