Getting Hunted!

[System Notification]

[Congratulations, you have gained three thousand Experience points, and you have levelled up.]

[You have completed the quest "Kill ten monsters on your own"]

[Reward:

Additional five thousand Experience points.

The level increased to Six.

Random Skill Card acquired.]

[Would you like to claim it?]

Without hesitation, Eagan replied, "Yes," with his thoughts, and the system panel continued its notification.

[Congratulations! You have acquired the Skill Card: Shadow Step.]

Rank: Rare

Type: Movement

[Description: Teleport a short distance, avoiding attacks and repositioning yourself.]

Requirements for skill usage:

Level five or higher

Five Mana Power

Usage:

Activate Shadow Step to teleport up to five meters.

Cooldown: 60 seconds.

Effects:

There is a 20 per cent chance to dodge attacks during teleportation.

Ten per cent increase in movement speed for two seconds after teleportation.]

Eagan's eyes widened in surprise as he read the skill's details. Shadow Step was exactly what he needed to improve his survivability now that he was still weak.

With the skill to teleport while consuming little to no mana, he could become invisible in battle!

'This is really profitable! A rare skill right from the start,' he mused, his eyes glowing as he continued reading the rest of the notification.

Eagan's gaze remained fixed on the system notification as he skimmed through his newly acquired skill. He could already imagine the countless situations where this skill would prove invaluable.

Especially during those huge, inevitable dungeon breaks that would soon start happening around the whole country.

Finally, the system panel faded, and Eagan's vision returned to the dungeon's exit. Lyra stood beside him, a concerned expression on her face.

"Hey, Eagan, you okay? You spaced out for a moment," Lyra said, nudging him gently. "Hey! Are you good?"

Eagan blinked, feigning fatigue as he stretched. "Yeah, just...really tired, I guess. That fight took a lot out of me."

Lyra nodded sympathetically. "No wonder. You've been pushing yourself hard. We can take a break and join the test later," she suggested.

"I just want to compete against the hunters trained by the blue wolf guild, I don't mean to join the guild yet," she added with a frown.

"Why not?" Eagan probed, and Lyra shrugged casually as her frown eased up more.

"Personal reasons, come on, if you are feeling up to it, let go for another boss monster," she grinned and began walking out of the dungeon after handing his own share of the kills to him.

Eagan followed Lyra, his mind still reeling from the Shadow Step skill. "Personal reasons, huh?" he repeated, curiosity getting the better of him.

Lyra glanced over her shoulder, a hint of mischief in her eyes. "Let's just say I have a score to settle with the Blue Wolf Guild. But I'll get into that later."

Eagan's interest piqued; he pressed on. "Is it related to your sister, Lisa?"

Lyra's stride faltered, her expression turning guarded. "How did you know?"

Eagan shrugged. "You are asking me? I'm Alastair's brother; I understand the world you live in. We get easily compared to our better siblings at every turn," he laughed.

Lyra's gaze softened, her voice barely above a whisper. "Yeah, it's related to Lisa. But I'll tell you more when the time's right."

As they emerged from the dungeon, the bright sunlight cast a stark contrast to the darkness they'd left behind. Eagan tucked the thoughts of Lyra's past into the back of his mind, focusing on the present.

"Alright, where's this other boss monster?" Eagan asked, grinning.

Lyra's smile returned, and she handed him a map with a location marked. "Meet me at the Blackrock Cave in two hours. We'll take down the Cursed Bear."

Eagan's eyes widened at the map. "That's a level 20 monster. Are you sure we're ready?"

Lyra winked. "What's there to be scared about, didn't we just take down a level twenty monster now?" She asked and patted his shoulder and began walking away. "You have two hours to hunt on your own, don't keep me waiting."

Eagan nodded, watching Lyra disappear into the crowd. He folded the map and tucked it into his pocket, deciding to spend the next two hours hunting smaller monsters to prepare for the Cursed Bear while also getting more Experience points to level up.

As he ventured into the nearby forest, his senses heightened, scanning for potential prey. Suddenly, he heard snickers and jeers behind him.

"Look who's here, the weakling Alastair's brother," a voice sneered.

Eagan turned to face the group of five hunters he'd encountered earlier. Their leader, a burly young man with a cruel grin, stepped forward.

"Think you're tough because you're hunting with the sword saint's sister? She's just using you for her own gain," another hunter spat.

Eagan's eyes narrowed, his grip on his sword tightening. "What do you want?"

The leader sneered. "What do we want?" He laughed mockingly as the other four joined in. "What could we possibly want from the likes of you?"

Eagan pursed his lips as he tried walking away from the group, avoiding an unnecessary conflict with them. As he passed beside the leader of the group, he got pushed back.

"Where do you think you are going when we are talking to you?" The burly leader sneered in his face. "How dare you ignore us!" He sneered and threw a punch into Eagan's stomach.

Eagan dodged the punch by a hair's breadth, his eyes flashing with anger. "What is your name?" He asked as he looked into the leader's eyes.

Startled by the killing intent oozing off Eagan, the five subconsciously moved back. However, they regained their momentum the next moment, and their faces flushed red in anger.

"What the heck?" Another member of the group asked. "What's up with your vibe? You think you can intimidate us?" He sneered as he threw a kick at Eagan.

The leader snarled, "We'll show you what happens to weaklings like you who do know their place!"

The group closed in, forming a semi-circle around Eagan.

One of the hunters spat at Eagan's feet. "You're nothing without your brother's protection! Get that into your head."

"Even if we beat you up here, no one will find out!" Another snickered as they continued throwing kicks at him.

Eagan smiled as the system's screen popped up with a new announcement.

[Your pain resistance level has increased by one]

His smile brightened even more as he realised that his getting hit would equal his pain resistance going up.

He chuckled in delight as he licked his lips. 'This is really a blessing! If I had this in my past-'

Shaking his head, he frowned. 'Let's not think about the past,' he mused. 'Focusing on this new opportunity to make sure the past doesn't repeat itself,' he muttered.

Realising the message for his pain resistance had stopped, Eagan frowned as he noticed their kicks were no longer as painful.

Seeing a kick flying to his face, he sneered and grabbed it with his hand. He glared at the owner of the feet, his eyes filled with rage as he squeezed tighter.

The owner of the foot, a lanky hunter, yelped in surprise as Eagan grasped his ankle like a vice. The hunter's face contorted in pain and anger as he tried to wriggle his foot out of Eagan's hold. "Let go! You're going to break it!"

Eagan's grip tightened. "You should have thought of that before you kicked me."

With a sickening crunch, Eagan snapped the hunter's ankle in two. The hunter screamed and collapsed to the ground.

The other four hunters froze, their faces pale as they watched their companion writhe in pain. Their leader snarled, "You're going to pay for that!"

Eagan's response was swift and brutal. He charged at the leader, his sword flashing in the sunlight.

The leader swung his own sword, but Eagan dodged, using Shadow Step to reposition himself. Eagan counterattacked, his sword slicing through the leader's defences.

The leader stumbled, clutching his wounded arm.

The remaining three hunters attacked, desperate to take Eagan down. However, before they could land an attack, they had all fallen to the ground, holding their arms and legs in pain.

"Please!" They begged, "Spare us, please. You can have our kills, but spare us!"

Without saying a thing, Eagan picked up their bags and glared at them once more before turning to leave.

System Notification

[Congratulations, you have gained two thousand Experience points.

The level increased to Seven.]

[Pain Resistance Level increased to Two]

Eagan's eyes gleamed with satisfaction and delight as he read the new notifications.

"With this system, stopping the chaos wouldn't be so difficult."