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Trevor started punching Levi.
He kept punching him harder — each punch heavier than the last.
Levi's group had already begun to disperse in fear. At this point, none of them wanted to get on Trevor's bad side.
"Next time,you won't be so lucky," Trevor said as he threw Levi's body aside and began to walk home.
The few people who had stayed behind quickly rushed to Levi to help him up.
Levi looked at Trevor's retreating figure with hatred in his eyes. He was definitely going to make him pay — if not now, then soon.
Trevor walked back home slowly, staring at his hands in confusion. He kept wondering what had just happened — how on earth had he been able to beat Levi so flawlessly?
His mind was filled with questions — questions he knew he wouldn't get answers to yet, not in the middle of the night.
Trevor kept walking faster and faster, silence now his only companion.
Soon, he made it back home. Opening the door, he saw his mom in the sitting room, her face filled with worry as she glanced desperately at the time.
The moment he walked in, his mom stood up — her face red with anger.
"Where the hell have you been, Trevor? It's 11 at night, for crying out loud!" she said, folding her arms tightly as she stared at him.
Trevor stayed quiet for some time, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation.
"Well… I actually went to the provision store to check for some items we might need, but it took longer than expected," Trevor said quietly, looking at his mom.
He couldn't tell her that he'd been ambushed. Knowing his mother, she'd never rest until she found the culprits.
Given her current condition, he couldn't let that happen — it would do her more harm than good.
Besides, he was sure he had already stressed her out by coming home this late; why strain her more?
"Well, honey, it's really dangerous outside. Please, I don't want you ever coming home late again. Who knows what could happen to you?" his mom said, her voice calm yet still carrying authority.
"Okay then… I'll be in my room if you need me," Trevor said, heading toward his room.
His mom watched him leave and sighed. "He can't take any more risks — especially without an essence," she muttered bitterly, shaking her head.
As soon as Trevor entered his room, he locked the door and opened his system interface.
"Wow, what on earth is going on here?" he muttered, seeing over twenty messages from the system.
"Why the hell didn't you speak, huh?" Trevor said in his mind, eyes glued to the notifications.
> [Well, you were in a tight situation with Caroline today. I thought it wise not to disturb you.]
"Disturb?" Trevor frowned but didn't argue further. He already had too many questions.
"System, how did I get that strong today? Was it because I've grown stronger… or because of something else?"
> [Open the notifications. Perhaps you'll find what you're looking for.]
Trevor opened the list of notifications.
[Strength +80]
[Endurance +100]
[Speed +60]
[Magic Skills +50]
[Combat Skills +460]
Trevor's eyes widened. His combat skill had increased by 460 points — but how? How could that even be possible?
He read further down, trying to make sense of it all.
> [Congratulations! You have unlocked the Essence Cloner.]
[New Essence Cloned: Raw Combat.]
"What… wait, what just happened?" Trevor froze. Excitement washed over him. Had he just cloned Caroline's essence?
He slid to the right of the interface, where he could view the profiles of the women he'd been with.
The first time he discovered this feature, he had been shocked — not only by how detailed it was, but also by how precisely the system described Chloe: her looks, her daily life, her essence type, and her level of power.
Chloe wasn't a hunter or a dungeon explorer, but she had developed her essence to its fourth stage — the Elite.
Though her essence wasn't among the rarest, she was a Water Wielder.
Water wielding wasn't that uncommon anymore — one in a million people could wield it now — but essence itself was supposed to be unique. No two essences were ever exactly the same; similar, maybe, but never identical.
Trevor clicked on Caroline's profile next and began reading — and that's when he got the biggest shock of his life.
Although his guess was right — Caroline had the Raw Combat essence — she was wielding it at the seventh stage.
But that wasn't the real problem.
Her father was Vincent Roseman.
A chill ran down Trevor's spine. Vincent Roseman was the sovereign head of all hunters in the world. His authority was equal to that of a governor.
His identity had been hidden for some time now, mainly because of the dangers that came with it — if people found out, dungeon explorers could target or exploit him.
And now, Trevor — a dungeon explorer himself — had found out.
Trevor shook his head and closed the screen. He didn't want to think too much. He just needed to be careful, that's all.
"So… that means I'm strong enough now. I should be able to explore dungeons, right?"
[Yes, you are quite prepared. But remember — you still need a guild.]
[The Raw Combat Essence is a rare and powerful one. If used properly, it can increase one's speed, agility, and mental sharpness during battle. At its peak, it can slay enemies before they even get close enough.]
A guild — yes, that's right. I need a guild. But I know nothing about guild politics.
Trevor shook his head. There was so much to be done before a guild would trust him; their bases were hidden behind magical barriers.
He thought for a long moment, then came to a harsh truth.
He didn't know a single high-ranking guild official. He had no way in; dungeon explorers didn't just announce themselves to the public.
Then a thought flashed through his mind: his mother had once been a dungeon explorer. Maybe she still had contacts, or at least enough influence to help.
All he needed to do was search he could probably find something.
Trevor listened closely. He could hear water running in the next room — his mother was bathing. This was his chance.