Darell slowly stirred on his bed as the faint chirping of birds outside his window gradually roused him from his deep sleep.

 

With a deep yawn and stretch, he cracked open his eyes, squinting against the bright rays of early morning sunlight that streamed into his room.

 

Gazing around the room, he couldn't help but groan inwardly at the unwelcome intrusion of the sun's warmth into his room.

 

"Ugh...", he muttered to himself, rubbing his eyes and dragging himself out of bed.

 

"Too much sunlight", he grumbled as he began to prepare himself for the day ahead.

 

While walking towards the bathroom, he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was different.

 

Upon opening the door and stepping in front of the mirror, he was shocked.

 

"What the hell?", he exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief as he looked at his reflection, "Did the system enhance my looks?"

 

Gone were his once-dark locks, replaced by an almost unreal shade of black that flowed effortlessly down to his shoulders. His azure eyes had taken on a golden hue, making them seem almost otherworldly.

 

But that wasn't all. When he looked at the rest of his body, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

 

His muscles had become more defined and chiseled, as if they had been sculpted to perfection. His once-lean frame had filled out, giving him a more imposing presence. Even his height had increased by a few inches, now towering at an impressive 1.85 meters.

 

"DAMN!", he exclaimed, flexing his newly acquired muscles and grinning inwardly.

 

He couldn't wait to see what else the system had in store for him.

 

After a refreshing morning bath and a change of clothes, he wasted no time in getting ready for his first-ever quest.

 

With a quick glance at the clock on the wall, he noticed that it was only 6 in the morning, giving him plenty of time to complete his mission in secret.

 

'I can finish the quest quietly without anybody knowing about it.', he thought while grinning inwardly.

 

He knew that he had to be careful if he wanted to avoid raising any suspicion on being absent from the mansion by either of his parents...especially his mother. But, that's a story for another time.

 

He quietly opened the door of his room and peeked outside. Finding nobody around, he quickly slipped out and closed the door behind him without making a sound.

 

He ran out of the courtyard and into the garden outside of the mansion.

 

His heart was pounding in his chest. He felt thrilled since he had never done something like this, especially not due to a quest given by a system to him.

 

He stopped and hid among the bushes and peeked at the gates.

 

Sneaking past the guards posted at the gate, he quickly made his way to one of the carriages parked outside the mansion.

 

He opened the door and slipped inside, careful not to make a sound that might alert anyone to his presence.

 

Sometime later, he felt the carriage begin moving and he settled inside.

 

The carriage made its way towards the town of Xena. After what seemed like an eternity, it finally came to a stop, and he quickly hopped out.

 

He took out a mask, concealing his identity from prying eyes since he knew that somebody among the crowd might recognize him and he might be found out.

 

With the mask securely in place, he made his way towards the only guild in town, ThunderThorn.

 

The guild was renowned throughout the town for its platinum-ranked adventurer, who was also its guild master.

 

In the kingdom of Gavaria, adventurers came from all walks of life, but they were mostly from common families. It was a rare sight to see a noble family produce an adventurer.

 

Despite their humble origins, adventurers were highly respected and held in high esteem by the people.

 

Adventurers were ranked based on their skill and experience, with the highest tiers being the most powerful.

 

The ranking system consisted of Metal, Iron, Copper, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Red Diamond, Pink Diamond, and Blue Diamond, with Metal being the lowest and Blue Diamond being the highest.

 

In the entire kingdom, there was only one Blue Diamond adventurer, and he happened to be the King's brother. This made him one of the most powerful and influential individuals in the land.

 

To be in the same league as the King's brother was an achievement that only a few adventurers could boast of, and Darell was determined to prove himself worthy of such a lofty position.

 

Darell entered the guild hall which was filled with adventurers of all shapes and sizes, each one boasting impressive skills and experience. He knew that he had to be careful if he wanted to avoid drawing unwanted attention to himself.

 

He made his way towards the receptionist, a beautiful woman with a warm smile and a welcoming demeanor. Despite the slight wrinkles on her face, she exuded a youthful energy that seemed to attract people to her.

 

The receptionist's curious gaze lingered on Darell as he approached, taking in his masked appearance from top to bottom. Darell could sense her scrutiny but remained silent, knowing that it was best to maintain his anonymity for as long as possible.

 

The receptionist greeted Darell respectfully, "Good Morning! Welcome to the ThunderThorn Guild! Where Talent Is Appreciated! I'm Salvia! How may I help you?"

 

Darell cleared his throat and spoke in a hoarse voice, "I want to register as an adventurer."

 

Salvia nodded and immediately pulled out a form and a crystal ball from underneath the desk.

 

Darell took the form and heard Salvia asking him, "Do you want to keep your ability hidden?"

 

Seeing Darell nod, Salvia pointed at a particular line on the form which she repeated to him, "Rule 34.5A states that if an adventurer wants to keep their ability hidden, they have to pay a small sum of 30 silver coins per month to the guild. Failure of payment would result in the guild throwing them out and disclosing their private details to the public."

 

Darell nodded and took out a bag of coins which he handed to Salvia who nodded and accepted it.

 

He filled out the form and paid the required amount to Salvia for registration as an adventurer.

 

Salvia took his form and quickly glanced at it. When she found that everything had been filled correctly, she took two stamps from underneath the desk and proceeded to stamp the form, one for registration as a ThunderThorn Guild adventurer and the other for an adventurer who has kept their ability hidden.

 

Salvia put the form underneath her desk and took out the ThunderThorn Guild token which had a purple thorn-shaped lightning insignia carved onto it.

 

She smiled while giving him the token and said, "Congratulations for becoming an adventurer at ThunderThorn Guild! This is your token as a Metal-ranked adventurer."

 

Darell smiled underneath his mask and thought, 'My first step in becoming a legendary figure.'

 

He thanked her and turned to explore the guild hall.

 

After thoroughly exploring the guild hall, he stepped out of the building and began his search for a carriage headed towards the forest of Fyn.

 

He scanned the area until he spotted one and stealthily boarded it, concealing himself from the other passengers when they weren't paying attention.

 

As the carriage traveled for hours, he remained hidden until he peeked outside the window and realised that he had finally arrived at the edge of the forest. Without any hesitation, he jumped out of the moving carriage and dashed towards the outer area of the forest.

 

The first thing he noticed when he entered the forest was the thick vegetation all around him. He could smell the fragrant flowers in the forest and he could hear birds chirping in the distance.

 

While looking around, he remembered an important fact about the forest of Fyn.

 

The forest was divided into three areas based on the ranking of the beasts inhabiting them.

 

The outer area of the forest, where he was now, was inhabited by beasts that were ranked between 01 and 04.

 

The beasts in this area were relatively weaker compared to those in the inner area in which beasts ranked between rank 05 and rank 07 lived or core area which was inhabited by beasts of ranks 08 to rank 10.

 

But he didn't let the fact that he was in the 'newbie adventurer' area of the forest or the fact that the beasts in this area were the easiest to kill let it go to his head. He remained alert, constantly scanning his surroundings and listening for any unusual sounds.

 

After searching for several minutes, he stumbled upon a bear that was devouring another dead beasts. Seizing the opportunity, he charged towards the bear in an attempt to surprise it with a punch to the back of its head.

 

* WHAM *

 

However, it wasn't any ordinary bear which was clear from the fact that after his punch landed on the bear, it didn't even flinch. Instead, it turned it's head around and growled at him as if it was annoyed by that an ant had disturbed it while eating it's meal.

 

Darell quickly jumped back and glanced at his bruised hands in frustration and thought, 'There goes my opportunity - a surprise attack!'

 

He looked at the bear which had turned around while it's skin radiated a light brown glow which covered it's entire body with a layer of rock-like protrusions after the glow subsided.

 

His eyes widened as he realized what kind of bear it was which made him curse, 'Fuck! I am so fucked! This is a fucking Rank 01 RockBear! I can't fight this giant rock-covered beast with my bare hands! How do I complete the quest now?'

 

Consumed by his thoughts, he failed to see the bear running toward him. When he did, it was too late.

 

He had no time to dodge, so he raised his hands as he desperately tried to defend himself.

 

The bear attacked him and it's sharp claws tore through the flesh on his hands like a knife cuts through butter, causing him to cry out in pain, "Ahh!"

 

The bear swiped the claws of it's other arm at him. At the same time, he tried to jump back.

 

However, the bear's arm still managed to hit him and he was violently thrown in the air.

 

He saw the world moving around him for a few seconds until he crashed heavily onto a tree.

 

* BOOM *

 

He coughed up blood and he tried to stand up, but his legs gave out and he stumbled to the ground.

 

However, he gritted his teeth and using the trunk of a nearby tree, he managed to stand up. He wiped the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

 

'This bear... its strength has increased. I should have killed it before it transformed. Now, it would be extremely difficult to penetrate its flesh due to the rocks covering his skin. What do I do now? Come on! Think! How do I complete the quest? Think! Think!....

 

Wait! The system only said not to use any weapons, right? But...it didn't mention anything about traps, did it?,' he smiled inwardly and quickly came up with a plan.

 

He looked up and saw the bear's claw coming straight at him. But, this time, he successfully dodged it by jumping away.

 

He quickly got up and ran toward a hunting ground where him and his father along with a few other individuals frequently visited during his childhood. The terrain as well as the surroundings in that area gave him an advantage.

 

He glanced back only to find the RockBear hot on his heels.

 

He cursed loudly, "If you want to follow me, then follow me all the way, bitch!!"

 

He heard the bear growl at him in response and sprinted as fast as he could.

 

When he reached the location, he stopped, turned around to face the bear and a devious smirk on his face, taunted it to attack him.

 

The bear growled and pounced at him but...it was too late. It was too enraged to see that it had been lured into his trap.

 

* BOOM *

 

The bear was sent flying to the side by a massive log of wood that had been strategically placed as a trap.

 

A few seconds later, he walked over to the spot where the bear had landed.

 

He saw the previously fearsome body of the bear had turned into a mangled mess. The bear saw him and whimpered pitifully as it tried to get up.

 

He stood over the bear and pressed his boot over it's face and shouted, "How does it feel to be weak? This is natural selection, you pathetic beast! When you had the strength, you relentlessly chased me but now you don't. So, accept your miserable fate."

 

* WHAM *

 

* WHAM *

 

* WHAM *

 

He delivered blow after blow to the bear's already battered face until it stopped breathing.

 

Finally, he stopped and looked at the bear's broken teeth and crushed skull protruding grotesquely.

 

He was exhausted and panting heavily but the victory vanished it away and he shouted excitedly, "Yes! I've done it!"

 

At the same time, he received a notification from the system.

 

 

 

 

He couldn't help but grin with satisfaction at his progress.

 

The reward of 10 XP was a small victory, but it was still a step forward in his journey.

 

Then, he focused on the bear's body and tore it open as he searched it's remains for a valuable trophy.

 

He saw a light-brown glowing orb located beside it's heart and he quickly tore it away .

 

He brought the orb close to his face and felt the mana coursing through his fingers.

 

Smiling brightly at his hard-earned trophy, he tried to absorb it when suddenly, a message from the system interrupted him.

 

 

He was disappointed after reading the system's message and realizing that the rank 01 RockBear core was of no use to him.

 

But, despite this, he decide to keep the orb as a token of his hard-earned victory.

 

He received another notification from the system.

 

 

 

 

His confidence had grown after killing the rank 01 RockBear and with a smile on his face, he set out to find more rank 01 beasts to kill.

 

He wandered in the forest as his eyes scanned the surrounding area, searching for any signs of movement or activity.

 

Suddenly, he spotted a group of beasts in the distance and he knew that he had found his next target.

 

He quietly approached the group of beasts and when he felt that time was right, he launched his attack.

 

After a long and grueling battle, he emerged victorious.

 

Breathing heavily, he wiped the sweat from his brow and was about to move on when he heard a familiar sound.

 

It was a notification from the system, letting him know that he had completed another quest.

 

 

 

 

 

His heart leaped with joy and he exclaimed, "Yes!"

 

As soon as he said, "Yes!", he felt a stinging pain throughout his body and he immediately realised that the system was changing him while leveling up.

 

The pain, however, lasted only for a few seconds and disappeared.

 

He clenched his fists after experiencing his first 'level up', and thought, 'Let's see how my status looks now.'

 

 

A smile spread across his face when he looked at his status.

 

It seemed that his stats had doubled.

 

Eager to test out his newfound strength, he closed his status and set out to hunt down another rank 01 beast.

 

But as he was about to take his first step, a notification from the system caught his attention.

 

 

 

 

He couldn't control his excitement when he looked at the reward offered after completing the quest.

 

A special skill?!

 

He knew that this was an opportunity that he could not afford to miss.

 

'What are these system points?', he asked the system.

 

 

His eyes widened in amazement as he read the notification about the system points.

 

"So, I can unlock special skills without completing any quest?", he muttered to himself in excitement.

 

A wide grin spread across his face as he quickly made his way towards the hunting grounds to search for the beasts.

 

After hours of relentless fighting, he collapsed on the ground, gasping for air.

 

His hands were battered and bruised, and his face was a mess of scratches and scars.

 

But despite the pain, he felt a newfound strength coursing through his body. He lay there for a few moments, catching his breath, before finally rising to his feet with a triumphant shout of "Yes!"

 

 

 

 

 

The sound of the notification echoed through his mind.

 

His hard work had paid off as he completed the third quest and gained a full amount of XP.

 

 

 

 

The message displayed that he had reached Level 05 and unlocked a special skill, "Inspect."

 

Darell's eyes widened as he read the skill's description, realizing its immense potential.

 

With this ability, he could now see the stats of anyone he wanted.

 

Darell closed his eyes and whispered, "Stats."

 

Suddenly, a notification sound chimed in his head and he saw a list of numbers and words floating in front of him.

 

 

He proudly smiled as he looked at his new status.

 

Then, he glanced at the sky and realized that evening was fast approaching, and it was time to call it a day.

 

With a swift hand gesture, Darell used his skill Space Arsenal and began to collect the beast cores he had collected from his kills, stashing them away in his inventory.

 

Then, he made his way out of the forest not before he stopped and took one last look around.

 

He smiled as he thought, 'Just this morning, I was so alert and scared when entering the forest. But now, I have truly become stronger. Now, I know why some of the characters in the novels kept grinding. This shit is addictive!'

 

He turned and walked towards the outermost edge of the forest.

 

Suddenly, he felt a strange sensation of healing.

 

When he looked at himself, to his surprise, most of his bruises and wounds had vanished, including the scar on his cheek.

 

'System, do I have any regeneration ability?', he asked.

 

 

'But why doesn't it show up on my skills tab?', he asked, confused.

 

 

He sighed in frustration.

 

It seemed like the system was always in a hurry, asking him to level up every time he had a question.

 

Nonetheless, he was happy that he had a regeneration ability, albeit passive.

 

This important information would help him immensely during a fight with stronger beasts as he wouldn't have to be extremely careful not to let the beasts' attack hit him.

 

Since the time for return was slipping away, he hurriedly made his way out of the forest, his mind preoccupied with thoughts of the new skills and abilities he had acquired.

 

He scanned the surrounding area, looking for a suitable way to make his escape unnoticed.

 

His eyes locked onto a nearby carriage, and without hesitation, he made a dash for it. He waited for the perfect moment to jump into the carriage when the driver wasn't looking.

 

Once he was inside, hid behind a stack of crates, hoping not to be noticed.