Chapter 65: Did You Miss Me?

Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Did You Miss Me?

Ding!

A cascade of alerts flooded his vision.

[Direlion — Alpha has been slain]

[+XP Gained]

[LEVEL UP: 1 → 2]

[+1 to all base stats]

[+1 to all vitals]

[Berserker’s Instinct — Lv.1 → Lv.2]

[Active Duration: 45s → 60s]

[Cooldown: Unchanged — 12 hours]

[Barbarian Battle Sense (Passive) — Lv.1 → Lv.2]

Victor felt it happen almost immediately. It was like a strange energy settled deeper into his muscles, his bones, giving him a quiet surge of strength through his exhausted body.

The pain in his side even dulled slightly.

In a way, he felt like his whole frame had just been recalibrated to handle more than it could a few minutes ago.

He flexed his fingers slowly, watching the blood-slicked tips. He could feel the difference. It was small, but also very real.

Still catching his breath, he turned toward the Dire Lion’s fallen body.

[Direlion — Alpha (Slain)]

[Anima Acquired: Direlion’s Anima]

[Item Dropped: Alpha’s Mane]

[Alpha’s Mane — Equippable]

[Effect: Grants Alpha Authority over any Dire Lion pride within the Lion’s former territory]

[Defense Rating: Blocks physical and Ice elemental attacks up to Level 6]

Victor stared at the notification for a long moment, a slow grin spreading across his blood-streaked face.

"Hell yeah." He let out a short, happy laugh. "I knew the reward would be good. But I did not know that it would be this good."

Getting the anima part was expected. As long as the beast stuck to its natural patterns before it’s death, it would spit out an anima. What he did not expect was that the mane’s allowed him to command other Direlions.

It was too bad that it did not drop a beast stone though.

That would have come in handy later on.

Victor had faced Direlions many times, but those times, he fought more than one at a time, and when he could kill a few of them, he would escape for his life.

Beyond the sheer defensive value of the mane, blocking anything up to Level 6, which covered basically everything he was likely to run into at his current stage, it also looked freaking cool.

And then there was the fact that Berserker had become level 2. This was good news. But at the same time, Victor could only imagine the dreadful pain that would come with that advantage.

His Barbarian instinct too had moved to level 2.

He willed and his status appeared.

[STATUS]

Name: Victor

Race: Barbarian (Southern Bloodline)

Level: 2

Title: "Air Balloon" (Locked — cannot be removed)

VITALS

HP: 102/108

Stamina: 112/258

XP: 26

MP: 11

SKILLS

Barbarian Battle Sense (Passive) — Lv.2

Story Lore (Passive) — Lv. 100

Berserker’s Instinct — Lv.2 (Duration: 60s | Cooldown: 12hrs)

BLESSINGS

Stoneskin (Passive & Active)—(Duration 30 seconds)

Current Efficiency: 12% (Locked stats limit full potential)

[In Game Skin Synchronization — 100%]

CONQUEST POINTS: 12

[Earned through combat against the Encroaching Darkness]

Victor exhaled slowly, scanning the numbers.

It wasn’t much. But it was real progress, the first growth he’d felt coming back.

He quickly noticed that while his other stats had been affected, his Blessing had not moved. It was most likely because of the Locked stats that limited its full potential.

Until he arrived at level 5, there was nothing he could do about it.

If he was not mistaking, he would also be able to stack up blessing’s by then.

He gave a huge sigh.

What the heck was I so scared of before?

He asked himself, thinking back to the way he ran from Direlion the first time.

At the same time, he knew that the only reason he had been able to face the Direlion was because he had gotten more accustomed to his body, strength, and developed some skills in the real world.

Then he glanced at that locked title again. Air Balloon.

"Still stuck with you, huh."

Relief had barely settled in before a new thought arrived. Victor’s eyes drifting back toward the Direlion’s body.

The notification had said the mane dropped. But It hadn’t actually dropped.

The body just lay exactly where it had fallen, with the fur and flesh intact. There was no loot conveniently materializing out of thin air like it would have on a screen.

He sighed, grabbed his axe, and set to carving it free manually. The process was slower, but it made him realize even more that regardless of the status screen he had, this place was still its own world.

Unless by the use of magic, things had to be done by hand.

The system only spelt the advantage and attribute it had.

Once the mane was cut free, Victor draped it over his shoulder and rose to his feet, stepping out of the cave.

The blizzard’s biting cold hit him first, but the man’s glowed a bit, providing him warmth.

Oh, that really feels comfortable.

Such a mane would be quite expensive in the other world.

Just then, in the distance, several shapes moved through the snow, converging toward him.

Direlions.

—

Kiki sat waiting near the edge of the Boundary. Her broadsword rested across her knees.

She still wasn’t entirely sure why she sat here or even sneakily followed Victor when he left the village.

It had been a while since he had vanished through that shimmering green threshold, and she had no good reason to still be sitting here in the open.

Something also told her he ran away... for good.

But ever since the fall of the Southern Barbarian tribe, dreams had been... plaguing her.

It felt like ancient strings stirring at the edges of her sleep, a presence she could only describe as the ancestors themselves, pulling her attention toward Milkshake22 of all people.

It made no sense to her. The Milkshake22 she’d known before all of this was weak, inconsistent, more interested in chasing women and stirring up trouble for other people.

And yet.

He’d felled the Basalt Dragonic Beast when no one expected him to survive the trial at all.

He’d also thrown himself into a sacred duel between Popo and Jaja, breaking centuries of tradition without hesitation.

And then there was that light that poured out of the ancestral shrine the night he disappeared through the Boundary.

Others might not, but as the daughter of a Shaman, she knew what it was.

Anima.

To think that he got an anima, and even knew how to use it.

Anima were very rare and difficult to come by. And using them required ancient knowledge.

Who thought him? Was it the late king, his father?

No. Late King Zaza was a deadbeat of a father. He practically only donated his seed to make Milkshake22.

Then again, as king, he moved between boundaries and tribes. He definitely had other children out there.

Then she remembered what he said about the ancestors talking to him, and teaching him how to save Jaja. Maybe it was really them that taught him the things he knew.

But why would they choose such an Idiot?

And there was also that matter of tge chieftance title. Did that mean she had to...

No.

She shook her head, eyes turning back to the boundary.

She didn’t understand why she’d followed him here, or why some quiet certainty kept telling her to stay.

"This is stupid," she muttered finally, pushing herself up from the rock she’d been sitting on. "Why did I even—"

The Boundary’s green light rippled, swelling brighter for a moment before settling again.

She felt it before she saw it. A presence, and then several of them, moving through the threshold.

She spun, broadsword already rising into a fighting ready stance, teeth gritted.

Four Dire Lions emerged first, and her mind raced through the math of fighting that many at once. "Fuck!" She cursed under her breathe.

Of course beasts could cross freely. That was simply how migration worked across Boundaries. It was only sentient beings the barrier actually restrained.

She had been so caught in her thoughts that she forgot about this.

She braced herself.

Then he stepped through.

Milkshake22.

He looked almost unrecognizable, riding atop one of the Direlions like it was the most natural thing in the world, a freshly carved mane slung heavy over one shoulder, blood still dark against the fur.

He caught her eye and let a slow, crooked smile spread across his face.

"Kiki. It’s been a while." His grin widened slightly. "Did you miss me?"