Eren's first victim was hidden inside a nearby bush, perfectly concealed to ambush its prey.
But it never expected to be attacked from behind.
Eren's claw directly pierced through its body, tearing it into pieces, the remains instantly disintegrating into nothingness.
[You have slain a Level 1 Shadow Mite…]
[You gained 1 Life Essence…]
[Random Reward Multiplier triggered…]
[Random number: 986…]
[You have gained 986 Life Essence…]
The 32,607 Life Essence Eren had after maxing out his skill rose to 33,593.
No Lesser Spirit Stone dropped this time, which didn't bother Eren at all.
The drop rate of Lesser Spirit Stones in a Beginner Dungeon was even lower than in the wilderness outside the city, at best, only 20%.
The lower the level of the monster killed, the further the drop rate decreased.
His first kill had simply been a lucky hit.
After confirming his target was exterminated, Eren moved on to the next one.
Just now, he hadn't even used any skills.
His raw strength in this form was already enough to dominate the entire Beginner Dungeon.
His speed, which had reached the mid-level of the Second Tier, was overwhelmingly fast for monsters in a Beginner Dungeon.
Shadow Mites died in a single hit without any resistance.
[You have slain a Level 2 Shadow Mite…]
[You gained 3 Life Essence…]
[Random Reward Multiplier triggered…]
[Random number: 36…]
[You have gained 108 Life Essence…]
[You have slain a Level 2 Shadow Mite…]
[You gained 3 Life Essence…]
[Random Reward Multiplier triggered…]
[Random number: 308…]
[You have gained 924 Life Essence…]
"Krrr… skk… sssk…"
"Chii... khh…!"
"Skrree… eek…"
"Kik… kik… sss…"
Each and every monster died the moment he struck.
His Life Essence count increased to 53,586 at an insane speed.
Within half an hour, all the Shadow Mites in his vicinity had been cleared.
So Eren moved to other locations in the Outer Area, only to find that all Level 1 and Level 2 Shadow Mites were fleeing and hiding the moment they sensed him.
Some crawled into tiny holes beneath trees, while others squeezed into narrow crevices and hidden corners.
'How spineless…'
Eren cursed at the cowardice of these creatures as he roamed around.
Even after some time, he barely found anything.
'Tsk, it seems I need to go to the Mid Region or deeper to hunt…'
After making up his mind, he moved further in and soon found a Shadow Mite larger than those in the Outer Region.
Its charcoal-colored scales were the same, but they carried a faint purple sheen.
Its length was easily over one meter.
It was far more muscular as well.
"KRRRAA—sssk…"
It let out a cry the moment it spotted Eren, and several other Shadow Mites immediately gathered around him.
'It has enough intelligence to hunt with coordination!'
Even though the difference between the Outer and Mid Regions was only one level, the way they fought had changed dramatically.
Still, they were nothing compared to Eren's current state.
Even without using any skills, his claws pierced through their scales and killed them instantly.
[You have slain a Level 4 Shadow Mite…]
[You gained 7 Life Essence and one Lesser Spirit Stone…]
[Random Reward Multiplier triggered…]
[Random number: 2,069…]
[You have gained 14,483 Life Essence and 2,069 Lesser Spirit Stones…]
[You have slain a Level 3 Shadow Mite…]
[You gained 5 Life Essence and one Lesser Spirit Stone…]
[Random Reward Multiplier triggered…]
[Random number: 9,875…]
[You have gained 49,375 Life Essence and 9,875 Lesser Spirit Stones…]
[You have slain a Level 3 Shadow Mite…]
[You gained 5 Life Essence…]
[Random Reward Multiplier triggered…]
[Random number: 11…]
[You have gained 55 Life Essence…]
The carnage began once again.
Wherever the silver wolf went, the wailings of monsters echoed through the surroundings.
"SKRREEEEEE—khh…!"
"Krrrraaaaaa—ssshh…"
"Aaaarrgghhh—kkkk…!"
The more he killed and ran around, the more Eren grew accustomed to his new body. He felt even more comfortable in this form.
When he checked his Spirit status, he found that only a little over 10 Spirit had been consumed during all this time.
It had already been nearly an hour since the beginning of his transformation.
'Did my natural Spirit recovery speed also increase along with my total Spirit capacity?!'
Curious, he stayed in one place for a while in wolf form and attempted to meditate.
Instantly, his Spirit increased by 0.1.
'It really increased!'
He exclaimed inwardly in surprise.
During yesterday's training with his father, Eren had tried to recover his Spirit through meditation.
Even after five full minutes of concentration, he had only recovered 0.1 Spirit.
But now, even without entering a deep meditative state, his Spirit recovery was noticeably faster.
Naturally, this meant his recovery speed had increased several folds, just like his attributes.
'With this, I can maintain this form even longer!'
Eren moved through the surroundings as if it were his own backyard, slaughtering every monster he encountered.
Messages continued popping up in his mind nonstop.
[You have slain a Level 3 Shadow Mite…]
[You gained 5 Life Essence…]
[Random Reward Multiplier triggered…]
[Random number: 99,911…]
[You have gained 499,555 Life Essence…]
[You have slain a Level 4 Shadow Mite…]
[You gained 7 Life Essence and one Lesser Spirit Stone…]
[Random Reward Multiplier triggered…]
[Random number: 77,777…]
[You have gained 544,439 Life Essence and 77,777 Lesser Spirit Stones…]
The hunt continued for another hour before he finally stopped, as sudden hunger struck him.
"Over 3 million Life Essence?!"
Eren exclaimed in shock as he returned to his human form for lunch.
"Not only Life Essence, but the Lesser Spirit Stones also reached a count of 275,980?! This is too much!"
He could hardly believe his eyes.
Since Lesser Spirit Stones were only 2 cm long and 0.7 cm wide, they could all fit perfectly into his storage without any problem.
His eyes couldn't move away from the number of Spirit Stones he possessed.
"With this many Lesser Spirit Stones… if I sell them all, I could get at least 10 million Alliance Coins even after taxes and commission!"
In the market, Spirit Stones were always in demand.
They could be used for a variety of purposes, such as serving as power sources for magic circles, maintaining protective barriers, enriching soil for higher-tier plant growth, and even aiding in rank-up advancements.
Spirit Stones varied based on the quality and quantity of spiritual energy stored within them.
Their grades, from lowest to highest, were: Lesser Grade, Lower Grade, Mid Grade, High Grade, and Perfect Grade.
Spirit Stones ranked above these grades were considered Spirit Cores.
The higher the grade of a Spirit Stone, the greater its market value.
Even Lesser Spirit Stones were constantly in demand, as countless life professions emerged each year.
The cost of a single Lesser Spirit Stone usually ranged from 45 to 50 Alliance Coins.
Therefore, Eren's calculation was not exaggerated at all.
"I really went overboard…"
Eren looked at his current human form, which now felt like a weakened version of himself, and smiled wearily.
"This transformation is really addicting! I felt so much joy and fun running around and killing monsters in that form… Is this how energetic dogs in my previous life felt?"
Just remembering the thrill of hunting made him shudder unconsciously.
He began to feel as though the instincts of his transformation were slowly overwriting his own personality without him even realizing it.