Sonic booms rang out as the arrow seemed to teleport from the bow to the incoming beasts, which were completely unaware of the danger approaching.

In the blink of an eye, before the beasts could even react, the arrow silently pierced the head of the first Grade 1 beast.

Then…

Bang!

The arrow exploded, releasing the wind that had been condensed within.

By now, the beasts had just turned their heads to see their companion obliterated when a cyclone engulfed the remaining four Grade 1s, along with a few unfortunate Grade 0 beasts trailing behind.

The wind, so strong it threatened to shred the beasts to mincemeat, raged just outside Quarath's walls.

It lasted only a brief moment before the dust finally settled.

The scene resembled the aftermath of a natural disaster.

The bodies of four Grade 1 beasts, or what remained of them, lay motionless on the ground.

There wasn't a single intact spot on their bodies.

As for the few unlucky Grade 0s… their remains were splattered all over the ground.

Soldiers on the walls were dumbfounded by the spectacle, while the remaining Grade 0 beasts screeched to a halt.

A silence engulfed the place.

"CHARGE!"

That was until the captain overseeing the southern city gate shouted at the top of his lungs.

The shout snapped the soldiers back from their daze and dozens of them leapt from the walls, speeding toward the stunned beasts.

What had once been a dangerous situation quickly turned into a one-sided slaughter at the hands of the soldiers.

Adira quietly watched, standing atop the Nemesis headquarters with a look that seemed almost disappointed.

"Tch." She clicked her tongue and lowered her bow. "If only my Bow Force were complete, not even a single hair of those stinky beasts would be left."

She took a step forward and free-fell from the tall building, her red hair whipping wildly in the wind.

Right before she hit the ground at breakneck speed, a gentle wind halted her fall, allowing her to step gracefully onto the pavement.

"Did you have fun?"

A teasing voice came from behind her.

She turned and smiled. "Yeah, it's been a while since I last stretched out on the outside."

"Mhm." Alaric nodded. "Your progress is pretty good. Just a little more, and you'll have comprehended Bow Force."

Adira shook her head, a wry smile on her face. "As close as I am, it will take me half a year to fully grasp it."

"You're right, but that's still considered quick," Alaric said.

She snorted. "Quick? Compared to you and Nox, my progress is as slow as a snail."

Then she continued, "I've been curious about something for a while."

"What is it?" he asked.

Adira stepped closer, eyes narrowing. "How strong have you become? You haven't talked about your progress for the past two years."

"Hahaha. If you have time to think about that, then you aren't training enough." Alaric smiled, turned around, and left while waving his hand.

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"Hmph. Acting all mysterious for no reason," Adira muttered to herself before she, too, left the place.

//////

Four days later. A total of eight days since Nova had entered the forge and promised himself he would only stay for a week.

That promise was now obviously void.

"It's done. The Dreamscape set."

Nova stood in the middle of the forge, a smile plastered on his face as he stared at the old-fashioned black martial artist complete set that lay before him.

Ding!

Ding!

Notifications echoed in his head.

[Skills Blacksmithing (10), Woodworking (10), Leatherworking (10), Weaving (10) → Crafting (0)]

[Title acquired: Novice Crafter]

Title: Novice Crafter (You have embarked on the path of crafting but are still at the start. Increases All Stats by 20%)

"It finally paid off," Nova said.

He had been slaving away the whole time, increasing his mastery over the four crafts in the hope of gaining some sort of title or stat boost and he had been right.

Apart from leveling up his crafts, he had also crafted something for himself: a set of clothes that granted him stats.

Ever since his armor had been ripped to shreds by the King of the Central Forest in the portal, he had always worn normal clothes.

The reason was simple.

He disliked heavy armor, and at that time, his leatherworking and weaving skills were nonexistent.

Now, though, that problem was gone.

He quickly changed into the new set of clothes and immediately called up his Status.

[Status]

Rank: 0

Name: Nova Grey

Species: Human

Affiliation: None

Level: 88 (500 / 5,000)

Mana:

Mana Core (Medium): 299,872,985 / 10,000,000,000

Nodes: ??? Spinal Node, ??? Perception Node, ??? Pulse Node, ??? Voice Node, ??? Vital Organs Node, ??? Power Node, ??? Stance Node, ??? Manipulation Node

Concepts: Death (0.001%)

Class: None

Titles: Goblin Exterminator, King Slayer, Survivor, Spear Advanced, Troll Exterminator, Orc Exterminator, Rune Novice, Mana Intermediate, Lord (Giants), Hunter, ???, Sword Novice, Throne Breaker, Novice Crafter

Stat Points: 2,130

Attributes:

Strength: 2247 (+105,913)

Vigor: 2220 (+104,868)

Dexterity: 2270 (+130,473)

Speed: 2230 (+127,214)

Intelligence: 2186 (+25,011)

Wisdom: 2230 (+25,511)

Will: 20

Luck: 10 (+10)

Skills Active:

Spear Thrust (27) — 63,989,279,560 / 67,108,864,000

Spear Jab (27) — 2,546,651,125 / 67,108,864,000

Spear Sweep (27) — 1,806,120,569 / 67,108,864,000

Spear Lunge (27) — 47,199,108,631 / 67,108,864,000

Spear Overhead Strike (26) — 5,780,376,366 / 33,554,432,000

Sword Slash (15) — 1 / 16,384,000

Sword Stab (15) — 3 / 16,384,000

Sword Chop (15) — 1 / 16,384,000

Sword Sweep (15) — 0 / 16,384,000

Sword Parry (14) — 2,030,197 / 8,192,000

Sword Block (14) — 1,997,701 / 8,192,000

Crafting (0) — 0 / 10

Passive:

Regeneration (23) — 925,652 / 4,194,304,000

Keen Reflexes (14) — 6,202,997 / 8,192,000

Momentum Streak (18) — 107,459,699 / 131,072,000

One with the World (Spear) — MAX

One with the World (Footwork) — MAX

Aura — Fourth Stage

"Good. My efforts weren't in vain." Nova nodded to himself, a pleased expression on his face.

But then he noticed that Crafting was 0/10 and furrowed his brow.

"What do I need to do to level it up?" he wondered, mentally asking the system.

Ding!

[Craft 10 Grade 1 items to increase your mastery]

"Eh, items have Grades too?" Nova exclaimed, but he soon composed himself.

If people had Grades, then the weapons and armor they used couldn't be far behind their strength, otherwise, one's body would become stronger than any weapon or armor.

At that point, when either weapon or armor could be reduced to ashes by a punch, was there even a need to use them?

Nova left the forge and fished out his device from his inventory.

After fiddling with it for a few moments, he put it back and muttered, "It's time to meet my generals after so long."

Then, he strolled out of his villa.

////

Hum!

Alaric was calmly sitting in the middle of his villa's basement, eyes closed.

Around him, sword hums resonated, as if the place were inhabited by swords rather than humans.

Right then, his device buzzed.

The hums receded, and he picked it up.

After reading the message, he stood up and left.

////

Darius was calmly walking down the street, taking a break in hopes of honing his mind, when his device buzzed.

"Boss wants to have a meeting…" he muttered.

Then he turned toward the Nemesis headquarters.

////

Hector, Nox, Shira, Adira, and Malachi had similar reactions.

As soon as they read the message, they stopped what they were doing and headed toward the headquarters.

A sense of anticipation brewed within them.

The only one who wasn't surprised was Cassidy.

Nova had contacted her before entering the forge, mentioning the meeting, but if memory served her right, it was supposed to be yesterday.

"Did he lose himself in training?" she murmured.

With a helpless smile, she stood up and left her villa.

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