Cyrus's eyes gradually fluttered open, and he blinked still lying on his belly. With a slow, deliberate effort, he pushed himself up and leaned against the cool stone wall of the cave, a slight dizziness lingering in his mind.
"That was dangerous," Cyrus muttered to himself, exhaling weakly. "I guess I've learned something new: knowing the limits of my skills can help me avoid unnecessary risks. I won't always be lucky. The beast might make one final desperate move or something unexpected could happen when I'm at my weakest."
'My body should have accumulated little Etherion to extract things.'
Peeking outside, Cyrus noticed it was the early hours of the morning.
"A few more days to go!"
Cyrus summoned the dead crab from his spatial ring, its large body filling the cave. The creature appeared untouched, preserved perfectly by the ring's ability to shield items from impurities.
His sword was still lodged in one of the crab's eyes. Cyrus stood up and yanked it free, green blood splattering across the cave floor. Using the sword, he pried open the beast's skull and extracted a spherical, fist-sized core that resembled a black rock.
To prevent the blood from attracting other beasts, Cyrus returned the crab to his spatial ring. He then activated his [Extract] skill on the core.
A wave of comfort washed over Cyrus as the core quickly shrank, its energy flowing into his body. The aches in his muscles, the strain in his joints, and the pounding in his head gradually faded away. He closed his eyes, savoring the sensation.
The intensity of this comfort was always profound when absorbing a beast core for the first time. He might be the only one to have experienced it twice.
As the core finished its transfer while turning to dust, the weariness drained from his body, and his eyes sharpened beneath his mask.
[+5 Etherion absorbed!]
A pop-up appeared in his vision, and he dismissed it.
'Now, let's see the time limitation of my skill [Chained Lock]. Testing the [Nullfire] is not ideal because I don't know what might happen… the skill appeared in my Power Module without me knowing the source… and is scaring me. Any blessing received without asking might be a curse. Testing it in the wild is a no-no. Let's just work on [Chained Lock].'
Cyrus unstrapped his dagger from his waist and tossed it into the air. As he watched it fall, he raised his hand and activated [Chained Lock].
The thread shot from his palm, running through the dagger, and it froze it midair as if held by an invisible hand. He began counting.
"1… 2… 3…"
Cyrus kept track of the time as the black thread grew fainter with each passing second.
Exactly ten seconds later, the black thread vanished, and the dagger clattered to the ground.
He felt a bit lightheaded after using the skill, but not enough to cripple his fighting ability. Determined, he tossed the dagger again and locked it in place. Ten seconds passed, and it fell to the floor once more.
For the third attempt, he threw the dagger into the air and locked it. But this time, it held only for three seconds before a sharp throb pulsed through his head. The thread was glitching, flickering like a faulty connection.
He quickly released the skill, knowing he could push it for a few more seconds, but at the cost of fainting afterward.
"Ten, ten, three… not bad," Cyrus whispered, his face a bit pale beneath his mask.
A silent gasp escaped his lips.
He took a moment to rest before extracting some dry jerky to eat. After having his fill, he relaxed, his gaze fixed on the entrance of the cave as he waited for his Etherion to recover.
'Should I hunt during the day? Hunting only at night wouldn't fill my Etherion easily as the population of soldier armored crabs would dwindle. Worse, they will notice me and I'll have to run for my life. Sigh! Being a Peak-tier talent is a pain as my Etherion reserve is more robust than other people. Fucking 1000! How did that log-headed sister of mine fill it quickly? I bet the academy provided enough beast cores when she displayed her potential!'
His face morphed into a deep scowl at this point. Even the anger can be felt in his exposed eyes.
'Only for her to reach the Archon rank and they began sending her on deadly missions.'
Remembering the day his sister returned, gravely injured, his heart burned with fury.
'Thank goodness she can be log-headed and inflexible at times, so they can't push her to do dirty jobs.'
'I need to go hunt and fill my Etherion! I can't wait for the night. I'm no longer in my comfort zone where it doesn't matter if my Etherion reserve remains empty or filled. I need to be proactive, or only heaven knows the kind of perverted Eminent trial I am going to face. But first, I will need to increase my Etherion reserve to improve my physique. Even this crab, despite its low agility, nearly overwhelmed me with its speed, and that's not even its strong suit.'
Once he felt fully recovered, Cyrus was tempted to explore the Awakened Valley.
However, he knew there was little to see beyond others hunting successfully, or dying in the maw of beasts. He had been here before and was already familiar with the landscape. The only reason he checked the map was to verify if any new packs of beasts had emerged or if there were changes in the terrain. He decided to wait until darkness fell before venturing out.
***
Hiding in a high crack, Cyrus waited patiently until a soldier armored crab drew near. He threw a rock, letting it roll down the mountainside.
The noise attracted the armored crab, which rushed toward the source, pincers clacking menacingly.
Once Cyrus noticed the creature was positioned in the blind spot, he initiated his hunt. His eyes locked onto the crab as he stretched his free hand and activated [Chained Lock], freezing it in place.
He dove downward, thrusting his sword expertly into the gap of its carapace, driving it deep until it met resistance. He pulled it out and stabbed one of its eyes. The crab struggled against the lock, its body vibrating on the spot. That made the incorporeal black thread flicker but it remained. Fear glimmered in its remaining uninjured, tiny eyes.
Cyrus repeated the attack, watching as the light in its eye dimmed until it faded completely, though its only eye remained open. He immediately leaped off the creature at the sixth second, just as he noticed the crab breaking free from the lock.
He quickly stowed the armored crab in his spacious spatial ring, having discarded the previous one. Without hesitation, he bolted away into the distance.
He pondered while fleeing into the distance, under the cover of the night, 'The [Chained Lock] only lasted for seven seconds. Does that mean that the bigger the object, the lesser the duration? Or is it that the more powerful the being, the lesser the duration? Maybe it has to do with resistance. Sigh! This was supposed to be the job of sister Power Module, but well, she holds too many grudges. I will have to do it myself.'
Once Cyrus reached a large crevice he had designated for butchering, he unloaded the crab and, with practiced precision, used his dagger to cut open its skull and extract the core. He absorbed it on the spot.
[+4 Etherion absorbed!]
After stowing the body in his ring, he moved in the opposite direction, carefully avoiding wandering beasts, and disposed of it before returning.
That was how he spent his night—swift hunting, sharp escapes, neat extractions, and careful disposal in various locations to prevent the dead bodies from attracting other beasts once he left. Even if they attract other beasts, it wouldn't be in his path.
By dawn, he had successfully hunted thirty armored crabs. As he prepared to go after the thirty-first, a golden armored crab in the center of the large cave suddenly shrieked in a high-pitched voice.
All the soldier armored crabs quickly converged around it. Cyrus peered at the strange scene from his hiding spot in the crack.
'For others to be respectful, it must be special. Maybe because it guards the king or queen in the middle? Or they must be powerful even among the Awakened. Thank goodness my physique is not the same as when I had no Etherion.'
Cyrus decided not to push his luck as he dropped down and fled to his temporary residence. He knew the rule of surviving going solo — decisiveness and minimal greed.