As soon as us tered Ruin City, he pulled up a map from the watch on his wrist. ording to the map, he had tered a Tier  Forbidd Zone known as Ruin City. This ce was once a thriving metropolis before the Apocalypse. Now, it was a dangerous territory ruled by a pack of White Strip Mountain Wolves and other terrifying monsters, each a mace to society.


    From the limited records us had found, he learned that aside from the wolves, the area was home to several other vicious monsters. Notable among them were the Red Scale Python, the Jade White Mountain Lion, and the G Drake Lizard King. These creatures were all Tier 5 Terror Monsters, and their locations had be marked on the map.


    Ev though us had grown stronger, he knew better than to go after a Tier 5 monster right away. He wasn''t about to take on the big threats just yet. First, he needed to understand his own abilities better and figure out how to use them effectively inbat.


    For now, his goal was to hunt smaller monsters, test his limits, and gradually work his way up to the more dangerous creatures lurking in the city.


    "Tier 3 should be a good start," us thought to himself. He knew these monsters were differt from the ones he''d faced before, but he was eager to test himself. He didn''t want to underestimate them, but he had grown far stronger than he once was. His confidce pushed him to aim higher, ev if it meant taking on more than he could handle.


    With that thought, us vtured deeper into the city. The brok ruins sured him, remnants of a world long lost to chaos. After a few minutes of walking, he suddly stopped. Closing his eyes, a smile crept onto his face. "I guess that painful transformation wasn''t for nothing," he muttered to himself.


    His sses had expanded dramatically. Now, he could detect anything within a 5-kilometer radius. It was more incredible than he had imagined. He could feel the presce of monsters, their realms, and ev their sses. At that momt, us could sse a doz Tier 3 monsters nearby, ranging from Lesser to the Great ss, all within his expanded range.


    Wasting no time, he locked onto his first target: a spike-tail crocodile, a powerful lizard-type monster. As he approached within 00 meters, the creature ssed his presce and charged at him, its sharp tail poised for attack.


    us smirked, clearly unfazed. His sword wt into a casual swing, slicing through the air effortlessly without ev bothering to channel his elemtal essce or star ergy into his sword. The de cut clean through the monster''s neck, and its head rolled to the g.


    Just like that, a Tier 3 Great Monster was killed—without us breaking a sweat. No elemtal essce or star qi was used. Just a normal swing.


    [You have killed a Tier 3 Great Monster called Spike-Tail Crocodile. You have received 7,000 Exp.]


    [You''ve earned ,500 ranking points.]


    "As expected, killing mutated monsters pays more than the ordinary ones," us thought with satisfaction. Thest time he killed a Tier 3 monster, he had only received 3,000 Exp. This time, however, he had gained 7,000 Exp.


    In addition to that, he had earned ,500 ranking points for his first kill in the zone. "This is a good start," he said to himself with a nod of approval. He quickly stored away the monster''s body in his space ring and was about to move on wh something caught his eye. On the g, there was a small, glowing object.


    "So this is the core," us muttered. He had read about these on his way to the zone, so he immediately recognized it. The core was smaller than an egg, yet as he held it, he could feel the boundless ergy it contained. After admiring the core for a momt, us ced it inside his space ring and set his sights on his next target.


    "I need to level up quickly," us whispered as he swiftly stabbed his sword into the neck of a Berserker Rat, another Tier 3 Great Monster. It barely had time to react before it fell lifeless to the g. us moved seamlessly from one monster to the next, cutting them down with ease.


    Despite not distributing his 700 points from previous level-ups, us''s speed had already be monstrous. He was moving with incredible agility, far beyond what he''d once thought possible.


    [You have killed a Tier 3 Great Monster called Blue Fur Rabbit. You have received 7,000 Exp.]


    [You''ve earned ,500 ranking points.]


    "How curious," us mused. "There are no Dark Monsters here. Does that mean these monsters live in a hierarchy based on ss?"


    After killing 3 monsters, us noticed that every single one had be a Tier 3 Great Monster. Not a single Dark monster or anything higher-tier had appeared. It started to feel like he was stuck fighting weaker opponts, far below his currt level.


    "I need a stronger challge. These monsters are just too weak," us said with a hint of disappointmt. He quickly realized he had be something of a bully. He hadn''t ev needed to use his Star Qi, yet he was able to kill dozs of monsters in less than  minutes. His power was truly terrifying.


    As he reflected on this, us started to understand that the star diagram he had cultivated was far more powerful than he had originally thought. Ev though some of the monsters had ssed him and released their ergy in defse, us felt nothing from their attacks. Their aura didn''t ev faze him.


    Back in the Sunlight Forest, he had barely escaped death wh a Tier  monster locked him down. But now, facing Tier 3 monsters, he waspletely unchallged. He felt as though he was gliding effortlessly through the battlefield, moving from one kill to the next like a fish in water.


    Not satisfied with the easy victories, us pressed on, making his way deeper into Ruin City in search of something more worthy of his growing strgth.


    Roar!


    The g beath us shook as a deep, thunderous roar echoed through the brok-down city. It came from a few kilometers away. Without hesitation, us sprinted toward the source. After a few swift steps, he arrived at a small clearing where an intse battle was already underway.


    "They''re fighting," us muttered to himself, taking in the chaotic sce. Threerge monsters were locked inbat for reasons he couldn''t discern.


    The first was a Dark Fur Mountain Wolf, known for its incredible agility and strgth. Its dark, sleek fur rippled as it danced a the battlefield. Opposing the wolf was a Red-Eye Leopard, its glowing eyes dangerous to ev nce at.


    From his watch, us recalled that the Red-Eye Leopard possessed terrifying hypnotic powers —looking directly into its eyes would plunge a person''s mind into chaos, making them vulnerable to attack.


    But what truly caught us''s atttion was the third monster—a Diamond Tusk Elephant. Its massive body towered over the others, but it wasn''t its size that made us''s heart race. No, it was the monster''s tusks. Diamond Tusk Elephants themselves were oft considered worthless despite their size, but their tusks were a rare treasure. Owning ev one could fetch an impressive sum on the market.


    us''s eyes gleamed with excitemt as he surveyed the sce. "What a perfect opportunity," he thought. The Mountain Wolf''s meat was highly prized, something that people would go wild for.


    The Leopard''s value was dect and ev more ticing was the fact that it was a Tier 3 Dark Monster—killing it would not only add to his ranking points but also provide him with a body he could sell for more money.


    "Let''s see the power of Star Qi," us muttered to himself, channeling a small portion of his star ergy into his sword. The momt the ergy flowed into the de, it began to hum with life, vibrating with raw power. A gold aura veloped the sword, instantly amplifying its strgth.


    "Fuck, this feels amazing," us grinned, feeling invincible. His original n was to ambush the monsters, but with the surge of power from his Star Qi, it became clear that they stood no chance against him.


    Ice essce flowed from his body into the sword, freezing the g a him in an instant. The sheer power left us giddy with excitemt. "Damn, this is great!" he eximed.


    With a mischievous smirk, us whispered, "Gtlem, the Yama King says hi," and th lunged forward, shing his sword at the Mountain Wolf. A dse cresct-shaped arc of blue ice, coated with gold ergy, flew from his de and struck the wolf. The attack sliced deep into the creature''s skull, leaving a massive wound.


    At the same momt, us directed another arc of ergy toward the Red-Eye Leopard. The strike was so precise and powerful that it cut the leopard cleanly in half before it could ev react.


    Finally, he turned his atttion to the Diamond Tusk Elephant. A more pott ice arc shot from his sword, aimed at the creature''s thick neck. us had expected the beast to dure the attack, perhaps ev retaliate, but to his surprise, the momt the ergy connected, the massive elephant copsed to the g with a resounding thud.


    Dead, just like that.


    us stared at the fall monsters in disbelief. "Wow, that was... almost too easy," he murmured, his heart pounding with exhration.


    "Although they are Tier Dark Monsters, I expected some resistance" us only used a small portion of the ergy he could channel, yet the monsters were overwhelmed, killing each with a single attack.


    "Since that is the case, th I better use this time to level up and see whether or not, this City can contain us" us arrogantly said storing the bodies of the monsters. He disappeared further into the City. What followed was howls, roars, and thuds. us has finally found his groove and started his ughter.


    After about  hours, us stopped and sat on top of a brok wall. he pulled the system message.


    [You have leveled up. Currt Level: Level  Ascded. You have received 300 Stat points.]