Seeing the destruction caused by his single attack, us was stunned. Ever since his awaking, he had relied solely on the ice elemt with his Moon sh skill. He hadn''t experimted with the other elemts and wasn''t sure if they would work. But since ice had be effective, he was contt to stick with it.


    Now, however, he was speechless. The fire elemt had exceeded his expectations. The sight of over 00 trees cut down and gulfed in mes filled him with delight.


    Curious, us switched back to the ice elemt. The result was a stark contrast, like yin and yang. On one side, the earth was scorched, and all life was extinguished. On the other, it was an Ice Age—trees froz solid with a subtle mist rising from them.


    us could hardly believe it. He had be far stronger than he ever imagined. This was exactly what he needed. He wanted the strgth to protect his mother, and now it seemed he had gained that and more.


    He still had 700 points to distribute, so he knew he wasn''t at an absolute disadvantage. Ev though the monsters and zombies in the forest wer''t the strongest, the fact that he, as an Awaked, could y them with ease meant a lot.


    "Now that I have the strgth, killing a few Tier 4 monsters is just what the heavs would want," us chuckled to himself as he started moving deeper into the forest.


    He had already secured ough money to buy a house and move his mother to the city, thanks to Asha and Nia. From here on, every kill would be about umting more wealth. He knew he stillcked skills and techniques, so getting more would be ideal. But for now, the hunt continued.


    -


    -


    -


    Boom!


    A powerful explosion rocked the forest, sding mist into the air. Wh the mist cleared, arge spider-like monstery dead on the g. A few meters away stood us, a small smile on his lips.


    "Metal Pincer Poison Spider," he murmured, pleased. "Just one leg will sell for a couple of thousand gold coins, and there are 6 of them, Hehe, the heavs are indeed looking favorable upon me"


    us walked closer, stored the body inside his space ring, and continued deeper into the forest.


    Momtster, another Metal Pincer Poison Spider appeared, its body dripping with oily vom. "It seems I''m in the spider''s territory," us noted, a smile gracing his lips


    us narrowed his eyes as he faced the new Metal Pincer Poison Spider. Without hesitation, he activated his ice elemt again. He swung his sword, sding out a sharp, cold arc of ice. The attack sliced through the spider''s legs like they were made of paper, freezing them solid before they shattered into pieces.


    "Another one down, Fuck, that was a lot of gold coins" us muttered, storing the spider''s body in his space ring. "These spiders are worth a lot."


    As us continued deeper into the forest, more spiders emerged. Some wererger, with thicker pincers, while others had differt colors, like a dark red variant that seemed to move faster.


    "Red Fang Poison Spider," us idtified the new threat. "A bit quicker, but nothing my ice can''t handle."


    He swung his sword again, sding out another ice arc. The Red Fang Poison Spider tried to dodge, but the arc was too fast. It hit the spider, freezing it instantly before it crumbled to the g in icy shards.


    "Still not a challge, I guess I am stronger than I thought," us said, his voice calm.


    He kept moving, countering spider after spider. Each one was differt in some way—some had glowing eyes, while others were covered in thick armor-like shells. But no matter their differces, they all fell to his ice arc with ease.


    "Glowing Eyes Poison Spider," us said as he took down one with bright, glowing eyes. "Looks dangerous, but it''s just as weak. However, money doesn''t distinguish weak and strong, so I can only kill you"


    "Steel Shell Poison Spider," he noted, facing another spider with a tough, metallic shell. "Let''s see if you''re any tougher."


    us''s ice arc struck the Steel Shell Poison Spider. The shell cracked, and the spider copsed, froz solid.


    "Guess not," us said with a grin, storing the body.


    He continued his hunt, feeling more confidt with each victory. The forest was thick with spider variants, but us took them all down effortlessly, his ice arc leaving a trail of froz bodies in his wake. He was shocked to see his ice arc has be several times tougher than before. As for the fire arc, us hasn''t used it just yet.


    It''s too destructive and not good for preserving monster bodies for a good sale.


    Finally, after what felt like hours of ying spiders, us paused. He looked a, noticing that the forest had grown quieter. The spiders had be less frequt, and the air was colder, filled with the remnants of his icy attacks.


    "Seems like I''ve cleared out most of them," us muttered to himself. "I guess it''s time to head back home. There are no Tier 5 monsters here to test my strgth," he said confidtly, knowing his words were backed by the power he had gained.


    With his space ring nearly full, there was no reason to stay in the forest any longer. He had killed hundreds of Tier 4 monsters, gaining over 300,000 experice points, drawing him closer to his goal of advancing to Level  Ascded.


    BOOM!


    Just as us was basking in his sess, an explosion shook the forest. The sound came from the east, about 4 kilometers away. Without hesitation, us dashed toward the source of the noise. In a split second, he arrived at a small clearing.


    There, he saw a woman dressed in , gaged in a fierce battle with a massive spider. The spider''s sixte legs were gulfed in mes, and its grotesque face bore a twisted, human-like appearance.


    "A Tier 5 Human-Face Spider Demon," us immediately idtified the monster. But th he frowned. "How did I know the name of this monster?"


    The thought puzzled him. He had never se or heard of this creature before, yet the name and its nature came to him instinctively.


    us quickly noticed that the woman, though holding her g, had a small cut on her arm. Without a second thought, he began channeling fire essce into his sword, ready to unleash a fire arc using his Moon sh skill.


    ''I can''t just stand by and watch,'' he thought, focusing his ergy. The fire built up in his de, glowing fiercely as he prepared to strike.


    Suddly, one of the spider''s ming legs shot forward, aiming directly at the woman''s chest. She staggered backward, struggling to regain her bnce. Panic shed in her eyes as she realized she had no way to block the attack.


    The spider''s leg drew closer, and fear gripped her heart. But just as it was about to pierce her, a wave of terrifying heat swept past her. In an instant, the leg was severed, falling to the g just a hair''s breadth away from impaling her.


    Before she could ev process what had happed, another fiery sh cut through the air, striking the monster''s grotesque face and splitting it in half. The woman''s eyes wided in shock as the ormous creature copsed.


    Overwhelmed, she staggered backward and fell. But before she could hit the g, a soft yet firm hand caught her from behind.


    She looked up, still dazed, and saw us standing over her, his sword still glowing with the remnants of his fiery attack. His expression was calm, but his eyes were sharp, focused on the now-dead spider.


    "You''re safe now," us repeated, his voice steady as he held her securely. For a few seconds that felt like an eternity, their eyes locked. us''s gold eyes bore into the woman''s silver-gre gaze, filled with intsity and curiosity.


    She didn''t flinch, matching his stare with her own, a mix of relief and surprise evidt in her expression. The world a them seemed to fade away as they stood there, froz at that momt. us''s hands, still wrapped a her waist, kept her steady, a protective warmth emanating from his touch.


    Neither of them spoke, but in that silce, a connection formed, unspok yet undiable. Finally, the woman blinked, breaking the gaze as she took a small step back, though us''s grip remained gtle, suring she didn''t stumble.


    "Thank you," she whispered, her voice soft and sincere.


    "Cough...Don''t mtion it" us awkwardly coughs. He didn''t know why, but staring into her eyes, he felt a good feeling from her. The kind that he only felt from his mother.


    It was a feeling he only ever associated with his mother—a deep sse of care and connection. The realization caught him off guard, leaving him momtarily unsure of what to say or do next.


    Suddly, us''s eyesnded on her arm. "Your wounds," he said, his voice filled with concern. Without hesitation, he appeared beside her in an instant. With a quick, precise motion, he pinched some spots on her arm near the wound, and almost immediately, thick, ck blood began to ooze out, purging the vom from her body.


    "This is a Human-Face Spider Demon," us exined, his tone serious. "Its vom is highly corrosive. If it isn''t removed quickly, it can spread through your bloodstream, breaking down tissues and causing severe damage."


    Thedy didn''t say anything, but her eyes held a myriad of emotions—gratitude, curiosity, and something else us couldn''t quite ce. As us continued the treatmt, he suddly froze, his eyes widing in shock.


    ''What is going on with me? How did I know all this?''