Chapter 4 - Time to Farm Some Crypto

Kayn really wanted to find humans. But now that he could see the four different footprints before him, he wasn't as excited about it.

How would they react after seeing him? He looked a lot different because of his clothing. What if they didn't even speak the same language?

That was what troubled him the most. Kayn stood there, thinking about the possibilities.

In the end, he tried his best to follow the tracks. No matter how much he wanted to avoid meeting others due to fear, it would happen sooner or later, so Kayn had to go.

Tracking was not his best skill, but the tracks were easy to follow. The people who walked there were not concerned about hiding their footprints, which made things a lot easier for him.

The tracks stayed close to the river, as if the people had been walking alongside it.

Kayn kept moving for about an hour. At that point, he realized where he was heading—a nearby beach.

He remembered that beach. It was a common place for people to visit. But the forest looked so different now. With no roads, no traffic signs, and no people, Kayn had a hard time recognizing where he was.

What gave it away wasn't the ocean itself, but the gorgeous view from the hill near the beach. He remembered there used to be a sign there—a famous spot where people took pictures and posted them on social media for likes.

But the sign was gone. The wooden deck that once stood there was gone. Now, there was nothing but vegetation.

Kayn stood at the top of the hill, looking down at the ocean. The view was still breathtaking.

And then, he saw it.

A village.

The village was built on the lower part near the beach. The houses were simple, made of wood, with straw roofs.

When Kayn saw that, he was certain—the humans of this era were living in a primitive state.

"Well, at least this village is… Maybe there are more advanced people out there," he thought.

The footprints he had been following continued all the way down the hill toward the village. He knew they belonged to whoever lived there.

But Kayn didn't move just yet. He stayed on top of the hill, watching. Observing.

The idea was to wait, to learn a little before making contact.

"Maybe I can learn more about my Void Slime… Or start meditating or something to get stronger," he wondered.

Mages grew stronger through meditation. It was possible to gather mana from the atmosphere and strengthen their mana core. Everyone did that.

Based on the current level of the core, mages were divided into different ranks. So, it wasn't just a summon's rank that mattered—but the mage's rank too.

Obviously, those who were lucky enough to start with a stronger summon had an easier time growing stronger, since summons often helped with meditation and combat.

But that didn't mean people with weaker summons couldn't improve. It was common for someone to start with a C-rank summon and eventually evolve it into a B-rank, or even an A-rank.

But S-rank? SS-rank? Hell, the SSS-rank that Kayn had?

That was a whole different thing. People couldn't just evolve any summon into that level.

The Void Slime gave him confidence. He knew he had the potential to grow strong.

The only problem?

He didn't have a meditation technique.

Back when Earth was still "normal," it was easy to find one. But now, in this primitive era, that would be much harder.

Kayn sat there, on that hill, thinking about his next moves. He decided to check his system again to see what else he had, and that's when he spotted something interesting—and more importantly, useful.

The system had meditation techniques available through loot boxes as well! That was exactly what he needed.

But, of course, it required Crypto.

And he didn't have any. He had spent all of it on his Void Slime.

Now, what he wanted to know was how to get more missions that could reward him with Crypto.

He searched through the system's features, trying to find something useful. It was like scrolling through his phone, except the screen was floating in front of him.

The quest tab was somewhat hidden—Kayn still had to get used to where everything was—but once he found it and clicked on it, he saw multiple quests available for him to choose from.

Well, "multiple" was a strong word. There were actually just three.

One of the quests literally asked him to catch 40 fish. The other two were also related to survival and wilderness activities.

They all had that factor in common, and Kayn had a theory.

"The quests might be based on the things I'm currently doing. But… how does the system know what I'm doing?" he wondered.

Was the system some kind of sentient entity watching his every move? How did it work?

Either way, the fishing quest was the easiest one, and since he had already tested his Void Slime as a fishing rod, he knew it would work well.

Also, there was a massive ocean right in front of him. That meant plenty of fish.

Kayn clicked to accept the quest. After that, he made his way down the hill, heading toward the ocean.

To be safe, he decided to move in the opposite direction of the village. His plan to avoid the humans—at least until he got a bit stronger—was still in progress.

Once his feet touched the sand, Kayn was hit by memories of the times he had gone to the beach with his father. Moments of the past flashed through his mind.

The ocean water was breathtaking. The horizon stretched endlessly, offering a view so peaceful it almost felt unreal. Kayn stood there for a while, just sitting by the shore, letting the sound of the waves calm his thoughts.

He felt like diving.

So, he changed his Void Slime into a spear—one that would work perfectly for spearfishing.

With the weapon in hand, he stepped into the water. He swam forward, scanning his surroundings until he finally spotted fish darting through the currents.

The hunt was easier than he expected. It was almost as if the spear moved on its own, guiding his hand, helping him strike with precision.

Then, the first notification popped up.

[Fish Caught: 1/40]

Kayn grinned.

Time to farm some Crypto.