[Traceless Steps
Grade - Rare
A passive movement technique that lightens the user's footsteps, reducing sound and leaving no clear tracks, making short-distance stealth and quiet repositioning easier without consuming much stamina.]
Lukas's mouth hung open. The description in the blue box matched exactly with the memories that had appeared in his head. Instantly he felt his steps lightening up, his presence merging with the surroundings. If someone was not looking closely, they would find it difficult to notice Lukas's presence.
Even his summon, the innocent skeleton, looked around in confusion, its two hollow eyes scanning the surroundings. Only after a breath of time did it finally notice Lukas's presence, the blue flames in its eyes brightening up.
It took Lukas some amount of time to get used to the skill's effects, and he couldn't stop himself from praising the skill. "Pretty good!"
Then his gaze moved to the skeleton, who stood at the exact spot where Lukas had asked it to stop.
Lukas couldn't help but go through all the events that happened in his head: a simply trash-tier skeleton had absorbed a Star Monster bone and learned its innate skill.
The more he thought about it, the brighter his eyes became. This was his cheat; this was his golden finger.
Lukas's excitement was understandable. Learning skills in this world was very difficult. Not only did you need to join one of the guilds to become qualified to learn the skill, but they also cost a hefty amount.
This Rare Grade skill that he learned might cost thousands of Star Crystals.
Star Crystals were special currency used not just in the Star Dimension but also in the real world as well. A new awakener like Lukas might take non-stop grinding of one year just to earn that much.
"And I learned such a technique without any cost..." Lukas was extremely thrilled.
But just as the excitement was about to get to his head, he shook his head. "Talent and cheats mean nothing. I have learned the lesson from my last life: if the individual himself doesn't work hard enough, it is pointless. Although through hard work one can reach the top, there is no other way."
Lukas reminded himself not to lose sight of his path.
After that short incident, he slowly moved. Now that he had the movement technique Traceless Steps, he could move more freely and explore his surroundings. When encountering monsters, he would use the skeleton to distract them, and thankfully the Traceless Steps was a passive technique, so the consumption of Star Energy was not much; even with his little reserve of two stars, he was able to keep using it indefinitely.
After one hour, Lukas finally stopped; he now had a clear idea of where he could be.
He might be ignorant about the Star Dimension, but his predecessor was not. That guy had studied rigorously all the places where newly awakened Star Warriors could be sent.
Iron Tree Forest was one of them.
These black, tarry trees that surrounded him were none other than the Iron Trees, famous for having bark as tough as iron.
"Hmm, according to the memories, the only settlement around the Star Dimension is Soaring Eagle Settlement, ruled by the Roaring Dragon Guild. It is a righteous guild, so I don't need to worry."
That's right, not everything was sunshine. Guilds were also righteous and evil. If you were unlucky enough to awake in an evil guild settlement, the worst that could happen to you is they might kidnap you and sell your organs to the highest bidder.
Lukas sighed; thankfully things were finally starting to get better.
"Hmm, now I just need to find my way to the Soaring Eagle Settlement." Lukas thought while looking around. Even after one hour, he saw no sign of other Star Warriors, but he wasn't discouraged. Iron Tree Forest itself was a fantastic place.
Just as he was thinking, suddenly Lukas's eyes narrowed. He sensed movement in the distance; something was coming his way.
Till now he had been lucky, expertly avoiding all the Star Beasts, but it seemed his luck had run out.
Lukas unconsciously focused on activating the Traceless Steps. Even though it was a passive skill, he didn't dare to breathe looking at the Iron Wood Tree in the distance.
Some distance away from him stood one Iron Tree with its trunk almost three meters thick. Under Lukas's gaze, from behind it emerged a creature that looked like a cross between a tiger and a crocodile. Where its maw should have been was an elongated crocodile-like head with rows of razor-sharp teeth that could even bite through steel. Its two vertical eyes were narrowed slightly, scanning the surroundings, focusing on the skeleton for a very brief moment. But to Lukas's horror, the monster ignored the skeleton and continued searching as if it could sense there existed someone else that it could not see.
Lukas's face turned ugly and he muttered in his head, "Ironhide Devil Tiger, an Epic Grade Star Monster."
Star Monsters in the Star Dimension were classified on the basis of their evolutionary stage, starting from Trash, Rare, Epic, and Legendary. There were even more stages but they were so rare to spot that a normal Star Warrior might not even encounter them in their lifetime.
As a newly awakened Star Warrior, Lukas, who had not even started using the Star Energy to refine his body, encountering an Epic Grade monster was just a death sentence.
"I have to do something, distract it... Skeleton, move! Attack him, kill it...!"
Lukas ordered in a cold voice. He was sure once the skeleton attacked the Ironhide Devil Tiger, the monster might not ignore the skeleton. This could allow him one chance to escape.
Seemingly afraid, the skeleton didn't immediately move, but after Lukas repeated his command, the skeleton started to slowly move toward the monster step by step.
Noticing the skeleton getting close, the Ironhide Devil Tiger let out a low growl. The growl itself was like a sonic attack, causing the skeleton to lose balance and almost fall off its legs.
Once the skeleton was close to the monster, the blue flame in its eyes flared as if determined. It jumped toward the monster, using his fragile fingers to attack.
This action greatly angered the Ironhide Devil Tiger. The monster let out a loud growl and slapped the skeleton away. A loud cracking sound reverberated and all the bones were scattered before raining into particles of light.
No matter how good a skill it had, in the end, the skeleton was only Trash Grade.
Lukas watched this scene while backing away and cursed under his breath. "Just my luck..."
Without even breathing, he was already running. There was no need to care about the skeleton; he could once again summon it. But if he were to lose his life, there would be no more second chances.