Rooaaar—
Nyx's low rumble carried an oddly human-like emotion. She gave a slight nod, then opened her massive jaws, one claw pointing toward the thick beast tendon in Jason's hand, her eyes brimming with barely contained hunger.
Jason chuckled. With a flick of his arm, the blood-streaked tendon traced an arc through the air and landed squarely in Nyx's mouth. She gave it only two lazy chews before swallowing it whole, a satisfied hum rumbling deep in her throat.
After four days of relentless hunting and sweeping the plains, Nyx's strength had transformed completely.
Black Dragon King · Deathwing (Hatchling Form)
Level: 9
Gender: Female
Strength: 968
Agility: 767
Spirit: 959
Endurance: 976
Skills:
[Black Dragon Scales] (Passive, Lv.2) — Naturally resilient armor; reduces the power of all elemental attacks by 60%.
[Dragon Bloodline] (Passive, Max Lv.) — Pure black dragon heritage; immune to all negative effects.
[Dragon Physique] (Passive, Lv.2) — Exceptional battle-born body; boosts self-healing and stamina recovery speed by 600%.
[Molten Flame] (Active, Lv.2) — Breathes scorching fire that burns enemies while healing the caster.
[Titan Jaw Strike] (Active, Lv.2) — Charges forward, crushing the enemy in its powerful jaws and inflicting stun.
Though only level 9, her stats had nearly tripled, just a step away from breaking the four-digit mark. At this power, she could crush the vast majority of beasts in her tier with ease.
Jason's original plan had been to return to town once Nyx reached level 10. With no signal in the wilderness, he couldn't contact his aunt to let her know he was safe, and he didn't want her to worry for too long.
But just as he finished packing up the Three-Headed Blood Lion's remains and was about to look for his next hunting target, a familiar chime echoed in his ears—
Ding—System Alert: 'Ancient Secret Cache' triggered. Today's treasure map has been generated.
Another treasure map?
Jason instantly pulled up his system panel.
Over the past four days, he had obtained two Beginner, one Intermediate, and one Advanced treasure map—but all their coordinates were thousands of kilometers away, far beyond his reach.
Now, a new Beginner Treasure Map had appeared in his system inventory—
Unfortunately, its coordinates were still too distant.
But this time was different—he already had three Beginner Treasure Maps in hand, enough to combine into a higher-tier map.
With a flash of light, the three Beginner maps vanished, replaced by a single Intermediate Treasure Map.
Treasure Map (Intermediate): Boulder Plains (21651, 53451)
A smile tugged at Jason's lips.
For the first time on this trip, the coordinates were close—less than a hundred kilometers away. He could reach it in half a day.
And along the way, he could hunt monsters to push Nyx to level 10… and maybe make a small fortune on the side.
With his decision made, he set out with Nyx. Thanks to [Bloodlink], even traveling through the night barely dented his stamina.
By noon the next day, they arrived at the edge of the Boulder Plains.
This was the border between the plains' outer and central zones, where monster levels hovered around 18. Hills and jagged rock spires rose in a chaotic mix, making the terrain treacherous.
Climbing over a ridge of craggy stones, the coordinates marked on the treasure map came into view—
But to his surprise, seven or eight strangers were already gathered there.
These were no ordinary material hunters. Their finely crafted armor and gold-ornamented gear marked them as elite fighters from wealthy families or high-ranking adventuring parties.
The one who drew his gaze most was a young female mage with a fishtail braid, about his age.
Her deep-blue mage's robe billowed in the wind, and in her hands was a staff set with a milky-white gemstone, within which streams of light flowed—like moonlight slumbering in crystal.