The empowerment that reached his senses, his strength, and who knows what else, brought a smile to his face.
Somehow, he had killed such a powerful level 10 beast. Had he become strong?
Maybe he had simply done it by taking advantage of his opponent's weakness and his cunning, but that was also strength. Knowledge and its use are power.
Furthermore, with each level his Fire Caterpillar increased, his strength increased. He couldn't see it yet, but he could feel it.
His grip was more powerful, and swinging his sword was easier and more powerful.
He didn't know how much stronger he was becoming, but it was no small amount. His strength was growing rapidly.
Another notable change was observed in his caterpillar.
Its ability to devour fire was slowly increasing, but its size was the most impressive.
When he obtained it, it was barely 3 centimeters long, but as each level increased, its size grew significantly. Now it measures about 7 or 8 centimeters, which is already remarkable.
"Should we move?" He caressed it a little when it returned to his sword to rest.
He still had time before the pill's effect wore off, so he could go deeper without any problems, and that's what he did, after cutting off the undead's head and storing it in his storage ring.
'Let's go to the swamps. I have a feeling it will be a little difficult to fight that one because of all the nearby swamps, so I'd better get rid of it quickly,' he thought.
Although the most dangerous one would be the one sitting on the Mountains. It is the closest to the Dungeon Boss, so it should be the strongest or bravest.
As he walked through the vast, unkempt forests of the cursed land, he and his caterpillar moved with agility, hunting different beasts they encountered along the way.
It wasn't easy to venture in, but it wasn't difficult either. Most of the beasts that appeared before them were the same as those they had faced before, level 1 and 2. But they also encountered a type of undead that was difficult to deal with, the mages.
They threw fireballs from a distance as if they had no cooldown time, and it seemed as if throwing so many fireballs did not wear them down at all, while their companions who used swords or all kinds of weapons protected them.
It was really difficult to deal with them, but they were still able to kill all those who crossed their path.
Their steps faltered as they reached a wooded area that was very different from the one before. At first glance, it looked like a gloomy forest, full of wandering dangers and horrendous creatures. It was the pure feeling that arose from the combination of wooded terrain and hidden swamps.
Although he couldn't see where the swamps were, as everything was completely covered by leaves, it wasn't too difficult for him to figure out where they were based on the movement of the small stream of water.
Even though it's hidden under the leaves, they're still noticeable.
'It looks like a desolate area,' he thought.
He looked at his system.
He had gained a good amount of experience on his journey here. Right now, he had 257 experience points, which meant he was halfway to level 4. This made him eager to reach that level, as it would bring him one step closer to his goal.
His passage through the swampy forest was lonely; not a single beast came out to attack him. There weren't many beasts in the area due to the large number of swamps, so his experience points didn't advance at all during the entire journey, hoping to find something fun...
But nothing fun came along until the end.
In the center of the forest was a relatively large area, not difficult to find because of the place's solitude.
And there, sitting in the middle of it all, was a Wight, calmly. It seemed impassive and calm, as if nothing happening around it was any of its concern.
But ever since he arrived here, Edward felt this guy's gaze fixed on him.
He still had about 20 minutes left on the pill he took before fighting the other guy, so he wondered if it would be a good idea to fight him like this.
Edward gripped his sword and pointed it slightly forward, wanting to challenge the Wight, knowing that coming up from behind was impossible.
The Wight stared at him, but did not react. It simply remained seated, as if his presence here meant nothing.
'Is he ignoring me?' he thought, in shock.
That was not the case.
Edward immediately recognized the sound of breaking branches.
He turned to the side and saw a fireball about 60 centimeters in diameter approaching him. In shock, he instinctively raised his sword, causing the fireball to hit it and struggle against him.
The struggle ended faster than it began, as another fireball struck his shoulder from the other side and exploded, sending him rolling across the ground.
He fell nimbly and got up.
"Magicians." He looked at several branches of three trees on either side and frowned. "Bastards, you'll pay for this."
He gritted his teeth. They were level 1 magicians, not strong at all. But that magic had certainly hurt. He felt like the bones in his shoulder were about to shatter from just one impact. He even felt like some of his flesh was gone and his bones were surely exposed.
The pain in his shoulder was terrible, but he could bear it.
Still, he had to get rid of them first.
He looked at the Wight and noticed that they were still sitting there, staring at him.
'Not planning on moving, then?' He smiled. 'Naive.'
He immediately began running toward one of the trees where one of the mages was standing, and they began firing frantically at him. But even though there were three of them and they could shoot fireballs very quickly, none of the fireballs managed to hit him.
In seconds, he reached the mage and jumped, ready to chase it, knowing that it was going to reposition itself on another tree.
But then, his body was thrown in the opposite direction by a powerful force. He rolled across the ground until he came to a stop with agility and stared at the Wight.
"You decided to move, huh?" He clenched his fists and looked at the hilt of his sword. At the last moment, he had managed to defend himself, but the attack almost broke his fingers.