"Chitter-chatter..."
A "skeleton rat" the size of a large orange cat charged swiftly toward Tack, its bones rattling as it hurtled through the darkness.
The creature's speed was impressive, but still slower than the bullets fired from Tack's weapon.
With a quick flick of his wrist, Tack aimed and fired.
"Bang!"
The skull of the skeleton rat shattered into a thousand pieces with a single shot.
The sound of the gunshot echoed through the bone-laden passageway, and for a brief moment, the skittering noises from the depths faltered. But soon, they were replaced by a cacophony of chittering, as the rats swarmed forth like a rising tide.
"Damn it!"
Realizing he'd disturbed a rat's nest, Tack grabbed the lantern and began to retreat swiftly.
As he backed away, he extended thorny vines from the walls, one after another, weaving a barrier that would slow the rats' advance.
Soon, the sounds of the thorn vines lashing and the cracking of bones filled the air, while the enraged chittering of the skeleton rats grew louder.
These skeleton rats, all ranging from level 1 to level 3, were no match for the vicious efficiency of Tack's S-class **Precision**-enhanced thorn vines, which tore through them one by one—or sometimes in clusters.
The vines on the walls, meanwhile, were largely impervious to the threat of the rats, as they didn't seem to be able to harm the wall-bound thorns.
It was an easy victory—no risk, no harm.
This was why Tack had dared to venture deeper into these tunnels.
After releasing a dozen or so thorn vines, the chittering subsided, no longer creeping toward him.
"Three bottles of source energy down, but it's not bad. I've managed to halt the advance of the skeleton rats."
He took a moment to sense his source energy, then tucked the remaining vials of source energy potions back into his belt pouch.
Once the sounds of the rats faded entirely, Tack returned to the bone-filled passage.
As he had anticipated, the thorn vines on the walls had decimated the rats that had attempted to press forward.
The deeper he went, the more skeleton rat bones accumulated beneath the thorns.
"Chitter-chatter..."
A severely wounded skeleton rat, still clinging to life, peeked out from the pile of bones.
With a swift snap, the vine lashed out, pulverizing the rat's upper body before it could even react.
**"Precision** makes my spells align with trajectories and pathways, greatly enhancing both attack speed and accuracy."
"Bullets benefit most from it—it's almost like a perfect transformation."
"As for the thorn vines... they're effective, but they're more about brute force and efficiency."
"Shields and speed, on the other hand, aren't significantly enhanced by **Precision**."
"Oil bombs? They're useful but not game-changing."
"After all, this is an area-of-effect spell. It doesn't need pinpoint accuracy."
"From now on, I'll have to choose spells that can synergize perfectly with **Precision**."
While fighting, Tack also continued to experiment with how best to maximize the potential of his **Precision**.
With his precision-enhanced **bullet tendrils** and the thorn vines that could repel the rat horde, he was able to navigate the bone-filled tunnels that other supernatural beings dared not enter.
Tack moved with ease, like a shadow in the night.
An hour later, after consuming three vials of source energy and slaughtering countless skeleton rats, Tack finally found the right place.
This was a narrow passage, about a hundred meters long, with one end leading deeper into the bone-filled tunnel.
At the other end was a massive well shaft, roughly three meters in diameter, descending into the depths of the earth.
With **Precision**, Tack could sense the faint current of air rising from the shaft's depths, indicating that this was a way out.
If anything went wrong, Tack could easily "jump into the well to escape."
After setting up a source energy barrier and placing a charm to ward off the skeleton rats, he finally completed his makeshift hideout in the tunnel.
"This is far better than the wilderness," he thought. "Compared to those giant, blood-sucking mosquitoes and the terrifying, shrieking wasps of the wilderness, these skeleton rats are practically well-behaved."
He cleaned a small area near the well shaft and sat in silence for a moment.
A golden orb of light appeared in his mind's eye.
This was the **Sorcerer's Seed**—the manifestation of his sorcerer sequence.
As an "Apprentice Sorcerer," his sequence was represented by this seed.
Once he nourished it with sequence potions, the seed would take root and sprout.
Thus, a true sorcerer would be born.
The **Sorcerer's Tree** was the heart of a sorcerer's power.
Supernatural talents, sorcerous abilities, and arcane magic all revolved around the **Sorcerer's Tree**.
Each sorcerer's **Sorcerer's Tree** formed a small, but perfectly structured "supernatural sequence ecosystem."
Though Tack had not yet used any sequence potions to nurture his Sorcerer's Seed, something had already changed.
The golden hue of his seed, once faint, now gleamed brightly.
And the magical abilities and sorcerer powers that had once seemed scattered and chaotic now exhibited a pattern, as if the uncharted ecosystem within the seed was slowly coming to life.
This extraordinary transformation could only be explained by his S-class **Precision**.
"The workings of the world's flow and trajectory are perfect, flawless," Tack mused. "I simply hadn't perceived them before."
"Now, with **Precision**, I've gained insight into the world's rhythms. My sequence ecosystem has naturally shifted."
"The power of this S-class talent is truly terrifying."
"It'll take two more days to gather enough fragments for my **Precision** to evolve into SS-level."
"For now, I'll focus on cultivating my Sorcerer's Seed."
Although Tack could use the system to directly level up, critical advancements weren't as simple as adding points.
The delicate understanding and control of the Sorcerer's Seed required time to nurture.
...
Meanwhile, deep in the bone cave, amidst the thick source energy and scattered skeletons, a massive silver skeleton lay dormant.
Suddenly, the faint green soul flame within its eyes flickered, growing brighter, and soon, it covered the entire pupil.
The silver skeleton stirred, slowly rising to its feet.
It glanced around, sensing something was wrong with the flow of source energy in the vicinity.
Lacking much intelligence, the silver skeleton instinctively began to carry out its master's orders.
It reached into the pile of bones beside it, retrieving a gleaming, sharp bone knife.
Then, with slow and measured steps, the silver skeleton began to explore the complex network of bone tunnels ahead...