When his sight returned, Draven found himself in an expanse dotted with rocky boulders and scattered hills.
He cautiously scanned his surroundings but didn't see anything.
Just as he exhaled, something launched from the ground and slammed into him, sending him tumbling onto the ground.
Draven came to a halt but heard a crunchy sound, with a weight pressing him down, and a stinging pain in his neck.
He regained his focus, finding a huge brown crab on his chest, with pieces of his armor between its maw.
The crab was about to bite his neck, but Draven activated [Igni Vitalis], strengthened his arms, and pushed his sword against its mouth.
The crab struggled against his edge of the blade, biting it.
Draven quickly used this breather to calculate.
'It has a shell. Can my sword pierce it?'
His gaze sharpened.
'I've to go all in!'
Draven switched all his strength into his free arm and thrust his sword into the side of the monster.
The sword cleanly plunged into the crab.
The crab recoiled and shrieked before going still.
[First Order Transient killed: Earth Crab.]
[+1 Soul Vitalis.]
He pushed the crab off him and quickly sat up. He scanned his surroundings, especially the ground, not wanting to let his guard down again after his first mistake.
[–1 Soul Vitalis]
At the sight of it, Draven quickly deactivated the skill while getting ready to activate it again.
'I got one Soul Vitalis but lost two. I need to be frugal, not to get stranded. Luckily, it only follows the fifteen-second time frame, even when I switched arms.'
He continued observing his surroundings.
After about two minutes without anything happening, he finally exhaled in relief. Though he still kept his guard up.
He shifted his gaze to the crab. It was earth brown, exactly like the surrounding, making its camouflage impeccable. Its size was one-third that of a human.
'I nearly got killed.'
He squatted, pulled his sword from the side of the monster, spurting green blood. Then he opened the skull and retrieved a roughly spherical, fist-sized black crystal. He absorbed the monster crystal with a thought.
[+2 Mana Absorbed.]
Draven felt a cooling sensation coursing through his veins before it vanished. Then he massaged his neck, feeling the broken part of his armor. He felt a sting.
He raised his blade to see his reflection and spotted scratches on his neck.
'Fortunately, my neck was protected!'
Yet the thought of poisoning made him shudder. He prayed silently.
Retracting his gaze, Draven mused, 'Now, I better leave here. Some monsters have sharp senses of blood. First, let me try and sense the Haven.'
Closing his eyes, Draven tried to sense the approximate position of the Haven. A few seconds later, he could sense a tugging coming from ahead. Opening his eyes, the direction pointed towards a forest in the distance.
'Getting through that forest, I doubt I won't have to fight any monster, so I better ascend to the Second Order to get the added attributes.'
Draven looked around but didn't see any monster in sight.
'They must be hiding. How to find them.'
He suddenly thought of one skill and one piece of gear—Soul Sense and Oculus Visor.
Draven summoned the visor. The black mask materialized on his face. Activating ⟨Scope⟩, his sight became clearer. Now, he could see the uneven nature of the ground.
He then activated Soul Sense.
The uncomfortable caress returned, but it wasn't excessive like in his house. He narrowed his eyes, gazing at a hill where he felt the stronger caress coming from, but saw nothing.
'Behind it?'
Draven swiftly made his way to the hill, speculating that the stronger caress meant it was the closest to him.
He gingerly went around the hill, his thoughts ready to activate Igni Vitalis.
When he got almost around the hill, he peeked from beside the hill, and his eyes widened.
Not too far away, a girl was pressed beneath a huge crab that was half her size. The mask made him see them clearly.
The girl, with her lithe frame, held shut two pincers of the crab while pushing it. The crab stretched to bite her neck while struggling to escape.
'This crab has pincers? The other First Order crab didn't! Besides, the carapace of this one blends more naturally with the surrounding, so I guess it is a Second Order. But why isn't she using her weapon? Her sword is basically lying beside… oh! If she releases one pincer, she's dead!'
Squinting his eyes, Draven calculated while surveying his surroundings. In the distance, he saw about five crabs from various directions, scuttling towards them.
'This is my chance to get a Second Order Transient gear from the beginning, and a high number of Soul Vitalis… since it's a higher Order monster. Also, if I get the monster crystal of this one, there's no need to hunt another three or four First Order Transient Earth Crabs to ascend. But I need to be quick.'
Making up his mind, Draven silently approached them with quickened steps. He gripped his blade tightly, his thoughts ready to power his right arm for maximum attack power, or legs for escaping.
The girl was the first to see him, but she did nothing.
When Draven was a few meters from them, the crab noticed his presence and shot back, but the girl held it.
Draven activated [Igni Vitalis] and enhanced his leg before he shot at them. The instant he got to them, he switched the strength to his right arm, activated [Mental Serration], and thrust into its abdomen.
The blade sank halfway, and the crab raised its head and released a piercing shriek.
Without pause, he left the sword, switched the strength to his left arm, and hacked its head.
Green blood splattered as the blade cleaved deep into its head.
He pulled his blade and thrust it into the gash, completely plunging it into its head.
[Second Order Transient killed: Earth Crab.]
[+1 Soul Vitalis.]
Draven stared at the notification and deactivated Igni Vitalis.
'No gear? My luck… Wait! Why just one Soul Vitalis?'
He shook his head to clear his thoughts when he remembered where he was. 'Now is not the time to think.'
But what he saw next made his jaw slacken.
The girl merely pushed the dead crab aside with the monster crystal in her hand as she sat absorbing it.
Suddenly, Draven felt a stronger caress from his chest, which had just disappeared when the crab died.
'The stronger caress was not due to distance but a higher Order. She must be ascending with my hard-earned work.'
Anger flared in his chest. The sudden anger was uncontrollable as he was in a bad mood since he received a new death date.
Suddenly, the girl opened her eyes and stared at him.
Then she stated, "You got the gear while I collected the crystal."
"I got nothing," he retorted.
"Really?" She narrowed her eyes. "Well, we're together, and I only got seven mana value from it. So, I only need to repay you with four First Order Transient monster crystals or one Second Order."
Draven could only nod, knowing there's no use crying over spilt milk. He suddenly remembered the other crabs. He raised his head, only to see an empty expanse.
'They hid? Are they intelligent? I thought monsters of the lower Order only hunt wildly?'
Draven retracted his gaze and opened his mouth to hurry the girl into leaving, when he remembered his situation.
He looked around with a sharpened gaze.
'My situation isn't like that of a normal Elite, so following that lady's guide might not be the best way to survive.'
He turned to the girl standing up, removed his mask, and smirked. "I have an excellent deal for you."