He continued lying in place for several minutes until his body calmed and fully recovered, all the while observing the incredible changes happening to his Primal Core.

  Its size continued to grow at an absurd rate and didn’t stop until it had become about four times larger.

  The density of his mana pathways increased. They spread through his body almost like his veins and arteries in length and reach.

  [+2XP]

  [+1XP]

  [...]

  His entire body was saturated with mana, which granted him an unbelievable amount of XP. The system notifications kept appearing non-stop.

  Yet, unlike usual, he didn’t gain any EP. For some reason, they were automatically distributed across his Attributes.

  Naturally, he didn't complain about this; all that really mattered was that they had turned into his own power and hadn't gone to waste.

  His smile widened, and he rolled on the ground happily like a dog being belly-rubbed, murmuring,

  “Isn’t this the best possible result? I created my own skill and my power increased. Thank you, damaged core, I take back everything I said. You aren't useless, I’m the fool.”

  He quickly opened his status and examined all the changes in his Attributes carefully. If it weren’t for his cheeks restraining him, his smile would have grown even wider from what he saw.

  [ — Status — ]

  Name: Arthur Grafton

  Race: Zombie Wolf

  Rank: D

  XP: 1312 / 4000

  HP: 789 / 1000

  Mana: 500 / 450?

  Evolution Points: 0

  [— Basic Status —]

  Strength: 70

  Endurance: 69

  Speed: 50

  Agility: 35

  Vitality: 100

  Perception: 31

  Mana Control: 52

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  [— Skills —]

  Primal Predator (SSS)

  The Last One Standing (S)

  Devourer (S)

  King’s Bloodline (A)

  Immortal Body (A)

  Dimensional Storage (B)

  Evaluation (B)

  Unnamed Skill(C)

  Enhanced Senses (D)

  Unbreakable Will (B)

  Regeneration (D)

  Poison Immunity (D)

  — — —

  He took a deep breath, regaining his usual composure and calm with difficulty. He stood up, stretching his stiff body, and then scanned his surroundings, part of which had been turned into ruins.

  This reminded him of the fight between the Spider Woman and the humans, which had turned the area where he previously lived into a barren land devoid of all signs of life.

  "There’s still a long way to go. This is truly a powerful skill, but it doesn’t compare to a B-Rank attack. Anyway, I need to name it."

  He furrowed his brow, thinking deeply; in reality, he wasn’t very good with names.

  "Since the skill fires a beam of concentrated mana, why don't I just call it Mana Beam?"

  He nodded in agreement and, without hesitation, summoned the skill details and named it.

  [ Mana Beam (C):

  A medium-range offensive magic skill that allows the user to fire a high-density, highly concentrated mana beam.

  — Effects —

  ? Burns and destroys everything in the beam's path.

  Note: Since the skill is incomplete, using it consumes a large and unstable amount of mana, which may cause severe damage to the user's body. ]

  'Damage?! Who cares about that?'

  For some reason, Arthur found this amusing. Injuries and pain no longer really meant anything to him. Yet this realization suddenly made him aware of a strange truth.

  'Wait, does this mean I’m somewhat crazy? No, I guess I’m still sane. I’m just doing what I have to do.’

  Anyway, he ignored those annoying thoughts and summoned the details of the second skill he had obtained.

  [Devourer: The Primal Predator preys on everything, whether a living being or raw materials; nothing escapes his mighty mouth and stomach.

  — Effects —

  ? Obtain extra XP when eating prey.

  ? 30% chance to acquire one of the prey's skills.

  ? Ability to eat raw materials and extract energy from them.

  — Negative Effects —

  Stomach pain and indigestion when eating very solid materials.]

  He was slightly surprised, and asked skeptically:

  "System, do you mean I can benefit from anything I eat, as long as it contains mana or any other type of energy?"

  [Yes]

  His eyes widened as he confirmed: "Does this even include Mana Stone ore?"

  [Yes]

  "This is very good—no, more than good."

  He nodded with a satisfied smile. Currently, his mana reserves had exceeded their limits, so it wasn't possible to test the skill and consume something else without provoking his Primal Core again.

  'I'll try eating some Mana Stone ore later. As for now, where am I exactly? I was running forward like a madman out of panic and veered off my path.'

  He checked his surroundings and found that it was somewhat quiet. This made sense, as what he had done earlier had terrified every living creature nearby.

  He didn't stay still for long and, as before, headed north, not truly knowing his destination.

  Night fell quickly, and this time he didn't hunt. He searched for a safe place and rested there before continuing his journey in the morning.

  As he covered a longer distance, he noticed that the forest around him had grown even quieter, especially the powerful monsters; he hadn't seen or caught the scent of any of them for hours.

  "Something is strange about this area!" He raised his guard and activated his senses to the maximum, and after a short while, he picked up a very strange scent.

  'This?! Why does this scent feel somewhat familiar, yet so foreign at the same time?' He furrowed his brow suspiciously.

  He felt a surge of curiosity and stopped in his tracks, torn between moving away or following the scent.

  'I'm sure the source of this scent is weaker than me, but I shouldn't be reckless. Tsk, this is annoying. My curiosity is killing me. You know what? Damn it. I'll go see what this thing attracting me is.'

  He suppressed his aura as much as possible, and even though the sun was shining brightly in the sky, he tried to sneak only through the shadows.

  As he drew closer to the source, the scent became sharper and even stranger. He noticed it wasn't the scent of just one being, but two.

  Finally, he reached a spot where a large, thick bush stood. From inside it, he heard the sounds of terrified breathing, which intensified upon his arrival.

  Even though he couldn’t see them, his senses were enough to understand what he was dealing with.

  'Humans? I’m not really sure… One of them is D-Rank and badly injured, the other is F-Rank.'

  He was honestly surprised. He froze in place for a moment before a sly, wicked smile appeared on his face. 'Let me scare these weaklings a little.'

  He bared his fangs, released his ferocity and overwhelming aura, then slowly walked toward the bush. Peering through the leaves, he said, "Caught you?"

  But as soon as he saw what was inside, his eyes widened.

  They were two girls. One was a young, beautiful girl with sharp, elegant features, long pointed ears at the tips, sky-blue eyes, and golden hair. Her skin was fair, soft, and attractive, though her body was covered in scars and wounds. Her expression was cold.

  The other was a little girl, slightly younger, resembling the first in features. She was hiding in the older girl’s arms, terrified and struggling to breathe.

  What shocked Arthur even more was that the young girl was pointing her hand at him, casting an offensive spell. Several small, razor-sharp ice shards shot toward him at insane speed.