Was it really just a ...

Now it was time to upgrade the next skill.

Ricky's compound eyes dimmed slightly as he descended into thought, considering his options carefully.

Shadow Perch was still viable—its flexibility and stealth made it a valuable tool in his current arsenal. As for Radiant Knight: Thousand Refinement, he couldn't upgrade it yet. The requirements were still too high.

"The E-Rank skills are out of the question too…"

His eyes shimmered with resolve. If it took fifty years of lifespan to upgrade an F-Rank skill, then upgrading an E-Rank one would likely demand twice that—maybe even more. A luxury he couldn't afford right now.

One by one, he eliminated the choices in his mind, each more unsuitable than the last.

Finally, his gaze settled on a skill he'd long ignored: Robust Iron Frame.

Not flashy. Not deadly. But reliable. And in this treacherous forest where death could descend from the skies or crawl from the dirt, reliability was priceless.

Without further hesitation, he triggered the upgrade.

[Analysing! Beginning upgrade…]

[Cost calculation started…]

[It will cost just 50 years of lifespan to upgrade the FFF-Rank: Robust Iron Frame.]

[Press Yes to begin.]

[Yes / No]

Ricky pressed yes without fanfare. The next moment, that strange, indescribable force once again tugged at his soul.

And just like before, he was no longer Ricky Stormwind. He had returned—transformed into a primitive mosquito in a new realm, without systems, without cheats.

This world was crueler. Harsher.

The mosquito's body was fragile—its wings like parchment, its limbs thin and brittle. Yet, unlike the last vision, this mosquito was not content being a pest. There was ambition in its heart.

A burning desire to rise.

To conquer.

To make the entire world remember that even the smallest beings could incite terror.

Thus began its journey.

In a forest where titanic beasts could end its life with a sneeze, it survived. It honed its body daily, shedding weakness like old skin. From hardening its proboscis to reinforcing its abdomen, it slowly turned its body into a deadly weapon.

Its wings sharpened over decades, until they shimmered like metal blades in the wind.

Time passed. Fifty long years of tireless evolution.

One day, the tiny mosquito unleashed a strike so powerful it cleaved a boulder in two. Another day, it split the skies and pierced a wyvern's hide. It was no longer a pest.

It was a calamity.

An emperor of blood and metal.

An overlord of terror.

But as the fifty years neared their end, the illusion shattered like glass. The world faded. Ricky's consciousness returned with a jolt.

Only this time—something was different.

The knowledge remained.

Every strike, every movement, every sensation was embedded deep within his soul as though he had lived through those fifty years himself.

[Upgradation Successful.]

[FFF-Rank: Robust Iron Frame skill has evolved to E-Rank: Superior Iron Frame.]

[E-Rank: Superior Iron Frame — Harden your entire body to become hard as steel.]

Ricky nodded to himself.

This was expected.

That mosquito in the dream had embodied the pinnacle of physical durability—able to withstand blows that would level fortresses. Of course the evolved skill would reflect that.

His mind wandered back to the vision.

Was it really just a dream?

No matter how he tried to rationalize it, everything in that world had felt too real—too visceral.

Maybe those weren't dreams at all… but something else.

Something deeper.

…

Far away from Ricky's perch, the Thousand Emerald Green Forest was stirring.

Like a hive that had been struck, its peace shattered.

The news of Demon Queen Noctyss' tomb had swept through the Kingdom of Eldros like wildfire.

It first attracted lone cultivators—ambitious wanderers hoping to gamble their lives for fortune.

But soon, larger powers took notice.

The deployment of a Truth Seeker by the Radiant Knight Order had sent shockwaves across the continent. Their movements were never without reason.

One by one, the giants stirred.

The Iron Fang Legion's Supreme Commander, unwilling to let opportunity slip, dispatched two elite commanders to scour the forest.

Other forces soon followed—factions, sects, cults—each with Stage 2 warriors at the helm, all drawn by the whispers of untold power.

And within a mere month, the once-silent forest had transformed into a battlefield.

Cultivators trampled through every glade and grove, shattering peace with every step. The number of invaders now far outnumbered the native monsters.

Terror spread among the wild beasts.

Creatures that once ruled the night now cowered in burrows, caves, and nests, too afraid to breathe, let alone roam.

They had always feared each other—but now they feared something far worse.

The two-legged animals.

Wherever humans and other humanoid cultivators passed, they left behind rivers of blood. Monsters were slain not for survival—but for sport.

Their bodies were carved, dissected.

Beast cores ripped out like prizes from a festival game.

High above a mountain slope, inside a narrow crevice nestled between jagged rocks, two such native beasts crouched low.

A gray-furred cat with fierce emerald eyes and a boar, thick and heavily muscled, watched the scene below with silent fury.

On the forest floor beneath them, a group of Stage 1 human warriors laughed raucously as they toyed with a captured creature.

One sliced its legs off one by one.

Another plunged his blade into its eyes just to hear it squeal.

It wasn't battle. It was butchery.

The cat's claws dug into the stone beneath her, sharp and trembling with barely restrained hatred.

"I can't take this anymore… I'll kill them all," she snarled.

Her name was Alexandria, and her heart burned with the fury of every fallen beast.

But before she could leap, the boar beside her—older, calmer—extended a hoof and blocked her.

"Don't be reckless, Alexandria. There's a presence among them. One that makes even me tremble."

His eyes scanned the area warily.

"Someone is watching us. A predator hidden behind a human mask."

"But look at what they've done, Boar! Look what they've done to our forest… to our home…" she growled, barely containing herself.

Her voice cracked with sorrow and rage.

Her claws glinted like tiny daggers.

...

Unseen by either of them, a man stood atop a massive tree branch some distance away.

He was dressed in a black cloak, face obscured by shadows.

He said nothing.

Just watched.

His eyes glowed faintly as he scanned the surroundings.

Suddenly, his gaze flickered toward the stone crevice.

A whisper escaped his lips.

"Oho... what do we have here? A spiritual beast…"

...

At that exact moment, the boar's heart skipped a beat.

He felt it—that gaze.

"Run!" he bellowed. "We've been spotted!"

Without hesitation, he turned and charged toward the deeper forest.

Alexandria didn't need to be told twice. Her instincts screamed at her, and she bolted behind him.

But the escape had barely begun—

A thunderous snort resounded from the canopy above.

"Hmmmm!"

"Trying to flee?"

A chill ran down their spines.

"Too late."