Unlucky, or Impartial Blessed?
Black stepped forward, heart pounding with excitement, and grabbed the treasure chest.
[Dark Iron Treasure Chest: 98% chance to open first-order items, 2% chance to open second-order items.]
His eyes flicked over the message. What could even come out of this thing?
He didn't waste time wondering. Without hesitation, he opened the chest.
Om—!
A soft burst of white light flared from within.
In an instant, the chest vanished—and in Black's hands appeared a long, sleek blade. Black hilt, white blade. It gleamed like a tempered shard of moonlight, elegant and lethal. Almost like a samurai sword, but cooler. Sleeker.
[Treasure box opened successfully! Obtained second-order item—Silver Wolf Sword!]
[Silver Wolf Sword: Forged from titanium alloy, fused with wolf essence and blood. Incredibly durable, viciously sharp. Attack power +15. Wound tearing +100%.]
A second-order item.
A fucking second-order item.
Black stared, stunned for a second, then let out a short, disbelieving laugh.
He'd hit the 2% again.
He couldn't help grinning. "Damn... I really am lucky."
How many people in this entire novice zone could say they had Tier 2 gear already? Probably none. He might be the very first.
His fingers brushed the blade gently. It gave off a cold, biting chill that sank straight into the bones. The steel knife he'd been using felt like a cheap kitchen blade compared to this.
This wasn't just an upgrade. It was a game-changer.
+15 attack. That was ten more points than the first-order steel knife. But even more terrifying was the side effect.
[Wound Tear +100%: Wounds caused by this blade are nearly impossible to heal and will cause ongoing damage over time.]
Black let out a low chuckle.
"Not bad. Not bad at all. Hell of a good knife."
Still admiring the blade, he slowly slid it back into its sheath, then bundled up the steel knife—along with the few other backups—and slung them onto his back. He'd switched out the shotgun earlier. Now, finally, he had a proper weapon in hand. Something worthy of what he was becoming.
With that done, he turned and walked back to the corpse of the Silverfang Wolf.
Time to extract.
[Soul Leech successful! Gained +3 Dexterity.]
Black blinked. "Three?"
The corner of his mouth twitched upward. That was... substantial.
Mutant beasts really were on another level. Just this one kill had given him triple what a normal level 1 beast would've. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Awooo—! Woo—!
The sharp howls came from not too far off.
Black's head snapped up. His gaze fixed forward.
Five wolves. Ashfang breed. Charging toward him, fast.
They must've heard the Silverfang's death howl.
Black's grip on the Silver Wolf Sword tightened.
"Perfect," he whispered, a grin creeping in. "Just in time."
He stepped forward, blade in hand, and moved to meet them head-on.
His level was higher now. His stats were rising fast. This would be the perfect test.
Ashfangs were basic—just regular level 1 beasts. Nowhere near the threat that Silverfang had been. Five of them coming at him together? That used to mean danger.
Not anymore.
They closed the distance in seconds.
First wolf leapt, fangs bared.
Swish—!
Black swung.
Kacha—!
The air split. Blood sprayed.
The blade sliced clean through the skull and out the ass—splitting the beast in two like a piece of rotted fruit.
So smooth. So easy. No resistance.
This blade was a fucking masterpiece.
Black's blood surged. He charged forward, slashing again.
And again.
And again.
The grass became a slaughterfield.
The wolves screamed, but none lasted long.
One stroke. One death.
Blood painted the wind. Limbs scattered. Fur soaked in red.
[Killed Level 1 Ashfang Wolf. Gained +30 Energy.]
[Killed Level 1 Ashfang Wolf. Gained +30 Energy.]
[Killed Level 1 Ashfang Wolf. Gained +30 Energy.]
…
One by one, energy lights burst from the corpses and flowed into Black's body.
Warmth spread through his limbs, waves of it—thick and tingling.
Three minutes. That's all it took.
All five wolves lay dead at his feet.
One man.
Five wolves.
Slaughtered.
Unmatched.
A breeze passed over the plains, rustling the tall grass like waves across a green sea. Black's shirt flared open in the wind. Around him, the smell of fresh blood hung heavy in the air.
He looked around at the carnage—then calmly wiped his blade clean.
No reason to keep these wolves around. Their corpses were worthless now. He'd already drained them dry.
Still, five quick kills. That was a bonus 150 energy. Huge progress toward his next level.
Just how close was he now?
He pulled up his attribute panel.
[Innate Talent]: Soul Leech (SSS-grade)
[Skill]: All-Seeing Eye
[Combat Rating]: ★★★☆☆
[Free Attributes]: 5
"Nice... real nice."
Black couldn't stop smiling.
Three stars in combat strength now.
Based on his actual fighting power, he was probably five stars easy. That's Tier 3 beast level.
Then he remembered—he still had five free attribute points to assign.
He hesitated. No need to rush. He could think it through later.
But then something caught his eye.
Under the level display… Reputation.
One point.
He actually had reputation now?
How the hell did that happen?
He focused on it—and the system pulled up the Will of Heaven homepage.
A new announcement blinked across the top.
[Announcement: Newcomer Black has achieved the first kill of a level 1 mutant beast. Awarded +1 Reputation.]
[Reminder: Reputation is extremely rare. At certain thresholds, you will receive blessings from the heavens.]
[Reminder: Only the first player to kill a level 1 mutant beast receives this reward. Others who kill the same tier later will not gain reputation.]
His eyes widened.
So that's what it was.
He'd been too overwhelmed earlier to notice. So much had happened.
But now it was starting to make sense.
He couldn't help but grin again. "Interesting…"
Black exited the screen and entered the Public Chat group.
As expected, the chat was exploding.
"Wow! Black killed a level 1 mutant beast and earned a reputation point!"
"Damn, he must be the first guy with actual reputation!"
"That's no joke. Reputation unlocks divine blessings later—guy's gonna skyrocket."
"Yeah, envy's real right now…"
But of course, the sour voices started chiming in almost immediately.
"Level 1 mutant beast? Meh. Doesn't seem that strong to me."
"Yeah, it's probably weaker than a level 2 regular beast."
"Honestly, I bet any level 2 player with a couple minions could take one down."
"Too bad Black got the first kill. No one else can get the prestige now."
"Just luck, really. He must've gotten lucky stumbling into it. My rank's higher than Black's, and I haven't seen a single mutant beast yet."
That last one came from a player named Kevin.
"Boss Liu, the moment the announcement popped, I checked Black's rank. He was 11th. What's yours?"
Kevin: "I'm ranked 9th."
"Whoa~! So the guy upstairs is a top-10 boss! I bow down!"
"If Kevin's ranked higher than Black, then of course he can kill mutant beasts."
"That's a given. Top ranks always mean top strength."
"Boss Kevin, do you need a little brother? I wanna follow you!"
"Please take me with you too!"
"Brother Liu, little sister wants to tag along~!"
The chat was lighting up with simps and sycophants.
People throwing themselves at Kevin, acting like one word from him could hand them mutant kills on a silver platter.
Like it was already decided.
Like Black's kill was just a fluke.
But right as the praise started flooding Kevin—
A new announcement blinked across the screen…