From Blade To Spell

Aaron opened his eyes, and this time they were filled with pure confidence. Gone was the hesitation, now, only resolve remained.

He was ready. Even in close combat, he could now face enemies of equal strength without fear.

It was time to begin the hunt.

He checked the map, the Gray Wolves were deeper in the Savannah Mountain Range.

A few minutes later, he reached the entrance of the fog zone.

He glanced at the map again. Its coverage had shrunk, only 500 meters of visibility remained.

Aaron took a deep breath and stepped into the mist.

Within minutes, the fog thickened, and distant roars echoed through the trees.

The wind was chilly, biting at his face, hands, and bare feet. But his cloak kept the rest of his body warm.

He moved swiftly, leaping from tree to tree, his senses sharp.

Then, he spotted a red dot on the map.

A Level 17 monster.

Aaron could barely see through the thick fog. His vision range was reduced to just thirty meters, and beyond that, only shadows danced in the mist.

He realized the difficulty of hunting had increased dramatically. But even so, he leapt from tree to tree until he perched atop one directly above a massive creature.

Below, he could hear the crunching of bones, a huge body feasting on something.

He couldn't locate the creature's head. So, with a thoughtful expression, he cast Light Ball.

It consumed just three mana points, and the glowing orb cut through the fog, illuminating the area around the monster.

Aaron nocked an enchanted arrow, bow drawn, waiting for the right moment.

As the light passed through the mist, he finally saw it, a giant bear, devouring the corpse of a dead monster.

Aaron released the arrow.

It flew silently, and struck the bear's head with pinpoint precision.

Even Aaron was stunned. The arrow had traveled so fast, it pierced the target in milliseconds.

Before, his shots took one to three seconds to reach their mark. But now, with his upgraded strength and mastery, the arrow flew like a bolt of lightning.

He realized the short distance, combined with his Earth Knight realm and the power of the bone bow, had made the shot effortless.

Aaron jumped down from the tree, landing softly on the ground.

Aaron pulled out the arrow, it slid free without any resistance. He wiped the bloodstains off the bear's body, then stared at the corpse thoughtfully.

"It would be a waste to leave it here."

With a wave of his hand, he stored both the corpse and the arrow into his space ring, then continued his journey.

This time, he traveled on foot, moving cautiously through the fog.

Just 500 meters ahead, his map showed red dots, only 30 meters from his location.

But he couldn't see anything.

He zoomed in, the map confirmed a Level 19 monster nearby.

Still, no sign of movement.

Then his eyes locked onto a strange vine. It looked unnatural, covered in thorns, with small blood-red flowers blooming along its length.

Beneath it lay bones of small monsters.

Aaron's instincts flared. He stepped back, raised his hand, and fired a baseball-sized fireball.

The fireball struck, the vine exploded, swaying violently as its thorns shot out in random directions.

Aaron ducked behind a tree, then fired two more fireballs, ending the creature's life.

+9,000 experience points.

So far, he had earned 16,000 XP in the foggy region.

He took a deep breath, then changed direction, still clueless about the location of the Gray Wolves.

As he ventured deeper, he encountered five more of those vine monsters.

Each one he destroyed with fireballs, methodically and efficiently.

His experience points surged:

- 90,400 (previous balance)

- +16,000 (initial fog kills)

- +30,000 (five vine monsters)

Total: 136,400 XP

Aaron glanced at the map and hesitated. If he continued forward, he risked venturing too deep into the Savannah Mountain Range, a place where even his 5000-meter map was reduced to just 500 meters of visibility. Beyond that, only a few red dots flickered at the edge, like distant warnings.

He felt it, a presence, watching him from the fog.

His instincts flared. He decided to retreat.

But just then, a red dot appeared on the map, and it was rapidly approaching.

Aaron's eyes widened. Level 32 monster.

Without hesitation, he leapt onto a tree, his enhanced attributes making the jump effortless.

"So this was the one spying on me," he muttered.

The monster was fast. Aaron cast Light Body, channeling Knight Energy through his entire body, boosting his abilities to their peak.

Then he saw it, a Gray Wolf, but unlike any he'd seen before.

It had horns, stood nearly five meters tall, and radiated menace.

Aaron cast Shield, then drew his bone knife, waiting for the right moment.

Meanwhile, the Gray Wolf sniffed the air. It recognized the scent, the small creature that had attacked it before.

It had tracked Aaron, and now, it was ready to hunt.

Spotting him in the tree, the wolf opened its mouth, condensing a ball of light.

It fired.

Aaron saw the attack coming. He jumped to the side, stashed the bone knife, and equipped his bone bow and enchanted arrow.

The energy ball struck the tree, obliterating a ten-meter radius.

Aaron broke into a cold sweat.

"Can I destroy that energy ball mid-flight?" he wondered.

He leapt to another tree, another explosion followed.

He noticed the wolf had a three-second interval between shots.

This time, he jumped into the air, aimed at the wolf's mouth, and fired.

Boom! 

Howl!!!

The wolf howled in pain.

Aaron quickly switched back to his bow, fired three fireballs in succession. They hit the body, but didn't penetrate the skin.

Stunned, he drew another enchanted arrow and fired again, this time, it pierced the flesh, wounding the beast further.

The Gray Wolf, now desperate, gathered its last strength to flee.

Aaron chased it, firing arrows at its legs, slowing it down.

A few minutes later, he stood over the fallen monster.

He drew a few arrows, and finished it.

His body was drenched in sweat. He stored the Gray Wolf's corpse and began to retreat.

Checking his stats, he saw his experience points had increased by 336,400, a gain of 200,000 from this battle alone.