[Level Lv1: 10/10 "Locked"] [Intelligence: 81 (initially 1)] [Endurance: 80 (initially 1)] [Stamina: 80 (initially 1)] [Strength: 80 (initially 1)] [Talent: immortality "∞", mage's body "lv1"] [Spells: Meditation [Level 9] "90/90", Fireball [Level 9] "90/90", Freezing Spell [Level 9] "90/90"] [Identity: Wanderer Guide.]
All four attributes had reached 80 points, with Intelligence rising even higher to 81.
All three spells had reached [Lv9 "90/90"]...
These were the results of An Kai's nearly 200 days in seclusion.
With [Level 9] Meditation, An Kai needed only one day to gain an attribute point.
That held true whether or not An Kai held the [Meditation Staff], and it seemed to be his current bottleneck.
At [Meditation Lv8], he had already needed only one day. Now that it had advanced to [Level 9], nothing had changed.
An Kai suspected that would only change once it reached [Level 10] or [Lv11]...
The rise in his attributes had done more than strengthen An Kai's body.
His appetite had skyrocketed, too.
Before entering seclusion, he had stockpiled nearly five years' worth of food. In fewer than 200 days, he had almost eaten it all.
If An Kai ate his fill now, a single meal would equal almost a week's food for an ordinary family...
That was why An Kai had been forced to end his grand seclusion plans ahead of schedule.
Before coming here, he had planned everything out nicely: spend two or three years in seclusion, then decide what came next. In the end, he had not even lasted a year...
Easily shifting the boulder at the cave entrance with one hand, An Kai worried about how much food he would need for his next period of seclusion...
Unless he solved his food problem, he could not remain in seclusion for long, even with ample resources...
He went to the lakeside and washed his face, wondering whether An Kai should head to Chaos City.
After this stint in seclusion, his food was nearly gone, and he had only 11 Skill Points left. Even if he continued improving, he could no longer raise all three spells together.
Yet from what he had observed through the side story, the Evergreen Gang's leader still seemed unwilling to call off the hunt for him...
An Kai had no clear grasp of his current strength. He did not know whether he or the Evergreen Gang's leader was stronger.
After all, that man was a tier two professional!
And like An Kai, he specialized in ranged attacks!
An Kai was unsure whether he could handle him.
Seclusion had made him stronger, but it had not made him arrogant. He knew all too well that in this desert, there was always someone stronger.
Nor should he ever underestimate the people in the desert. Few who could survive here were weak...
After washing his face and clearing his head, An Kai was about to test Fireball's power when the sound of heavy footsteps suddenly came from the distance...
An Kai's powerful physique had also given him excellent hearing. He lay down and pressed an ear to the ground...
It seemed that an enormous magical beast was heading his way.
After a second's thought, An Kai plunged into the lake.
Holding the [Water-Breathing Pearl] Hanks had given him, he lay there and waited for the magical beast to arrive.
At the bottom of the lake, a [Desert Crocodile] froze. A two-legged beast had suddenly intruded on its territory?!
It was going to teach this rude two-legged beast a lesson!
But...
Before it could move, An Kai reached out, clamped its jaws shut, and pinned it beneath him...
His gaze conveyed a clear message to the [Desert Crocodile]: Move, and I'll crush you to death...
I won't move... I won't move... Pinned beneath An Kai, the [Desert Crocodile] did not dare budge.
It feared that any movement would upset this terrifying fellow and make him casually crush it to death...
Riding on the back of a tier two [Typhon Giant], Sally Bukelin was already mentally exhausted.
This was her 221st day fleeing through the desert.
After drugging her, her four dear brothers had not only stripped her of all her mana, but had also sent wave after wave of assassins after her once she fled into the desert, giving her no chance to catch her breath.
If not for the protection of the [Typhon Giant] beneath her, which resembled an upright elephant, Sally Bukelin would have died countless times already.
Every time she narrowly escaped death, Sally Bukelin felt profoundly grateful that the unranked spell [Summoning], which she had learned at tier three, had brought her a [Typhon Giant]!
This magical beast, said to hail from the abyss, had saved her again and again...
Looking at the lake not far ahead, Sally Bukelin guided the [Typhon Giant] toward it for a brief rest.
Before long, the nearly five-meter-tall [Typhon Giant] carried Sally Bukelin to the lakeshore...
[Typhon Giant: Lv11]
At the bottom of the lake, a brief description of the magical beast appeared before An Kai.
Its Lv11 level confirmed that it had entered tier two!
Yet...
To An Kai's senses, this tier two magical beast did not seem all that unbeatable.
Instead, it felt little different from the [Desert Crocodile] beneath him.
Pinning the [Desert Crocodile] down, An Kai pondered for a moment and decided to strike!
This tier two [Typhon Giant] would be perfect for testing exactly where his current strength stood.
Even if he could not beat it, he had no reason to panic.
From what An Kai remembered of his previous life, [Typhon Giants] had one particular trait: they were poor swimmers.
In other words, if he could not win, all he had to do was lie down at the bottom of the lake, and the problem would be solved.
As for the person sitting on the [Typhon Giant]'s neck, An Kai paid her even less mind.
His senses told him that he could crush this fleeing refugee with the slightest effort, even though he could not make out her face or gender!
With his escape route settled, An Kai shot up from the lakebed!
As he broke through the surface, a Fireball almost as large as the [Typhon Giant] appeared between his hands!
Sally Bukelin had just begun to relax when she suddenly saw An Kai burst out of the lake, along with the enormous Big Fireball Spell in his hands!
Sally Bukelin's eyes widened in horror. With no time to mount any effective response, she frantically leaped from the [Typhon Giant]'s neck!
Still in midair, Sally Bukelin's heart sank into despair. She knew she would not escape this time...
Boom!
The Fireball appeared fast and struck just as fast.
In the blink of an eye, it slammed into the still-stunned [Typhon Giant].
An Kai knew that its incredible speed also had something to do with his [Meditation].
An explosion thundered, and the [Typhon Giant] roared in agony!
In the humanitarian spirit of minimizing his enemy's suffering, An Kai formed another Fireball in his hands!
Without the slightest hesitation, he hurled it into the [Typhon Giant]...
One struck, then another!
Explosions rang out endlessly through the oasis...
Having witnessed it all, Sally Bukelin, the Fifth Princess of the Bukelin Duchy, fell into utter despair.
She did not believe she could escape an enemy who could cast spells instantly...
Especially one who could instantly cast such absurdly powerful [Fireballs]!
The explosions continued for a full minute.
An Kai hurled 23 Fireballs.
The [Typhon Giant] had long since vanished, leaving only drifting ashes as proof that it had ever been there...
Unhurriedly, An Kai picked up the [Typhon Giant]'s Magic Core and stood two meters from Sally Bukelin.
A Fireball formed in his hands as he prepared to dispose of this unlucky woman while he was at it...
"Ha?! Kill me? I'd advise you not to!"
"I am Sally Bukelin, the Fifth Princess of the Bukelin Duchy. I'm worth more alive than dead!"
Sally Bukelin forced herself to remain calm, trying to bluff the powerful monster before her with lies!
"The Fifth Princess of the Bukelin Duchy?"
Hearing her introduce herself, An Kai suddenly smiled...
Sally Bukelin really was worth more alive than dead...
Let me think. How much had the Bounty Tower offered for this princess?
Suddenly, An Kai knew how he could get more Skill Points...
Before you continue