CHAPTER 19: FIRST HUNT(1)

The forest loomed ahead, its dark canopy swaying gently in the night breeze. Amon stepped past the treeline, the sound of distant crickets filling the silence. His boots crunched against fallen leaves as he roamed deeper, eyes scanning for any sign of a monster.

It was his first hunt, and that aslo being a solo one, he wasn’t about to waste it.

A rustling sound came from a nearby bush.

Amon slowed his steps, instinctively lowering his stance. Quiet... slow... don’t scare it away.

Parting the leaves just enough to peek through, he spotted a Horn Rabbit—a monster resembling an ordinary rabbit, if ordinary rabbits were the size of a small dog, bright crimson in color, and sporting a sharp, curved horn in the center of their forehead.

The creature was busily munching on a pile of forest fruits, completely unaware that death stood only a few feet away.

Perfect. First hunt, first monster.

Amon carefully drew his sword from its scabbard. The faint sound of steel sliding free felt much louder in the stillness of the forest.

He crept forward.

One step. Two steps.

The rabbit’s ears twitched. It froze mid-bite, eyes wide, sensing danger.

Too late.

Amon slashed cleanly across its neck. The blade passed through without resistance, severing its head from its body in a single strike. The horned head hit the ground with a dull thud, rolling slightly before coming to a stop.

"Wow... easy first kill~" Amon grinned, wiping his blade on the grass.

Just as he was about to celebrate properly, he felt it—a faint tingle deep inside him, like a thread of cold silk brushing against his soul. It wasn’t pain, nor was it warmth. More like something had quietly linked to him.

What was that? Is it related to my class... or maybe a skill?

Before he could ponder further, another sound reached his ears. This time, it wasn’t a single bush, but several.

Turning to his right, Amon spotted four more Horn Rabbits emerging from the undergrowth. They froze upon seeing the headless corpse of their... comrade? Sibling? Spouse? Whatever they were, their gazes snapped to him, and a sharp, murderous intent filled their glowing red eyes.

Amon swallowed hard.

"...Right. Guess it’s time for their revenge."

They didn’t hesitate. All four leapt at him at once, their agility far greater than he expected.

Amon sidestepped the first two, but the third rammed straight into his stomach, its horn driving the air from his lungs.

"Gah—! Damn it!"

The pain made his temper flare. Without thinking, he swung his sword in a brutal arc, cutting down the rabbit that had hit him. Its body fell limply to the ground.

The other three didn’t back away.

Big mistake.

Amon slashed through them one by one—horizontal, vertical, then a quick thrust for the last one. That strange tingling sensation returned with each kill, faint but undeniable.

He stood over their bodies, panting lightly. "Seriously... why did they choose to fight me? Monsters usually run if they sense someone stronger..."

Then realization struck him.

"They thought I was weak. My mana must be so low they didn’t even feel threatened." He sighed. "Great. Even rabbits are underestimating me."

Shaking his head, he continued deeper into the forest. The light had almost completely faded, but to his mild surprise, he could still see fairly well.

Most people would’ve been stumbling blind by now, but those with darkness-element affinity could naturally see better in dim or no light.Offcourse it’s not as good as night glasses.But better than nothing.

’Perks of being a Shadow and Darkness user, I guess.’

It was probably around 8 p.m. now, and the air had grown cooler.

Along the way, he dispatched a few more Horn Rabbits with ease, but then a different sound caught his attention.

"Kkkchk... khchkhch..."

He immediately ducked behind the thick trunk of an oak tree and peeked out.

Four goblins trudged along the forest path, talking in their guttural, scratchy language. Each one was about waist-high to Amon, with sickly green skin, bald heads, and long, hooked noses. Their faces were a living definition of ugly.

They wore nothing more than filthy scraps of cloth around their waists and carried crude wooden clubs.

Amon smirked. Next targets acquired.

He snapped a twig near a bush, making just enough noise to catch their attention.

The goblins stopped, confused. One cautiously approached the source of the sound.

That was the last mistake it ever made.

As soon as it stepped past the bush, Amon’s blade came down in a diagonal slash, cleaving deep into its neck. Blood sprayed as the creature collapsed with a wet thud.

The other goblins screamed in alarm and charged.

Amon met their crude swings with ease, parrying each one.

"They’re like children with sticks—too easy," he muttered with a grin.

He countered with clean, basic strikes.

Thrust—straight through one’s chest.

Diagonal slash—splitting another from shoulder to hip.

Horizontal slash—taking the head clean off the last one.

They fell in rapid succession.

Amon wiped his blade and tilted his head thoughtfully. "There’s definitely something I feel every time I kill. Maybe I’m close to unlocking a skill..."

He pulled up his Status window.

---

[Status Window]

Name: Amon Vale

Age: 17

Rank: Awakened

Class: Death Bearer

Element: Shadow, Darkness

Mana: 57

Strength: 20

Agility: 25

Speed: 27

Endurance: 11

Skills: [Basic Swordsmanship]

Spells: [Gloom Orb] [Shadow Clutch] [Mana Bullets] [Shadow Claw]

---

"...Nothing changed. Same as before."

Still, that sensation was too distinct to be nothing. Closing the window, he decided to follow the direction the goblins had been heading.

He need to understand what his class actually means.

So for that he will work hard.

If there were four of them wandering around, there were probably more nearby.

Goblins might only be Rank 0 monsters, but they were rarely alone. In large groups, they could be a serious problem—especially for someone like him.

After several minutes, Amon came upon a yawning cave entrance. The smell hit him before the sight did—a disgusting mix of sweat, blood, and something rotten.

He smirked. "A goblin nest... lucky me."

If the tingling from killing was some kind of trigger for his class, then this was the perfect opportunity to test it further.

Without hesitation, he stepped toward the darkness of the cave, sword ready in his hands.

Tonight, the goblins were in for a very bad surprise.