Chapter 25: Skill Mastery?
After Ryven accepted the mission, he returned to the house. The moment he stepped through the door, a delicious aroma immediately greeted him.
It was the scent of a meat getting grilled.
Curious, he turned toward the kitchen. As expected, it was Samminah cooking. She calmly tossed the pan with ease.
"You can actually cook? And is that eggs?"
"Where the hell did you even get those ingredients?"
Glancing at the table, Ryven saw several well-prepared dishes already laid out.
There was a simple omelette, a perfectly medium-rare steak, and various side dishes whose aroma alone was enough to make anyone drool.
Looking back at Samminah, Ryven couldn’t help but see her in a new light.
She answered his questions without taking her eyes off the pan.
"I used most of my merit points for this. It’s not like there’s anything I really want to buy, nor do I feel like saving for a treasure weapon."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"And... Aren’t we leaving for a long expedition tomorrow?"
"You should expect plenty of hardships during that expedition. That’s why now is the perfect time to enjoy ourselves."
"So... Do you want to join dinner with me?"
Ryven blinked, standing there in a daze. The invitation had caught him completely off guard.
It was obvious that her attitude toward him had changed. Whether she realized it or not, she had grown noticeably fond toward him.
"Sure."
Ryven smiled, as he couldn’t help but feel amused.
At that moment, the skeleton also approached. Fred remained silent, seemingly content to stand guard over them.
"Feeling a little left out, aren’t you?"
"Well, it’s not like you can actually eat with us."
A moment later, the two finally sat on the dinner table.
Samminah ate gracefully like a noble. Even while eating, the lower half of her face remained hidden beneath her mask.
She glanced at Ryven, who was casually talking to the skeleton, and stared at him as though he were an idiot.
The night quietly passed after that.
Ryven prepared everything they would need for the expedition: food supplies, two tent, and at least enough firewood for camping whenever necessary.
"I forgot to mention something," Ryven suddenly said.
"The eastern region is troublesome. The fog there is much thicker, and most of the abominations are poisonous."
He looked toward Samminah.
"With your Moon Luminesce, poison shouldn’t be a problem, right?"
Samminah gave a slight nod.
Poisons were practically ineffective against her ability. Even the venom of an ancient species Blood Skull Spiders, known for possessing some of the deadliest poison, had ultimately been neutralized by her Moon Luminesce.
After confirming everything was prepared, Ryven called Fred over before the three of them finally departed.
Their travel speed was unexpectedly fast.
Noticing the difference, Ryven couldn’t help but check his current stats.
He still hadn’t properly examined them after using Beast Transformation.
[Gacha System] [Arcane Points:0]
[Name: Ryven Calestair] [Level: 13] [EXP: 100/450]
[Strength: 15] [Agility: 16] [Durability: 11]
[Reflex: 10] [Speed: 16] [Endurance: 12]
[Stamina: 18] [Mana: 17]
[Class:Gacha Summoning] [Rank:SSS]
[Tickets: 0 Bronze Ticket, 0 Iron Ticket, 0 Silver Ticket, 0 Golden Ticket, 0 Diamond Ticket, 0 Ruby Ticket, 0 Platinum Ticket, 0 Primordial Ticket]
[Race: Human]
[Bloodline: None]
[Skills: Night perception, Iron Body]
[Ability: Gacha Hunter, Gacha wheel,???]
[Inventory]
...
Ryven suddenly froze.
Huh... Now that I think about it, my body really did become much stronger after using Beast Transformation.
He sighed softly as realization slowly dawned on him.
The ability had likely pushed his physical body far beyond its normal limits.
Without Samminah’s healing ability, he would probably still be bedridden for months.
Maybe, I might’ve accidentally got her strongest ability.
Ryven silently muttered to himself before continuing forward.
Eventually, they arrived at the fortress. The guards quickly recognized them and opened the gates.
Just like before, Ryven and the others were permitted to leave the village freely since they were considered hunters and were fully armed.
Outside the fortress, traces of the recent battle were still everywhere. Massive craters remained scattered across the ground.
However, all the corpses were already gone, including the Fifth-Stage Red Troll and the three Fourth-Stage Green Trolls.
Without wasting time, the three of them immediately headed east.
As they ventured deeper into the forest, thick fog soon surrounded them from every direction.
Ryven couldn’t help but take a deep breath.
Not long after, Samminah’s voice quietly reached his ears once again.
"There’s an approaching Cerberus. Do you want to ignore it, or attack it and gain some experience points?"
Ryven silently thought for a moment before nodding.
"If it’s only a Third-Stage, then let’s do it. However, this time I don’t want you interfering, got it?"
Samminah looked slightly surprised after hearing his courageous words, but she silently acknowledged them and stopped enveloping him with her concealment ability.
Almost immediately, the Cerberus rushed toward their direction.
Because of the thick fog, Ryven could only rely on his reflexes to determine where it was.
At the same time, he also stopped Fred from intervening.
However, the moment he finally saw the abomination clearly, he was stunned.
It was at least four meters tall, with a humanoid body and four grotesque arms. Its four heads resembled decaying lions, their jaws torn open to the sides, exposing rows of jagged teeth.
This...
Isn’t this the first creature I encountered after transmigrating here?
A smile subconsciously appeared on his lips. Although its appearance still horrified him, he was no longer weak as before.
Calmly, he activated Iron Body.
Immediately, a layer of defense covered his skin, turning it as hard as iron.
However, before Ryven could even react—
Bang!
A fist slammed directly into his chest.
Ryven’s eyes widened as saliva mixed with blood spewed from his mouth.
The layer of iron-like skin around his body shattered under the abomination’s terrifying strength, and his entire figure was thrown straight into a massive tree.
Crack!
The trunk fractured heavily from the impact.
The Third-Stage abomination remained completely fixated on Ryven.
Because Samminah and Fred were concealed by her ability and had purposely distanced themselves, the Cerberus could not detect them at all.
Still, Samminah could clearly sense Ryven’s miserable state.
Seeing him embedded into the tree, she helplessly sighed.
"You’re getting too confident just because you’ve become stronger."
Her cold voice echoed in Ryven’s ears.
He didn’t respond and acknowledging her words.
Gritting his teeth, Ryven forced himself back to his feet before quickly summoning his low-level treasure weapon.
Only now did he finally get a much clearer look at the creature.
Its four heads was like that of a lion, however, it looked like rotten corpses brought back to life.
Bloodlust filled their eyes as if the only thing they desired was to tear apart and devour every living being they encountered.
Meanwhile, its four arms looked disturbingly human, though its skin was deathly gray.
What kind of grotesque creature is this?
Before he could think further, the Cerberus attacked again.
Four massive fists descended toward him simultaneously.
Ryven’s expression changed instantly.
Blocking such an attack was impossible.
He could only dodge.
Boom!
The ground where he had been standing exploded apart, forming a huge crater as debris scattered everywhere.
Ryven barely managed to evade in time, but one of the fists still brushed against his left shoulder.
Ryven grimaced in pain as he was thrown rolling across the ground.
His shoulder felt numb, while blood slowly dripped from the torn skin on his arm.
Before he could even recover, the Cerberus charged again with terrifying speed.
Ryven hurriedly raised his sword to block.
Bang!
The impact forced him sliding backward several meters, his palms went numb from the sheer strength of the attack.
Ryven clenched his teeth in frustration.
No matter how much he thought about it, there was simply no way for him to defeat this abomination with his current strength alone.
His second ability was practically useless in this situation.
There was no one nearby whose abilities he could copy, and if he tried copying Samminah’s abilities instead, there was a chance he would obtain her concealment ability.
If that happened, their mission would only be delayed, and they might even be forced to return to the village.
After all, his Mana reserves were still far too low.
Just as he was in the brink of despair, Samminah’s voice suddenly echoed in his ears.
"You know..." Samminah suddenly spoke while calmly watching the battle, "Since you managed to endure a hit from it, you should already be capable of fighting it once your mastery reaches the Beginner stage."
Even while desperately dodging the Cerberus’s attacks, Ryven still listened carefully.
"What do you mean by mastery?"
Samminah watched him struggle before calmly explaining.
"Skills can naturally grow stronger, though most people can only vaguely sense the changes themselves."
"It starts from Beginner, then Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert, and finally Master."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"There are still stages beyond that, but knowing them now is pointless considering your current level."
Boom!
Ryven narrowly dodged a massive boulder thrown by the Cerberus. The boulder shattered several trees behind him upon impact.
"If I’m being honest," Samminah continued again.
"If you somehow gain enlightenment and break through into the Beginner stage during this fight, you’d stand a decent chance against it."
Ryven’s frown deepened as he continuously evaded the Cerberus’ relentless attacks.
"Then how am I supposed to break through, dammit?!"
He abruptly leaped to the left, barely avoiding another crushing fist that smashed deeply into the ground.
Watching his miserable struggle with amusement, Samminah finally answered.
"It’s simple."
"You just need to gain a deeper understanding of your skill."
