Izoke entered the tent and saw Sumiko holding a blanket wrapped tightly around her with her hands. She was tightly bundled up and she was grinding her teeth.

“Sumiko…” Izoke called out politely.

Sumiko turned toward him, “Ah, Izoke you came back! Are you okay? I heard screaming voices and beast howls. Are you hurt anywhere?” She says by holding his arm by throwing away the blanket.

“I am okay. Don’t be scared, I promised that I will protect you with my life and I will keep that promise…” Izoke replied giving her a reassuring hug to make her feel safer, “Now, you can sleep. I will be guarding outside the tent.” Standing up he then exited the tent.

Sumiko smiled warmly with her rosy lips giving him a goodnight wave with her hand. It was a while before Izoke heard the sounds of her light effeminate snoring. He chuckled slightly as he knew she would be so embarrassed to find out she snored at all. Izoke, However, found it cute.

Izoke went to another tent checking if there was anything useful. He scanned the interior with his eyes thoroughly but there was nothing other than some rotten pig meat. He started walking around near the tent to see if there were any wolf remains left. Izoke saw a glimmer out of the corner of his eye. Closer inspection revealed the object was a crystal of some kind that was round in shape and glowing orange on the ground. It was near one of the places where he had killed a wolf. That one wolf, in particular, was way larger than the others had been. Picking up the glowing stone Izoke examined it intensely. As usual, some text popped up above the crystal for Izoke to read.

*Wolf Alpha core: Core of the wolf leader which can help to boost player level rapidly. Use it on your own risk.*

‘Wolf Alpha core, I guess a wolf was leading the other ones. It can help to boost my level, that’s cool but there is also a risk. What should I do?’ Izoke thought while looking at the glowing core as he playfully rolled it around in his fingers. Izoke found the meaningless task soothing for some reason. He pressed the core between his forefinger and thumb with his right hand and suddenly a screen popped up.

‘I should try it out since It will not kill me. What's the worst that could happen?’ Izoke thought with a contemplating expression on his face. He was placing his forefinger and thumb on his chin and took a deep breath before internally saying, ‘YES’.

The core suddenly burst with a flashed of bight orange turning into a gaseous state before pouring into Izoke's body through his eyes, nose, and mouth. It was like he was sucking all those rays or fumes like a vacuum cleaner. He couldn't be sure what they were but they glowed brightly. Izoke didn't know any science but "light" is technically also a particle that can act in ways that resemble a gas to the human eye. At least, it can look that way when used in a magical nature. Whatever it was doing to Izoke it stopped after all the orange glow was consumed. Izoke dropped the core which was now black. He fell to the ground on his side with one hand and leg under him like how a four-legged animal sleeps...

“Arghhhhh”

He rolled on the ground thrashing in pain. After a while, the pain stopped and he passed out there.

...

“Izoke Izoke Izokeeee!” Sumiko shouted pressing down on him with her hands as she tried to shake him awake. He was lying on the ground near the campfire and it was already morning.

Hearing Sumiko's voice, he slowly sat up from where he had been asleep on the ground and opened his eyes slowly.

*GASP!*

“What is wrong with your eyes?” Sumiko said aloud worriedly.

“What are you talking about?” He replied drowsily while rubbing his eyes.

“See for yourself. I can’t explain it.” Sumiko said with a shocked expression while shaking her head side to side. She walked off saying she needed to make a nature call.

‘What is she saying?’ he thought and got up. His back was aching a lot. A notification popped up…

"What the F**k!" Izoke suddenly shouted. It was unexpected that his level has been doubled just by consuming the core of the wolf leader. It was a game strategy made by the developers for pay to win players. Those who were rich did not need money so they could use the cores to level faster than others. Izoke didn’t know that if he would have sold that core then, he would get a large number of gold coins. Enough in fact, that he could have bought a castle in the game. Monsters with leader statuses were hard to find and even harder to take down. They were smart and strategic, so when things weren't in their favor they would normally flee. That's were Izokes Demonic sword came into play. Its curse effect made enemies so hostile toward him that they lost some of their reasoning. Then there's the matter with it being a low drop rate. Izoke had killed several beasts with leader status before and had never gotten a core from it.

Izoke was pretty happy with his gains until he remembered what Sumiko was saying about his eyes. So, he went to a little pond nearby with clear water. Standing above the pond he look in his new appearance that was reflected in the ponds water.