Shattered arrow pieces lay scattered across the wet leaves. Aaron stood there, Abyssfang Blade still loose in his hand, golden runes catching the thin light that slipped through the canopy. The whole forest had gone quiet. Too quiet.
He looked straight toward where the shot had come from.
"Come out."
Leaves rustled. A figure stepped between the trunks, moving light and fast, covering the distance like it was nothing. She stopped a few meters away.
Kang Yue.
Long hair shifting with the breeze, bow hanging easy in one hand, stance full of that same confidence he remembered from the arena.
She glanced at the broken arrow on the ground, then at the blade in his grip. A small smile tugged at her lips.
"You actually blocked it."
Aaron slid the blade back into its sheath, slow and deliberate. "You weren't exactly hiding."
"Most students at the academy wouldn't have even seen that arrow coming."
Aaron's eyes flicked toward the deeper trees for half a second.
Kang Yue let out a soft laugh that cut clean through the silence. "You really are more interesting than I thought, Aaron." She took one step closer, looking him over carefully. "Heard you took down that Stoneback Bear. Figured it was just another rumor." Her gaze dropped to the dead Ironfang Boar lying nearby. "But now… seems the rumors were right."
Aaron crossed his arms. "So?"
She lifted her bow a little. "Fight me."
Straight to it. No warmup.
Aaron blinked. "You're serious?"
"We're both in the elimination round." Her eyes lit up with that competitive spark. "Why not find out who's better right now?"
Aaron let out a breath and shook his head. "No."
Kang Yue frowned. "No?"
"You know the rules. Academy announced them yesterday." He jerked his chin toward the city walls in the distance. "No fighting each other outside the actual matches. We do this and someone reports it, we're both out."
"Scared?"
Aaron gave a faint smile. "No. I just plan on taking first place."
Kang Yue stared at him, then laughed, real this time. "You? First place?"
"Why not?"
She rested the bow across her shoulder, face turning serious. "Because someone else already owns that spot."
Aaron knew the name before she even said it.
"Zheng Luic."
Kang Yue nodded.
"Zheng."
Her voice went flat.
"S-Rank Stormblade Swordsman."
She said it like it was fact carved in stone.
"He's the strongest student in the whole academy."
Aaron didn't answer.
Kang Yue watched his face anyway. "You still think you can beat him?"
Aaron shrugged. "We'll see."
She held his eyes a few seconds longer, then smiled again, quieter this time. "Interesting." She turned and walked back into the trees. After a couple steps she stopped without looking back.
"Aaron. If you actually make it through elimination…" Her tone carried a sharp edge. "I'll be waiting."
Then she was gone, swallowed by the woods.
Aaron stood there a moment, then shook his head.
"Troublesome girl."
He turned back to the dead boar, eyes drifting past it to the thicker wilderness ahead. Four days left before the real matches started. Four full days out here. Plenty of time to push harder. Yet the weight of that name—Zheng Luic—still sat in the back of his mind. However strong he got, there were always bigger monsters wearing human skin.
He gripped the Abyssfang Blade tighter.
"Guess we'll find out."
A few paces deeper into the trees he stopped beside a thick oak, testing the new weapon. He swung once, light and easy. The black blade sliced clean through the trunk like it was paper. Wood chips flew. The top half of the tree groaned and toppled with a heavy crash. Aaron stared at the clean cut for a second, then let out a low whistle.
Still getting used to this thing.
He kept moving.
An hour later the heavy footsteps started again. Two more Ironfang Boars this time, charging together like they had a grudge. Aaron didn't wait. He stepped in close, blade flashing twice. Frost exploded across their hides. Both beasts dropped fast, bodies already breaking apart into faint light particles.
Power flooded through him, warm and sudden. Muscles tightened. Senses sharpened.
[Ironfang Boar defeated]
[EXP gained: 180]
[Effort Theft Activated]
[Unknown Amplification Factor Applied]
The surge hit hard.
[Level Up!]
[Level 12]
[Level Up!]
[Level 13]
[Level Up!]
[Level 14]
[Level Up!]
[Level 15]
[Level Up!]
[Level 16]
[Level Up!]
[Level 17]
The system finally settled.
Level: 17
EXP: 8,000 / 50,000
Aaron let out a slow breath.
"Five levels."
He looked down at his hands. The strength felt different now. Deeper. Like something inside him had finally clicked into place. Back when he first landed in this world, even a basic monster took real work and luck. Now a level-eight predator dropped in seconds. Yet the real monster wasn't the boar.
It was the system.
Drops appeared on the ground, already twisted into higher-grade stuff by that unknown amplification.
Aaron stared at them.
One thousand times. Or whatever the hell the new factor was now. The system never gave him the exact number, just kept delivering. A common boar. A common blade. Turned into something legendary.
He bent down and picked up the Abyssfang again. The dark metal felt cold and perfect in his palm. Golden runes shimmered like they were alive.
A weapon like this would start a war back at the academy. However, it had come from one lucky swing in the beginner zone. He couldn't help but chuckle quietly.
"So this is what they mean…"
He looked out at the endless trees stretching ahead.
"One drop of effort…"
He tightened his grip on the blade.
"…can lead to thunderous rewards."
His eyes narrowed.
Still.
Level seventeen was strong.
But not strong enough.
Not with monsters like Kang Yue walking around.
And definitely not with Zheng Luic waiting in the arena.
Aaron closed the system panel.
The wind rustled through the leaves.
Four days.
He started walking deeper into the wilderness, blade already out.
"That should be enough."