A gloomy forest filled with darkness encroaching in all directions.

Different from before, the number of animals and native monsters in the area has shown a decline with the appearance of foreign creatures that hailed from h.e.l.l—Demon Sp.a.w.ns. 

From time to time, terrifying roars could be heard alongside numerous screeching cries, as if continuous slaughter were taking place.

However, at this moment, deep within the grim forest, a fiery light could be seen, which was followed by ascending smoke.

It was a fire.

A figure could be seen crouching beside the fire as he held two skewers, actually, they seemed to be branches from a tree instead, piercing meats that were being roasted.

It was common knowledge among experienced hunters that one shouldn't lit a fire within a forest lest he attracts wild animals, or in this case, monsters.

However, the handsome young man seemed to be without a care in the world as he stared at his meat skewers with a face full of expectations.

"Almost done..." muttered Sky as his mouth salivated.

Although the demon meat didn't release any rich, savory fragrance, his hungered stomach created the imagination of an appetizing aroma.

A short while later—

[You have learned the skill: Cooking.]

[You have learned Beginner Cooking Mastery Level 1.]

[Your hunger has been satiated.]

[Your stats has returned to normal.]

Chomp.

Sky ignored the notification windows as he took a bite from one of the meat skewers.

"Hmm..." he closed his eyes as he chewed, focusing on his taste buds.

"... not that good but not that bad either." he judged, a bit disappointed. "It's bland. There's hardly any flavor except for the smoky taste."

I guess that's demon meat for you. Why would it taste good?

He then s.h.i.+fted his eyes to the new skill he received.

____________________

[Cooking]

Beginner Lv. 1 (0%)

• Enhances the taste of cooked meals. Increases the recovery of stamina when consumed. Depending on the quality of ingredients used and skill mastery, the taste of the cooked food will vary and temporary buffs could be added.

____________________

He then looked at his status window, which has improved drastically.

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____________________

[STATUS]

Name: Sky

Level: 58

Cla.s.s: None

World Reputation: 2,010

Health: 2,465/2,465 Mana: 645/645

• Strength: 298(+7) • Vitality: 90 (+5)

• Agility: 261(+10) • Intelligence: 75 (+15)

• Dexterity: 89 • Fort.i.tude: 75 (+5)

• Comprehension: 27 • Luck: 15 (+15)

• Fighting Spirit: 20

Stat points: 190

-----

Skills:

[Intermediate Sword Mastery] (Lv. 5)

[Skeleton Summoning] (Lv. 2)

[Chop] (Lv. 2)

[Cooking] (Lv. 1)

____________________

"Good." Sky smiled at his improved stats.

Different from last time when he allocated half of his total free stat points, this time, he didn't spend any.

'Since my current attributes are sufficient to solo a Demon Sp.a.w.n, I should save these stat points for a rainy day.'

He then proceeded to look at his current equipment.

Its been a while since he had replaced the equipment he previously used, which were dropped by the Skeleton Warriors.

For his weapon, he had the [Cursed Blade], which was had a Rare rating and gave +7 points to strength and agility.

As for his armor, he had the [Cursed Chestpiece], which also had a Rare rating and gave +5 points to vitality and fort.i.tude.

And lastly, he had the [Cursed Greavers], which had a similar rating and added +3 points into agility.

Sky was satisfied with his current gear.

He quickly finished the rest of the meat skewers and stood up, extinguis.h.i.+ng the fire before leaving.

As the residue smoke rose to the sky, his figure blended into the darkness as he headed deeper into the forest.

*****

[You have reached 'Heart of Devilwood' the very center of Devilwood Forest.]

'Strange, it's been a while already and I haven't seen any Demon Sp.a.w.ns on my way here...' Sky thought as he looked around.

However, what he saw was the same as what he saw all this time that he had been in this place. It was the endless number of trees and the ever-present darkness.

Just as Sky was about to head deeper, his eyes suddenly narrowed as he stared into the distance.

Despite the lack of light, he was still able to see those numerous figures in the distance, all of them drawing his attention.

Gigantic physiques. The flames that burst from their bodies from time to time. The dark smoke that gathered around them.

These features were all too familiar to Sky.

They were Demon Sp.a.w.ns.

And there were a lot of them, at least dozens.

Sky controlled his breathing and minimized his unnecessary movements as he moved forward.

He could see the Demon Sp.a.w.ns huddled around on a stone scaffold, kneeling, which he found to be quite a bizarre image even in this place.

As he moved closer, the image became clearer.

An obsidian monolith stood atop the platform and strange symbols were engraved on its surface.

Those symbols seemed to date back to ancient times as a strange aura exuded from them. It was as if they were telling a story.

However, while the image seemed out of place, alongside the dozens of kneeling Demon Sp.a.w.ns that were present, what took Sky's attention was the black sword atop the monolith.

Sky, who was a swordsman himself, couldn't take his eyes away from the sword.

He was attracted to it, akin to a man attracted to a captivating woman.

The sword penetrated the monolith from above and besides its hilt, only half of the blade remained visible. The other half pierced the stone as if sealing something within.

The surface of the hilt seemed to be made from an unknown creature's skin or scale and had the color of the night itself.

As for the blade, it was also the color of jet-black, and a bone-chilling aura radiated from it, repelling the Demon Sp.a.w.ns, their expressions that of fear.

As they knelt before the monolith, their expressions wasn't that of reverence or respect, but that of fear and rage.

Their expressions were so vivid and human-like that one would find it hard to understand that they were not real beings.

Some of them kept roaring as they tried to resist and stand up, only to find it futile as their knees, as if they had magnets, remained stuck and grounded.

The pressure from the monolith, or was it from the sword, overpowered them.

'Amazing...' Sky thought as he stared at the sword in the stone.

Ignoring his safety, his eyes were in a daze as he stepped closer, closer to the Demon Sp.a.w.ns, closer to the monolith, and closer to the sword.

Grrrrrrrrrrrr...

Roar!!

Kruooooo!!

The kneeling demons howled and roared towards Sky, yet he completely ignored them as he continued treading forward.

As if sensing something getting closer, a humming sword could be heard from the black sword as the crimson aura that surrounded it became denser and stronger.

The red aura started compressing and in an instant, a crimson sword light was formed.

Whoos.h.!.+

Then, without a warning, the sword light pierced towards Sky with an unstoppable intent to kill!

At that moment, Sky's previously dull eyes regained their senses as they became clear.

The color of red was reflected in his eyes as he instinctively swung his sword.

C-crack!

[Your weapon has been destroyed.]

The Cursed Blade fragmented upon contact with the red light as pieces of it fell down the ground.

Fortunately, the red light also stopped its advance after the clash.

It then dispersed back into its previous translucent aura and encircled the monolith once more as if nothing just happened.

The black sword atop the stone also stopped humming and returned to normal.

'Good thing I reacted fast, otherwise I would've died.' Sky sighed in relief before throwing the broken

But that sword...

His eyes were once again focused on the black sword that pierced the monolith, but this time, he wasn't distracted and his senses weren't spellbound.

He glanced at the marble steps that led to the monolith and stepped forward.

The Demon Sp.a.w.ns all stared at Sky with malevolent eyes. Bellowing sounds and growls couldn't help but escape their sharp-teethed mouth.

Oh, how they wished to devour him right then and there.

Who knew if Sky was oblivious to their menacing gazes or he just didn't care but he lifted his foot and took his first step.

One, two, three...

A few seconds later, he had ascended before the monolith and swept his eyes on the strange marks on its surface.

His gaze then landed on the black sword that was stuck in the stone.

At that moment—

[The sword is 'looking' at you.]

Engrossed at the moment, Sky reached out his hand and grasped the obsidian-colored hilt.

Whoooooos.h.!.+

In less than a second, the surrounding crimson-red aura suddenly flew towards him and revolved around his body.

The crimson aura seemed to be endless as they continued to wrap around Sky, intending to encase him like how a scabbard would sheathe a sword.

And in an instant, alongside the red aura, he disappeared.