Chapter 11: Let the Hunt Begin

Chapter 11: Let the Hunt Begin

Jack wasn’t the type to sit around idly, especially when survival meant constantly pushing ahead. Now that he possessed his broken SSS-Rank talent, standing still felt like a death sentence. To prepare for the threats looming over this volcanic hell, he needed to hunt monsters, gather resources, and stack as many Enhancement Points as possible.

Of course, going back out into the blistering 60°C wasteland alone wasn't the plan this time. He needed to train his newly acquired sidekick.

"NO! Absolutely not! Are you completely insane?!" Aria shrieked, hovering inside the cabin with her arms crossed into a tight X in front of her chest. Her tiny face was flushed red with dramatic indignation. "I am a delicate, royal fairy! I am not stepping a single millimeter outside that cooling zone to get roasted like a hot sausage! You can't make me!"

"Relax, I'm not sending you out there unprepared," Jack said, calling up his system interface. Selecting his available Enhancement Point, he targeted Aria's profile.

[System Notice: You have used 1 Enhancement Point to enhance unit [Aria] -> Trait Acquired: Basic Heat Resistance.]

A soft, cool blue aura washed over Aria's tiny body. She blinked, her dramatic flailing instantly halting as she patted her hands over her arms and shoulders. The stifling, ambient heat radiated from outside suddenly felt harmless, dropping to a comfortable breeze.

"Wait... huh?" Aria blinked her large azure eyes, hovering in place for a second before turning to glare suspiciously at Jack. "What did you just do to me?!"

"I enhanced your thermal resistance," Jack explained, raising an eyebrow with a dry smirk. "So, no more excuses. You're coming with me."

"Hmph! Well... I suppose if a divine creature like me isn't going to get cooked, I can accompany you," she huffed, puffing out her chest arrogantly as she zipped after him across the glowing sanctuary line.

The moment they ventured deep into the ash-choked terrain, Jack’s gamer instincts kicked into high gear. Behind a narrow fissure in the dark obsidian rock, a long, slithering silhouette hissed menacingly.

A blue system screen materialized above the creature's head:

[Volcanic Poison Snake]

Grade: Bronze

Level: 2

HP: 340

Attack: 40

Defense: 10

Skill: Magma Neurotoxin (Coats its fangs in burning venom to paralyze and slow enemies.)

Description: Specializes in speed and deadly venom. Among level 2 wild monsters, it is highly lethal, striking from narrow crevices and melting through basic defenses in seconds!

"Alright, Aria, stick right behind me," Jack whispered, his hand tightening around the hilt of his +1 sword. "Keep attacking with your water magic from a distance to distract it."

"Got it! Leave it to me!" Aria chimed, nodding eagerly.

With a sudden, explosive burst of speed, Jack blitzed forward. But the serpent was unnaturally fast. Spotting the intruder, it coiled and launched itself like a molten arrow straight at Jack’s throat, its fangs dripping with glowing, sizzling venom.

Before the fangs could tear into his flesh, a compact sphere of condensed water smashed directly into the snake's face out of nowhere.

BANG!

The sudden impact sizzled against the serpent's scorching scales, leaving it momentarily stunned in mid-air.

Taking full advantage of the tiny opening, Jack swung his blade in a vicious arc!

SLASH!

[System Notice: The special Deadly Corrosion Poison effect has been activated!]

Without waiting for the beast to recover, Jack snatched Aria out of the air, spun on his heel, and sprinted backward to put a safe distance between them and the thrashing creature.

"Did it work?!" Aria asked, floating right next to his shoulder with an eager grin as they watched the serpent writhe frantically across the hot ash. "Did the poison trigger?!"

"It sure did," Jack replied, a confident grin spreading across his face.

[-100]

[-100]

[-100]

Within four seconds, the purple corrosion dissolved the snake's magma-infused veins. The creature gave one final violent shudder before collapsing lifelessly onto the burning rock.

[Congratulations! You have killed a Level 2 Volcanic Poison Snake. You gained 1 Enhancement Point and 60 EXP.]

[Congratulations! Your Familiar Aria received 30 EXP and leveled up to Level 1!]

"Whoa...!" Aria gasped, buzzing around in energetic circles as a gentle light enveloped her body. "I feel... somehow stronger!"

"Yeah, the log says you leveled up," Jack said, glancing at the prompt in surprise before frowning slightly. "Wait... familiar? What does it mean that you're my familiar?"

"Huh? I don't know!" Aria paused mid-air, hands on her hips as she puffed her cheeks out. "Hurry up and show me my status window!"

Jack tapped the interface, pulling up her fresh stats:

[Name: Aria]

[Age: 25 years old]

[Race: Earthling Fairy]

[Level: 1 (0 / 100 EXP)]

[Class: Water Mage]

[HP: 35 / 35]

[MP: 500 / 500]

"Wow, Aria... your HP went up from 15 to 35, and your MP jumped from 350 to 500!" Jack noted, genuinely impressed by the scaling.

"REALLY?!" Aria shouted excitedly, her eyes sparkling like gems. "Let's go kill more monsters! Aria wants to become even stronger!"

"Hold on, let me test my new ability first," Jack said, stepping over to the dead snake's carcass. He extended his palm toward the corpse.

"Rise!"

[System Prompt: Summoning attempt 1/1 failed. Target carcass cannot be re-summoned.]

"Tch... again? That's the second time it failed," Jack muttered, rubbing his chin in thought. He didn't hesitate. Accessing his system menu, he selected his newly earned Enhancement Point. 'System, enhance my class talent.'

[Enhancement Successful!]

[Trait Acquired: Lord of the Dead]

[Passive Effect: Summoning success rate is now 100% on any carcass up to Level 3. Summoning no longer consumes your physical mana pool; instead, the spell draws energy directly from the ambient heat of the volcanic server.]

[Active Effect: The user can trigger an undead unit to self-destruct, dealing 500 area-of-effect damage within a 10-meter radius.]

[ Name: Jack Mercer ]

[ Race: Earthling Human ]

[ Level: 1 (90/100 exp) ]

[ Class: Lord of the Dead +1]

[ HP: 100 / 100 ]

[ MP: 50 / 5 ]

STR: 4

AGI: 3

SPI: 5

PHY: 5

[ Talents & Passives ]

SSS-Rank Hidden Talent: Infinite Enhancement

Current Enhancement Points: 0

Passive Trait: Heat Tolerance +1 (Permanently makes temperatures up to 60°C feel like a comfortable 30°C)

[ Equipped Gear ]

Weapon: Rusty Iron Sword +1 (Grade: Trash | Attack +30 | Special Effect: 50% chance to inflict Deadly Corrosion Poison dealing 100 HP/second for 10 seconds)

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