"System."
The word came out flat. The translucent panel unfolded right there in the air, same as always. Aaron leaned against the thick oak behind him, boots sunk deep in the mud. The Abyssfang Blade rested across his knees. Golden runes on the black metal caught what little sunlight slipped through the leaves.
Player: Aaron Emegrey
Class: Laborer
Rank: E
Level: 17
EXP: 8,000 / 50,000
Strength: 77
Agility: 52
Constitution: 60
Spirit: 26
He stared at the lines a long beat. Somehow the numbers still felt off. Just days ago he had been stuck at level ten, scraping by like every other nobody in the academy. Yet here he sat, seven levels higher after one long grind in the woods.
"Level seventeen," he muttered. "If anyone back at the academy saw this panel they would lose their minds."
He pushed off the tree and gripped the Abyssfang. One lazy swing. The blade whispered through the air and bit clean into the oak beside him. Wood chips flew. The top half groaned and crashed down with a heavy thud that shook the ground under his boots.
Aaron stared at the cut. "Damn. That's new."
However, the real weight sat in his inventory. He tapped the tab open. Two Abyssfang Blades now, both identical, both legendary. Froststeel dagger still there. Windstep boots. A couple high-grade cores that used to be junk. Three beginner potions. The academy kit. Forty-one empty slots.
"Not bad for one long walk," he said under his breath. "One drop of sweat and the system just keeps handing me this kind of stuff."
He closed his eyes for a second. The forest sounds came back in — distant birds, leaves shifting overhead, something small rustling in the bushes behind him.
Then the rustling turned into a low growl.
Aaron didn't turn fast. A mutated wolf burst out, teeth bared, aiming straight for his leg. He stepped sideways, almost bored, and drove the Abyssfang down in one smooth motion. The blade sank into the wolf's neck. Frost spread across its fur in seconds. The beast twitched once and dropped without a sound.
[Mutated Wolf defeated]
[EXP gained: 45]
"Even the little ones give more now," he muttered, kicking the body lightly. "Used to take me ten minutes to handle one of you."
He bent down, scooped up the small pelt and a handful of copper coins that the system had already started twisting into something better, and tossed them into inventory without looking.
Yet the Abyssfang still felt perfect in his hand. Legendary quality. Attack power plus one ninety-five. In this world that number decided everything. Common blades gave you scraps. Rare stuff topped out around fifty. Epic crept close to a hundred. Legendary jumped the gap hard. His sat right in the middle of the sweet spot.
He ran a thumb along the flat of the blade. "Legendary. From a damn level-eight boar in the beginner zone. However, if any hunter guild heard about this they would burn the whole forest down looking for more."
Aaron sheathed the weapon and stared out at the trees stretching ahead. The light was already turning gold at the edges. Somehow four days still felt short. Four days until the elimination round kicked off back at the academy.
He rolled his shoulders once, feeling the new strength settle into his muscles like it belonged there.
"Four days," he said to the empty woods. "Let's see how much more you can give me before then."
He started walking deeper, blade already back in his hand. The system stayed quiet. It always did. But every step out here fed it. And it was still hungry.