"What?! That's… sickening!" Xue Shen exclaimed, his face looking mortified.
"Mm.. some humans are worse than the beasts we hunt." she replied solemnly.
Xue Shen went silent, and his eyes darted off to the the other missions. One caught his attention immediately, "Elimination of the 'Man-Eating Bear,' west of Lin City. Recommended hunters: five. Required hunter tier: 3. Reward: 40 gold."
He took the paper from the board and handed it to her.
"I'll do this one."
Her eyes darted to the paper, instantly filling with concern. "Sir Qian Liu… I understand that you're strong, but this beast… it's not like the others. It takes upwards of four hunters just to bring it down. Are you certain you want to—" She paused, scanning Xue Shen carefully, noticing the calmness in him, and her worry deepened. "—to face it alone?"
"I'm sure. Don't worry, I can handle it myself." Xue Shen said.
"Ha.. Understood.." she said with a sigh, but still agreeing. She handed him two books—One old and worn—it was about man-eating bears—and another, the newer one, listed the bear's last known locations.
"Thank you. I'll be back soon." Xue Shen said, leaving the guild. He returned to his wagon, and headed straight towards the west gate. He opened the book on man-eating bears reading it as he headed towards the gates.
"It's 15 feet in length, usually weighs around 1000 kg. Strength is immense, skin is tough, not recommended to face head-on. Once it tastes blood, its mind goes insane and it enters a frenzy—"
THUD
"Oi! Watch where the hell you're going, you idiot!" a man suddenly yelled.
Xue Shen tilted his head upward, closing the book, and spotted a man sprawled beneath his wagon, barely avoiding being stomped. The man dusted himself off.
"Huh? How's that my fault? Can you not see a wagon barreling toward you? Why the hell would you cross the street when one's coming? Are you blind—or just an idiot? Do you not value your pitiful life that much?" Xue Shen said flatly, shaking his head.
"What! Who the hell do you think you are? Are you looking for a fight? Huh?!" the man shouted, scrambling to his feet.
"Do you know who I am?" he said, puffing his chest out.
"A blind man, clearly. Where I'm from, people like you have something called a service dogs to make sure the road is safe to cross. You should get one—clearly you need it, get one smart enough to stop you from stepping in front of a moving wagon, you fucking idiot."
'Ha.. Truly remarkable,' Xue Shen thought, thinking like he'd just solved the world's stupidity problem.
The man stuttered, "Y—Y—"
"Save it. If I wanted entertainment, I'd go watch idiots on the streets…" Xue Shen muttered.
The man's anger boiled, but before he could reply, another voice erupted.
"HEY! WHAT'S THE MOVE ON? FUCKING MOVE!" A man riding a wagon behind Xue Shen cursed, frustrated at the blocked street. Because Xue Shen, was blocking the path.
"Did you hear that? Don't tell me your blind and deaf?! He said GET OUT OF THE FUCKING WAY! So move! I've got places to be," Xue Shen said to the man, his tone laced with annoyance.
"Tch," the man grumbled, before finally moving to the side, muttering something under his breath.
Xue Shen continued driving the wagon, and continued reading the book on where he left off.
"Once it tastes blood, its mind goes insane and it enters a frenzy-like state, causing its strength to increase, and its attacks become more ferocious."
Xue Shen closed the book, thinking: "A 15-foot bear, weighting normally at 1000 kg… that's a fat fucking bear. Hmm… maybe I can lure other monsters to weaken it first then kill it."
"Halt! Stat–" a guard shouted, stopping Xue Shen from leaving.
"Wait, let him go… He's free to go," said the other guard—the same one who had let Xue Shen enter. If Xue Shen was found inside without an ID, it would implicate him as he was the one who let him in.
The first guard shot the other guard a suspicious glance, then reluctantly stepped aside.
"Here's for the trouble," Xue Shen said, tossing a silver coin to both the men.
Xue Shen then freely exited the city, and head on the outskirts of the town, "Now west of the city huh.." Xue Shen muttered
Xue Shen left his wagon on the outskirts of the forest, and entered and began trying to searching for the bear.
17 Minutes later..
"I should've brought a guide… someone who knows their way around this damned forest," he muttered, feeling lost. He hadn't seen anyone—or anything—since entering.
"HELPPPP!" Suddenly, a voice pierced the silence, the sound of a man screaming for help.
Xue Shen crept closer to the voice—not running, but moving silently toward the noise.
"EMMMMGH, HELP! PLEASE, ANYONE!" a man screamed, his left arm missing, as if it had been bitten off.
"Help! Anyone!"
"Ha…" The man groaned. He wasn't running—he was limping. Both of his feet seemed injured by bites. It was a miracle the man could still walk.
"Is this how I die…" the man cried, limping and screaming at the top of his lungs.
"What do you need?" Xue Shen asked, appearing from behind the tree in front of the man.
"HA! A-a person! Help! Water!" The man's face lit up at the sight of him.
"No," Xue Shen said flatly.
"What?" the man froze.
"PLEASE! I'm dying!" the man shouted, emphasizing the word "dying."
"I do not care." Xue Shen replied, turning to leave—then suddenly lunged at the man.
"What are you doing?!" the man shouted, seeing Xue Shen charge at him.
SHK
[Ding! EXP 20]
[Ding! 2 EXP to Blade Mastery]
The man instinctively raised his hands to protect himself—but felt nothing. Lowering them, he looked around in confusion, only to spot Xue Shen behind him, his blade already cleaving through a wolf's head.
"Thank you!" the man breathed, realizing Xue Shen saved his life by killing the wolf that was about to attack him.
"Sir! Can you please ta—"
SHK
[Ding! EXP 10]
[Ding! 1 EXP to Blade Mastery]
Xue Shen's blade flew straight into the man's head, splitting it cleanly in two.
"God, you talk too much." Xue Shen said, walking towards the man body, retrieving his blade.
Fourteen minutes later.
"ROARRRRR!"
A deafening roar tore through the forest. Xue Shen leapt onto a tree, leaping from branch to the other branch toward the source of the sound. When he finally arrived, he didn't intervene—he simply watched the chaos unfold below.
A massive man-eating bear was locked in combat with six wolves. Its body was covered in fresh injuries, yet its ferocity hadn't diminished. The wolves were battered as well, and seven more lay dead around them.
Then Xue Shen realized as caught the full scope—the bear had been fighting off thirteen wolves by itself.
'That's strange… why would thirteen wolves attack a bear instead of an easier target?' he thought. Animals are smart, they usually avoid risk unless they are starving, see a weakness, or protecting their young…
But from what Xue Shen saw, the bear didn't look weak, it appeared to be a fully grown adult, and the wolves didn't seem to be starving, nor were they fighting for anything. Yet here they were, attacking the bear for no apparent reason. So that begged the question, why were these wolves attacking a bear for no reason?
But as Xue Shen was trying to think of a reason, one wolf lunged at the bear, but in an instant, the bear maneuvered, sinking its jaws into the wolf's neck. The wolf thrashed violently, but it eventually died, blood pouring into the bear's mouth. The bear stood up on its hind legs and let out a deafening—"ROARRRRRRRR!" It looked like its strength surged, and it then charged the remaining wolves.
It caught another wolf by the paws, pinning it down to the ground with its massive paws and tearing into the wolf's flesh.
Now only four wolves remained. To Xue Shen's surprise, the wolves didn't seem afraid. They attacked relentlessly, fearlessly, almost soullessly.
The bear charged at another wolf, but suddenly one of the wolves struck its back. The blow didn't stop it. The bear slammed into a wolf again, pressing it with its body mass and biting into its flesh.
Three wolves remained. The bear didn't slow. It quickly swiped its claws through one wolf's hide. The wolf yelped, collapsing. The bear rushed to it and sank its teeth into its stomach.
Two wolves remained. The bear charged at one, its claws piercing the wolf's neck. Its jaws bit into the wolves head, and with a savage bite, the wolf's head was torn off completely by the bear.
The last wolf stood alone. The bear, exhausted and almost out of stamina, charged. It couldn't even bite effectively, but its sheer body mass pressed down on the wolf, crushing it beneath it.
The bear rested by the pile of dead wolves, victorious but drained. Just as it tried to rest, it heard something fall down. Instinctively, it raised its head, huffing heavily, energy nearly spent. It spotted Xue Shen and roared.
"ROARRR!"
The bear immediately charged at Xue Shen, its mouth wide open.
Xue Shen backed against a tree, at the last moment, he sidestepped, and the bear's head slammed into the tree. Xue Shen swung his blade, aiming high, and with all his strength, drove his blade into the bear's neck. But he couldn't cut all the way through.
The bear collapsed. Drained from both the wolves and the human, it could do nothing as its body hit the ground.
[Ding! 50 EXP]
[Ding! Level Up]
[Ding! 5 EXP to Blade Mastery]
[Ding! 1 Perk to Blade Mastery available]
"A Blade Mastery Perk?" Xue Shen said, looking curious at the new notification
"Stats"
[Name: Xue Shen]
[Level: 5 | EXP: 41 | 50]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 22 | Lifespan: 70]
[Race: Human]
[Cultivation: Mortal]
[Bloodline: None]
[Physique: None]
[Spiritual Roots: 1 | Status: Rootless]
[Talents: None]
[Unspent Stat Points: 2]
[Constitution: 0.4 +^]
[Strength: 3.5 +^]
[Dexterity: 3.8 +^]
[Intelligence: 1 +^]
[Endurance: 2.8 +^]
[Perception: 0.9 +^]
[Charisma: 2 +^]
[Luck: 0]
[Skills: Blade Mastery : Level 1 | 4.5/100]
[Techniques: None]
"System, what does "1 available Blade Mastery perk" mean?"
[When a weapon's mastery reaches Level 1, its skill tree becomes available. By further leveling up that weapon mastery, you unlock perks, granting bonuses and special abilities tied to that weapon.]
"I see… how do I view this skill tree?"
[Just say or think 'Skill Tree'.]
"Skill tree?"
[Skill Tree]
Xue Shen then saw another panel appear with a drop-down selection screen, listing weapons: Sword, Dagger, Axe, Hammer, Spear, Halberd, Fist, Bow, Crossbow, and the list went on, seemingly endless. Each weapon appeared to have its own skill progression.
Xue Shen selected the Blade Mastery Skill tree.
The interface unfolded, starting with a single central node. From it extended four branching paths, each leading to a different skill. The further paths beyond them remained locked, locked away until he advanced his mastery level.
[Blade Skill Tree | Level 1 | 1 Perk available]
[Blade Endurance – Reduces 10% stamina usage when attacking with the blade.]
[Swift Blade – 5% increased swing/thrust speed when using the blade.]
[Heavy Blade – 5% increased damage when attacking with a blade.]
[Blade Defense – Reduces 5% of physical damage taken when wielding a blade.]
"Hmm," Xue Shen pondered, weighing his options. In the end, he decided on Heavy Blade.
He also considered where to allocate his stat points and decided to put 1 into Strength and 1 into Perception.
[Strength: 3.5 -> 4.5]
[Perception: 0.9 ->1.9]
Xue Shen's body felt stronger, and his senses sharpened. His hearing stretched farther, he could hear the faint rustling of leaves, the wind, even the faint buzzing of flies around the wolves' bodies. Everything felt clearer.
"Alright, now how the hell am I supposed to bring this bear carcass back… ah fuck it, I'll just take its head."
With another swing, Xue Shen's blade cut through the massive bear neck, finally separating the bear's head from its body.
He put his blade onto his waist, and then grabbed the bloody head, that weighed somewhere close to 100 kg, with both his hands, he hoisted it onto his shoulders like it weighed nothing.
Xue Shen began walking back to his wagon, showing no hint of strain despite carrying the massive bear's head on his shoulder.