Chapter Six: Hunting
Alice replied indifferently,
"Yes. Your title is 'Survivor of Death.'
It's not a particularly special title… it only activates automatically in situations of extreme danger.
But it's useless if you're unable to fight or escape."
She raised an eyebrow and gazed ahead.
"I recommend ignoring it for now."
Akira nodded without commenting.
The two continued talking about skills and attributes, while Akira's mind tried to grasp the system that had now become part of him.
He reached the city gate and headed straight to the food warehouse.
He received his usual ration. It was exactly like the meal he had eaten in the morning—dry, tasteless, but enough to fill his stomach.
He ate in silence, ignoring the flavor.
But Alice, floating quietly above his shoulder, noticed something Akira didn't.
Two guards were watching him from a distance, whispering to each other, their eyes never leaving him.
Perhaps they had noticed his strange behavior during his last visit… or perhaps they saw him talking to someone invisible.
Alice chose to remain silent, unwilling to draw more attention. Their gazes were not ordinary.
Once Akira finished his meal, he left the warehouse without looking back and returned to his familiar shelter among the piles of scrap. There, he fell into a deep sleep.
…
The next morning, he woke early to Alice's voice.
"Akira, we need to return to training. Your aim is still bad."
He moved immediately, as if he had been expecting this.
They reached the same open area behind the hill, where rocks of various sizes were scattered around.
Akira stood still and focused all his energy.
"Void Spear!"
The purple spear shot from his hand with force, but it veered slightly and struck the edge of a small rock.
"Close…" he muttered, then tried again.
Once… twice… ten times.
Summoning the skill had become much easier, but his accuracy was still far from perfect.
"You're improving slowly, and that's good," Alice said with a faint smile. "But we need to increase your accuracy… quickly."
Akira focused solely on aiming, taking breaks only to recover mana.
Alice gave him simple lessons about skills and general knowledge regarding hunters, and he even learned how to read using an old newspaper he found near the warehouse.
While Akira was resting, Alice suddenly turned to the left.
"What is it…?"
"A group of monsters is heading our way. They're unranked, but we'll be in danger if their numbers are large."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get out of here!"
"Don't worry. There are only three."
"With your abilities—and a bit of luck—you can defeat them."
"Wouldn't it be better to run?"
"Well, it's your decision."
"If you retreat from a fight now, you'll retreat again… and again… and you'll never leave the slums."
"Can they really be defeated?"
"Yes. Just trust me."
Akira gathered his courage.
"Then… how do we do it?"
---
"We'll enter this building."
Alice pointed to a crumbling two-story structure—what remained of the original building.
Akira followed her instructions and went inside. He stood by one of the windows, observing the surroundings, and saw the fearsome dogs. They resembled the ones that had attacked the city before, but were much smaller.
A few minutes later, three monsters arrived in the area where he had been training, sniffing the ground.
"Alice asked, "Akira, how much mana do you have left?"
"152 out of 200."
"Good. Attack the middle wolf, and if you hit it, immediately move to the one on the left."
Akira focused on the middle wolf and invoked the spell.
"Void Spear!"
The spear flew at high speed and struck the wolf, sending it rolling across the ground as it howled in pain.
Akira was surprised by his success, but Alice quickly reminded him,
"The one on the left."
He launched another spear at the left wolf, but it noticed and sprinted toward the building.
"Move to the corridor," Alice said. "We'll face them there."
Akira stood in the corner, listening to the sound of the wolves climbing the stairs.
"When one of them appears, hit it immediately."
A wolf emerged from the corner.
"Void Spear!"
The spear shot forward and struck the wolf in the chest, but the other wolf dodged and lunged at Akira. Akira narrowly avoided its claws.
"Alice shouted, "Akira, the other one isn't dead yet! Kill it now!"
Akira aimed his hand at the wolf that was trying to get up.
"Void Spear!"
The spear pierced its head, turning it into a shattered mess.
Text appeared in Akira's mind:
[You have killed an unranked monster – Level 3]
[Gained 100 experience points]
[Gained 50 experience points]
[Level up: Level 2]
[Gained 2 attribute points to distribute]
[Gained +1 Endurance from level difference]
Suddenly, Alice shouted, "Akira, behind you!"
Akira turned quickly and aimed at the approaching wolf.
"Void Spear!"
But the wolf twisted suddenly, dodged the attack, and leapt at Akira, its claws sinking into his shoulder.
A warning appeared:
[You have lost 40% of your health]
Health: [6/10]
Akira groaned in pain, but raised his hand again toward the wolf's abdomen.
"Void Spear!"
The spear struck the wolf, slamming it into the wall.
Again—
"Void Spear!"
The wolf's head exploded in midair.
After the fierce battle, a series of glowing notifications appeared before Akira:
[You have killed an unranked monster – Level 4]
[Gained 100 experience points]
[Gained an additional 50 experience points]
[Level increased: 1 → 2]
[Gained 2 freely distributable attribute points]
[+1 Speed gained from level difference]
Akira clenched his teeth in pain, blood flowing heavily from his injured shoulder.
"Akira, clean your wound!"
He didn't hesitate. He tore part of his clothes, wiped the dirt from the wound, then wrapped it tightly with the cloth to stop the bleeding.
"This is only temporary… you need proper medical treatment."
"I don't have the money for that."
"Don't worry. We got some money from this fight."
"Really? Where?"
Alice pointed toward the head of one of the dead wolves.
Akira approached it, and among the shattered flesh and bone, he spotted something gleaming—like a shard of glass with an eerie shine.
He picked it up and murmured, "What is this?"
"A monster core. Some monsters have these inside them. Depending on how much mana they contain, they can be sold for a good price."
He carefully put it in his pocket and moved toward another wolf, but Alice stopped him.
"Don't waste your time. That one doesn't have anything."
After obtaining his first monster core, Akira turned toward the remaining corpse.
"Then… let's move on to the next one," he said cautiously.