By the time Daniel finally emerged from Greyback Forest, the skies above Flamedale had already begun turning orange beneath the setting sun.
Ten hours had passed since he first left the city.
His black clothes were stained with dirt and monster blood while faint traces of mana lingered around his body from continuous combat. Shadow rested calmly against his shoulder, still resembling nothing more than an ordinary black stick within its sheath.
The surrounding hunters near the city gates glanced toward him briefly before quickly looking away again. Most assumed he was simply another exhausted rookie hunter returning from the wilderness. None of them noticed the faint pressure hidden beneath Daniel's calm exterior.
Ten hours.
Fourteen Iron Fang Wolves.
Almost every corpse had been devoured completely by Devouring Paragon.
The efficiency was nowhere near what it had once been in his previous life, but the improvement was still monstrous by mortal standards.
Daniel silently observed the status window floating before him.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Name: Daniel Williams
Race: Human (?)
Rank: Novice Rank – Fourth Stage (93%)
Class: EX Rank - Ultima
Title(s): [Restricted]
Talent(s): EX Rank - Devouring Paragon (Restricted), EX Rank - Time Paragon (Restricted), EX Rank - Space Paragon (Restricted)
Skill(s): Monarch Rank - Space Manipulation(Restricted), Monarch Rank - Time Manipulation(Restricted), Monarch Rank - Endless Devour(Restricted)
Physique: [Restricted]
Bloodline(s): [Restricted
Soul(s): [Restricted]
Authority: [Restricted]
Laws Comprehended: [Restricted]
Existence Tier: ERROR
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Several sections flickered repeatedly as though the Ascension System itself was struggling to maintain stability. The window had only appeared several hours earlier after Daniel advanced into the Fourth Stage of Novice Rank.
Unlike ordinary awakened who received their status windows immediately after awakening,
Daniel's had remained dormant. His existence itself was simply too abnormal for the System to process properly at first.
Daniel still remembered the moment it activated.
[Ascension System successfully synchronized.]
[Requirements met.]
[Status Window unlocked.]
Then immediately afterward—
[ERROR.]
[ERROR.]
[Unable to quantify existence.]
[Attempting simplified status generation…]
Even now, the "Human (?)" section continued flickering uncertainly every few moments.
Daniel almost found it amusing.
The Ascension System was normally absolute. It could analyze bloodlines, physiques, talents, classes, and even future growth potential with terrifying precision. Yet in his case, nearly half the information remained inaccessible.
Not because it was hidden, but because the System itself lacked the authority to fully comprehend what he truly was.
Still, Daniel quickly dismissed the floating screen. 'Only Fourth Stage Novice Rank after ten hours…'
A faint dissatisfaction surfaced within him. His current body simply could not withstand aggressive usage of Devouring Paragon yet. Otherwise, his speed would have been dozens of times faster.
Still, the hunt itself had not been entirely unpleasant.
At one point, an Iron Fang Wolf had tried ambushing him from behind a bush only to immediately get stuck halfway because it was apparently too fat to fit through the gap it jumped through.
Daniel had stared at it silently for several seconds before killing it.
Another wolf had attempted to howl dramatically before slipping off a rock and smashing directly into a tree.
'The intelligence level of low-rank beasts truly remains questionable.' Daniel calmly walked through the city gates while suppressing the urge to sigh.
The outer district remained lively despite the approaching night. Mana lamps illuminated the streets while awakened hunters gathered near bars, restaurants, and the Hunter Association building after finishing their expeditions.
Eventually, Daniel entered the Hunter Association once more. Unlike yesterday, the building was now crowded almost entirely with awakened mercenaries and hunters.
Some discussed missions loudly, others sold monster materials near designated counters. The smell of blood, metal, alcohol, and mana filled the air constantly.
Daniel calmly walked toward one of the mission counters.
The female receptionist behind it looked up lazily at first before blinking slightly upon seeing his age.
"First hunt?" Daniel nodded once before placing a heavy bag onto the counter.
THUD.
The receptionist opened it casually, then her expression froze.
Inside the bag were fourteen pairs of Iron Fang Wolf fangs.
"…Fourteen?"
Several nearby hunters immediately turned toward the counter.
One man nearly choked on his drink, "That kid hunted fourteen wolves alone?"
Daniel ignored them completely.
The receptionist quickly recovered her composure before inspecting the materials carefully.
"All freshly extracted… minimal damage…" Her gaze toward Daniel changed slightly afterward, 'Even experienced hunters rarely returned with this many wolves in a single day unless operating in teams.'
Meanwhile, Daniel quietly calculated something in his head.
'Ten hours for fourteen wolves.' A faint dissatisfaction surfaced again, 'My efficiency dropped after the eighth one.'
Mostly because he spent almost an hour tracking one particularly annoying wolf that kept running every time it sensed danger. At one point, Daniel genuinely considered punching the creature to death instead of using Shadow.
The receptionist finished checking the materials shortly afterward.
"Mission reward totals twenty-eight hundred Credits."
A faint mechanical sound echoed from the terminal beside her.
DING.
"Transferred successfully."
Daniel nodded calmly.
Then the receptionist glanced toward the remaining monster materials attached to the bag.
"The fangs themselves can also be sold separately if you want."
Daniel paused briefly. "…Hm?"
"The mission only requires proof of elimination. The materials still belong to the hunter."
Daniel remained silent for a moment, then a rare thought surfaced within his mind, 'So I could have been selling the materials this entire time.'
For perhaps the first time since reincarnating, Daniel felt slightly annoyed at himself.
His ancient instincts still focused too heavily on cultivation and combat while completely ignoring mundane financial matters.
The receptionist continued politely.
"Fourteen Iron Fang Wolf fang sets… total market value should be around two hundred and eighty Credits."
Daniel immediately handed the materials over, "Sell them."
Several nearby hunters twitched slightly hearing how fast he answered. The receptionist processed the transaction quickly afterward.
DING.
"Transaction complete."
[Current Balance: 3080 Credits.]
Daniel silently looked at the number.
Three thousand Credits.
To ordinary civilians in the outer district, this was already a significant amount of money, enough for several months of comfortable living.
Yet Daniel merely frowned inwardly.
'Weapons are expensive. Cultivation resources are expensive. Armor is expensive. Everything in this era is expensive.' He suddenly understood why awakened constantly risked their lives hunting mana beasts. Power truly consumed wealth at terrifying speeds.
Still… Three thousand Credits was not bad for a single day.
Daniel quietly left the Hunter Association afterward and stepped back into the bustling night streets of Flamedale. Neon lights illuminated the outer district while distant hover vehicles crossed the skies above.
For a brief moment, Daniel simply walked silently through the crowd.
Then his gaze slowly lifted toward the distant towering structures of the inner city.
A faint glimmer surfaced within his dark eyes.
'Novice Rank is only the beginning. This city, This kingdom, Even this world itself… None of it will remain beyond my reach forever. But first—' Daniel glanced toward a nearby restaurant as the smell of grilled meat drifted through the street, '…I should probably eat actual food tonight.'