The mastiff tiger pounced on him. Ethan was caught off guard, but he still managed to dodge the attack.
However, the beast's claws grazed him slightly, and Ethan felt a huge impact course through his body. A tremendous pain erupted instantly.
"What? So much pain?This game took the realistic vive into a whole different level. Man, what if someone actually died here? That would be even more traumatic in real life."
The sharp pain snapped Ethan's mind into focus. His expression hardened as his playful mood vanished.
That low-grade strength talent gave the tiger two times more strength than a normal mastiff tiger when activated. Not all monsters possessed talents like this.
"What bad luck. The first monster I fight actually has a talent."
But Ethan kept dodging. With every move, he began to feel more attuned to his body — his earlier movement practice hadn't been in vain.
Suddenly, the tiger lunged again. This time, Ethan struck first, landing a solid punch right at its cervical vertebrae.
The tiger was caught off guard and lost its balance.
Ethan didn't waste a single moment. He dashed forward and plunged his fingers straight into the tiger's eyes.
"Roar! Roar!"
The beast let out a thunderous cry of agony as blood gushed from its ruined eyes. Now blinded, it swung its claws wildly in all directions.
Ethan dodged easily now, slipping past every desperate strike.
"You should die already, bastard."
He punched twice at the location of its heart, though it didn't deal much damage. Still, Ethan kept dodging and landing blows in the same spot again and again.
After ten grueling minutes, the tiger finally collapsed to the ground.
Ethan kicked its head several times before it finally stopped moving.
Exhausted, he sat down heavily on the dirt. Every ounce of stamina had been drained from his body.
"Man, that was exhilarating. What a wonderful feeling!"
Though tired beyond measure, excitement started burning in his eyes.
"Now, let's see how many blank attributes this thing gives me."
He placed his hand on the tiger's body. His physique didn't require swallowing anything to activate, only a mere touch was enough.
[Infinite Devouring Physique is activated.]
Before his eyes, the tiger disintegrated into countless cosmic particles that flowed into his body.
[You have received 10 blank attributes, 1000 AU, and low-grade strength talent.]
"What? It can even give me the talent of the opponent? Shouldn't that be banned already? What kind of terrifying physique is this? How can other players even stand up to me?" Ethan grinned from ear to ear.
He could even gain cosmic energy too. Who needed a powerful cultivation talent when he had the ultimate cheat in the game?
"I'm going to rule this game, hahaha!"
But then, a world-wide announcement echoed across the sky.
[Congratulations, player Black Rose, for completing the world's first secret quest and gaining an Epic Grade Cultivation Technique.]
"What the heck? Who is this Black Rose? I'm here dancing after killing a tiger, and someone's already obtained an epic-grade technique?" Ethan's excitement instantly turned into frustration.
Meanwhile, on the eastern continent—
An extremely beautiful girl stood at the entrance of a cave, gazing calmly at the glowing notification in front of her.
"This is far from enough. I need to complete all the secret quests to become as powerful as possible. I have only one year before the game merges with reality. The monsters that will emerge from the space rifts won't be something humanity can face unless they take this game seriously.
If they don't… Earth will be destroyed by those apocalyptic beasts again. The universe is giving us a chance to save our world.I need to use this second life fully to protect the world and I need to form a strong party as soon as possible."
She was Black Rose, the same name that had just appeared in the announcement.
But she wasn't a normal player. She was a reincarnated player — someone who had already played this game in her previous life.
Back then, one year after the game's launch, it merged with reality. Monsters from the space rifts flooded the world. Players gained their in-game powers and talents, but most treated the game like a normal game, not like their life depended on it.
As a result, no one was strong enough to resist the calamity by time it hit humanity.
Earth fell in just ten days. Humanity was completely wiped out.
She could only watch as everyone close to her died… until she too was slain by a King-level monster.
She had thought that was the end — until her Space-Time Physique activated for the last time. It brought her soul back to the past, giving her a second chance.
Now she had to do everything right. But her physique also came with a warning — she must never reveal the truth about her rebirth, or it could create a butterfly effect that would change everything.
Sitting cross-legged, she began cultivating with the newly acquired Epic Grade technique.
It boosted her energy absorption rate 32 times over. With her top-grade cultivation talent, she could now absorb 512 AU per breath. The technique had six levels, and once fully mastered, it promised unimaginable cultivation speed.
On the western continent—
Ethan had finally calmed down after his brief moment of depression.
"I can also become stronger, huh." He snorted and opened his status panel.
He allocated his 25 blank attributes — 15 to strength and 10 to speed.
Instantly, he felt his body become stronger and lighter.
[Name: Ethan Moriarty]
[Cultivation: 3rd Level Martial Student (5000/8000 AU)]
[Bloodline: None]
[Physique: Infinite Devouring Physique]
[Cultivation Talent: Low]
[Strength: 65]
[Spirit: 70]
[Speed: 59]
[Blank Attributes: 00]
Then he began hunting again, searching for his next prey. His confidence had soared after his earlier victory. With his new strength and the low-grade strength talent, which doubled his power for ten minutes with a one-hour cooldown — he was eager to test himself again.
He fought three more mastiff tigers in a row using his talent. Two of them also had low-grade strength talents. This species must be special — three out of four had talents, which was highly unusual according to the guidebook.
Ethan didn't have time to absorb their essence right away. The battles came too close together; as soon as he killed one, another appeared. By the time the last one fell, he was utterly exhausted.
"Let's log out after absorbing them."
[Infinite Devouring Physique is activated.]
[You have received 10 blank attributes, 1000 AU, and low-grade strength talent.]
[You have received 10 blank attributes, 1000 AU, and low-grade strength talent.]
[You have received 10 blank attributes and 1000 AU.]
[8000/8000 AU]
[You have broken through to the 4th Level of the Martial Student Realm.]
[All stats +25 and +5 blank attributes.]
[You have 3 low-grade strength talents. Do you want to combine them?]
Ethan's head spun with all the notifications flashing before his eyes.
But that last one made his heart jolt with excitement.
"Are you for real? Three same-type talents can be combined? What will they become?"
Without hesitation, he confirmed.
"Yes!"
[Your three low-grade strength talents have been combined.]
[You have obtained a Mid-Grade Strength Talent.]
[Mid-Grade Strength Talent: Grants four times strength when activated. Lasts 15 minutes with a one-hour cooldown.]
"Four times? With that, I'll be able to fight anyone under the Martial Student realm even without a talent," Ethan muttered after doing a quick calculation.
Now he had 35 blank attributes remaining. He added 15 to strength, 10 to spirit, and 10 to speed.
Finally, he checked his status panel one last time before logging out.
[Name: Ethan Moriarty]
[Cultivation: 4th Level Martial Student (8000/16000 AU)]
[Bloodline: None]
[Physique: Infinite Devouring Physique]
[Cultivation Talent: Low]
[Strength: 105]
[Spirit: 105]
[Speed: 94]
[Blank Attributes: 00]
Now, he had 40 extra attribute points more than others — unless someone else also had a similar overpowered ability.