Dante crouched down and swept the water. He then brought it near his mouth and drank it.
"Not bad. Definitely the best water I have found in the forest in my whole life. It is clear. But let's heat up the water to kill the bacteria." Dante chuckled. He then washed his face to clear the scent of alcohol.
Because the adrenaline wore off, his mind had returned to dizziness. But he could still handle this level of dizziness.
He stood up and checked the traps he set up. He placed about 5 traps near the track he found. The trap was simple and he designed it to keep the prey alive for obvious reasons.
After making sure that nothing was wrong, he headed to the designated area.
He smelled a faint scent of smoke.
Julius was making beds for the three. Thomas on the other hand was stacking woods that will be used for the remaining night.
He sat on the ground and muttered. "I hope there are no mosquitoes in this forest."
The three made a schedule. Thomas will guard the area, then Julius after that Dante.
Time passed.
Dante looked at the morning sky and let out a long yawn. He didn't get a wink of sleep last night. His prayer was not answered.
There were a shit ton of mosquitoes here. Their bites were deathly itchy. He waited for the others to wake up. It didn't take long for that.
Then they both headed to the stream to wash their faces.
Dante checked on the traps and called out his friends.
They arrived and gave Dante a proud slap to the back.
"Great, we will have breakfast. I am starving." Thomas chuckled.
Julius on the other hand was a bit hesitant seeing three cute rabbits. Nevertheless he sighed after he made up his mind.
They all headed back to the male shift camp with rabbits on their hands. Thomas quickly made fire with his match.
After that, Dante was the first to kill the rabbit. He thought he should be the first to do so not because he was arrogant. It was the opposite, he was experienced in this kind of killing and he knew how to end a life without pain.
He grabbed the rabbit and gently patted.
"Rub their head, it will release some chemicals to their brain to help calm the animals. After that." He took a small knife and drove it into the rabbit's head. "Like this, quick and merciful dead."
Dante didn't know what he said was correct. His father taught him that.
[Confirm the kill.]
[Initiating the awakening process. Please remain calm.]
Dante stepped back and gave the knife to Thomas.
"I got a notification. I will go over there." He pointed at the tree.
Dante sat down under the tree and closed his eyes. A wave of energy surged into him, breaking down his entire body.
The process seemed painful but Dante's mind was calm and collected. A bit too calm in fact.
The energy lasted for a few minutes.
Ding!
He heard the system and opened his eyes. He expected to see the system window. Heck, he expected to see the sky, sun, trees and his friends. But there were none of those.
Instead, he found himself floating in the endless void.
Looking down at his feet, he saw a crack forming in the void. He waited for something to happen. Was it last for a few minutes or eternity?
He didn't know.
He didn't know anything. What was he?
Then he understood. Deeply inside this heart, he understood. He was different.
Suddenly a crack surrounded him and broke the endless void, embracing him in a hug.
He found footing and looked around. In front of him was a huge colourless orb, floating in the air. He felt a connection with the orb.
Unconsciously, he reached the orb. Energy from his body flew toward the orb, filling the colorless orb with light.
It lasted for a few seconds.
He stared at the orb and nodded.
When he closed his eyes, he found himself sitting under the tree. The experience was quite bizarre. Despite the strange experience, he noticed even stranger things inside his body.
He was full of energy and strength. He clenched a fist and felt mysterious energy flowing inside him. As he concentrated farther deep into the flow, he noticed the source.
It was coming from his belly. No. He couldn't pin point the location but there was an orb that existed inside of him, pulsing energy into his body.
As he felt deeper into the flow, a notification rang in his ear.
[Do you wish to learn Mana manipulation?]
Dante chose yes for obvious reasons. Mana meant magic.
[Mana manipulation ( Rank- Grade 1)]
"Status." Dante called out.
Name- Dante
Tier- Tier 1 human.
Bloodline- processing information.
Skill-
Mana manipulation level- 1 (Grade- 1)
Hunter's eyes ( Grade- 1)
Dante's eyes landed on his skills.
Mana manipulation was simple, like the name suggested.
'So this energy I feel inside my body is called mana. I wonder what I can do with this.'
He then focused on the other skill. He didn't remember learning the skill but it must have been in his hands the entire time.
Instinctively, he knew how to activate this skill unlike mana manipulation he didn't have to focus.
He squinted his eyes and energy poured into his eyes, showing vision far greater than his regular eyes could see.
He closed his eyes and it returned to normal.
[Bloodline unlocked.]
[Error. Error. Require higher authority.]
[Requesting authority. Engage.]
[Finding the name.]
[Bloodline - Sage beyond the end.]
[Bloodline talent -
Unparallel comprehension.
???
???
???
Dante was flabbergasted by the reveal. 'Damn, it is overpowered.'
He selected Unparallel comprehension, trying to see its usage.
[Can comprehend everything into the original state and beyond. ]
He smiled at that. He immediately activated his hunter's eyes and tried to use unparalleled comprehension.
Instantly, he was in a trance-like state. His mind wandered across the vast sea. Eyes were meant to see things. It was meant to observe.
But it shouldn't be like that.
Dante opened his eyes and grabbed a dried leaf. He observed the leaf and crushed it into pieces, shaking his head.
Observation is not the end goal.
He felt everything. No. He saw everything. The faint tremor of mana in the air. His body was covered in layers of reality.
Body.
Mana
Soul
Mind
Intent
Fate
Self
[Detecting evolution.]
[Evolution requirements-
Concept- meet.]
[Evolving Hunter's eyes to External eyes of the hunter.]
[External eyes of the hunter- (Rank - Grade 8)]
Pain assaulted his eyes immediately. Intense heat burning through his soul.
Dante grabbed his eyes, feeling fluid flowing from his eyes. He looked at the red fluid, realizing that it was blood.
His eyes were melting, falling out from the socket.
Unable to bear the pain, he rolled down, repeatedly punching to the ground. After a while, he felt itchy. Flesh came to morph and mana gathered.
He lifted up his head to the sky and felt mysterious intent flew into him from the sky. From heaven.
When he opened his eyes, the air around him changed. He noticed mana in the air dancing, floating, and falling.
He saw layers of structure when he looked at his hands. Knowledge inserted into him about the things he saw.
He suspected that when he looked at others, his eyes would tell him about their conditions. He then decided to use his talent in mana manipulation.
He stopped the attempt immediately when he felt an oppressive feeling in his soul. The weight was unbearable, crushing his soul.
'What's happening?' He asked himself.
[Using bloodline talent again will result in soul stress.]
[In order to use it again, the system recommends taking soul medicine or advanced tier.]
Dante nodded to himself. Of course, there is a draw back.
After playing around his mana, he decided to check on his friends. He stood up, patted himself and walked toward them.
He saw his friends, sitting on the trees just like him a moment ago. They closed their eyes and Dante saw their layers undergoing changes.
He closed his eyes and chose not to interfere with their metamorphosis. Instead, he cleaned up the bloody rabbits. He cut the head and pulled out the skin.
It was done in 15 minutes.
Normally, he was not that fast but this time he used his hunter skill. The eyes showed him where the weakest joint was. And he knew there was more function than just that.
His vision was on the whole other level. He could see miles ahead, not clearly more like a radar vision. It was hard to explain how the eyes worked.
He also saw layers of realities that made up the world. But observing that, he could pinpoint weak points. That was all he got from checking his eyes for a few minutes.
He made the fire and roasted the meat.
Maybe because the smell woke up the two, Julius and Thomas arrived at the breakfast. Well, it was technically closed to lunch but he decided to call it breakfast.
"So how is your trip?" Dante asked.