First job as an adventurer

The dirt path stretched far ahead, winding through the open countryside. Noah walked at a steady pace, hands in his pockets, his sharp eyes scanning the fields ahead. The village was just half a kilometer away now, but he wasn't in a hurry.

He had taken the hunting quest earlier at the guild, brushing off the receptionist's attempt to push him toward herb gathering. He could still hear her voice in his head.

"Are you sure? Boars are aggressive creatures! Most new warriors start with something simpler, like gathering sunroot or clearing out wild rabbits."

Noah had simply smiled, taken the quest slip, and left. After all, he hunted numerous boars in his past life, and due to mutations of monsters over time, they were as thrice as strong as the ones in the present. With an undying body, he had nothing to worry about.

Now, as he approached the fields, a low growl rumbled in the distance. His sharp hearing picked it up easily. He stepped off the path, moving toward the sound.

The farmland ahead was a mess. The wooden fences had been torn down, deep trenches of uprooted soil scarred the land, and crushed crops lay in disarray. Just beyond the destruction, he spotted them—boars.

There were more than a dozen of them, massive creatures nearly the size of a small car. Thick, bristled fur covered their muscular bodies, and their tusks gleamed under the afternoon sun. A group of them rooted through the remains of a vegetable patch, while others lazily rolled in the dirt.

Noah exhaled, rolling his shoulders. "Sixteen of them, huh?" He muttered to himself. "Not bad for a warm-up."

The moment he took a step forward, one of the boars lifted its head. Its beady eyes locked onto him, nostrils flaring. A second later, it let out a guttural snort and charged.

A smirk tugged at Noah's lips.

The wind shifted.

He sidestepped at the last second, his body moving fluidly like a shadow. The boar crashed into empty air, skidding across the dirt as its momentum carried it forward. Before it could recover, Noah clenched his fist, twisting his waist slightly.

A straight punch to the side of its head.

CRACK!

The sound echoed through the field. The boar's body froze mid-motion before it slumped to the ground, motionless.

The other boars reacted instantly. Some snorted aggressively, pawing at the ground, while others charged toward him, their massive bodies thundering across the field.

Noah tilted his head. "Alright, come on then."

The battle was over in minutes.

Each boar fell with ease. A sharp chop to the neck, a well-placed strike to the skull—his overwhelming strength made it effortless. The creatures had size and power, but they were slow. Predictable.

By the time the 15th one collapsed, the field was silent as the last remaining one seemed intelligent to run away in fear. Noah stood amidst the fallen beasts, exhaling lightly.

Then, suddenly—

Ding!

A familiar screen flickered before his eyes.

Level Up!

[Level 1 → Level 2]

+500 Stat Points (Automatically Distributed)

Noah raised an eyebrow. His body felt… stronger. Sharper. It wasn't just a small boost—his power had jumped significantly.

He opened his status screen, scanning through his stats.

Raphael Ben Noah/Redgar Noah

Level: 2 (Tier-0)

Species: Godkin

Age: >220 million

Element: Undetermined

Class: Undetermined

Astron spirit: None

Summoning contracts: None

Attributes:

Strength: 200

Intelligence: 200

Agility: 200

Endurance: 200

Vitality: 200

*

"As I suspected, it wasn't just the starting stats, this body just gives me stats twenty times more than an average human. For every level, humans will gain 25 stats overall, but here, I get 100 stats per attribute. At Level 2, I already have the stats of a Level 40…" He mused.

Noah couldn't help but gaze at the forest. "The quest is completed but I shouldn't lose this opportunity to level up even more. But before that…"

"Aria, Open the inventory."

*Ding! Inventory is open.

A holographic screen has appeared before his eyes, with an infinite number of storage spaces.

He walked to each boar and stored their corpse in case he could sell it off as boar meat. Or get hungry in the wilderness.

Once all the bodies are stored, Noah dusted off his robes to turn back to the village to get the seal of approval from the village chief. And then Noah returned to the fields, setting his eyes on the forest.

The deeper Noah ventured into the woods, the quieter it became. Sunlight barely pierced through the thick canopy above, casting scattered shadows on the moss-covered ground. He walked at a relaxed pace, hands in his pockets, his sharp eyes scanning the area.

After dealing with the normal boars, he had one goal in mind—find the leader. If there is a herd of boars, there will be a matriarch. He eliminated the herd, or atleast a portion of it, but he didn't see any matriarch.

His instincts told him the matriarch could be out here somewhere. And soon enough, he found it.

At the heart of the forest, in a large clearing surrounded by towering trees, stood the Boar Queen with a bunch of little piglets playing around.

It was massive—easily twice the size of the others, with dark, matted fur and scars covering its body like battle trophies. Its curved tusks were as long as swords, gleaming under the faint light. Two red eyes locked onto him, radiating territorial fury.

Noah exhaled. "Yeah, you'll do."

The beast roared as the piglets went behind it, upon sensing the presence of a human.

Leaves trembled. Birds scattered.

Then, it charged without any hesitation.

Noah didn't move. He watched, gauging its speed, analyzing its attack pattern. The Boar Queen was fast—much faster than its lesser kin. In mere seconds, it closed the distance, lowering its massive head to skewer him with its tusks.

"Too predictable," Noah smirked.

At the last second, Noah shifted his body, stepping lightly to the side. The beast stormed past him, missing by inches. Without hesitation, he raised his hand—

A single strike.

His palm slammed against the side of the Boar King's head.

BOOM!

The sheer force sent shockwaves through the air. The ground cracked beneath their feet.

The Boar King's momentum stopped instantly. Its massive body froze, its eyes rolling back before it collapsed onto its side, lifeless.

Noah lowered his hand. "That's it? Wasn't this a level-60 one? How come it died with a simple palm strike?"

*Ding! Master used the wind element while giving a palm strike. It added 20% additional damage to the target.

A second later—

Level Up!

[Level 2 → Level 3]

+500 Stat Points (Automatically Distributed)

His body surged with power once again. He clenched his fist, feeling the raw strength coursing through his veins.

"Wai… what. Since when can you initiate the talk to me, Aria?" Noah was confused by Aria's sudden change of behavior. It's an AI for sure, but it was preprogrammed one and usually only responds to the commands it was given.

*Ding! It is likely to do with your level up.

"Hmm… I leveled up so many times in my past life but it never happened back then. I guess I need to learn a lot more about this body…" As Noah pondered, something caught his eye all of a sudden.

A faint, blue glow pulsed from within the Boar Queen's corpse. "Oh, I almost forgot about it."

Noah crouched down and dug through its thick hide, reaching for the source of the light. Moments later, he pulled out a core.

It was a small, crystalline object, swirling with faint energy. He turned it over in his palm, observing the way it shimmered.

"Astron Core, huh?"

He read of these in the school textbooks. Warriors used them to refine their bodies, sometimes gaining special skills in the process. Astron cores became too rare back in his past life (the future) but in the third age, they were available in abundance.

Noah pocketed the core and dragged the Boar Queen's corpse into the inventory. Time to return and get paid.