A pair of glowing red eyes stared at him from behind the dark trees.
A low growl sounded.
The next second, a medium-sized Metal Ironfang charged toward him.
Vincent had already drawn his bow.
Without hesitating, he released an arrow imbued with his mana aura, aiming for the Ironfang's vital point—its glowing red eye.
One shot.
The arrow pierced the Level 2 Metal Ironfang's eye straight through. The demonic beast staggered before finally collapsing to the ground.
Vincent approached calmly.
A long dagger emerged from his storage bracelet. With efficient movements, he sliced open the beast's abdomen and retrieved its Black Crystal Heart and Black Spinal Core, though not all Demonic Beasts possess these.
He put them away.
The hunt continued.
Vincent had killed twelve Demonic Beasts—Level 1, Level 2, and one Level 3—following the location points on the map.
Even now, however, the Blue Crystal Stone had yet to be found.
He tapped his bracelet again.
A map of the vast, dense forest appeared on the holographic screen. He had already thoroughly searched some sections.
Vincent glanced at the untouched areas.
There were still areas he hadn't explored.
Ultimately, he chose to explore the western part of the forest.
His decision paid off, though not in the way he expected.
Before him stood the leader of the Metal Ironfang pack:
A Level 4 Demonic Beast.
Its body was nearly twice the size of the others', standing close to two meters tall. The muscles beneath its red fur were noticeably more defined, and its metal-plated jaws reflected the dim light through the trees.
However, it wasn't the monster's size that made Vincent focus his gaze.
It was what the monster was guarding.
Behind a mound of large, overlapping tree trunks, he saw a faint blue shimmer.
A Blue Crystal Stone.
So all this time, it had been under the direct guard of the pack leader.
"I didn't need to look any further," Vincent murmured softly. "So you were the one guarding it."
A black, iron-clad bow emerged from his storage bracelet. He gripped it tightly, took a deep breath, and nocked an arrow.
Mana flowed, enveloping the arrowhead in a thin, quivering light.
He released it.
The arrow shot swiftly—
—but only pierced the tree trunk behind the target in a straight line.
Vincent squinted.
The Level 4 Ironfang disappeared.
He looked up.
Too late.
The giant's body was upon him. Its sharp claws were raised high and aimed straight for his head, ready to deliver one deadly blow.
Vincent activated short-range teleportation.
His body disappeared a split second before the claws hit the ground, cracking it and spraying split earth everywhere.
He reappeared a few meters away.
But the monster didn't pause.
Metal Ironfang immediately turned and charged again, its speed belying its size.
Vincent continued to shift, disappearing and reappearing at different points to dodge slashes and lunges.
But something felt different.
He noticed a pattern.
The monster was beginning to adjust.
The next claw movement almost missed his point of reappearance. The demonic monster's attacks became faster and more precise, as if it could predict his teleportation position.
"Adapting..." Vincent thought.
He nocked two arrows at once and fired them without hesitation.
Metal Ironfang swung its claws.
Three arcs of mana slashed through the air—sharp and dense.
Both of Vincent's arrows shattered before reaching their targets.
But the three arcs didn't stop.
The attack continued toward Vincent.
Vincent raised his left hand.
A translucent, purple shield formed around him.
Three arcs of slashes struck the shield.
A mana explosion rang out.
The attack shattered, and fine lines ran across the surface of Vincent's shield.
He stared calmly at the monster before him, even as the mana pressure he felt grew heavier.
"Metal Ironfang," he murmured, analyzing it. Its attack power is becoming increasingly aggressive and adapting to specific opponents, even those at a higher level.
The monster growled lowly.
Its mana was currently suppressed.
The body he was using was merely a new vessel, a reincarnation in this world. It wasn't yet capable of fully containing his true power.
However, Vincent was no ordinary being in this world's system.
Both Sentinels and Daemons relied heavily on Blue Crystal Stones to increase their power. They were tied to the mechanics of the world.
He, however, was not entirely tied to them.
That was the anomaly he possessed.
A Level 4 Metal Ironfang posed a real threat before him. It was roughly equal in strength to, or perhaps even slightly stronger than, a Sequence 4 Saint.
Worse still, the monster was adapting.
White arcs of slashes continued to strike the purple shield sphere Vincent had created. Cracks appeared and then reformed.
Repeatedly.
For five full minutes.
But Vincent could sense a change.
Metal Ironfang was adapting again.
The number of arcs released increased, and the pressure intensified. His shield was cracking faster now, sometimes shattering before he could stabilize it completely.
He was not a defensive fighter.
"Unfortunately," Vincent muttered calmly amidst the barrage of attacks, "any crystal stone that contains a mana aura... I can absorb."
Twenty-two black crystal hearts floated out of his storage bracelet.
The objects resembled medium-sized hearts, gleaming like crystal despite their pitch-black color.
The crystals surrounded his body.
But Vincent wasn't greedy.
He only pulled two of them.
The two Black Crystal Hearts shattered, releasing streams of black aura that were immediately absorbed into his body.
A warm, heavy sensation flowed through his mana veins.
His true power felt like a door slowly opening from within.
Although his Sequence remained at Master Sequence 3, his mana reserves surged significantly.
The rest returned to his storage bracelet.
Meanwhile, Metal Ironfang didn't stop. Its claws and fangs slammed into the now-thinning purple shield.
Crack!
Shatter.
"Noisy creature."
Vincent clamped two fingers together and swung them just as the shield shattered.
Ironfang's sharp metal claws were inches from Vincent's pale blue eyes.
But the attack was interrupted.
Golden chains emerged from the portal and wrapped around the monster's four legs and massive body in a flash.
Metal Ironfang growled and struggled.
Vincent moved two fingers slightly.
The golden chains tightened and swung.
The monster's massive body was thrown, slamming hard into the ground and creating a small crater. The impact shook the surrounding area.
Vincent stepped forward slowly.
His gaze remained calm and almost emotionless.
"That doesn't mean I can't kill you," he said calmly.
The Ironfang stood back up.
Its body was covered in wounds from the lashes of the golden chains, yet there was no trace of fear in its eyes. Only wild rage.