Oliver looked down at the ground and noticed four small stones. He bent down and picked them up, examining them closely.
'Well, these are just first rank monster cores,' he thought, slipping them into his pockets.
Although they weren't particularly valuable, they were still useful. Oliver then cautiously continued walking through the forest, aware that while he might be strong, he was still inexperienced in combat. He knew that if he wanted to survive and grow stronger, he needed to hone his fighting instincts through constant battle.
Determined to improve, Oliver headed in the direction from which the frogmen had attacked, hoping to find more of the same kind of monsters. As he walked slowly through the dense forest, his senses heightened, he began to see more frogmen in the distance.
Oliver paused, focusing on his surroundings. He started to control the sand around him.
Oliver had done some research about his powers during this time. He learned that sand was the most abundant solid substance in the planet.
During his research, he had learned that sand was everywhere—hidden even in places you wouldn't expect, like the cracks in a tree or scattered on the ground. There are more grains of sand in a tree, more than leaves in a trees. With this knowledge, he felt confident that he wouldn't run out of sand during a fight.
Using the sand as a cover, Oliver crept closer to the frogmen. This time, he decided to be sneaky. He carefully controlled the sand, creeping it towards the frogmen until it covered their heads completely.
Before they could react, he gripped their entire bodies with the sand, silencing them before they could alert any others.
Once the frogmen were dead, Oliver ignited the sand into blue flames, burning away the remains and saving only the monster cores. He continued this method, systematically hunting down every frogman he could find.
They were all first rank monsters, and none of them could put up any real resistance against his attacks.
----
As Oliver continued to kill frogmen and move deeper into the forest, he eventually came across their habitat. The frogmen lived around a large lake. Unlike ordinary frogs that could survive in small puddles, these frogmen were as big as half a human, so they needed a larger body of water to thrive.
'Hmm, how will I kill all of them?' Oliver wondered, observing the area.
He began counting the frogmen outside the lake—there were about 20 of them. He guessed there were more hiding inside the lake. So far, he had already killed 15 frogmen, but there were still many more to deal with.
'Looking at them, they're only first rank monsters,' he thought.
Even though second rank monsters were rare, they could be found deeper in the wilderness, where danger increased. He was about to control the sand and launch his attack when he suddenly noticed something strange.
Sensing that something was wrong, Oliver quickly turned his body into sand, attaching himself to a nearby tree and hiding from view.
'Power can be developed later, but hiding and running should be my first priority,' he reminded himself. Carefully, he scanned the area, trying to figure out what had alarmed the frogmen.
After a few moments, Oliver noticed the source of the disturbance—a group of enormous snakes had surrounded the area. As he looked closer, he recognized the species.
They were ringneck snakes, large creatures with distinctive yellow rings around their heads. It seemed the ringneck snakes had come to hunt the frogmen.
Oliver watched the unfolding scene with interest, deciding to stay hidden. He hoped to be the fisherman who catches the fish without getting wet—the one who benefits from the conflict without getting involved.
----
It felt like the ringneck snake came with only one purpose and that was the destruction of frogmen. Without any procrastination they directly attacked the frogmen.
The ringneck snakes were far superior to the frogmen, as they were natural predators. However, the frogmen were not defenseless.
In this world there is no such things as a weak species. Even ants can kill elephants. There was one particularly strong frogman stepped forward, launching a powerful kick with its hind leg that injured and even killed some of the snakes.
"Croak, croak!" The strong frogman croaked loudly, rallying its fellow frogmen. The other frogmen seemed to gain motivation from their leader's actions, fighting back with renewed vigor.
Oliver watched the battle closely, his eyes narrowing as he focused on the strong frogman.
'This one is different,' he thought. The frogman seemed stronger than the others, almost like a second rank monster but not quite. It was probably on the verge of breaking through to the next rank.
As Oliver was observing, a ringneck snake suddenly burst forward with incredible speed, catching the strong frogman off guard. The frogman was knocked to the ground, but it quickly regained its footing, jumping up instantly.
It glanced down at its bleeding stomach and then at the ringneck snake, its eyes wide with fear.
The other frogmen, seeing their leader wounded, began to panic.
'This snake is definitely a second rank monster,' Oliver concluded, watching as the ringneck snake continued its assault on the frogman.
The difference between a first rank and a second rank monster wasn't enormous, but it was significant. Second rank monsters could control spiritual energy, though only for a short time, allowing them to make their bodies stronger.
For humans in the second rank, this spiritual energy could be used to unleash the some of the true potential of their talents. However, the spiritual energy reserve in a second rank being wasn't vast, and they weren't very proficient in using it yet. With a bit of wisdom, luck, and strategy, it wasn't unheard of for a first rank to defeat a second rank opponent.
As the battle raged on, Oliver began to formulate a plan. He silently gathered all the sand from the surrounding area, focusing on the battleground between the frogmen and the ringneck snakes.
He would let them weaken each other, and then he would strike when the time was right, ensuring his victory with minimal effort.