CHAPTER 229: HUNTING II

"Ah, you’re back."

A calm, gentle voice greeted him.

Standing there was the dark-leaf healer he had first seen when he awoke in this world. Her hair cascaded like midnight vines, and her emerald eyes reflected the soft glow of the lanterns.

She held a small basket of glowing herbs.

"You pushed yourself hard today," she said, stepping closer. "I came to check on your condition... and deliver this."

She handed him a vial filled with shimmering liquid — light blue with specks of silver.

[ Minor Vitality Tonic Received ]

Restores stamina and accelerates recovery overnight

Fenric accepted it, stunned. "Thank you... uh, I never got your name."

She smiled faintly.

" I am Kelly, Village Healer. If you feel any unusual changes in your body from the hunts... please visit me immediately."

Her tone held both concern and curiosity — almost as if she sensed something different about him.

Fenric nodded awkwardly. "Y-Yeah... I will."

Seraphine glanced at his bow, her eyes softening. "Good night, Fenric. May your growth continue."

As she walked away, Fenric stared at the glowing vial and couldn’t help smirking.

Beautiful healer... check.

Strong hunt progress... check.

Level 10 tomorrow... definitely happening.

He stepped inside his home with renewed fire in his heart.

Fenric shut the door behind him and placed the tonic on the small wooden table. His room was quiet — just a bed, a chair, and a simple shelf. Spunky curled up near the bed and yawned loudly.

Fenric sat down and stretched his arms.

"Tomorrow I level up," he said to himself. "No slacking."

His stomach growled. He pulled out the dried meat Seraphina gave him earlier and chewed quickly. The taste wasn’t great, but it filled him up.

After eating, he took off his armor, placed the bow beside the bed, and laid down. The moment he rested his head on the pillow, a small screen popped up in front of him:

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Current Progress

Level: 8

EXP: 61%

Next Goal: Level 10 — Class Selection

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Fenric smirked. "Almost there."

His eyes slowly closed.

The Next Morning

Fenric woke up feeling refreshed. The tonic worked perfectly — he felt stronger and more awake than yesterday.

Spunky jumped onto the bed, licking his face. "Okay, okay, I’m up!" Fenric laughed.

After a quick wash, he grabbed his bow and headed outside. The village was already busy — people preparing food, fixing nets, and sharpening weapons.

Liana was waiting near the gate, stretching her arms.

"Took you long enough," she said.

Fenric waved. "Morning to you too."

Seraphina was there as well, speaking with a few guards. She turned when she noticed Fenric.

"Good. You recovered quickly," Seraphina said. "Today we hunt deeper inside the forest."

Fenric nodded seriously.

"I’m ready."

The gate opened again.

Blue glowing plants and distant animal noises greeted them.

Seraphina stepped first.Liana followed.Fenric walked behind — Spunky at his side.

They walked for a while. The forest looked different today. The trees were taller, and strange blue birds watched them from above. The ground was wet and soft.

Seraphina stopped and looked around.

"There are stronger monsters here," she warned. "Stay alert."

Fenric pulled his bowstring lightly, ready to shoot at any moment.

Soon, the bushes in front of them began shaking.

A new monster walked out — bigger than the wolves from yesterday. It had a long tail like a lizard and sharp fins on its back.

[ Water Fang Lizard — Rank 1 ]

It hissed and rushed toward them.

"Fenric, take the shot!" Seraphina ordered.

Fenric aimed fast.

Fwoosh!

The arrow hit the monster’s side, but it didn’t die. It roared and kept running.

Liana stepped in front.

She swung her spear, hitting it in the head — finishing it off.

Splash!

It disappeared into blue motes.

A new screen appeared:

[ +500 EXP ]

Fenric smiled. "This one gave more EXP!"

"Yes. But be careful," Seraphina said. "They are stronger too."

They moved deeper. More monsters appeared:

• Liquid Wolves — taken down quickly

• Water Fang Lizards — stronger, but manageable

• Spunky bit and tackled smaller ones too

Fenric’s arrows flew again and again. His aim improved. His movement was faster. His EXP bar kept rising.

After many fights, a new screen popped up:

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Level Up!

Level 9 → 10%

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Fenric pumped his fist. "Almost there!"

Liana smiled a little. "Not bad."

Seraphina gave a short nod. "We continue."

Hours passed. The sun was now high. They kept hunting — carefully but steadily.

Finally...

[ +450 EXP ]

A bright light surrounded Fenric.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Level Up!

Level 9 → Level 10

Class Awakening Available

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Fenric’s heart pounded.

"This is it," he whispered.

Seraphina turned toward him, her eyes serious.

"Good. We will return to the village. Your awakening will take place at the shrine."

Fenric nodded, suddenly nervous but excited.

He had finally reached Level 10.

It was time...

to choose his Class.

They headed back to the village. Fenric kept staring at his hands, like something new might appear any second.

Spunky barked happily, running circles around him. Even the little dog knew something big was happening.

When they reached the village, people noticed the glow around Fenric.

"He reached Level 10!"

"So fast?"

"Maybe he really is special..."

Fenric felt proud... and a little embarrassed.

Seraphina spoke loudly, so everyone could hear:

"He will awaken his class at the shrine. Prepare the ritual."

Two guards ran ahead to get everything ready.

Liana nudged Fenric’s arm. "Breathe. If you faint, I will laugh."

Fenric swallowed. "No fainting. Nope. Never."

They reached the shrine — a tall stone structure covered with ancient symbols. Blue light flowed across the carvings like running water.

Seraphina stepped forward first.

"This place... is where every person in our village awakens their class," she explained. "And I also awakened mine here."

Fenric looked up at her. "What class are you?"

Seraphina placed her spear against the shrine wall, eyes steady.

"I am a Wind Spear Vanguard — a rare combat class."

Liana crossed her arms proudly. "I’m a Gale Spear Fighter. Also awakened here."

Spunky barked as if to say, "I’m a dog."

Fenric laughed nervously. "Okay... so now it’s my turn."

Seraphina turned toward him.

"Stand in the center. Place your hand on the altar. Once you do, the Akashic System will show you the class hidden inside your soul."

Fenric took a deep breath.

He walked to the glowing stone altar.

His heart raced.

His fingers touched the surface—cold, smooth, and filled with energy.

A bright blue light exploded out of the stone—

and a voice echoed inside his mind:

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

CLASS AWAKENING STARTING

Scanning Soul...

Analyzing Potential...

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Fenric’s eyes widened.