Chapter 17: Eyes Of Insight
William was surprised when he saw the Desert Hunter drop a Skill Book and immediately walked forward to pick it up.
Because his status window was still locked, he couldn’t view the details of the Skill Book through it.
However, even without the status window, there were many other ways to determine the nature of a Skill Book.
As he picked up the book, William noticed a symbol of a pupil engraved on its dark brown cover.
"It’s most likely a skill related to the eyes, and since the color of the cover is brown, it’s a Rank One skill."
Skills were also divided into different ranks, and the brown color of the skill book represent Rank One Skill.
The higher the rank of a skill, the more powerful it would be.
Of course, possessing a higher-ranked skill wasn’t always a good thing.
With his current strength, even if William learned a skill above Rank One, he wouldn’t be able to use it properly because of its enormous Aether Energy consumption.
After confirming that it was a Rank One skill and most likely related to the eyes, William decided to learn it.
The reason was simple.
At the moment, it was the only Skill Book he possessed so there was no reason for him to not to learn it.
He brought the Skill Book close to his forehead, and the moment it touched him, he tore it apart.
The ripped book instantly turned into countless motes of light that flowed into William’s head.
At the same time, knowledge regarding the skill, along with its details and method of use, appeared directly inside his mind.
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---) Eyes of Insight (Rank One): Upon activation, allows the user to perceive the surrounding energy and auras. Can see through illusions and weaken the effects of skills that influence the user’s mind.
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This was the information William received after learning the skill.
"This skill seems to be an evolved version of the Desert Hunter’s innate ability to sense living beings while traveling underground."
William activated the Eyes of Insight and a faint golden light flashed deep within his eyes.
Immediately, the world around him changed.
He could now perceive the surrounding Aether Energy much more clearly.
Not only that, but he also noticed a faint light yellow aura slowly fading away near the Desert Hunter’s corpse.
’That must be the Desert Hunter’s aura.’
William’s eyes lit up slightly when he realized he could even see the lingering aura of a monster that had already died.
’As long as I keep using Eyes of Insight, finding monsters won’t be difficult anymore.’
William smiled faintly before deactivating the skill.
He didn’t possess much Aether Energy at the moment, so he needed to use it carefully.
Leaving the Desert Hunter’s corpse behind, William walked over to the Two-Leaf Hollow Earth Flower.
He carefully dug it out together with the surrounding soil that still clung to its roots.
Taking a glass jar from his backpack, he gently placed the flower inside before sealing it.
He didn’t consume the Hollow Earth Flower immediately because refining the medicinal energy within it would take quite a long time, and this location wasn’t safe enough for that.
After putting the jar back into his backpack, William immediately left the area to continue searching for other opportunities.
While walking, he glanced at his trial progress.
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---) Trial Task: Kill five unranked monsters and one Star Warrior-level monster.
(Currently killed monsters — 2 Unranked Monsters)
===
"Three more unranked monsters and one Star Warrior-level monster..."
William muttered softly before closing the status window.
Killing unranked monsters wasn’t difficult for him.
However, defeating a Star Warrior-level monster would be a completely different matter.
’If I fight a Star Warrior-level monster head-on, even if I manage to win, I definitely won’t come out unscathed. Once I find my target, I should first set up a few traps to make the hunt easier.’
William silently calculated his plan as he ventured deeper into the forest.
From time to time, he activated his newly acquired Eyes of Insight to scan his surroundings, hoping to discover the aura of nearby monsters.
About an hour later, as William activated Eyes of Insight once again, he suddenly noticed five different auras.
Moreover, one of those five auras was significantly brighter than the remaining four.
’A group of monsters... and one of them is most likely at the Star Warrior level.’
William’s expression immediately turned serious upon seeing this.
During the past hour, he had gradually come to understand one limitation of Eyes of Insight.
If a target had left an area more than ten minutes ago, the lingering aura it left behind would fade completely, making it impossible for him to track.
Since he could still clearly see the auras of all five monsters, it meant they hadn’t left this location more than ten minutes ago.
In other words, they were still nearby.
William stared at the lingering auras and hesitated for a moment.
’It would be much easier to hunt monsters that are alone rather than a group...’ He muttered inwardly.
Just then, his eyes caught sight of several footprints on the ground.
William crouched down and carefully examined them and for some reason, they looked strangely familiar.
He searched through his memories, and after a few moments, realization flashed across his eyes.
’These look like the footprints of Iron Pigs.’
William carefully inspected the surrounding area and soon discovered a total of five distinct sets of footprints.
This confirmed that they belonged to the same five monsters whose lingering auras he had sensed earlier.
’If these monsters are Iron Pigs, then hunting them should be much easier... even if one of them is at the Star Warrior level.’
William didn’t hesitate any longer and immediately began following the footprints, moving in the direction the monsters had gone.
Even while tracking them, he remained extremely cautious and never lowered his guard.
About five minutes later, William suddenly heard noises coming from ahead and his footsteps immediately slowed.
Carefully suppressing his presence, he advanced little by little until he reached the edge of a dense patch of bushes.
Looking through the gaps between the leaves, he saw five monsters moving about in a clearing not far away.
Seeing these five monsters, the corners of William’s lips slowly curled upward.
’It’s really a group of Iron Pigs...’ He said to himself.
’Looks like I can complete my trial much more easily than I expected.’
