New Abilities

Rayne returned to his room, still considering Roger's proposal.

Become a Demon Hunter?

Rayne knew a little about Demon Hunters, but not much. He only knew that they were experts who hunted monsters.

Monsters referred to demons and creatures corrupted by Fel Energy. They came in many varieties and vast numbers. They often lurked in the human world, causing immense destruction, and a Demon Hunter's primary duty was to search for and eliminate them.

Because they constantly dealt with monsters, Demon Hunters inevitably carried traces of demonic and Fel Energy auras. When people approached them, they would instinctively feel repulsed.

On top of that, Demon Hunters were always tracking monsters.

Their appearance often meant that a tragedy or massacre had already occurred.

Over time, Demon Hunters became omens of misfortune. In some backward and superstitious countries and regions, people believed that Demon Hunters brought bad luck and calamity. They had little welcome for them and would even drive them away.

Of course, this notion only circulated among ignorant commoners.

In the supernatural world, Demon Hunter was an extremely powerful supernatural profession.

Demon Hunters appeared relatively late. They were once an advanced branch of the Rangers, only gradually gaining popularity over the past few centuries before eventually becoming an independent profession. As a result, their fighting style was somewhat similar to that of Rangers, focusing on swordsmanship and supplementing it with several spells, each with different applications. They were extremely well-rounded.

The name of the profession made it clear that Demon Hunters excelled most at tracking monsters. They were exceptionally sensitive to the aura of Fel Energy.

Every Demon Hunter had a Silver Sword specifically designed to deal with monsters. Forged from the rare "Witcher Mithril," it could inflict far more damage on monsters than an ordinary steel sword.

Silver Swords were exceptionally effective against monsters, but their power was limited when fighting other types of enemies. Thus, Demon Hunters also carried a conventional steel sword to switch to at any time.

That was why Demon Hunters always carried two swords, which had also become their most distinctive feature.

Crayden Academy, where Rayne studied, had no teacher of the Demon Hunter profession.

It was said that Demon Hunters had schools of their own, and that they were extremely secretive. Their traditions were still primarily passed down from master to apprentice, so their numbers had always remained small.

Demon Hunters from different schools inherited different traditions. They referred to themselves as schools.

Rayne had once heard a teacher introduce the Demon Hunter schools. There were more than a dozen in total, but only four were powerful and fully developed: the Bear School, the Wolf School, the Cat School, and the Snake School.

This distinction came from the different Primary Souls they chose after undergoing their second Soul Transformation. Their fighting styles began to diverge from that point onward.

Rayne did not know which Demon Souls the four schools fused with. That was each school's secret.

"Roger said he could invite me to join his school..." Rayne was deeply tempted by the proposal. Roger always wore a wolf-head pendant around his neck, which meant he was very likely from the Wolf School. Although Rayne did not know what style the Wolf School used, it did not matter, because Roger was a legend!

Any Legendary Transcendent was a figure of immense importance in the Empire.

It did not take much thought to know that Roger held an extremely high position within the Wolf School. If Rayne became Roger's disciple, he would have secured himself a powerful backer!

Not to mention that Rayne still bore the Strife Mark. Before it faded, he would be better off staying beside a powerful protector.

And Roger was the most suitable candidate.

Rayne considered it for a long time but did not make an immediate decision.

He had not yet undergone the Soul Transformation Ritual, so he had no confidence that he would succeed. Even if he did, it did not necessarily mean he would be able to change class to Demon Hunter. In reality, Demon Hunters had extremely high talent requirements, no lower than those of the powerful Church professions. After all, it was a profession capable of casting spells.

Moreover, Roger had not demanded an immediate answer. Rayne could seek him out after passing the Soul Transformation Ritual.

If the ritual failed, then naturally, there would be nothing more to discuss.

"I'll see how things go after I undergo the Soul Transformation Ritual. I'll decide then whether to become a Demon Hunter."

Rayne stopped thinking about it and lay down on the bed, only to find that he was not sleepy in the slightest. He remained in an extremely excited and energetic state.

Furthermore, he discovered that even while lying motionless, his physical attributes were continuing to improve bit by bit.

An indescribable force flowed through his body. Everywhere it passed, his muscles, bones, blood vessels, and organs seemed to be charged with electricity, continuously strengthening again and again. Every so often, he could feel a change.

"This feeling..."

"This feels amazing!"

Rayne was almost intoxicated by it. He opened his phone interface and saw that all one hundred little battery bars were filled with green. Just looking at them made him feel especially comfortable.

"A full battery. I can use it however I want from now on. That's how willful I can be."

Rayne's gaze fell on the few icons that had just been activated. He counted them and found that the number of usable icons had increased by five!

The most conspicuous icon was one he had noticed before. Its overall shape was that of a microphone. At the top was a deformed pointed ear, surrounded by several curved lines representing waves.

"What use could a microphone possibly have?" Rayne activated the icon skeptically.

Then, countless sounds filled his ears!

Voices, wind, friction—every kind of sound was noisy and chaotic, almost bursting his head apart.

Rayne shut off the microphone as quickly as he could and clutched his head. It took him a long while to recover.

Scratching his head, he finally understood what it was.

A microphone was actually a sound receiver, used to pick up sounds across different frequency bands and convert them into electrical signals for amplification or noise reduction.

After the phone mutated, the microphone's functions had also been enhanced.

It allowed him to hear sounds across every frequency band, as well as hear from farther away. Even the faintest sounds came through with the clarity of a broadcast.

"This is super hearing!"

Rayne was delighted. He cautiously activated the microphone again. After several attempts at adjusting it, he quickly adapted.

Amid the chaotic jumble of sounds, he only needed to lock onto one. The disordered sound waves would become orderly, changing from vague to clear as he rapidly tracked their source and judged their distance. The other sounds simultaneously weakened until they became negligible background noise.

"I told you there was no way you could stay lucky for an entire night. It's my turn to play..." It was a guest in the inn's lobby downstairs. His voice sounded a little tired but carried a hint of excitement.

A woman's coquettish moans mingled with a man's heavy breathing. They came from a residence next door to the inn.

Rayne awkwardly shifted his attention away. The suggestive sounds rapidly faded from his ears and grew quieter.

Puff, puff, puff, puff. A nightingale flew across the night sky and landed on a tree at the end of the street, occasionally letting out a light and melodious call.

In the foul drainage ditch beneath the tree, a fat rat poked its head out cautiously. It suddenly scurried from a crack in the stones, darting and running across the ground. Its four feet splashed through the mud, producing a string of sounds before it finally hid in another hole.

Within a radius of several hundred meters, even sound waves caused by the tiniest vibrations were picked up by the microphone, amplified as necessary, carried through his ears, and transmitted to Rayne's brain.

Countless sound waves formed a complete world in his mind. It was an entirely new way of observing the world.

Even if he lost his eyes and became blind, Rayne could still "hear" what the world looked like, carry out his daily activities, and even fight people. He would be more perceptive than someone with all five senses intact.

Rayne experimented for a long while and quickly mastered the microphone's usage techniques.

He named this super-hearing ability the "Voice of All Things."

"With hearing this powerful, I still need to train more. I should keep it activated whenever I go out in the future. It'll be extremely useful for both tracking and avoiding being tracked. If a Shadow Blade assassin approaches, I'll be able to detect them in advance."

"The only downside is that it drains the battery too quickly."

As Rayne experimented with the Voice of All Things, the battery unexpectedly dropped by one bar, leaving only 99%. It was no longer full. Although he knew it would recover with rest, it still made him feel a little uncomfortable.

He continued looking at the second activated icon.

This icon was extremely simple and clear: a three-dimensional gyroscope.

Rayne felt somewhat expectant when he saw the icon.

Every phone had a gyroscope installed. It was a sensor used to detect movement and orientation in space, as well as the transmission of force. Many of a phone's functions relied on the gyroscope. He simply did not know what kind of ability it would grant him after mutating.

He activated the gyroscope, but nothing seemed to change.

"Damn, I'm an idiot."

Rayne slapped his forehead. A gyroscope detected changes in movement. He was lying motionless on the bed, so of course it would be useless.

He hurriedly climbed up. The moment he stood on the floor, he sensed something unusual.

An inexplicable sensation surfaced in his mind. As he moved from the bed to the floor, every movement of his body was stable and swift, as if it had been precisely calculated. There was not a single unnecessary motion.

Now he stood motionless, yet he had the feeling that he was standing more "steadily."

"If someone pushed me now, I'd probably regain my balance like a roly-poly toy."

Rayne walked a few steps and immediately experienced an entirely new sensation.

It was difficult to describe. His body seemed to have become a complex, precise machine, with every movement under his exact control. He could clearly sense the transmission of force between his torso and limbs, as well as every part of the process.

Rayne looked at his hands and wiggled his fingers back and forth. Their speed and frequency grew faster and higher until they became a blur.

After continuing for more than ten seconds, the blur suddenly vanished. His fingers became perfectly still, as stable as stone.

"With these hands, I shouldn't be any worse than a Ranger's 'Nimble Hands,' right?"

Rayne smiled smugly and drew the longsword leaning against the head of the bed.

This sword had belonged to Esberg. Rayne had brought it back as spoils of war. It was a Hand-and-a-half Sword that could be wielded in one hand or two. It had a suitable weight and exquisite craftsmanship, making it a rare fine sword. If he sold it, it would be worth at least a dozen Gold Shields.

The moment the sword entered his hand, Rayne felt something strange. The sword seemed to have become a part of his body, and he understood every detail of it perfectly.

Its center of gravity, dimensions, and weight were all completely clear to him. It felt as familiar as a weapon he had used for years.

During his three years at the academy, Rayne had mainly studied a single sword technique called "Imperial Military Swordsmanship."

This swordsmanship focused on defense and counterattacks. In battle, one guarded the centerline in front of the body and defended steadily. Its movements were clean and decisive, balancing offense and defense. It was the most popular swordsmanship in the Empire, and many people began their studies with it. However, it was easy to learn but difficult to master.

Imperial Military Swordsmanship had four starting stances. Rayne was most accustomed to beginning in the "Plough Stance." He turned slightly sideways, spread his legs, and lowered his body. Holding the sword in both hands, he positioned it before his waist and torso, with the tip angled forward and upward.

His gaze sharpened, and he lunged forward with a straight thrust.

A flash of cold light seemed to streak through the room. The air split with a sharp whistle.

Rayne had practiced this thrust for three years, but he had never made it with such precision, speed, and power. Even the academy's swordsmanship instructors could not have done it.

Rayne exhaled in satisfaction, then casually tossed the sword. With a smack, it dropped into the scabbard without missing by a fraction.