Peak-Iron Rank
Ethan's claws sank into the beetle's carapace with a sickening crunch.
His wolf senses picked up every nasty detail as he extracted the core - the chitinous texture, the weird insect fluids, the alien anatomy that reminded him why he hated bugs in both lives.
"Ugh." The sound escaped before he could stop it.
No time to be picky though. stats were stats. He activated devour on the corpse.
"Hell no," Ethan muttered, his wolf form's fur bristling at the mere thought of becoming a beetle. Some power-ups weren't worth it.
Ethan immediately checked his status.
After analyzing his recent gains, Ethan confirmed his theory about attribute limitations.
The two wolves had provided eight agility points, yet only six registered in his status.
The system had a clear ceiling - forty points per attribute at the Iron rank. Further advancement would require balanced growth across all attributes before attempting the advancement to Low-Bronze rank.
Ethan looked up to see that the sky was darkening.
'Alright, it's time to end the hunting session.' He thought.
His achievements were substantial.
Ethan had reached the Peak-Iron rank, acquired a new F-Grade defensive talent, and gained an additional transformation option, regardless of his personal aversion to it. The expedition had exceeded his initial expectations.
"Time to go," he murmured, orienting himself toward the city walls. His enhanced speed activated automatically, carrying him through the forest.
Thirty seconds into his return journey, the sound reached him. A shriek split the air, emanating from the direction of his beetle kill. The sound carried something beyond mere animal rage - a mother's fury upon discovering her offspring's remains.
Ethan's throat constricted. His enhanced hearing picked up the raw power in that cry, suggesting a creature well beyond his current capabilities.
"That sounded scary," he thought, increasing his pace. The mother's rage translated clearly even across the distance. His rank as a Peak-Iron rank suddenly felt like a joke.
Leaves and branches blurred past as he accelerated further. The shriek had confirmed his earlier suspicion about the beetle's age, but that knowledge offered little comfort now. He had essentially speed-run his way into a higher-tier encounter he wasn't prepared to face, but luckily he had escaped before the mother had arrived.
…
Entering inside the city, Ethan was asked by the captain about his late arrival.
His team had already told the captain what happened so Ethan didn't need to talk much before the captain believed him.
"Alright Ethan, you guys done a good job."
After Ethan had left.
Captain Morrison frowned as he looked at the forest from the high walls.
"The beasts have been more active lately…I need to report to the higher-ups."
…
Ethan headed straight for the merchant district, skipping the military base entirely. No point wasting time when there were cores to trade and power to gain.
The shop was exactly where he remembered it from yesterday's exploration. Weapons, cores, and skill crystals filled the displays.
An old man looked up from behind the counter. "Hello young man, is there anything specific you are looking for?"
"Just looking around," Ethan replied.
"Alright." The shopkeeper's smile was professional.
Ethan's hopes crashed as he checked the prices.
Ten cores for a Low-Iron weapon? That was highway robbery. The skills section was even worse - those prices could bankrupt a noble, let alone a scout ranked as cannon fodder.
'Guess being poor follows you even after transmigration,' he thought wryly.
No point dwelling on it. He approached the counter and placed his four mid-grade cores down. Fresh from today's hunt, they still hummed with residual energy.
"I want to sell these."
The old man's eyes lit up at the sight of mid-grade cores. "Stars? Or would you prefer to exchange for low-iron cores?"
Stars were the currency used inside the city, much like dollars in his previous life.
"Low-iron cores."
The shopkeeper nodded, not questioning why anyone would trade down.
"Any specific type of monster?" The old man asked.
"Yes. I want four cores of strength-focused beasts and the other four of intelligence-focused beasts."
The old man nodded, handing the eight Low Iron cores to Ethan.
…
Ethan returned to his dormitory, looking around the room, he didn't find any of his roommates.
'Okay, i'm in the clear.' He thought, before taking out the cores from the pouch he had.
"Alright, let's do this."
<+5 Strength>
After devouring the first core, Ethan felt the immediate effect of his strength gain.
Excited, he took the next core.
<+5 Strength>
…
Taking the last core infront of him, Ethan once again used his talent.
<+5 Intelligence>
'I've used them all up…I wish I had more, the feeling of getting stronger is intoxicating.'
'My strength and intelligence attributes have both been increased by twenty…'
'I'm close to reaching the limit of iron-rank. Soon I will step into bronze-rank...When I do, I will no longer be cannon fodder. I will be able to either ask for a higher position or simply quit and join a guild.' He thought, a smile on his face.