Rewarded

When the screen appeared, there was something new—something Kyren hadn't seen before.

[Notification]

A-Ranked Flash Wolf defeated.

Level up! Accept Level 5 rewards.

Kyren blinked. Level 5 rewards? He frowned. But I've only killed ten monsters…

Before he could accept, the notification vanished, replaced by a small bell-shaped icon in the corner of his screen. His eyes narrowed. Has that always been there? He wasn't sure if he had just been too distracted before or if the system was still revealing features over time. Either way, he made a mental note to check it more often.

When he focused on the icon, a new screen popped up.

[Notification Log]

Level Up: Level 5

A-Ranked Flash Wolf killed

B-Ranked Flash Wolf killed x2

Level Up: Level 4

B-Ranked Bewildering Boar killed

The screen cut off there, but Kyren got the gist. He dismissed it and moved on to what really mattered—Mission Rewards!

Opening the mission tab, he found the rewards for his Special Training Mission and immediately thought: Yes, claim rewards.

A Month EXP Boost and a Month Luck Boost instantly appeared in his inventory. He wasn't going to waste them yet—timing mattered. If he wanted to get stronger fast, he had to maximize every advantage.

Strength meant survival. Strength meant power. And power meant he could do something about the filth in the outskirts.

The deeper you went into Epsilon's heart, the more the heroes and government officials towered over everything. But the further out you went, the blur between civilians and the underworld became harder to distinguish. Drug runners pushed stims, the filthiest shit around, cooked from whatever chemicals they could get their hands on. A stim addict could lose control after one bad dose—if they didn't overdose first.

But to Kyren, worse than the runners were the slavers. The ones kidnapping people, preying on the desperate, buying kids from families too poor to refuse.

These two factions—the stims and the slavers—Kyren would take them out first.

He exhaled sharply, shaking the thought away. There was still more to handle in the system. His eyes landed on the skills menu.

And there it was—something new. But it wasn't under System Powers. It was under Innate Powers.

[Innate Power: Mana Supremacy (Beginner)]

Your body accepts mana, and mana accepts you as its leader. Extreme control of internal mana, beginner control of Nature Mana. Allows users to circulate internal mana and imbue it into weapons. Skill grows with you.

Kyren tensed. Mana doesn't work like that…

Mana wasn't something you controlled—not like this. It was just the energy needed to activate powers, nothing more. He had heard of rare cases where people could channel it into their bodies, but even those had limits. This? This was something else.

He wasn't sure what it meant yet, but he'd find out. Just… not right now.

There was one last mission reward to check, plus all those level-up rewards.

Kyren scrolled down to his Traits and spotted a new one.

[Trait: Relentless Trainer (Common)]

The more you train, the more you gain. Training, sparring, and fights now grant EXP over time.

Trait grows with you.

He had been hoping for something flashier, but this was actually really useful. If he could figure out the system's definition of training, he could turn every spare moment into growth.

Finally, only the level-up rewards remained. Kyren opened the Level-Up Menu, finding three flashing Claim Rewards buttons. He focused on the first one.

[Level-Up Rewards Received]

+25 Stat Points

UI Upgrade: Enhanced Stats Screen Unlocked

The moment the notification faded, his stats screen rippled before snapping back into place. Except now, it looked different.

Kyren Warhammer

Stats:

Physical Constitution: C (25/50)

Strength: C+ (45/50)

Speed: B (50/100)

Stamina: B- (1/100)

Mana Pool: C (30/50)

Hero Rank: 1000

Level 5: 50/500 EXP

This was way better. Now he could see exactly how many points he needed to rank up his stats. He still had 50 unspent points, but he'd hold off until he finished claiming rewards.

He thought about the next reward, and the system obeyed.

[Level 4 Rewards Received]

A new screen appeared, showing a 3D model of himself in the center. Off to the side, his clothes and dagger were displayed.

Basic Black Set: No Effects

Common Dagger: No Effects

Kyren stared.

What the hell? Why would the system give him an entire equipment menu just to tell him his gear was garbage? That was dumb.

Shaking his head, he dismissed it and claimed his final reward.

[Level 5 Rewards Received]

Equipment Upgrade: All eligible gear will be stored and upgraded in inventory. Upgrade time: 5 minutes.

Without a second thought, Kyren confirmed.

And then—his clothes and dagger disappeared.

Leaving him in nothing but his underwear.

His stomach dropped. Shit—!

Dismissing the system in a panic, he whipped his head around for anything to cover himself with. A second later, he forced himself to breathe. Relax. You have the tent in your inventory if it gets that bad.

Checking again, he found something unexpected—his torn-up outfit from the panther attack. He almost put it on, but before he could summon it, a ding sounded.

[Equipment Upgrade Complete.]