Percival was excited to head off to the academy and show off his current rank, but if there was anyone even more excited to see him leave, it was Evan.
'Finally, with the fat b*stard out of the way, things will be a lot easier for me,' he thought with satisfaction as he watched Percival's departure.
It had been almost ten days since Evan had started hunting using his clone, and since then he had continued both day and night.
He had never called the clone back because he knew that sending it out of the city again every time would be a hassle,
pointless, when the clone could simply hide somewhere and slip out to hunt whenever it got the chance.
So that's exactly what it did.
Every day without pause, he and his clone continued to grow stronger, Evan staying inside the manor, while the poor clone hunted outside for the both of them.
During the first days, the number of unawakened beasts was abundant, but as time passed that changed. After the fourth day, the first problem arrived.
His clone had reached the peak of its current rank.
In other words, it was ready to rank up.
But there was a problem.
The transition from one rank to the next wasn't automatic. Certain conditions had to be completed.
---
[Advancement Mission]
Rank: E
Description: Your shadow has reached the peak of its current rank. It is time to awaken.
Absorb the life essence of three F-Rank beasts at the Advanced Stage and one E-Rank beast at the Early Stage in order to advance.
Mission Status:
> F-Rank (Advanced Stage): 3/3
> E-Rank (Early Stage): 0/1
---
Over four days, the strength of the clone's prey had steadily improved, moving from Unawakened beasts up to F-Rank awakened ones. As it did, the ESS gained per kill increased accordingly, pushing both of them to 100% in no time.
Naturally, his shadow reached it first, and after it started hunting those at the peak of F-Rank, Evan reached it as well. But now, after almost ten days since then, both of them were stuck at 100%.
His shadow could only advance in rank after completing the system's requirements, and he himself could only advance if his clone advanced.
So they were both in the same situation.
It was a bit unexpected, but that was fine. The conditions, while difficult, weren't impossible, not anymore, given their current level of strength.
During these days, his inventory had filled with dozens and dozens of different Unawakened beasts, some awakened beasts of F-Rank at the early and middle stages, and three F-Rank beasts at the advanced stage, along with several mana cores of F-Rank of varying quality.
In other words, Evan was sitting on a small fortune in his storage.
Now all he had to do was prepare to take on an E-Rank monster.
He was still under the effects of the slave mark, so he couldn't act personally, not yet. But his shadow could.
Once that was done, Evan would finally be able to attempt his escape.
It was early morning, and Percival's carriage had already departed.
The rest of the servants who had gathered to see Percival off were returning to their duties, while Evan, who was also preparing to return to work, sent a mental command to his clone telling it to act.
During the last few days, the clone had explored some of the outer areas of the forest and had discovered several monster dens of F-Rank and E-Rank.
It took some time, but in the end they found one at the early stage that his clone could manage, and today was the day to hunt it.
The clone, who had merged with the shadows of the trees to rest, slowly emerged as its eyes settled on a large figure with thick brown fur that was currently eating what seemed to be a rabbit.
It was an E-Rank Ironhide Bear that had evolved not long ago.
Among the different possibilities, a Wild Bear could evolve into an Ironhide Bear, a species of bear characterized by having its body covered with protective layers as hard as iron.
The protected parts were mainly the vital areas, which made hunting these beasts problematic.
Evan knew this because Shadow had an unfortunate encounter with the beast a few days earlier while hunting one of the F-Rank peak beasts for the mission.
At the time, the bear had been in the middle of awakening, which caused a considerable disturbance in the area, drawing some beasts in while sending others fleeing. The clone had nearly been swarmed by several F-Rank beasts at once and barely managed to get out.
That had irritated Evan somewhat, but he also realized they had found the right prey for the last requirement of the mission.
The bear had only recently awakened, so it was weak for an E-Rank.
Of course, Evan hadn't stopped there. By studying the beast's habits, he discovered when and where it usually went hunting, and arranged things so that the beast would end up hunting a prey he had chosen, with a little "gift" inside it.
The bear, having been enjoying its meal and nearly finished off the rabbit, suddenly began to tremble. Its eyes turned red.
ROAR!
It let out a furious roar and rose to its full height, its eyes already starting to bleed slightly.
Watching the scene through his clone's eyes, a smile spread across Evan's face.
'Alright, time to take care of this guy,' he thought, sending the command. The clone didn't hesitate and launched into the attack.