I can see how his healing is faster, a bit more effective compared to the first ogre, but still slow—it would take him several minutes to fully heal those wounds. The pain from my broken bones is under control thanks to my Frozen Core. The pain hasn't vanished, but my mind simply shuts it down. Time to give this ogre what he deserves. I activate my healing ability, and in just a few seconds, my useless arm is as good as new.

The joy vanishes from the ogre's face. Even if his expression is hard to read, his Imra screams panic and desperation. I show him my fully healed arm and flip him off at the same time. He lets out a roar of fury and tries to get up. Even wounded, he can still move—albeit slowly.

I construct two v3 spheres. I throw one from a distance while approaching him with my swords, the other floats beside me. He raises his right arm to shield himself, but it gets utterly destroyed—another injury he won't heal from quickly.

I start circling him, slashing and stabbing at every small opening I find in his defenses. Blood loss and fatigue bring him to his knees within minutes. He looks me dead in the eyes as I launch the remaining sphere at his face. A direct hit. I kill him in a single shot to the head. With his defenses down, he couldn't do a thing to protect himself. His face is shattered. I stay sane only because of my mental ability, but I feel like vomiting. Comparing the damage of the v3 and v4 spheres now, the difference is massive. They might as well be two completely different skills.

"I'm a little tired." I use a bit of magic to recover some stamina and continue the ogre hunt. I need to take advantage of the daylight to eliminate as many as I can. Attacking a village directly in my current state would be suicide.

This whole month, I've been draining their numbers little by little. I've lost count of how many ogres I've killed. I forced them to regroup into two villages—five are now completely empty. But that's also made hunting harder this past week. They move in groups of ten or more now, always with a mid-tier grade three ogre among them.

Their movement patterns have changed too. They walk with some looking forward, some watching the sides, and two at the back, always scanning behind. Sometimes I watch them trip over rocks while walking backwards. That makes me chuckle a bit.

"Idiots. Just die already and stop making this harder." I'll keep using my hit-and-run tactics.

All my skills have leveled up quite a bit. That's boosted both my offensive and defensive power. I can use my abilities faster and they hit harder—that's kept me on the offensive even when the group numbers are ridiculous.

After a full month of hunting, this is where I stand:

Maki: Age 11 – Basic Emerald SKILLS: • Precision Control (III) – Level 8 • Fortified Construction (III) – Level 5 • Unified Moldable Mana (III) – Level 9 • Electrified Charged Steps (III) – Level 8 • Domain (III) – Level 5 • Frozen Core (III) – Level 7 • Vital Synthesis (III) – Level 10

"If this keeps up, I'll have to start launching night raids." I sigh in exhaustion. That would mean avoiding their guards, staying silent, killing a few, then escaping immediately.

I ambush the group in front of me with five v4 spheres. Two of them throw themselves in front of four of the spheres and die instantly. The last sphere shreds one of their legs—he won't be walking again. They start shouting, calling for reinforcements while charging toward me to surround me.

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"As if I'd let myself get surrounded, idiots." I use two charges to get away, launching v3 spheres at the closest ones as I retreat. These don't kill, but they wound and delay them. This method drains a lot of mana and focus.

Once only two of them remain uninjured, I avoid direct combat and keep slashing at the recovering ones. At level 8, my cuts are deeper and deadlier. Playing mouse among a dozen cats, I manage to kill eight of the ten. The remaining two are now injured as well.

But just before I can finish them off, more presences enter my domain—eleven new ogres. "Shit!" The reinforcements force me to retreat before I can finish the job. I could fight thirteen using the same strategy, but the mana cost would be insane. If more ogres showed up, I'd be in serious danger.

I bolt toward my cave to rethink whether night attacks are really a good idea. "Stupid reinforcements!" Their arrival made me flee before I could finish the job. It pisses me off. "They're a higher rank and fight in groups—so unfair." I vent to myself in the cave while holding Arisa's watch. I keep it in my storage ring to avoid breaking it and only take it out when I'm alone.

"How are my family and friends doing?" The thought makes me feel lonely—and yet, it motivates me to finish this dungeon. Seeing my mother's ring glowing green puts my mind at ease.

"Time to move." I get up and head toward the nearest ogre village. Only two small ones, two medium, and the fortress remain.

Three distracted guards fall before they know what hit them—three v4 spheres tear through their chests. I wait nearby to see if reinforcements come. Nothing. I keep moving, taking down more guards along the way. It's too easy...

I've killed several guards near my infiltration point. Blood starts staining the outskirts of the village. Ogres are dying without knowing why.

I move toward the central huts. Something about this plan still feels too easy. Some huts are empty, and that bothers me. At first, I assumed they were short on ogres. Now, I'm not so sure. A tingling sensation runs down my spine. My instincts tell me something's wrong.

Should I back off? Should I keep going? I stand inside an empty hut, weighing the possibilities. I'll keep going. If something happens, I can escape using my charged steps. With that advantage and my current speed, no one will catch me if I reset my skill in time.

I keep killing ogres one by one until I reach the village center. And my hunch was right—there was a gathering of ogres in the city center, inside a huge building. Without attracting more attention, I dash away from there.

At least I killed plenty along the way. Their numbers keep dwindling. If this continues, I'll force them all into one village, then they'll retreat to the bigger ones.

Two days go by with the same routine. My body's exhausted after fighting nearly all day—attacking scattered groups in the morning, raiding villages at night. As expected, now there's only one small village left, and it's nearly deserted.

I take a day off from everything. I spend nearly the entire day lying down, sleeping when my body asks for it, and eating on schedule. The next morning, I feel much better—my reflexes sharp, my limbs firm.

Reaction speed depends on the brain sending signals through nerves, right? What happens if I start applying my lightning affinity to my mental state?

I try the same trick I used long ago before I gained Cold Mind. I notice a small improvement in my reaction time. It's subtle—barely noticeable—but it's there. I keep doing it as I head toward the last small ogre village. I'll try to wipe them all out today.

I arrive early and spot them moving in a group. "You've got to be kidding me." Around 50 of them walking together… and who's that in the center? He looks different. Roughly the same height, but there's something commanding about him.

An advanced-grade three ogre? Did that come out of those recent meetings? Is he from the fortress? So many questions—no answers.

What do I do now? Can I even take that musclehead in a one-on-one? Probably not… but I have to try. If there are more like him in the fortress, I need to know how they differ from the others.

"Let's test his speed and reaction first." I charge five v4 spheres and fire them toward the side of the formation. I manage to kill two. I wait a bit to observe their response—they immediately split off some to chase me.

I keep moving without straying too far, circling the large group of ogres from a safe distance. Thanks to my domain, I feel something flying at me from a blind spot.

I dodge just in time. Trees are obliterated where I stood a second ago. What the hell was that? Can that muscle-brained freak really use mana that powerful?

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