As they continued deeper into the eastern woodlands, the sounds of combat grew more distant. The path narrowed, forcing the group into a tighter formation. Then, through the trees ahead, another group appeared, moving in the opposite direction, heading back toward the base.
Derek stopped immediately, his entire being changing.
His confidence evaporated, and he appeared tense. Marcus and the others in his group straightened, their eyes dropping to avoid direct contact.
The approaching group was impossible to miss.
There were five awakeners, all radiating a powerful aura. Their equipment was immaculate, clearly high-grade gear that must have cost a fortune.
But it was the man in the centre who drew the eye.
Red hair, vivid as fresh blood, fell to his shoulders. He wore long robes that matched his hair.
His expression was utterly aloof, his gaze fixed straight ahead, not even acknowledging that Derek's group or Moon's group existed.
Whether it was arrogance or not wasn't clear. But one thing was clear, their group didn't entice him, or make him feel threatened in anyway, as if they were too low to acknowledge.
His four companions moved around him, clearly accustomed to their roles. A shield-bearer walked slightly ahead. Two damage dealers flanked the sides. A support class brought up the rear. All of them looked formidable, but none of them carried the same presence as the red-haired man.
Derek and his group pressed to the side of the path, making room. None of them made eye contact. John and Elara seemed confused by the reaction but followed suit instinctively. Selene's expression only showed curiosity.
Whilst Moon's…was unreadable.
The group passed without slowing, without speaking, without acknowledging anyone's existence.
The red-haired man's eyes never moved from the path ahead, as if Derek's group and Moon's group were simply part of the landscape. His footsteps were silent despite his boots. The air around him felt warmer, charged with something that made Moon's skin prickle.
Then they were gone, disappearing into the forest behind them, heading back toward the base with whatever spoils they'd claimed from the deeper territories.
Derek released a breath he'd been holding. The tension in his shoulders eased slightly, though he still looked unsettled.
"Who were they?" Selene asked quietly.
Derek waited another few seconds, as if making sure the group was truly out of earshot, before answering. "Those were the Midnight Hunters. They entered the sanctuary at the same time as us, part of the same summoning batch."
"Same time as you?" John's eyebrows rose. "But they looked…"
"Like they're on a completely different level?" Derek finished. "Because they are. They've already reached level ten. They're hunting in the deep forest, areas where the beasts are level ten, eleven, maybe higher. Places where we wouldn't last a minute."
Marcus shook his head with something like awe. "A week. They've been here the same amount of time as us and they're level ten. We're barely level five."
"Did you see the one with the red hair?" Derek continued, his voice dropping further. "That's Kael Glassy. The sole inheritor of the Glassy Group."
John's eyes widened. "The Glassy Group? The same..?"
"The same one," Derek confirmed. "His father is one of the most powerful businessmen in the second sanctuary. Controls multiple bases, has trade routes across half the known territories, holds resources most people can't even imagine."
Iris added, "Word is he's powering through the levels like they're nothing. At this rate, he'll reach the second sanctuary in a few years, maybe less if he has a good run. Most awakeners take a decade or more to make that transition."
"And his class?" Selene asked.
Derek glanced back in the direction Kael had gone, as if worried the man might somehow hear them. "Nobody knows exactly what it is, but the gossip says it's something incredibly powerful related to fire."
"But who knows?" Derek shrugged.
Moon turned slowly, looking back down the path where Kael's group had disappeared. The red-haired man's back was just barely visible through the trees, moving with that same unhurried confidence, never looking back, never acknowledging the world behind him.
Something about that absolute disregard stirred something cold in Moon's chest. He wanted to be like that, to walk without worrying about the people behind him.
That was what real power looked like. The kind that made others step aside without a word. The kind that existed on a completely different plane from people like Sarah or Marcus.
At level three with a copied class that would expire in less than twenty hours.
The gap between him and someone like Kael Glassy was incomprehensible.
But gaps could be closed. Power could be gained. Lives could be accumulated.
Moon turned back to face forward, his expression unchanged.
"Let's keep moving," Derek said, breaking the moment. "We've still got hunting to do."
The group continued hunting, moving through the eastern woodlands. Beast after beast fell to their attacks. Razorwolves, horned boars with tusks like spears, and even a lone serpent creature that had dropped from the trees before Iris put three arrows through its skull.
Derek's team maintained their leadership, calling out targets, managing aggro, and ensuring everyone got their share of the kills. Moon's group followed their lead, gradually finding their own rhythm within the larger formation.
After two hours of looking for targets and engaging in combat, the notifications came.
[You have reached level 4!]
Selene let out a delighted laugh, her fatigue momentarily forgotten. "Level four! Finally!"
John grinned, flexing his arms as the stat increases took effect. "Same here. I can feel the difference already."
Elara simply nodded, though her satisfied expression spoke volumes. "Level four. Not bad for our first real outing."
All three of them had crossed the threshold, their experience bars filling from the combination of training ground kills and hours of hunting actual threats.
Derek's guidance had kept them in areas with appropriate-level beasts, maximising their growth without pushing into genuinely dangerous territory.
Moon remained silent, checking his own status.
[ Name: Moon ]
[ Race: Human ]
[ Class: Classless, Elemental Mage(Limited Time) ]
[ Level: 3 ][ 92% ]
[ Lives: 75 ]
[ Strength: 12 ] [ Agility: 14 ] [ Constitution: 14 ] [ Mana: 17 ]
[ Attribute Points: 0 ]
[ Skills: Elemental Attack, Four Element Affinity ]
[ Talent: Grim Reaper ]
[ Class Skill: Class Slot {1/1} ]
Moon was tantalizingly close to level four, but not quite there. He'd contributed to every fight, landed his attacks consistently, but remained just shy of the threshold his teammates had crossed because of his previous setback.
More importantly, though, were his lives. Seventy-five.
While the others had likely gained somewhere between ten and twenty lives total from all their kills combined, Moon had accumulated seventy-five. Every beast that fell added five times the normal amount to his reserves.
With two lives lost per death in this area, he could now die thirty-seven times before permanent erasure. Thirty-seven chances. The number was absurd, excessive, the kind of safety net that would fundamentally change how someone approached risk.
But Moon kept his expression neutral, showing nothing of the calculations running through his mind.
Derek noticed their level-ups and nodded approvingly. "Congratulations. Level four is a good milestone. You're officially past the complete beginner stage." He glanced at Moon. "You'll hit it soon enough. Probably one or two more kills."
Moon nodded. "Probably."
"We should think about heading back soon," Marcus said, looking at the position of the two moons. "We've been out here for hours. Don't want to push our luck."
Derek considered this, then looked at Moon's group. "What do you think? Want to hunt a bit more, or call it here?"
Selene glanced at Moon, John, and Elara. "I'm good to keep going if everyone else is. We're all doing well."
John nodded his agreement. Elara simply said, "I can continue."
All eyes turned to Moon.
He was eight percent away from level four. One good fight would push him over. And more importantly, every additional beast meant five more lives added to his growing reserves.
"I can keep going," Moon said.
Derek smiled. "Alright then. Let's find you one more good fight to cap off the day. Then we head back, sell our materials, and split the profits. Sound good?"
The group murmured their agreement and continued deeper into the eastern woodlands.