On the final day of the preliminary test, Skyler stood on a high rocky ledge above a waterfall, wearing a straw hat made of dry grass that he had crafted for himself. His trousers and shirt were worn out, but they were clean since he had washed the few pairs he owned in the water many times.
Surrounding the waterfall, the grass and trees were tall enough to conceal the area. This secluded spot was also the perfect place where he had camped. Why?
Because there was a cave below the ledge, serving as a good resting place. The fish in the waterfall were mostly ordinary species, making them suitable for consumption.
He learned to light a fire in the cave so he wouldn't die from hunger. Of course, it took him a day to create his first fire by gathering wood and scraping rocks together. To make matters worse, due to the lack of spices, the fish and other parts of the beasts he cooked tasted bland and unappealing.
However, at least he was quite good at roasting them, so he survived.
Moreover, sometimes group of monsters came to this area to drink water, and if he was nearby, he could easily defeat them.
Skyler narrowed his eyes, scanning every direction. He spotted a group of elves, but they departed in another direction.
"505, are the fire foxes nearby?"
("Yes, host! They will be here in a minute! You can take them down easily!")
Skyler chuckled when he saw an excited face created from numbers at the end of the words on the screen. He could tell 505 was very happy now that he just needed one more kill to complete his mission.
It had also started to engage in conversation with him more frequently, even though it wasn't permitted to do so unless necessary. The system wasn't the one who initiated this. It was simply that whenever Skyler became bored, he always chatted with it as if it were a fellow friend. Now, it had simply become accustomed to responding to him whenever he spoke.
505 didn't break any rules and would still disappear when Skyler asked it questions beyond its authority or those the systems couldn't answer due to the rules.
However, its frequent responses to him showed a big improvement from before.
Remarks like 'You should be faster', 'Be careful', 'You're dumb', 'You are the best', 'You can do it!', 'Look back', 'Host, are you crazy?' and 'Host, can I check your race?' became frequent, which greatly assisted Skyler since the system was highlighting his mistakes while he battled monsters.
Skyler grabbed a familiar gray spear from his storage ring and quickly jumped down the ledge the instant he saw the fire foxes approaching the waterfall. There were two 3-star and two 2-star foxes. He could easily take them down with his current strength.
A light enveloped his legs as he landed on the ground without any injuries and swiftly concealed his presence in the tall grass. As the foxes, each roughly his size, gathered at the edge of the waterfall to drink, he seized the moment and launched an attack on the strongest among them from behind.
Golden Evol surged from his elemental crystal and entered the spear in his hand, causing sparks of light to envelop it as he leaped from behind and drove the tip into the shoulder of one of the 3-star foxes.
The monster let out an agonizing cry that startled the other three beasts, as well as the humans and individuals of other races in the immediate vicinity.
But Skyler wasn't finished; he clenched his fingers into a fist and punched the injured beast away to retrieve his weapon.
With all his strength, he hurled the spear toward one of the escaping 2-star beasts. The spear pierced its heart from behind in a swift motion, and the light element within it erupted, causing even greater damage.
"One down, three more to go!"
Skyler chuckled, and 505 cheered him on internally. The system didn't immediately display the screen that indicated its host had completed his 300 kill count to avoid distracting him from the battle.
Skyler turned back and swiftly finished off the injured fox before it could attack him by gathering Evol and snapping its neck.
Then he raised his hand, and instantly, the spear containing his Evol flew back to him. He had learned this trick a few weeks ago: as long as his Evol was in another object's body, he could move it at will. Although he couldn't use this on heavy objects, it was still a very convenient trick.
He confronted the other 3-star fox. A torrent of flames erupted from its crimson body, but he swiftly dodged to the side and struck the last 2-star fox with the spear. It cried out in pain and tried to flee, but Skyler seized its lower body and, with a clenched jaw and all his strength, threw it toward the 3-star fox unleashing flames, which killed it with a slash of its razor-sharp claws.
Breathing heavily, he called back the spear. A chuckle escaped his lips when he saw the monster eliminate one of its own.
"505, that counts as my kill, right?"
An answer came immediately.
("Absolutely, host!")
"Good."
He spun the spear in his hand in a circular motion as the 3-star beast growled in anger, unleashing multiple fire arrows toward him.
A gust of wind was created thanks to the spinning spear that sent debris in the area flying toward the fox. As Skyler channeled his Evol into the spear's body, a light field formed around the area of its rotation.
Even though the fire attacks pushed him back, they were absorbed by the field. The monster shut its eyes momentarily due to the flying debris, and that was enough for Skyler to plunge the spear into its body.