The world around Azrael spun once again, just like it had a few hours ago when he used the cross-galaxy teleportation formation.
However, unlike last time, he felt no discomfort this time and when everything returned to normal, the chimes of birds and the cool breeze carrying the scent of the forest reached his senses.
Azrael looked around with a curious expression and found himself in the middle of what appeared to be a forest.
The trees around him were quite tall, reaching nearly twenty to thirty meters in height.
Just as he was observing his surroundings—
(You have entered the Fragment of Ancient Genesis)
His status window—which was different from those of other people sent him a notification.
"Ancient Genesis..." Azrael frowned upon seeing the message. "Shouldn’t I be inside the Eonrift?"
(You have entered the Trial Ground of Eonrift)
A new stream of information appeared directly in his mind, sent by the world itself.
The frown on Azrael’s face deepened. He wasn’t surprised by the sudden information being transmitted directly to his brain as Ashara had already told him that upon entering the Eonrift, he would receive information about his trial directly in his mind.
’The information appearing in my mind says it’s the Trial Ground of Eonrift, but my status window is calling it the Fragment of Ancient Genesis instead of Eonrift...’ Azrael wore a thoughtful expression as he tried to process it.
Suddenly, a roar flled with violent intent interrupted Azrael’s thoughts. His senses—greatly enhanced after reaching the mid-level of the Cosmic Energy Breathing Method flared to life.
He quickly pushed his perception to its limits and noticed that something—or someone—was rapidly approaching his location.
From the faint, rhythmic sound he heard, he determined that the approaching creature was running on all fours and should be something similar to a feline-type monster.
The speed of the monster was frighteningly fast—faster even than his own agility, which already exceeded 20 points.
’This monster is not weak...’ The Fallen Star appeared in Azrael’s hand, and his eyes blazed with fighting intent.
’So this is the Despair Level... Even the first monster I encounter is around level four or five, and it’s not weak even compared to other monsters of the same level.’
Soon, the ruffling of grass grew louder, and even without expanding his senses, Azrael could clearly hear the beast approaching.
With a deafening roar, the surrounding trees shook as a nearly three-meter-tall figure leaped from behind the curtains of foliage.
"A Swift Tiger..." Azrael immediately identified the monster the moment he saw it.
The Swift Tiger was a wind-type monster, famous for its high agility and rapid movements. The monster was covered in green fur with black stripes, and its deep yellow eyes were filled with hunger as it stared at Azrael like a predator sizing up its prey.
’It’s been a long time since someone looked at me like that...’ Azrael narrowed his eyes when he saw the way monster was looking at him.
Seeing Azrael’s fearless gaze, the Swift Tiger let out another roar, and a gale of wind swirled around its body. The next second—
Its figure blurred and disappeared from its spot.
Azrael’s eyes turned utterly indifferent as his trait—Cold Blooded—came into effect, sharpening his senses and silencing all distractions.
Infinite Comprehension allowed him to understand everything in his surroundings with incredible clarity, and he quickly noticed that the airflow behind him was not right.
Without turning his head, Azrael shifted his body sideways with a minimal movement.
As soon as he did, a claw cloaked in a gale of sharp wind brushed past his neck. Azrael felt a piercing pain slash across his skin, but his expression remained unchanged.
The Fallen Star in his hand erupted with sharp cosmic energy as he swung it backward with all his strength.
Everything happened in an instant. From the moment the Swift Tiger attacked to the moment Azrael countered, not even two full seconds passed.
The Swift Tiger had never expected its lightning-fast strike to be dodged so easily and was caught completely off guard.
The spinning gale around the Swift Tiger was cut apart by the sword’s sharp edge. With cosmic energy bursting around it, the Fallen Star struck the side of the tiger’s neck.
Immediately, the Sword Domination ability showed its might, increasing the attack’s power by 50%.
A painful cry echoed through the forest as blood sprayed forth, and a wound nearly ten centimeters deep appeared on the tiger’s neck.
The Swift Tiger’s eyes filled with agony as it tried to leap backward. Wind element energy gathered around its body, attempting to accelerate its retreat.
But Azrael had no intention of letting the opportunity slip. Without wasting time to pull back his sword, he flicked his wrist, and a sharp needle hidden beneath his sleeve shot out like a bullet, instantly piercing the tiger’s right eye.
The tiger let out another miserable roar and staggered, losing its balance and collapsing to the ground.
Azrael quickly stepped forward and pulled out the Fallen Star, lifting it overhead in a clean-cutting motion.
Cosmic energy surged from his body into the blade, and he swung it downward. At the same time, he activated the sword’s second ability—The World—tripling its weight.
Everything in the path of the Fallen Star was cut apart and in the reflection of the tiger’s terrified eye, the blade cleaved down toward its neck.
Blood erupted like a fountain, and the tiger’s head was separated cleanly from its body.
Azrael looked calmly at the headless corpse before closing his eyes for a moment.
He stopped using both of his traits and immediately felt that he had used up nearly 3% of his spiritual energy in just those few seconds.
The level of focus he maintained and the sheer amount of information he had processed in such a short span was no simple feat.
If it had been any other monster of the same level as the Swift Tiger, Azrael believed he could have killed it more easily without putting so much strain on his mind.
The Swift Tiger specialized in speed, and had he made even a single mistake, its claws could have decapitated him before he even realized it.
Just as Azrael was reflecting on the battle, the tiger’s body began to disintegrate, transforming into motes of light that floated toward him and entered his body.
Azrael felt a surge of strength rise within him, and at the same time, more information regarding his trial in Eonrift appeared in his mind.